catholic-minded baptists: a transatlantic conversation?

Curtis Freeman, research professor of theology and baptist studies, duke divinity school posted a comment last week saying hello. Curtis is part of a growing group among US baptists who are becomming more catholic-minded. You can find some of curtis' papers here. He's put me in touch with one blog run by some of his students called mere faith, which looks good and also a website/blog called Summa Aesthetica. Let me encourage you british baptists to check them out and see what transatlantic conversations we can have.

Others in the catholic-minded baptists are steve harmon, elizabeth newman and philip thompson. See especially Steve Harmon's Towards Baptist Catholicity (2006).  Elizabeth  Newman has just published Untamed Hospitality: Welcoming God and Other Strangers, which sounds really good.

In the UK, with John Colwell describing himself as a 'catholic' baptist and others like Steve Holmes, Nigel Wright, Chris Ellis and Paul Fiddes probably not adverse to it either ... this all bodes well for the future of baptist theology and life.

Comments

[Sean Winter]

Hi Andy
Thanks for this post. I think that the idea of some kind of formal transatlantic network for like-minded Baptists is a great idea. How about a conference somewhere mutually convenient (i.e. in continental Europe - I am sure Curtis' travel allowance is much greater than mine): Prague, or maybe even Italy (I know a great monastary outside Pisa...)
Sean

[Brodie]

Andy - to your list of catholic minded baptists you should add the late James McClendon.

[Curtis Freeman]

Andy and Sean:
Thanks for these ideas. Both Steve Harmon and I are involved in the BWA and plan to be at the upcoming meeting in Prague. Parush Parushev will be visiting here in Durham (the other Durham!) in September. Maybe we could come up with an idea, at least for conversations. Paul Fiddes is also involved in our commission (Doctrine and Interchurch). Chris Ellis, Nigel Wright, Peter Morden and others are almost always at the meeting. And yes, Jim McClendon (like his friend John Yoder, always thought of himself as a "radical catholic"!
Hopefully, Curtis

[Sean Winter]

Hi Curtis

I will also be in Prague in 2008 for BWA and Bonhoeffer and lots of other goodies. I was also at the NABPR meeting in Washington last November and heard your excellent paper on Roger Williams. I am sure Andy and I can have some conversations this end to see what the possibilities are.
Sean

[fernando]

This line of thought is very attractive. Thanks for the links.

[Chris]

Hey Andy,

Thanks for the kind note about MereFaith. Interestingly enough, it's a joint blog with my very good friend who is also very Roman Catholic.

I've had you and Sean bookmarked for some time but as always the more immediate demands of the world outside cyberspace have kept more of my attention. I do hope though that Baptists of our stripe can begin working together more in the near future!

Blessings,
Chris

[x x]

Andy,

As someone who might describe themselves as a catholic-minded baptist I'd be interested to know if anything comes from the suggestions of a get together. Can you let me know if anything looks like happening on this front?