Paul's Passing Thoughts

We usually don’t repost anything outside of our ministry here at TANC, in fact, hardly ever, but I must say that the following link is an excellent, concise statement regarding New Calvinism, which we add, is authentic Protestantism. “New Calvinism” is NOT new, it is a return to authentic Churchianity. Nevertheless, here is the link.

Also, I am not sure, but Collins and DeWitt may be of the anti-lordship salvation persuasion which I am not crazy about for the following reasons: Part One, Part Two, Part Three.

However, even if this is the case, their statement on New Calvinism is able to stand alone as an excellent source on the subject.

paul

thechurchlie.net

Chapter 1: The Church is Not the Body of Christ
Thesis: Church redefines the true Christian identity.

Chapter 2: The Church is Not the Gospel
Thesis: Church, like all false religions, propagates a progressive salvation as opposed to a one-time finished transformation.

Chapter 3: The Church is Not the Assembly of Christ
Thesis: The church has no real history or doctrine that connects it to the Gospels or the Book of Acts. It changed the work “ekklesia” to “church” in order to erase 300 years of history between Christ’s assembly and the institutionalization of the Christian faith.

Chapter 4: The Church is Not God’s People
Thesis: The church is temple worship and salvation by church, not a family operating as a living body. It restricts worship to a time and place, and redefines worship as the obtaining of progressive salvation rather than the practice of love.

Chapter 5: The Church is Not the Elect of God
Thesis: Church redefines biblical election, and makes salvation a matter of choosing a preferable authority for submission. It replaces the only head, Christ, with many mediators who claim to have authority over salvation.

Chapter 6: The Church is Not the Kingdom of God
Thesis: God’s kingdom is not presently on earth as the church claims. God’s kingdom is future. The church is not an overseer of God’s kingdom.

Chapter 7: The Church is Not a Light for God in This World
Thesis: The church presents itself as society’s moral compass as a deliberate ploy to draw people into the church where they will be indoctrinated into a strictly “confessional” religion.

Chapter 8: The Church is Not the Bride of Christ
Thesis: The bride of Christ doctrine connects the church to its Gnostic origins.

Chapter 9: The Church is Not Founded on the Word of God
Thesis: The foundation of church is built upon world philosophy, not Scripture. “Sola Scriptura” is a lie.

Chapter 10: The Church is Not the Love of God
Thesis: Church orthodoxy necessarily excludes the ability of the individual believer to love.

Chapter 11: The Biblical Alternative
Thesis: The ekklesia family functioning as the true body of Christ is the only way to revival. It is a focus on individual gifts cooperating together for a common cause, not a top down salvific hierarchy.

“Do you feel strongly about something you read on my site? Do you have something to add to it? In lieu of a comments section I now accept and publish Letters to the Editor. Letters to the Editor is where you can express your opinion and give your point of view. Alternatively, if you have a question you would like to have me answer publicly, you can Ask Me Anything…Thank you! Keep an eye on my site to see if I publish your Letter to the Editor.”  ~Challies.com

No particular article, but your stated beliefs in general.

Let me suggest a way to better clarify your Protestant gospel using phrases and words not uncommon among so-called Protestant scholars. Clarify what Luther really meant by “alien righteousness.” That is, ALL righteousness remains outside of the BELIEVER. And, “faith” does not change the “believer’s” state of being, but is ONLY a perception of how different we are from our Father, NOT an ability to be like our Father. Of course, I am speaking of the Protestant denial of the biblical new birth. I was just wondering when you are going to start speaking in truthful concise language while proclaiming the Protestant gospel rather than deliberate doublespeak. That is, so-called believers are only declared righteous and remain totally depraved. Also, please start telling the truth about your belief that church is an institution where “Christians” continue to be saved.

paul

Tim Challies is a popular blogger among Protestants and a Bagdad Bob like publicist for the church. Here at TANC Ministries, we are not sure if he is comically delusional like most Protestants or deliberately lying. Though he has a Mr. Rogers like demeanor, the audacity of his  propaganda is closer to that of Joseph Goebbels. That’s the dilemma; if you know anything about church history and the doctrine of justification, Challies is both amusing and dark at the same time. Should we merely shake our head and chuckle like we did while watching Bagdad Bob on TV during the first gulf war, or should Challies’ overt misinformation make us angry?

In his latest blog series, Challies shares why he is not…(fill in the blank). We can actually combine why he is not an Arminian and why he is not a Catholic into one response. The hallmark of all deception is making what you are the enemy in the eyes of those you are deceiving. Protestants are both Arminian and Catholic. That’s a fact.

First, if you stop listening to a Protestant pastor/tyrant long enough to think and study for yourself, you will find that Martin Luther and John Calvin never left the Catholic Church. Luther’s conclusion of the 97 Theses (not to be confused with the 95 Theses), a founding document of the Protestant Reformation, makes this absolutely clear. The same can be said for Calvin’s 4th book of his Institutes. Furthermore, Protestant scholars claim St. Augustine as their undisputed Doctor of Grace…a Catholic.

Moreover, having the same Doctor of Grace, while disavowing the identity, results in the same gospel as one would suspect to be the case. Both churches, which are the same church, possess a progressive justification—salvation by church gospel. The only sticking point is the philosophical basis. The Protestant Reformation was really sparked by differences of agreement concerning something that medieval theologians considered to be a higher authority than Scripture: world philosophy; specifically, Plato versus Aristotle. The following is what sparked the Protestant Reformation: the Catholic Church moved away from its Augustinian Platonist roots; nothing more, nothing less, and there are documents galore that back that up. So, you thought the Protestant Reformation was actually ignited by scriptural disagreements about the gospel? Well, you are just adorable.

Secondly, forget about all of the Protestant window dressing concerning “election.” In Protestantism, you choose God’s election. Pretty cool, eh? Supposedly, those pesky Arminians are different because they choose God directly rather than choosing God’s election. There are several ways you choose God’s election for yourself, but we will focus on John Calvin’s “Power of the Keys.” Like the Catholic Church which is also the Protestant church but estranged until they get their Plato/Ari differences sorted out, the gospel at hand could be called “The Gospel of Authority.” In both cases, the church is an institution ordained by God that has sole authority over salvation on earth by proxy. Let me boil it down to simple form: if the elders like you, and they say you are in—you are in, period, end of discussion. Whatever the church binds on earth will be bound in heaven, and if you refuse to “submit to gawdly men,” whatever they loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. It’s damn good work if you can get it.

These are a few reasons why I am not Protestant, but another would be church history. As stated in “The Church Lie and the Biblical Alternative,”

However, though true regarding general publicity of the 19th and 20th century, that is, a more virtuous Protestantism, the big picture of history does not reinforce that perception. Whether Catholic or Protestant, from the abuse and molestation of orphans to the deprivation of liberties on an international scale, the church has never left any vestige of virtue undisturbed.

Challies is a foremost proponent and defender of orthodoxy in the face of overt evil in the church dominating the news headlines in our day. Christ put this in simple terms: “A tree is known by its fruit.”

True believers are not given over again to a spirit of fear; the church’s claims of authority over salvation should indeed make us laugh, while also making us angry.

paul

Christians are the best at throwing around words they don’t understand. When churchgoers are engaged in spiritual-speak, I would estimate that they don’t understand 80% of the words used; they are just repeating pulpit soundbites. By the way, that is the consummate definition of someone who is brainwashed.

Perhaps the word thrown around most that Christians don’t understand is the word, “love.” Nor do Christians have an understanding of other prominently used words and terms like “law” and “new birth.” We often hear the term, “the law” this and “the law” that, but for the most part, Christians are clueless in regard to what the term means. Also, cluelessness regarding the term “new birth” is central to the church false gospel of progressive justification.

In reality, law and love are two different state of beings. If you are alive upon the earth, you are either under law or under grace. “Grace” is another word Christians throw around almost as much as “love” with no understanding of its meaning. “Grace” is love in action and can include a myriad of different actions. As Christians, we still receive God’s grace, but that’s not the grace of salvation which is a finished work. Primarily, what makes Churchianity a false religion is the idea that God’s grace of salvation is not a finished work. The word “grace” is therefore a really handy tool for snakes of the pastor breed to imply a progressive salvation without saying it outright.

Tension in most relationships involves the law mindset. Law has to do with condemnation. This brings us to another basic word Christians don’t understand, “sin.” Sin is also a state of being. In fact, biblically, law and sin are synonyms. In Romans we find “the law of sin” and “the law of sin and death” used synonymously. We also find that the law empowers sin through condemnation. Please note what the Bible states about sin:

Sin is an entity that seeks to control people through the condemnation of the law leading to death.

This is the specific dynamic. Though God’s law is good, sin is able to use the law to provoke people to sin leading to the bondage of guilt. Sin enslaves people through the law’s condemnation, and people also try to enslave each other through condemnation. In general, people are control freaks and use condemnation to gain control of others.

Regarding my career, I believe I have seen this dynamic in action. I once worked for a health network that heavily emphasizes teamwork and positive affirmation of others. Among all of the facilities I have ever worked for, that facility is the most hostile, backstabbing environment that I have ever worked in. A strong emphasis on teamwork and positive affirmation of others actually provokes the opposite action. That’s how law works among those who are under it.

And among those under law, all have their own personal laws and penalties for violating those laws. Also, condemnation is used to control others through guilt. So-called “judgmental” and hyper-critical people are simply trying to control others through condemnation. Obviously, people with no self-esteem are easy to control. People who lack confidence are easy to control. Hence, criticism, more than not, is implemented to destroy self-confidence and self-esteem; making people easy to control. This is what the religious doctrine of Total Depravity is all about; it is totally motivated by sin for the express purpose of controlling others.

Even those who understand the new birth will have to work hard at overcoming the under law mindset. Christ died to end the law which strips sin of its power via condemnation. The power of sin is the law’s condemnation; the Bible makes this absolutely clear. Even those under grace will have to work hard to overcome under law thinking. We must understand that when we become frustrated with people, especially those we live with, they are often violating our laws.

This is where patience comes in. The paramount act of love didn’t cover sin, it ended sin, which is the only way we could ever be free from the power of sin, but love in sanctification (the Christian life) does cover a multitude of sin (which is defined as a failure to love in sanctification).

let’s look at a dynamic example in family life. Your wife has a law that you have broken and the penalty for breaking that law is nagging. As a result, you obey her law to avoid the penalty. But what a minute, that’s not love. You are not doing something for her, or not doing something, out of love, but rather to prevent the consequences of nagging which the Bible describes as a tortuous hearing of a constant dripping of water.

In the same way in our family relationship God, any possible consequences of condemnation are removed and our only motivation is love. If the condemnation of the law still exists, our motives for obeying God could only be subjective at best. In the same way, true Christians must learn to live by the law of love and not the law of condemnation. Same law, different states of being and uses of that law.

This is where patience comes in. Patience rectifies law and love. Often, a spouse seems to absolutely refuse to repent of some annoying offense. This is because your law will only provoke the continued breaking of the law. While neither you or your wife is under law, you are functioning like you are under law. Sin is able to use the same dynamic even though it is no longer the salve master in the relationship.

Those enslaved to righteousness can function like they are still enslaved to sin if their understanding of law and sin are unbiblical. Indeed, we all have much, much more to learn about this dynamic and how to apply it where we live.

paul