Paul's Passing Thoughts

Rush Limbaugh says he knows liberals like every inch of his glorious naked body. I am not ready to claim such in regard to Calvinists, but there are some things that have become evident to me.

First, as we have learned from John Immel here at TANC, all behavior is driven by logic.

All people act logically from their assumptions. It does not matter how inconsistent the idea is or insane the rationale. They will act until that logic is fulfilled. Therefore, when you see masses of people taking the same destructive actions, find the assumptions and you will find the cause. We’re here in this specific session discussing – we are going to ultimately discuss the issue of Calvinism, New Calvinism, and the question is why within this emergent movement do we see such consistent actions, such consistent outcomes, such consistent stories of oppression and domination and coercion? Why from one congregation to the next do you see the exact same outcomes? This is it. But first to find the assumptions, we’re going to have to do this: We’re going to have to take on our ideas. Ideas, it takes enormous effort to dissect one’s thinking (John Immel: TANC 2012; session one, lines 180-195).

As far as the SGM sex scandal and SGM in general, are any bells ringing? Once again, Christians are scratching their heads in regard to the cold blooded statements made New Calvinists regarding the SGM victims. Julie Anne Smith, the blogosphere diva who continually makes the lives of New Calvinists miserable, has once again called out a Calvinist Brown Shirt for some outrageous statement that demeans the victims of SGM’s house of horrors. You can read the post here. Smith’s new target, Jared Mellinger, is just another little snot-nosed mindless follower of the New Calvinist philosopher kings. This is a cult following that rivals none.

But what is the logic that drives the tweet? What is the logic that drives the insanity seeking a vindicating result? Pure and simple: Calvinism. The logic doesn’t produce a massive group that is equally evil from the leaders to the hanger-on; it doesn’t exclude followers who misunderstand the logic and function on the soundbites, but the basic logic drives the movement and its direction.

Calvinism gets a pass because it has followers who disagree with people ovens; by the same logic, we should allow the marketing of Pepsi-Cola with just a pinch of arsenic. The product will be defended because only some die, and there are some nice people who work at the Pepsi plant. It’s the same sublogic that drives the cozy relationship between the Wartburg Watch and Wade Burleson. The Pepsi doesn’t kill everybody, and it tastes really, really good. But our calling is to rage against those who are indifferent to the victims of Pepsi. For those who take their Bible seriously: “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.”

Why is the little Brown Shirt’s tweet pure Calvinism? Let’s discuss that. Calvin got his theology from Augustine, Gregory, and Luther. However, Luther best defines Calvin’s philosophy. Luther interpreted all reality through the gospel. Every event in human history is preordained to show forth the cross story. Reality is divided into two categories: our evil and God’s holiness. Historic events preordained by God help us to see both, and a deeper and deeper understanding of our evil and a deeper and deeper understanding of God’s holiness results in the cross being uplifted before the world.

Misery and deprivation only serves to reveal our true standing before God. Comfort and happiness only serves to jade the true reality of the vast gulf (reality) between our depravity and God’s holiness. Self must be emptied and eradicated; anything associated with an inward consideration is the glory story. Happiness is a gift from God as we partake in meditating on, “our sinfulness as set against God’s holiness” (the theological term is: mortification and vivification).

Therefore, according to Luther, people only live by the cross story or the glory story, and each yields its own results. Hence, John Piper’s commentary on the Oklahoma tornadoes should not perplex anybody, but unfortunately such is not the case. He meant well, he only wanted the victims to see the tragedy through the cross. He is sincere—so was Hitler.

So, justice isn’t the answer for victims, but only the seeking of a Christocentric contemplation that heals. A meditation on our deserved misery lifts up the cross of Christ and shows forth His holiness as opposed to our wretched existence. Those who seek justice are destructive to the cross’ glory because it presupposes that man deserves  justice instead of eternity in hell. Justice implies that man’s life has merit. Hence, the tweet:

Wisdom discerns between the cries of the innocent victim seeking help and hope and the cries of the vindictive spirit seeking destruction.

You can replace “help and hope” with the cross story and anything else but that is “destruction.”

It’s high time that Christians stop focusing on the metaphysical disconnects and focus instead on the logic that drives the behavior. Immel is right; these people will never deal with their ideology in the face of results while insisting that the ideology has never been done right by the right people. It is my understanding, if I was properly informed, that Wartburg Watch stated this same idea, in essence; Calvinism in and of itself is not all bad, it’s those damn Calvinists that are to blame. But the dirty little secret is that these people have been running the show in the American church for the past twenty years.

Are we better off?

paul