MacArthur’s Strange Fire Conference: Sigh; Ok, Let’s Go Over This One More Time
I have written two other articles on this year’s Strange Fire Conference hosted by the confused, possibly heretical John MacArthur. MacArthur and the shameless hacks he invited are staunch Calvinists. I have tried to state as simply as possible that Calvin et al taught a false gospel. Why? Because the essence of the false Reformed gospel is that you must live by faith alone in sanctification to keep your justification. It’s salvation by Christ plus antinomianism. And by the way, Antinomianism will be the one world religion of the last days headed by the “man of anomia.”
This is nothing new. James confronted the same thing in his letter to the Jewish church before the Gentiles were officially noted as equals in God’s kingdom. But yet, doctrine is not the crux of the issue here. The cessation of particular gifts issue is not the crux. And behavior is not the crux. Calvin did not go to the Bible and discover that he agreed with Augustine without presuppositions. Neither did Luther. Both approached the Bible with a Platonist worldview.
They simply made Christ the culmination of the true forms, and EVERYTHING else shadows of the true form, including the other two members of the Trinity. Hence, Christ must be seen in every reality of life, and all of life must be interpreted through Christ.
Granted, the way the Reformers dressed it all up in biblical garb is pure genius. Plato’s objective true forms descending into progressive subjectivity is now “the centrality of the objective gospel outside of us,” and “the subjective power of an objective gospel.” Google those terms at your own leisure. It is also comprised of the Platonist idea that matter is evil and spirit is good, so grace cannot be “infused.” This philosophy is the basis of total depravity. And by the way, if you know what to look for, these guys are not even ambiguous about it.
So let me state it again: MacArthur’s problem with the Charismatic movement is that it puts value on life in the here and now. Everything else is just window dressing. He tolerated CJ Mahaney for a time because Mahaney shares his disdain for human existence, MacArthur’s general confusion between his former grammatical interpretation of reality and his present Christocentric interpretation of reality notwithstanding.
This is why these guys brazenly brag about their endearment to the Puritans who despised those who “live in the shadows” of this forsaken world. This is why they boast of their endearment to those who hung Quakers and drowned women; they relate to the same Platonist disdain for putting stock in the ability of man to improve the conditions of this fallen world.
And like the Quakers, Charismatics believe in “infused grace.” MacArthur cannot have them hung, not yet anyway (perhaps his grandchildren will have the Puritan privilege), but the Strange Fire conference is the next best thing.
paul
Strange Fire Conference: Exalting Human Suffering is a Reformed Family Tradition
“Here is what people don’t understand: the Reformation didn’t just herald a new gospel, it called for a whole new way in interpreting reality.”
“This is clear: He who does not know Christ does not know God hidden in suffering. Therefore he prefers ,works to suffering, glory to the cross, strength to weakness, wisdom to folly, and, in general, good to evil. These are the people whom the apostle calls »enemies of the cross of Christ« (Phil. 3:18), for they hate the cross and suffering and love works and the glory of works. Thus they call the good of the cross evil and the evil of a deed good. God can be found only in suffering and the cross, as has already been said Therefore the friends of the cross say that the cross is good and works are evil, for through the cross works are dethroned and the »old Adam«, who is especially edified by works, is crucified. It is impossible for a person not to be puffed up by his »good works« unless he has first been deflated and destroyed by suffering and evil until he knows that he is worthless and that his works are not his but God’s.”
~Martin Luther: Heidelberg Disputation; Theses 21
Martin Luther was a Platonist who despised human existence. The 95 Theses indeed launched the Reformation, but Luther’s Disputation to the Augustinian Order in Heidelberg six months later laid the foundation of Reformed doctrine. The Heidelberg Disputation argued for the interpretation of all reality through mediation on man’s evil, and God’s holiness. In other words, all reality is to be interpreted by a deeper and deeper understanding of our sin as set against God’s holiness. Like many Eastern epistemologies, anti-types give deeper meaning to each other; light defines darkness, and we wouldn’t know what light is without darkness etc.
This became known as Luther’s Theology of the Cross. Here is what people don’t understand: the Reformation didn’t just herald a new gospel, it called for a whole new way in interpreting reality. It called for reality to be interpreted through a new take on Eastern dualism; in essence, the serpent’s knowledge of good and evil. This is the foundation of the Calvin Institutes stated in 1.1.1.:
Our wisdom, insofar as it ought to be deemed true and solid wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.
Remember that Calvin believed mankind was the essence of all evil (totally depraved), so the math on this is not difficult. In the very next sentence Calvin posits the Eastern concept of anti-types in this dualist construct:
But as these are connected together by many ties, it is not easy to determine which of the two precedes and gives birth to the other.
Incredibly, all of the Calvin Institutes are founded on, and flow from the first sentence. The second sentence is the very first building block in Calvin’s massive metaphysical application. The Calvin Institutes are NOT primarily about the gospel, it is a metaphysical treatise on reality. Again, people don’t get this. We ignorantly wallow in the election debate while functioning in a church world reinterpreted by murdering mystic despots. This must amuse Calvin and Luther, if indeed they are in a place where amusement can be found.
I have come to believe that the kingdom of darkness has not swayed from what first worked best. Adam and Eve only knew good. But Lucifer had brought evil into reality. It was true, as the serpent said, God was keeping half of reality from them; specifically, the knowledge of good and evil both. While the apple may be a befuddling concept, the goal of the serpent to deceive the first couple into disobedience is not. They sinned and therefore became privy to both good and evil. Every false religion following has made that construct their epistemology. Instead of using that wisdom for change in the here and now, it is a method for birthing the spiritual into a horizontal experience. Part and parcel with this dualism is the idea that matter is evil and only spirit is good. The here and now is a waste. Man is utterly incompetent, totally depraved, and lives in a world that is utterly evil. Suffering weakens his evil physical body, and better defines the spiritual which enables him to experience it. What he/she understands is imputed through manifestations that are experienced.
This is the crux of the Heidelberg disputation. It is a treatise that exalts suffering. And this fact can be seen today in John MacArthur’s Strange Fire conference. It is apparent that MacArthur’s primary beef with Charismatic theology is its assertion of promised blessings, “Your Best Life Now.” In the Heidelberg Disputation, that is the “glory story.” Joel Osteen et al are the antithesis of the “cross story” that embraces human suffering and rejoices in it. Luther considered any self-consideration at all to be subjective and the “glory story.” On the other hand, to the point that we empty ourselves, despise ourselves, and rejoice in the suffering that God pours out on us, we experience the “cross story” and its glory, not ours. In theses 17 of the Heidelberg Disputation, Luther argues that this incessant self-depravation is not cause for despair, but results in a “grace” experience known in contemporary Reformed theology as “vivification.”
Hence, the new poster child for the contemporary Reformed movement is the storied Joni Eareckson Tada. The purpose for inviting her to the conference is made evident via an article written by Tim Challies:
She went on to speak of the chronic pain that lasted for many years and the stage three cancer that followed it and expressed how she has learned to be grateful for the suffering because of the way it keeps her longing for Christ. The suffering that results from sin in the world, God now uses to get rid of sin. There is nothing sweeter than knowing the joy of the Lord Jesus in the midst of suffering and all the while she holds on to the hope and the confidence, that in heaven, the big deal won’t be getting a new body that works, but a glorified heart that no longer twists truth, becomes anxious, manipulates others, and all these other manifestations of sin.
The particular point the conference wants to make was also made by Tada according to Challies:
Even today she often has well-meaning charismatics who come up to her and pray for her healing. Though she never says no, she does always ask them to pray for specific things and then highlights character issues. Will you pray for my bad attitude? Will you pray for my grumbling? She means to show them that she is far more concerned with indwelling, remaining sin than chronic pain and legs that do not work.
Tada, who has embraced Gospel Sanctification at some point in the past, usually gets a pass from me because of the respect her life demands. She will continue to get that pass for the most part here, but let me point out what is missing in her testimony: the goodness within. Is that true or not? Is that biblical or not? Christians have remaining sin, but is that epistemology, or a fact that calls us to put off that remnant of the old self and put on the new goodness within? Is God’s “seed” in us or not? What’s with everything being about the sin within and not the goodness within born of the new birth? Is Tada’s storied life a free pass for presenting this imbalanced view of reality/sanctifcation?
Also missing is conversation regarding the technology that has vastly improved her quality of life and reduced the degree of suffering she has experienced. Is God also not responsible for that? Why would he want to decrease suffering? Furthermore, the Reformers despised the idea of competent reasoning that led to the technologies that greatly improve quality of life. If not for the Enlightenment Era, Europe would be no different than Eastern and Middle Eastern third world countries that are products of the selfsame Platonist ideology.
Charismania? MacArthur et al are merely the other extreme. Like Calvin and company, they do not want to partake in the rigors of a many faceted sanctification. Everything is either the glory story or the cross story. This enables them to push the easy button on everything—especially “biblical counseling.” They do not want to invest in this life because they are not in control of the results. They posit the idea that trusting God is to check out of this life altogether and deem it worthless.
Not so. Trusting God is to never become weary in well doing. And to believe that we are responsible for the sum and substance of our own life. A responsibility for the life that bears our name, the name that God gave it. The Bible never states that Christ will stand in our stead at any judgment. We will be standing there ourselves….
and Christ’s response to those who only return what was originally given because of fearing works is well stated.
paul
John MacArthur: The Bad, Good, and Ugly
The Bad
Without a doubt, one of the greatest disappointments in my life is John MacArthur’s departure to the dark side of progressive justification leading to a doublespeak and ambiguity that never characterized his teaching in the past. In an article entitled, “Justification by Faith,” he first states that “if sanctification is included in justification….that makes justification progressive….” Then he goes on to state in the same article that the two can never be “separated.” MacArthur now functions in the Reformed world that creates its own reality; we can never separate things that shouldn’t be included. I find this nonsense coming from a man that has been granted awesome opportunity in sharing the gospel intolerable.
Furthermore, associations with hardcore Reformed mystics and the granting of credibility thereof further disturbs. He recently published a pricy theological book with hardcore Reformed mystic Joel Beeke entitled, Justification by Faith Alone: Affirming the Doctrine by Which the Church and the Individual Stands or Falls. This book boldly proclaims that the individual and even the church stands or falls on the gospel of progressive justification. It’s outrageous and despicable.
The Good
But yet, before a recent sermon, MacArthur made a statement in regard to the recent Newtown massacre. He noted that Christians should have answers in the midst of such events. This is a tremendous breath of fresh air as opposed to the usual whiffle dust that Christians offer in such situations. His statement offered powerful points in regard to a Christian worldview on this matter, and offered hope for the victims. He also noted the substantive outreach to the victims in that area by former GCC associates. It was truly a sweet visitation to the MacArthur that I used to know. Yes, a few perspectives made me a little queasy, but I think this 5 minute statement is one that every Christian should ponder, and it can be listened to here: http://www.gty.org/Blog/B1212172#.UNE5ab1IMlY.twitter
The Ugly
Yet, the fact remains that this ministry continues to deal with its share of the havoc being wreaked on the church daily by the false gospel of progressive justification. It is unclear whether MacArthur thinks the doctrine is a valuable supplement, or whether he has totally bought into the whole package. Furthermore, his counseling ministry headed by Dr. John Street offers blanket credibility to NANC and CCEF. Street is the president of NANC. Both of these ministries together constitute 90% of our present-day active biblical counseling. But yet, the counseling of both is grounded in the gospel of progressive justification. This is counseling that denies the idea that people can really change. It is a ghastly misrepresentation of criminal proportions in the name of Christ.
No doubt, remnants of what he formally taught are still present. He has written books that I would still recommend: “Saved Without a Doubt,” and “How to Meet the Enemy.”
BUT, I would only recommend these writings specifically, and would add extreme caution when reading or listening to anything Mac. Time is valuable. A pity that teachers who can be listened to without launching an investigation on every sentence they utter are becoming fewer and fewer. But it is what it is, and predicted by the apostles.
paul
What’s in a Video? Part One: MacArthur’s Fall
“CJ Mahaney could not be an elder in MacArthur’s church for many reasons, but yet, MacArthur joyfully gives him credibility as being an elder par excellent …. MacArthur’s endorsement of Mahaney assumes his innocence in a long list of unresolved conflict, and rubs salt in the wounds of Mahaney’s victims.”
The promo video for this year’s 2012 Resolved Conference is sickening for anybody that can think for themselves. I use YouTube to post my videos, and have received comments from people there regarding the clip (http://youtu.be/3BbyzPkE_kc):
Where is my barf bag? God, please deliver us from conferences and churches,
Kinda hokey. Just from the images…who do you think is being worshiped here?
For anybody who has any grey substance between their ears at all, it’s obvious who is being worshiped. But the video was not designed out of the figment of somebody’s imagination. The images and what is stated has meaning. I received the following comments on my blog concerning the light from heaven thing going on in the video:
Paul I am confused about the sparkly stuff that is falling down on these enlightened ones. Is this fairy dust?
That was very disturbing to watch.
What’s with the beams of light streaming down behind them and all the little snowflakes? It looks like they are trying to make them look like they are speaking to us from heaven or something…all ethereal and everything.
I was thinking of the same things you were about the fairy dust- strange indeed. Another thing to notice was the movie like ending of the promo- felt like I was about to watch the avengers or transformers. I guess that epic ending was to evoke a response of awe and wonder at the sheer excitement of seeing the “Christian” heros of modern evangelical movement. Next we will see them donned with capes and claim abilities of being able to see right through your depraved soul [actually, Mark Driscoll is making that claim of late].
But believe it or not, the “light from heaven” thing has meaning. Notice that the beams of light come down, but the little dots are going up. That’s the Gnostic cybernetic loop of how the totally depraved zombie sheep receive the truth of the gospel. The truth of the word is cycled from heaven through the spiritually enlightened elders. Farfetched? Well then, consider this statement from heretic/New Calvinist Dr. Devon Berry:
The text here implies that there was an interactive nature between three entities: The preacher, the hearers, and the Word. Note this cycle: Paul, from the Word, delivers words. The Bereans, from Paul’s words, go to the Word. The Word cycles from God, through the preacher, to the people, back to the Word, and this, verse 12 tells us, produced belief in the God of the Word. An important thing to note is that this happened daily – suggesting a regular interaction between preaching, personal study, and the Word.
Berry was making the case throughout the particular message that sanctifying truth only comes through Reformed elders, a belief widely held among New Calvinists. And I believe that the coming down of light, and the going up of the dots are a subtle allusion to the direct connection that New Calvinists believe these men have with heaven that is efficacious to the evangelical peasantry. Other illusions to Gnosticism in this video will be mentioned in the forthcoming parts.
In all, MacArthur’s willingness to be a part of all of this speaks for itself. It is an endorsement of the worst kind of heresy (the fusion of justification and sanctification) and those who propagate it. MacArthur’s appearance at this conference illustrates his utter indifference to basic biblical principles; such as, the importance of reconciliation, justice, and the qualifications of elders. CJ Mahaney could not be an elder in MacArthur’s church for many reasons, but yet, MacArthur joyfully gives him credibility as being an elder par excellent. MacArthur also shows his true heart towards the spiritually abused and his total lack of compassion towards them. MacArthur’s endorsement of Mahaney assumes his innocence in a long list of unresolved conflict, and rubs salt in the wounds of Mahaney’s victims.
The only thing in all of this that could be virtuous for MacArthur is the fact that this is the “Culmination” of the Resolved Conference. I strongly suspect that this is MacArthur’s way of gaining separation from Mahaney. But at the same time, it makes him a party to the concerted effort to protect the image of the New Calvinist movement which propagates a blatantly false gospel. It’s no accident that MacArthur is no longer invited to the T4G conference, and it is no accident that this conference (primarily sponsored by MacArthur’s church; ie, he has some control of it) is going to be terminated. Something is going on, but like the Piper controversy at Mac’s church, and the Mahaney controversy at RC Sproul’s church, nobody is talking. The image of the spiritual Camelot of our day must be protected. Gag.
paul
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
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