CJ the New Calvinist Wants Chrsitians to Know That They Hate God and That Because of the Scream, We Can Sing
Who is “WE?” Hmmmm, “Christian” speaker to a Christian audience. Hmmmm.
The New Calvinist License To Kill: And Did God Really Condemn Christ To Hell?
This isn’t real complicated. Gospel Contemplationism, by virtue of its reductionism must necessarily be embellished or you will simply run out of material. Even for intelligent people like John Piper, the necessity to go “ever deeper and deeper” into the gospel that saved us can be a real challenge. I have predicted in the past that two things must eventually happen in this movement: “truth” will be embellished beyond the confines of being defensible, and because contemplative theologies are by nature antinomian—revelations of decadence will eventually begin to emerge.
Embellished “Truth”
The challenge is to see the gospel in every verse of the Bible. The cradle of New Calvinism, the Australian Forum, a Reformed think tank created by Robert Brinsmead, taught that the Holy Spirit only illumines Scripture in context of the gospel. The Forum also taught that the letter of Scripture itself had to be judged by the “spirit of the gospel.” The gospel is spirit, but using Scripture for instruction was to use the Bible like the Jews used the Torah. “The Spirit gives life, but the letter kills” (Robert Brinsmead, The Danger of Biblicism).
Of course, a lot of awesome things can be written and preached about justification. A now good friend of mine who sang at my wedding introduced herself to me by complaining about my continual calling out of Piper. She mentioned that she had recently read a Piper book and thought it was awesome. I’m sure it was. Justification is an awesome subject. I then challenged her to reread the book and find examples of truth that could be applied to life in the spirit of Matthew 7:24-27. She called two days later, astonished at her findings, and a friendship was born.
However, the human mind has limitations, and soon, the need to implement the imagination will arise. Hence, at the 2009 Resolved conference, John Piper and CJ Mahaney taught that Christ’s cry to the father while on the cross was “the scream of damnation.” Apparently, they got the concept from RC Sproul, who used to be rock solid, but now it would appear that senility has opened his mind to the nonsensical theological acrobatics of our day. Likewise, the same consideration might apply to John MacArthur who spoke at the conference and also sponsored it; he is getting up in years as well. I offer this as a possible excuse for both of them though the vision of my heart longs to see them as the gray-haired stalwarts of the faith that I thought they were. Here is what Sproul said:
“Once the sin of man was imputed to Him, He became the virtual incarnation of evil. The load He carried was repugnant to the Father. God is too holy to even look at iniquity. God the Father turned His back upon the Son, cursing Him to the pit of hell while on the cross. Here was the Son’s ‘descent into hell.’ Here the fury of God raged against Him. His scream was the scream of the damned. For us” (Tabletalk magazine, My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? April 1990, p. 6).
Steve Camp, on his blog, wrote a tame but thoroughly convincing argument against such a notion. But the fact that Camp thought such a significant expenditure of effort was needed is indicative of our day; surely, only ten years ago, such a thesis would have invoked a horrendous outcry among God’s people.
Contrastively, in a sickening display of affirmation by the poster child of mindless Koolaid drinking, Justin Taylor posted an email sent to Piper and Mahaney by a well known New Calvinist, praising them for this supposed new and wonderful take on the gospel. Stay tuned, more will come, including the weekly re-baptizing of Christians if it is not already going on.
Decadence
Jennifer Knapp, the Christian music artist who is a professing lesbian, recently praised Al Mohler (one of the “core four” of the New C. T4G org.) for his comments concerning “homophobia,” a term coined by non-professing liberals. My new friend Peter Lumpkins reports on it extensively on his blog: http://peterlumpkins.typepad.com/ Go there and type in “homophobia” in the search engine box and several articles written by Peter on this event will appear. Jennifer Knapp is a good example of how New Covenant Theology, a tenet of New Calvinism, will work itself out in the lives of, well, “God’s people?” Note here: http://wp.me/pmd7S-x5 and here: http://wp.me/pmd7S-kP .
As I state in my upcoming book, “Another Gospel,” this doctrine is indicative of the antinomianism that will be prevalent in the last days. In fact, the antichrist is referred to several times as the “anomia one” or the “man of anomia.” Also prevalent with antinomianism is lovelessness. In speaking of the last days, Christ said that the hearts of many would be cold “because of anomia.” The heartless character of this movement is well documented; for instance, the hostile takeover of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. Another example would be the excommunication of 256 members for non-attendance from a SBC church. The pastor of that church is a hero among New Calvinists for that reason, and many other NC churches followed the example. By the way, it is my understanding that the same church has closed mid-week Bible studies which smells cultish to me.
This ministry (GS Infonet) has its share of information in regard to the heartlessness of New Calvinism, especially in the way church discipline is used to control parishioners, including parishioners being brought up on discipline for not tithing. Others are disciplined for questioning doctrine while some in the same churches live together out of wedlock which apparently is a law issue and not a gospel issue. The practice of integrating church discipline with formal and informal “biblical counseling” is also a major concern. When Gospel Contemplationism doesn’t correct the sin, much to the surprise of the counselee, they find themselves under discipline for “unrepentance.” Others are counseled that they are in a mixed marriage (saved/unsaved) because one spouse holds to a synergistic view of sanctification. Truly, no amount of words could adequately describe the carnage being left behind by this movement. Lastly, it is my understanding that Soverien Grace Ministries, overseen by one of the “core four,” CJ Mahaney, has amassed an unbelievable record of pastoral abuse and decadence while being lent creditably by the who’s who of evangelical New Calvinists like Al Mohler and John MacArthur . I have been referred to Survivor’s of SGM.com, but frankly I am already drowning in this kind of information regarding New Calvinism. Apparently, such revelations forced CJ Mahaney into a “sabbatical” to deal with his mistakes while his promoters decline comment.
Bottom line: if you carry the Calvinist/Reformed label, you have a license to kill, and to rape, pillage, and steal—just don’t question doctrine or come up short on your tithe.
I saw a video trailer for the 2009 Resolved event where the damnation of Christ was proclaimed for the supposed purpose of showing mindless followers the gospel in a “deeper” way. I was aghast in regard to the mega rock star motif that dominated. That’s a whole other post—the cult of personality that is New Calvinism. For now, I will not go there, but will rather close with a poem written by the aforementioned friend who used to follow John Piper:
Enamored
Enamored is a youthful state,
Where fledgling citizens confiscate
Old ideas and make them new,
A secular taste for Holy truth.
But I reject this play of light,
And move past men with deeds that blight
And tarnish souls with sinful depth
While we proceed gravely inept
To grasp the ark when dirt is better.
Douse the illusion!
Illumine the Letter!
~Lara Moon
paul
Ice Skates in Hell and MacArthur’s White Witches
Has there ever been a bigger fan of John MacArthur Jr. than myself?
….I doubt it, but I guess we all have our Achilles heel, and with MacArthur it has been a serious lack of discernment over the years. Seems unbelievable when you consider his gargantuan contribution to Christianity. That’s why I didn’t believe what I heard in 1986 when I discovered, after just finishing “Inside Out” by Dr. Larry Crabb, that disciples of Crabb were running MacArthur’s counseling program at Grace Community Church. Crabb’s utter disdain for a literal approach to the Scriptures was evident in IO, comparing Scripture reading to a form of escapism “[like] masturbation” (p. 74: but Crabb also wrote statements concerning the inability of God’s word to effect “real change” on pages, 14, 15, 24 twice, 34, 37, 41, 43, 45 twice, 48, 89, 103, 120, 153, 157, 160, 177, 193, and 195). A former close friend of mine who was well acquainted with Mac told me sometime in 1988 that Mac had informed him that Grace Community Church had been “de-Crabbed.” I thought, “Ah, that explains it. GCC is a big church and he was probably busy writing a book or something; but boy, when he found out, those guy’s were outta there!” Not exactly; in fact, MacArthur and his staff had been repeatedly warned about Crabb’s theology, but apparently esteemed the protestants as less credible than Baalam’s donkey.
That brings me to the post someone sent me yesterday comparing Mac to the standard for solid evangelicalism. Ironically, the post was a contention concerning John Piper, a well documented close friend of Mac:
“Do you think there’s any chance whatsoever that the aforementioned Dr. John MacArthur would ever find himself listed there; [among heretics quoted favorably by Piper and endorsed by him] well, maybe about the time ice skates become standard issue in Hell.”
http://apprising.org/2010/06/16/questions-concerning-dr-john-piper/
Well my friend, then that would be the case. Despite outrageous, grossly unorthodox statements made by Piper and documented by men like Craig W. Booth ( http://thefaithfulword.org/wakeupcall.html ), MacArthur goes out of his way to grant Piper creditability at every turn. Unbelievably, Mac wrote the glowing forward to Piper’s theological Alice in Wonderland, “Desiring God,” and quotes Piper at least twice in his latest book, “Slave.” MacArthur also quotes Douglas Moo on page 142 who is one of the fathers of New Covenant Theology. A group of Master’s Seminary professors did a “Hey, NCT is kinda wrong but its propagators are really nice guys” series in, um, “contention” against NCT. Mac also quotes (in “Slave”) gospel sanctification guru Wayne Grudem.
Also, apparently skate-bent on getting a heretic for a keynote speaker at the 2007 Shepard’s conference, MacArthur invited CJ Mahaney, a (are you ready for this?) “Reformed Charismatic” to speak in Piper’s place. Also apparent is that CJ must not be like those wicked Charismatics Mac wrote about in “Charismatic Chaos,” but must be one of the good Charismatics running about. It reminds me of a blind date my step-son Ben had. Upon arrival, she introduced herself as a witch, but told him not to worry for she was a “white witch” (the good ones), not a “black witch”(the bad ones). Ben, not even a graduate of Master’s, didn’t buy it and soon left after some cordial conversation.
Also treading ice to replace the Crabb fiasco is the recently installed “Resolve” conferences which are part of the ministry repertoire at GCC. Here is what Dr. Peter Masters thinks of it:
“ Resolved is the brainchild of a member of Dr John MacArthur’s pastoral staff, [Rick Holland] gathering thousands of young people annually, and featuring the usual mix of Calvinism and extreme charismatic-style worship….[regarding a fixture / speaker at Resolved conferences (every year thus far),CJ Mahaney]….Charismatic in belief and practice, he appears to be wholly accepted by the other big names who feature at the ‘new Calvinist’ conferences, such as John Piper, John MacArthur, Mark Dever, and Al Mohler. Evidently an extremely personable, friendly man, C J Mahaney is the founder of a group of churches blending Calvinism with charismatic ideas, and is reputed to have influenced many Calvinists to throw aside cessationist views.”
Masters also commented on “Together for the Gospel” (T4G) which MacArthur also indorses:
“A final sad spectacle reported with enthusiasm in the book [Masters used information from Young, Restless, Reformed, by Collin Hansen] is the Together for the Gospel conference, running from 2006. A more adult affair convened by respected Calvinists, this nevertheless brings together cessationists and non-cessationists, traditional and contemporary worship exponents, and while maintaining sound preaching, it conditions all who attend to relax on these controversial matters, and learn to accept every point of view. In other words, the ministry of warning is killed off, so that every -error of the new scene may race ahead unchecked. These are tragic days for authentic spiritual faithfulness, worship and piety.”
Masters also comments on a prevalent mentality within the movement:
“The author of the book is a young man (around 26 when he wrote it) who grew up in a Christian family and trained in secular journalism. We are indebted to him for the readable and wide-reaching survey he gives of this new phenomenon, [neo-Calvinism] but the scene is certainly not a happy one…. Collin Hansen contends that American Calvinism collapsed at the end of the nineteenth century and was maintained by only a handful of people until this great youth revival, but his historical scenario is, frankly, preposterous. “
And Masters, in part, concludes with this: “The new Calvinism is not a resurgence but an entirely novel formula which strips the doctrine of its historic practice, and unites it with the world.”
MacArthur’s list of white witches is getting longer every year, and it seems to be effecting his theology as well. Mac has always taught with a superb balance of the vertical and horizontal, but in recent years, his teachings have become overly vertical, following in the way of John Piper who’s teachings offer little, or no practical application of the Scriptures. It’s all about “beholding as a way of becoming.” Notice in his book, “Slave” that he masterfully articulates what it is to be a slave to Christ, (what it looks like) but includes very little biblical information on how to apply that reality to our lives. However, admittedly, it could be my own incorrect interpretation because I no longer trust Mac because of his associations. There is just too much creepiness in all of this, like the syrupy interview conducted by antinomian / mystic Justin Taylor who interviewed Mac and Piper regarding how they became friends. It was a shameless, “see—Piper is orthodox” infomercial conducted by an individual (Taylor) who had a book of essays written and published to praise Piper. Of course, a team of wild horses could not have pulled Mac away from contributing to the book.
So, does Mac think his legacy is safe? Yes, maybe he has accomplished so much that he can now let his guard down. But what about Jimmy Swaggart? Unfair Comparison? I don’t know; compromise with a harlot, or compromising the truth from a lofty position given by the Lord, which is worse? Hmmmm. Oh, hold on, my phone is ringing: “Hi Ben! Your kidding? No, he is happily married. Ok, I’ll hold…. Uh, ok, hmmm, gee, I don’t know, I will try to find out. Ok, bye.”
It was Ben. The white witch called him. She wants to know if Rick Holland is married.
paul
Betrayed: Notable Evangelicals are Indifferent to the Laity’s Love for the Truth
It was 1983 and I was basking in the joy of my new-found faith in Jesus Christ. Wide-eyed, zealous, and naive. My thirst to learn truth was insatiable, but in my quest, I could have never imagined what I would endure. I went to seminary in less than one year from the time I was saved, and as one pastor told me, “’Seminary’ can end-up being ‘cemetery.’” True, but I survived it. However, the biggest roadblock was the Charismatic movement which was experiencing huge growth during that same year. In my zeal I thought, “Wow, if there is a deeper way to experience God, I certainly don’t want to miss it!” So, can I now tell you about the knowledgeable Berean / brother who took me aside and taught me the real role of the Holy Spirit in the New Covenant, and thereby reducing this challenge to a mere bump in the road? Not.
Their arguments seemed impressive and the isolated verses they used seemed to be pretty clear, and I have never been one to disregard an argument out-of-hand because it bears a different label. I researched, visited Charismatic churches, and read several books. By the time I drove an unequivocal stake three years later, I was not amused to find the doctrine wanting. Besides, we had lost several members to Robert Tilton’s 8,000 member “Word of Faith Family Church,” and at least one young couple who left our church lost everything they owned as a result of giving it all to Tilton’s ministry. When they appealed to Word of Faith for help, they were turned away. Eventually, “Primetime Live” did an expose on Tilton when a homeless shelter noticed an unusually high percentage of their recipients were former members at Word of Faith.
Then it happened. During an evening service at Word of Faith, two well known evangelicals arrived and spoke to the congregation about unity and gave the church their blessings. The two men were my contemporary heroes in the faith, WA Criswell (longtime pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas) and Bill Webber (former pastor of mega-church Prestonwood Baptist). I was devastated. How could this be? But there was still hope. I was a student at WA Criswell for Biblical Studies. Surely, I would arrive at school Monday morning and the outcry would be heard as I drove into the parking lot! Not.
I found myself thinking, “What does this all mean?” And, “Is God’s truth really that important?” “If the particulars of the faith aren’t that important, why did God write the whole Bible?” By the grace of God I got past it. I guess that’s one good thing about it all; if I was looking for an excuse not to persevere, there it was.
Apart from that, the beat goes on. Notable evangelicals continue to build years of trust among the laity, seemingly, if you didn’t know better, for the purpose of a grand disillusionment. However, with each one that contradicts their own supposed convictions they sold you in book form, the pain gives way to the sweetness of knowing that Christ will never let us down in that way. Still, it’s annoying, but I think I have been completely cured of taking this phenomenon too hard with the latest evangelical rock star to follow suit, John MacArthur Jr. First, he writes a book entitled “Charismatic Chaos,” then he invites CJ Mahaney to speak at a Shepard’s Conference at Grace Community Church. One blogger who couldn’t make it to the conference commented as follows: “To see Mahaney and the author of the book Charismatic Chaos sharing the same stage would have been interesting.” Interesting? What about, “sickening.” Moreover, this occurred in the same year that “The Truth War” was published, a book also written by MacArthur. In that book, he mercilessly berates postmodernism, but Mahaney was a stand-in for John Piper at the same conference who holds to beliefs eerily similar to postmodernism, and is a quintessential Christian mystic.
I wonder if many Christians are starting to think like I am. Enough already concerning the who’s who of evangelicalism, it’s becoming a sideshow anyway. All they do is write books, speak at conferences, and create a bunch of confusion. Certainly, they have lost touch with how doctrine effects real life in the trenches. This is difficult to comprehend because, in just this one example, the human misery caused by Charismatic Theology over the past forty years is well documented. Don’t they care? Apparently not. Doesn’t the finer points of God’s truth matter to them? Apparently not.
paul
An Open Letter to Dr. Albert Mohler Jr.
Dr. Mohler,
Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Paul Dohse and I am a member of a Southern Baptist church in the Dayton, Ohio area. I also have the privilege of serving there as director of men’s ministry.
The purpose of this letter is the following: to request that you withdraw your association with Together for the Gospel (T4G) because the organization promotes a particular false doctrine. This letter will be posted on my blog as an open letter because several such letters to individuals and organizations have been ignored. In addition, it will make the continuance of my grievance to others within the Convention expedient as I am a layman with many other responsibilities.
I have no problem with Calvinism, but I cannot express in words how disappointed I am with you and others for turning a blind eye to grievous error from any individual who claims to be a Calvinist. Apparently, Calvinist nomenclature is a license to teach anything that one sees fit. As I continue to research this doctrine (not Calvinism) that is sweeping through Southern Baptist circles, at times it seems surreal that this ridiculous doctrine is being propagated in broad daylight, while you and others lend it your credibility. Because you are President over the “Flagship Seminary” of the SBC, I also fear that you have embraced this doctrine personally.
When I was a student at the WA Criswell Institute of Biblical Studies in the early eighties, we were taught to be leery of any doctrine that had a short history. Such is the case with the “gospel-driven life,” or Gospel Sanctification as some call it. In fact, my research indicates that this whole movement, as we know it today, was conceived by a professor of practical theology (Dr. Jack Miller) at Westminster Seminary, probably around 1980, and dubbed “Sonship Theology.” Yet, CJ Mahaney, John Piper, DA Carson, Tim Keller, and many others promote the idea that this doctrine has been the true gospel from the beginning, and God is using the “New Calvinism” movement to reveal the “unadjusted gospel” in our day.
Many teaching this doctrine today were mentored by Jack Miller; such as, Tim Keller and David Powlison. Jack Miller is the one who coined the phrase, “We must preach the gospel to ourselves everyday.” In any case, Gospel Sanctification and Sonship are identical. Dr. Jay E. Adams wrote a book to protest the doctrine in 1999. I would like to use quotes from that book as a way to describe the basics of the doctrine:
“This teaching that appeals to Christians who are failing to live as they ought maintains that most of the church has been sadly in error by viewing the gospel merely as the way in which one is saved from the penalty of sin; instead, it ought to be viewed also as the fundamental dynamic for living the Christian life.”
“It claims that a person can change this sad state of affairs by continuing to preach the gospel to himself and by repenting and believing over and over again. It teaches that not only justification, but also sanctification, is by faith [alone] in the good news.”
“The problem with Sonship is that it misidentifies the source of sanctification (or the fruitful life of the children of God) as justification. Justification, though a wonderful fact, a ground of assurance, and something never to forget, cannot produce a holy life through strong motive for it.”
“Certainly, all of us may frequently look back to the time when we became sons and rejoice in the fact, but there is no directive to do so for growth, or even an example of this practice, in the New Testament….The true reminder of the good news about Jesus’ death for our sins is the one that he left for us to observe-the Lord’s supper (‘Do this in remembrance of Me’).”
Adams also said the following in another publication: “Aberrations of the faith found in such movements as Sonship should be pointed out and rejected. These movements – both large and small – constantly plague the church” (Jay E. Adams, “Hope for the New Millenium,” Timeless Texts, Woodruff, SC, 2000, p.44).
A cursory observation of statements made at the 2010 T4G conference would easily identify Gospel Sanctification (the supposed “unadjusted gospel”) with Sonship Theology. Furthermore, many should be wary of the “unadjusted” gospel’s unorthodox phraseology: repentance is now “deep repentance”; obedience is now “new obedience”; church discipline is now “redemptive church discipline”; and progressive sanctification is really “progressive justification.”
There is a controversy concerning the influx of Calvinism into the SBC, and rightfully so because the soundness of a doctrine is often determined by where it ends up, and in this case, “New Calvinism.” New Calvinist seem to be in a contest to see who can devise the newest / profound angle on this doctrine. Recently, Tim Keller suggested that a sound profession of faith must include “repentance from good works.” Constantly insinuated by others aforementioned, but specifically stated by Paul David Tripp, is the idea of the total depravity of the saints. He plainly states in How People Change that Christians remain spiritually dead. And, ”When you are dead, you can’t do anything.” John Piper has stated that he went on his recent sabbatical to eliminate several different “species of idols” that he discovered in his heart, and mentioned Tim Keller and Paul Tripp as being knowledgeable about these things. In How People Change, Tripp states that these idols of the heart can be discovered by asking ourselves “x-ray questions.”
Dr. Mohler, is this what Southern Baptist believe? That we grow spiritually by reciting the gospel to ourselves everyday? That every verse in the Bible is about justification? That Christians are totally depraved? That we should go idol hunting in our hearts using x-ray questions? That sanctification is by faith alone? And not previously mentioned: that colaboring with God in sanctification is a false gospel because “any separation of justification and sanctification is an abomination”? Like Tullian Tchividjian, should we endeavor to be accused of teaching antinomianism for the purpose of accreditation regarding the “true gospel”? Should we practice redemptive church discipline which often results in the excommunication of Christians for non-attendance and not tithing?
I tell you the truth Dr. Mohler, at times I wake up in the morning and wonder if this is all a dream. After all, you are, according to some, the “reigning intellectual of the evangelical movement in the U.S.” So, obviously, it’s difficult for me to believe all of this is going on. I know some say that the SBC is on life support, but Dr. Kevorkian in the form of New Calvinism is not the answer. I am asking you to stand for the truth, or publicly state that you believe this doctrine without hiding behind the word, “gospel.”
Because only truth sanctifies (John 17:17),
Paul M. Dohse
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
2 comments