When I finished reading the book [i.e. Is the Reformation Over], I have to confess that I agreed with the authors, in that it does indeed seem that the Reformation is over for large tracts of evangelicalism; yet the authors themselves do not draw the obvious conclusion from their own arguments. Every year I tell my Reformation history class that Roman Catholicism is, at least in the West, the default position. Rome has a better claim to historical continuity and institutional unity than any Protestant denomination, let alone the strange hybrid that is evangelicalism; in the light of these facts, therefore, we need good, solid reasons for not being Catholic; not being a Catholic should, in others words, be a positive act of will and commitment, something we need to get out of bed determined to do each and every day. It would seem, however, that if Noll and Nystrom are correct, many who call themselves evangelical really lack any good reason for such an act of will; and the obvious conclusion, therefore, should be that they do the decent thing and rejoin the Roman Catholic Church. I cannot go down that path myself, primarily because of my view of justification by faith and because of my ecclesiology; but those who reject the former and lack the latter have no real basis upon which to perpetuate what is, in effect, an act of schism on their part. For such, the Reformation is over; for me, the fat lady has yet to sing; in fact, I am not sure at this time that she has even left her dressing room. (my emphasis)

via Trueman and Prolegomena to “How would Protestants know when to return?” | Called to Communion.

This quotation from a Reformed Protestant is lifted from a Roman Catholic blog. Understandably so.

I’ll blog about aspects of this more, some day, but for now I’ll make some statements for the record.

• The Roman Catholic Church was not the Western Medieval Church nor vice versa. There is no Church that a Protestant (or a contemporary Roman Catholic) can return to, unless they invent time travel.
• Justification by faith alone is not the only reason for the Protestant Reformation.
• Justification by faith alone was not the only reason that justifies the schisms which took place during the Reformation.
• This stuff is so obvious that one needs to engage in some analysis of personal motives to explain why it would be avoided by teachers who claim the heritage of the Protestant Reformation.
• None of the problems in Evangelicalism make it worthwhile to tell Evangelicals that they need to join us or become Roman Catholic.