Conversion to Catholicism
After receiving his education at Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary,Hahn started out as a pastor at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Fairfax,Virginia. Since that time,he has held a variety of positions at institutes,seminaries,and universities. [10]
As a young man,Hahn was convinced that the Catholic Church was in error and boasted of having converted some Catholics into embracing a purer Christianity. His conversion began when he and his wife became convinced that contraception was contrary to God's law. He was bothered that the Catholic Church was the only tradition that upheld the ancient teaching of prohibiting contraception that Protestants abandoned in the early 20th century,such as at the 1930 Lambeth Conference. Hahn continued to study various issues relating to salvation,faith,and good works,as well as the Protestant doctrine of sola scriptura .
According to his book Rome Sweet Home,a key factor behind his conversion is his research on what he saw as the key to the Bible:the covenant. This is a sacred kinship bond that brought people into a family relationship. God established a series of covenants and the new covenant established by Jesus Christ is an establishment of a worldwide family. He believes that Jesus and the apostles used family-based language to describe his work of salvation:God is Father,Christ is Son and the firstborn among brethren,heaven as a marriage feast,the Church is the spouse of God,Christians as children of God.
This new family,according to Hahn,is headed by Christ and the Pope is his "prime minister" to whom he has given the keys of the kingdom,a process that he believes is also present in the Old Testament. Hahn writes that the Catholic Church,whose head is called "Holy Father",is the worldwide family described by the Bible and that the Protestant doctrines of sola fide and sola scriptura are not biblical because they are not found in the Bible. In his view,the Bible stresses charity and works as necessary for saving faith,i.e.,justification,and,therefore,salvation. He also points to the Church as "the pillar and bulwark of the truth",quoting 1 Timothy 3:15. [11]
Hahn converted to Catholicism at Easter 1986 in Milwaukee,Wisconsin. He came to be called "Luther in reverse", [12] from his wife's words. [13]
Hahn's wife,Kimberly,had a similar conversion at a slightly later date,entering the Catholic Church at Easter 1990 in Joliet,Illinois. Rome Sweet Home describes their process of conversion together.
In Ordinary Work,Extraordinary Grace,he narrated the influence of Opus Dei in his conversion and what made him feel that Opus Dei was his specific calling within the Catholic Church:(1) its members' devotion to the Bible;(2) its ecumenism,since Opus Dei was the first Catholic institution to welcome non-Catholics as cooperators;(3) the upright lives of its members;(4) they were ordinary people,who lived theology;(5) holy ambition:"a devout work ethic";(6) the practice of hospitality in answering his questions;(7) prayer:"They made time for intimate prayer every day." [14]
Current work
Hahn founded and is currently the president of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, [15] a Catholic non-profit research and educational institute committed to the promotion of biblical literacy among the Catholic laity and biblical fluency among Catholic clergy.
Some of his projects include online and parish-based Bible studies,a book series,pilgrimages,and a scholarly journal,Letter and Spirit. He is also the founder and director of the Institute of Applied Biblical Studies.
A popular speaker, [16] [17] Hahn has given over 800 talks in the US and other countries on theological and biblical topics related to the Catholic faith and appears regularly on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). His talks have also been featured in multiple audio titles distributed by Lighthouse Catholic Media. He has also written numerous books (see list below) and is the co-editor of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. [18]
Since 1990,Hahn has taught at the Franciscan University of Steubenville,where he is the Father Michael Scanlan,TOR,Chair of Biblical Theology and the New Evangelization. [19] He was awarded Doctor of Humanities –honoris causa,by the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico in 2004. [20] In 2014,Francis Cardinal George appointed Hahn to the newly established McEssy Distinguished Visiting Professorship in Biblical Theology at Mundelein Seminary in Chicago. [21]
