The Debate

One month ago today on Friday, October 16 Jonathan participated in a debate sponsored by a local cultural group here in Caselle. It was a last minute invite that was extended to him just the week prior. To be honest, he was pretty nervous to have such little time to prepare but knew that he could not refuse the opportunity.

The night was advertised to include four participants: our local Catholic priest, an Orthodox priest, a Roman Catholic theologian and Jonathan. In the end, 2 out of the 4 could not come and so it ended up just being Jonathan and the theologian discussing the current state of affairs between Protestants and Catholics. Probably better that Jonathan discovered this last minute change when he did--he didn't have too much time to freak out! He had hoped at best to have 10 minutes in total to speak his perspective in the scheduled hour long debate but in the end he had so much more! It's a good thing he is never lacking with things to talk about.

The debate consisted of three rounds back and forth (which Jonathan was given the opportunity to lead and open the dialogue--so much for a moderator!) and then a time of question and answer with the audience. During the debate, Jonathan had the opportunity to speak about much of what distinguishes us as evangelicals from Roman Catholics, focusing on the uniqueness of the person and work of Jesus Christ and the sufficiency of his mediation between God and humanity.

It was a wonderful opportunity in that it established more credibility for us as evangelicals, and it aroused the interest and curiosity of many who were present. One of the organisers of the event complemented Jonathan afterward, saying that he had capably stood up to one of the fiercest theologians of the diocese of Turin! He also expressed interest in inviting Jonathan back to participate in further public discussions, and we are excited about this new door of opportunity that God has opened.

It was a long day of anticipation for Jonathan leading up to the evening as the event didn't start until 9pm. The kids came to support their dad, however their attention span was very short!

As an additional result of the debate, the editors of the local newspaper asked if they could feature an interview with Jonathan in their November issue in order to help people in Caselle learn more about our church! Once again, we are thankful for opportunities like these that God is giving us to be able to share the gospel with people in Caselle on a wider scale.

And today, hot off the press..."Interview with Jonathan Kleis, of the Evangelical Church--'Conformed to Christ and authentically human'"