“Altruism” a Definition from the Ayn Rand Lexicon
What is the moral code of altruism? The basic principle of altruism is that man has no right to exist for his own sake, that service to others is the only justification of his existence, and that self-sacrifice is his highest moral duty, virtue and value.
Do not confuse altruism with kindness, good will or respect for the rights of others. These are not primaries, but consequences, which, in fact, altruism makes impossible. The irreducible primary of altruism, the basic absolute, is self-sacrifice—which means; self-immolation, self-abnegation, self-denial, self-destruction—which means: the self as a standard of evil, the selfless as a standard of the good.
Do not hide behind such superficialities as whether you should or should not give a dime to a beggar. That is not the issue. The issue is whether you do or do not have the right to exist without giving him that dime. The issue is whether you must keep buying your life, dime by dime, from any beggar who might choose to approach you. The issue is whether the need of others is the first mortgage on your life and the moral purpose of your existence. The issue is whether man is to be regarded as a sacrificial animal. Any man of self-esteem will answer: “No.” Altruism says: “Yes.”
“If You Were to Die Today…”
One popular evangelistic technique is to ask someone, “if you were to die today and God asked you why He should let you into heaven, what would your answer be?” While this may seem like a clever intellectual excercise, it is erroneous on two levels:
1. The only judgement Believers will stand before is the Bema, which is a judgement for rewards, NOT salvation. (1 Corinthians 3:12-15)
2. Unbelievers will stand before the Great White Throne. There will be no opportunity for them to testify. All their works are already recorded, they will be judged by them, and their name will not be found in the Book of Life. They will subsequently be cast into the Lake of Fire (the “second death”) where they will experience eternal torment and separation from God! (Revelation 20:11-15)
When we seek to evangelize the lost, we must make sure our message is accurate!
~Andy Young
The New Calvinist Movement Poses Imminent Danger to American Society
“Church folk only think they are doing church when in reality they are being USED for a broader political motive.”
While our ministry will continue to reveal the plenary doctrinal aberration of authentic Reformed soteriology, I am becoming increasingly concerned about the societal impact of New Calvinism.
Be sure of this: New Calvinism has bold political aspirations. The movement is simply a repeat of European church history trying to function under American rule of law. Right now, the movement is using a particular doctrine to gain a following, and once the following is big enough, it will make its move because it has votes to bring to the political big-boy table. In times past, the biggest sword won, but because of America, politics must replace bloodletting.
Also be sure of this: New Calvinism is about world domination, to the glory of God of course. Um, New Calvinists such as Doug Wilson and Albert Mohler have stated that in no uncertain terms.
Also note their reluctance to be critical of terrorism and such groups as ISIS. In fact, New Calvinist Joe Carter recently defended ISIS in regard to “false accusations” under the auspices of setting the record straight…because you know…we Christians should care about getting our facts straight. Yes, perhaps we should form a committee to defend career bank robbers accused of robbing a bank they didn’t rob. Indeed, one should ask Joe Carter why that is a priority, but I am afraid I already know.
Same ideology…different god.
Here is another thing you can be sure of: New Calvinists wouldn’t deem it a horrible thing if the ISIS flag eventually flies over the White House. Why? Well, their metaphysical epistemology is suffering to begin with, but the bigger element is the fact that groups like ISIS are seen as serving a possible benefaction: getting rid of Enlightenment ideology. If terrorism can serve that purpose, the New Calvinists figure they can make lemonade out of the lemons later on. BUT, New Calvinism cannot ultimately reach their utopian goals as saline fish in fresh waters—Enlightenment ideology must go, that is job one for New Calvinism. And hey, if terrorism can do that, it must be god’s will. Yet one more thing you can be sure of: New Calvinists see Enlightenment ideology as the absolute root of ALL evil.
Right now, New Calvinism is building their base; following/votes equal power. They are a political animal. If you think any of this is about God, you are simply naive.
What is prompting posts like this from moi? Because of our educational relationship with John Immel, PPT readers are beginning to understand, resulting in a mass of information being sent my way. They understand the doctrinal aberrations and the relationship to the political. This all boils down to collectivism versus individualism. Church folk only think they are doing church when in reality they are being USED for a broader political motive.
I will use a few recent examples sent to me. This one here (Article pdf) is yet another example of moral equivalency being preached from the pulpits. John Immel has a great post on that here…and here. Folks, please, there is a reason why New Calvinists are not outraged by terrorism. They share the same ideology and their forefathers practiced the exact same tactics to bring people into conformity.
This one highlights the Redemptive Historical Hermeneutic which is Platonist epistemology dressed in biblical garb (Article pdf. I have written extensively on this to the point of literal exhaustion. Platonism was the foundation of the Medieval church. Copies of the Bible were not available because rulers believed that the masses were unable to reason (see, “Catholic Church”). And, allowing the masses to reason will supposedly lead to chaos. Due to my research, I have come to believe that the Protestant Reformation was an answer to the inevitable mass distribution of the Bible to the serf populous. Trust me, the Bible is no friend of the Reformation. The Redemptive Historical Hermeneutic is specifically designed to rob God’s people of reasoning intellectually with God, and making it a Platonist epistemology instead.
New Calvinism is a political movement that is using people who think the movement is about Christian discipleship. The results speak for themselves; though New Calvinism posits “new resurgence,” it’s been “new” since 1970. While these Platonist philosophers attempt to save the world from chaos like their Marxist predecessors, in the same way, they create chaos, and then blame the same chaos on “losing our original roots.” New Calvinists have been firmly in control of the American church since 2006, and the results again speak for themselves. Virtually ALL anti-spiritual abuse blogs were authored post 2006.
paul
Weakness is NOT Sin: Christians Need Better Definitions, NOT More Mysticism
Christians speak and write much about seeing the Bible with “new eyes,” etc. The mystical and spiritual seems to legitimize all that we say and teach.
I didn’t realize the extent to which I functioned as a Christian mystic until I was exposed to Dr. Jay E. Adams. I found his common sense practicality applied to Scripture liberating. His principle of definitive knowledge as a starting point is a principle I have never swayed from. He had simple quips that would fill the hopeless with hope in a matter of seconds:
“I’m having a nervous breakdown—I’m losing my mind! ‘No, you are not having a nervous breakdown. Obviously, your nerves are working quit well, we just need to see what God’s word says about bringing your nerves into proper use.’”
“We can’t go there, that will open up a can of worms! ‘Perhaps, but if we deal with one worm at a time, the can will eventually be empty, and the more empty the can is, the better off you are.’”
…or something like that, close enough.
Christians don’t need more spiritual bumper stickers to live by, they need better definitions of words. We are in a day when biblically specific word use has never been more important. When we read our Bibles, we need to make sure that we really know what the words mean specifically, and we need to be biblically specific in our communication when referring to it.
Until very recently, I always read the word “flesh” in the Bible as synonymous with evil/sin. With that presupposition intact, it led to the conclusion that “weakness” is also synonymous with evil as well.
This is not the case. Let’s think about this. The “’holy’ angels” are weaker than God, no? This obviously does not make them sinful. Being weaker than God is not sin.
This is also the definition of “flesh,” “members,” “body,” etc., in the Bible; it’s “weak” (specifically defined as such many places in the Bible), but not inherently evil. How do we know this? Because our bodies can be used for holy purposes:
Romans 12:1 – I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Romans 6:13 – Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
Throughout the Bible, the problem of sin is defined as sin that resides in the body, but the body is not sin. Notice that Paul tells us to not “present” our bodies TO sin. We are to offer our bodies to God as a living sacrifice, not to sin. The body cannot be both. God is a master, and sin is also biblically defined as a master, the body can be used to serve either.
To the degree that we have improper understanding of biblical words, we are blinded to the truth of Scripture. To the degree that we are biblically ignorant, we are enslaved.
paul
The Choice
The gospel is the proclamation to all people that they have been purchased by God. Before God ordained the plan of salvation, mankind had no choice, they belonged to a master that the Bible calls “sin.” In the Bible, we find that our birth sold us into slavery to this master.
Salvation is all about choice; a choice between two masters. Man can choose because he has been purchased—he has been set free to choose. A purchase is a choice, therefore, God desires that all men be saved, and calls men everywhere to repent as willing servants. They are free to stay with their present master, or choose Christ as their new master.
Salvation is a choice between two masters. Choice cannot be separated from the gospel. Christ did not die for those unable to choose. The five points of Calvinism do not stand or fall on total depravity, it stands or falls on limited atonement. Christ died to set man free from the slavery of sin—He set them free to choose.
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
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