ETS President Converts to Catholicism

Evangelical Theological Society president and Associate Professor of Church-State Studies at Baylor University, Francis Beckwith, has converted to Roman Catholicism (HT: Russell Moore). Dr. Moore is no doubt correct when he forecasts that this development is bound to lead to further discussion about evangelical identity and the ETS. James White of Alpha & Omega Ministries has written a thoughtful and thorough response to the news, a portion of which follows:

I would like to very seriously propose that any person who, while in the leadership of such an organization, chooses to abandon the faith he professed when elected, and embrace a faith substantially different (which clearly the founders of the ETS intended to exclude the views of Roman Catholicism), should by any meaningful ethical standard step down from his position. The very fact that he was elected as one standing in a particular theological spectrum who, then, abandons that position in a substantive, directly relevant way, would be enough to bring a moral imperative to bear upon him. I do not believe such a person has the right to overthrow the intentions of the founders of the organization just to make a point or promote his new religious ideologies. There are, of course, many Catholic biblical societies such a person could join.

UPDATE: Francis Beckwith has resigned as president of ETS and explains his reason for doing so here. (HT: Justin Taylor)

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