This remarkable exchange between Stephen Colbert and singer Dua Lipa about faith is making the social media rounds.
.@DUALIPA shows off her interview skills and asks Stephen about his faith and his comedy. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/h293PqyQOK
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) February 4, 2022
Of course, I’ve seen unpleasant comments on the old Twitter like “I cannot believe that anyone would think he is a Christian. Plus he says he is a Catholic and a Christian. You can’t be both.” 😐
And then there’s this, retweeted by no less than noted evangelical apologist and Presbyterian pastor Timothy Keller.
It just shows how intellectually superior Catholics are at articulating their faith. A Protestant would not have been able to do that. Anglicans could. Most evangelicals would say, “there’s no gospel in his answer.” #ReligiousStudies pic.twitter.com/2QyWD4rBXD
— Anthony B. Bradley, PhD (@drantbradley) February 4, 2022
Having identified with all four groups in my lifetime (Catholic, Anglican, Protestant, and evangelical), I’d concur with Dr. Bradley on this.
(To clarify: I think non-Anglican Protestants and evangelicals are capable of articulating their faith. But, as Keller himself notes, “Catholicism is both a popular religion for the masses and yet has nurtured a robust intellectual class. Fundamentalism’s largely anti-intellectual stance has only grown among conservative Christians who are alarmed by the progressive excesses of today’s universities. However, this leaves conservative Protestantism in general with little ability to reach the college-educated and little ability to reflect theologically on our U.S. culture. The cultural ‘captivity’ of evangelicals—the inability to see the difference between biblical beliefs and American culture—is largely due to a lack of evangelical scholarship.")
And I disagree with Colbert on some things, but I love how open, winsome, and intelligent he is about his faith. Very grateful for his witness.