Why should an evangelical Protestant care about Roman Catholic theology, history and claims?
Roman Catholicism has a rich history. It is part of our past. While we, as Protestants, may reject their view of authority and justification, we must also understand that at the center of our theology, we are very much alike. To the Roman Catholic, Christ is the God-man who died on the cross for our sins. When someone believes this, I have to respect that God is at work to some degree and the Gospel is present in some sense. Yes, the differences are important and there are reasons why I am not Roman Catholic, but we also need to see that we often say the same things using different language. The divide may be there, but we often make it wider and more hostile than it needs to be through polemic misrepresentation. Both sides have caricatures of the other that do not honor God. It is often said that to be a good Protestant means that you are also a good anti-Catholic. I don’t think this is the case. I think that we can learn to appreciate what the other contributes to the Body of Christ
