Customer Reviews

The Lion and the Lamb: Evangelicals and Catholics in America

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Taken as a history of Evangelical-Roman Catholic relations in America, this is an excellent, well-researched, well-argued work. Readers who are familiar with histories of anti-Catholicism (such as the work of Jenny Franchot, or, across the pond, D.G. Paz) will stand to gain much from the way Shea puts contemporary Catholic and Protestant writers in dialogue with each other.

The book has implications for those interested in or engaged in ecumenical dialogue. Shea frames his historical analysis with a discussion of broad differences in worldview between the two "tribes". He also does an excellent job of demonstrating the different stories Catholics and Protestants have tended to tell about themselves and each other. This description of the two tribes, their myth, and their history may prove very useful in understanding twenty-first century manifestations of anti-Catholicism, Catholic triumphalism, and ecumenism. However, this is not primarily an analysis of theological differences between Catholics and Protestants; Shea is generally more concerned with how Catholics and Protestants talk about their differences than in what the differences really are. Readers who are interested in nitty-gritty theological discussion might, therefore, wish to look elsewhere. The same is true of readers who are more interested in contemporary Evangelical-Catholic relations (post ECT): Shea does discuss the current state of affairs, but his primary focus seems to be on the process which got there.

Despite the soundness of Shea's analysis, his conclusions and suggestions for change may be found to be unsatisfactory both by conservative Catholics and conservative Protestants. As he readily admits in his conclusion, he takes as a foundational assumption the idea that both Catholicism and Protestantism are valid expressions of Christianity. He seems to suggest that they ought to mutually recognize each other as true churches and co-exist. In other words, he does not offer much hope for a real healing of the schism involved in the Reformation. Thus, ecumenists who long for the day when schisms are healed and the Church stands as one universal body, albeit containing multiple expressions of Christianity, may be disappointed with these conclusions.

Shea, formerly at St. Louis University and now at the College of Holy Cross, has penned his magnum opus. With evident erudition and a full command of the sources, he traces the undulating relationship between the various strains of Evangelism with those of the Roman Catholic Church. No longer today does blind bigotry and outright rejection reign in this delicate balance
between these two branches of Christianity. Rather, beginning with common social and political goals, the two movements find themselves in more accord than ever. Colson and Neuhaus have
promoted this unofficial peace and collaboration. Interestingly,
the impetus for rapprochment has come from the documents of the Second Vatican Council. Now only what Shea terms "nativism" stands outside the fold of positive development. "Bull" Shea (as his old friends affectionately remember him) is to be congratulated for finally putting it all together. It's the best on the subject (but the addition of a critical bibliography would have been helpful).