Paul Washer Speaks at a Catholic Monastery: Why is This Surprising? And Other Magic Bus Musings
Paul Washer
New Calvinist Paul Washer spoke at a Catholic monastery (Italy) in April of this year. He was a keynote speaker at the 2013 Coram Deo Conference hosted by said monastery. Of course, several “evangelicals” have their panties in a bundle over this much like they do in response to John Piper and John MacArthur cross-dressing events.
While New Calvinists claim their bro, John Calvin, saved humanity from Catholic darkness, they believe the same things for all practical purposes where the gospel is concerned. The Reformation was merely a lover’s quarrel over who can do tyranny best. It’s a fight over the mutton. As time goes on, they are figuring out that they can both have more mutton if they work together.
The core four of the Reformation, Augustine, Gregory, Luther, and Calvin were all Catholics and NEVER repented of such. Both Catholics and Reformers (Ecclesia semper reformanda) believe in pastor/pope absolution. Both believe in a “final justification.” Both believe that being in Christ is synonymous with being in the church via formal membership and submission as the clergy of both see fit. All of the doctrinal variances are nothing but smoke and mirrors.
Be sure of this: Catholicism, Calvinism, New Calvinism et al will all come together eventually—they were all spawned by the same devil. For the most part, both groups also hold to a form of Dominion Theology. That’s the anti-Semitic amillennial idea that the church will gradually subdue the earth and then Christ will return. Along the way, there will be protests on the Magic Bus of Salivation from Baptists who don’t know that they are Calvinists etc., but even though the bus has nasty stains of all sorts on the seats, dents in the body as well as some rust—that bus be goin’ to heaven baby! After all, no Magic Bus is perfect. It is a fabulous spiritual caste Magic Bus.
On the secular side of caste, we have the Novus Ordo Seclorum , or “New World Order.” Christians continue to display ignorance in their surprise that many New Calvinists are supporters of Barak Obama. Call him a communist if you will, but Catholicism/ Ecclesia semper reformanda and Communism both have their roots in Plato’s Republic. It is the basic belief that the unenlightened masses must be saved from themselves by the enlightened few. Plato’s doctrine transcended the spiritual into the political of Western culture.
This is the catalyst for the marriage of church and state. The primary concern of a socialist government is normality and peace. Religion offers up a percentage of the populous in this regard: “We have ____million followers who will do what we say.” The Roman Catholic Church weighs in huge here and the New Calvinists are very close to coming to the bargaining table with equally huge numbers as well. But a socialist government is needed to bargain with. What does the religion get in return? As throughout Western history, enforcement of their orthodoxy; for example, if you don’t tithe 10% to the church, the church can have the government arrest you. Right now, they have to settle for manipulation and false doctrine to extract the tithe.
The book of Revelation is clear that the end of the world as we know it will be accompanied by a church/state marriage with the usual wholesale slaughter of human life following. It is the grand finale of faith and force.
In the future, watch for New Calvinists becoming cozier and cozier with religions of all stripes and totalitarian ideology. In case you haven’t noticed, Catholicism is experiencing resurgence since it has become better at masking its abuse. On the other hand, New Calvinism all but completely owns Protestantism. And if the Republican party in America thinks they still have the “conservative” Christian vote, they might want to double check that assertion. There is a marked shift in political ideology among those converted to New Calvinism.
paul
Israel: The Capstone of Justification; Part 3
“And this is by design. Confused people are easy to control.”
It’s nice to know who you are and what you believe. Like most Christians, until recently, I didn’t have a grip on what it really means to be a Christian. I will admit that I functioned on what I was told by others, and even though I was a diligent student of God’s word, I read it through the prism of what I was told.
The result? I really didn’t understand how justification and sanctification works in the Christian life. I didn’t understand covenants. I didn’t understand biblical prophecy. I didn’t understand law. It took a climatic event in my life to send me on a journey of freedom; my desire to know the Bible in a relevant way was destined to clash with the formal church.
And look, don’t give me a load on this issue. Part of our ministry is struggling to find ways to help Christians understand core foundational truths of the Bible. Confusion about covenants, Israel, prophecy, and soteriology abound. Discussions with Christians on basic doctrines are adorned with blank stares. They have no idea what you are even talking about. By design, Christians function on the Cliff Notes of orthodoxy. And this is by design. Confused people are easy to control.
Our Sunday night fellowship was primarily fellowship around fun activities. I was amazed at how much fun people were having as I compiled the booklets for this third lesson to be studied at home. It is the conclusion of our study on justification from the book of Romans, and concludes with the capstone of chapters 9-11: Israel.
With permission, we have recopied John J. Parsons’ excellent work on Remnant Theology and incorporated it into our position here at the Potter’s House. It coincides with what we have seen for ourselves in the book of Romans. It is an excellent summation to our final series on justification.
I just find myself full of joy that we have made our own determination on this apart from the traditions of men. Truth is freeing. Don’t live a life based on some man’s interpretation of the Bible. Live the calling you have from God. You have to determine that calling yourself, only you will stand before the Lord, no one will stand there in your place if you are a Christian.
Not even Christ. He has ALREADY taken our place for justification. He has ALREADY stood in our place before God. “It is finished.” As Christians, we will stand before Him to give an account for the sum and substance of what we have done with the gifts He has given us. And listening to “important” men will be no excuse. You are a workman that need not be ashamed. Don’t stand ashamed before the Savior that died for you. You will be saved, “yet so, by fire.” Make the fire that will burn up the wood, hay, and stubble a small one.
As a pastor, it’s not my job to tell people what to do. I have NO authority over anybody who comes to the Potter’s House. We have been given the authority to tell people what God’s word states. We have been given authority to teach the full council of God. The authority is in God’s word, not the man. We have also been given the authority to baptize. Granted, to the extent that the full counsel of God is properly taught, congregants are more accountable to God. I sometimes wonder if that’s why people want to put themselves under the authority of the traditions of men. In many ways, it is sooooo much easier:
“Hey, we are just a bunch of wicked sinners. Stuff happens. Don’t worry, be happy. Que sera, sera.”
This is a journey, and we have so much more to learn. And as a pastor, being freed from my own opinion is a feeling I can’t even explain. To have the word of God as authority is such an awesome privilege that should be exercised to the fullest. And what a joy to work through these issues with those who only want their convictions to be those of the Lord, and not their own ideas.
Authority Week at PPT
Susan and I looked at each other this morning as this week has totally sunk into our brains. This is the week that our research has culminated into the undeniable conclusion that the American church is saturated with the belief that salvation is in church membership. Being “in Christ” is synonymous with being “in” a church as a member.
This isn’t anything that should have surprised me as I have seen this mentality throughout my Christian life, I just didn’t understand where it came from and frankly, I was in denial to boot. So, I sat there looking at Susan in bewilderment as we were talking about it, which brought the reply, “Dear, didn’t you listen to my presentation on Augustine this year? It came from him.” My reply was, “Well, what are we going to do? Are we going for this?” Her reply:
“No way!”
paul
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