As usual, well stated, Mark. Happy New Year!!
God bless. 
This person feared he would find some evidence that he couldn't rationalize.
I guess he has already heard all of the well worn evidence and has all of the neccessary rationalizations in place to give him immunity from arguments of Catholic authenticity.
Ah...but the truth...how it pangs the heart.
I don't agree with this gentleman's assessment of Chuck Colson and James Dobson. I quite like philo-Catholic evangelicals (and I've got a hunch that Colson, at least, will eventually convert). OTOH, I quite like a lot of the stick-in-the-mud Reformed Calvinist types like Credenda Agenda. They make us sharpen our thinking, and are clearly sincere in their own views.
The letter-writer's comments that there are "convincing" arguments on both sides strikes me as true, in so far as the best arguments in favor of Protestant doctrinal stances are most definitely plausible (although wrong).
To me, this points to the practical need (if nothing else) for an earthly authority to whom we can turn for correct interpretation and teaching. While I certainly believe that there are definitive arguments which demonstrated the validity of the Catholic position, I need not be so thoroughly versed in all of them that I can recite each of them off the top of my head; the argument which demonstrates the authority of the Magisterium is (for me) one of the key arguments to master to the point that I can make it without having to consult someone or something.
I want to make clear that I am not advocating any intellectual laziness... we have the duty to learn as many of those arguments as possible, so that we can show others the truth of our faith. But until we achieve that level of mastery, the argument for the Magisterium's authority must be ready at hand.
If I can stick my "camel's nose" in, the realization I have come to in recent years (as an evangelical Lutheran raised an absolute nonbeliever -- not even a pagan) is that it is very important for Protestants to realize that the Roman Catholic Church must at least be taken seriously, and not merely because it is so big. After all, just about all of us Protestants trace out spiritual heritage through that Church and at the very least owe her the gratitude for preserving the message of the Gospel (in some form at least) for over a millennia after the Ressurrection.
Doesn't mean I agree with everything the Church teaches (from what I've seen, many Catholics don't either), but it means that a sincere Protestant cannot get away with treating the Roman church as a discardable relic of history, nor as a vessel for corruption of the Gospel, but as a vital force throughout the history of the Christian faith.
Just my $0.019288658843
Last year, I acquired and read a copy of Louis Bouyer's book The Spirit and Forms of Protestantism after reading a review of it. I've included the link to the full review below. I thought it was an excellent book.
http://catholiceducation.org/art...ics/
ap0097.html
Mark C., I'm proud to be a "stick-in-the-mud Reformed" type Although I do think that Wilson has a bit of an ego trip going...
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