John Immel | Paul's Passing Thoughts

Clay Pots Can Know Truth

Posted in Uncategorized by Andy Young, PPT contributing editor on April 11, 2016

Even though my wife and I left the institutional church for good almost 2 years ago, there are still times where I must make the obligatory visit. Going in to visit family is one of those times. I am thankful that the church in which my wife grew up is not steeped in the vileness of Calvinism. Nevertheless, Protestant orthodoxy runs far and wide. Needless to say, as a graduate of the Christian school she attended for 13 years she has nurtured many close relationships with those who were her teachers and peers. So for us the visit is merely a social call and not for purposes of “worship”. Not being a particularly “social” person myself (I am an introvert by nature, and social events suck the life force out of me) I suffer the preaching while reminding myself that it will all be over soon.

Such was the case last weekend as I found myself once again sitting in an adult Sunday School class led by a layman of the church who is without a doubt kind-hearted and well-meaning, but who knows no other way to interpret the Scriptures than what he has been taught all his life. This particular class is right now making its way through the book of 2 Corinthians. The week we were there they were up to chapter 4. Take a look particularly at verses 6 and 7.

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” ~ 2 Corinthians 4:6-7

If we are good Protestants, we will look at these verses and see that clearly, this passage is drawing a contrast between our weakness as fragile clay pots and the power of God, right? I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And if you have been a reader of PPT for any time, what should be obvious to you are the Protestant talking points and root assumptions: man has no ability, even the saints; there is nothing good in us; we are just worthless clay pots; any good we do is simply Christ doing it through us.

Now don’t get me wrong here, aside from the assumptions of total inability and the idea of the subjectivity of objective good works being performed outside of us, we can acknowledge that God does help us through His spirit. That in and of itself would not necessarily be a wrong application to make, but in the context of this passage it is a novice approach at best. The importance of understanding scripture in the correct historical context cannot be over emphasized. And these were my exact thoughts as I sat there squirming in my pew. There is so much richness to this passage that is being lost simply because people are conditioned to faulty interpretive assumptions.

With what premise then should we begin? First, let us understand that the dominant philosophy of the 1^st century was a Platonic gnosticism which was nothing more than yet one more manifestation of the dualism that had dominated all philosophy in man’s attempt to explain the world since perhaps the beginning of time (I suggest you watch all 5 of John Immel’s sessions from last year’s 2015 TANC conference if you think that’s an over-generalization).

For the most part, Gnosticism can be summed up like this. Spirit is good and flesh (the physical) is evil. Objective truth can only be found in the spiritual realm. Since man is part of the physical realm, he has no access to objective truth (the “gnosis”). The only way that man can know truth is for a select few to bring it to them. These select few are the Philosopher Kings. They are the pre-ordained ones who have been given the “gnosis” by the “divines”. Therefore, the logical conclusion is that these “mediators” then are the only ones who have the right to rule the masses by virtue of the fact that they are the only ones who can know truth. This is the root system of thought behind ALL tyrannical systems, both political AND religious, for centuries!

Having this as a basis for our study, let us now consider chapter 4 of 2 Corinthians. Verses 1 through 7 present an exercise in rhetoric though a series of contrasting hypothetical assumptions for the purpose of presenting an argument. Let’s look at verses 1 and 2.

“Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” ~ 2 Corinthians 4:1-2

This is our first clue that the apostle Paul is offering a refutation of Gnosticism. Key words include “hidden things” and “manifestation of truth”. Understand who the audience is. Paul’s letters to the assemblies were most often written in response to address some issues that had come to his attention. Remember, one tenet of Gnostic philosophy is that truth is hidden and cannot be known. It would appear as if there were false teachers who had brought this Gnostic teaching into the assemblies there in Corinth and were trying to blend it with Christianity. Notice Paul refers to the “hidden things of dishonesty”, “walking in craftiness”, and “handling the word of God dishonestly”. These are all trademarks of Gnosticism. These false teachers were twisting the word of God to fit their Gnostic orthodoxy, all the while stating that the reason it was true was because these things were “hidden” from the masses and only they were qualified to bring it to them, and they used scripture to support their views.

What is Paul’s contrasting argument?

“…commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God…”

He left truth up to their conscience. In other words, he expected his listeners to think. Paul said, I don’t want you people just to believe me because I say so. I don’t want you to believe me because I present myself as an authority. I expect you to use the faculties of reason and come to the conclusion on your own if what I preach is true or not.

Verse 3 is a critical statement.

“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:” ~ 2 Corinthians 4:3

This is a profound statement regarding the gospel. God did not reveal himself through His word for the purpose of keeping it hidden, revealing it only to a select few. This is a direct assault on Gnosticism. Gnosticism taught that truth is hidden from the physical realm. But God said, no, I want you to know truth because you are lost and I want to you be reconciled to Me! That is the gospel- Be reconciled to God! That means that man CAN know truth and DOES have access to it. Paul said what we preach is not some hidden truth because that would be counter-productive. It would be antithetical to God’s purpose for the doctrine. That is what distinguishes what we preach from those Gnostic false teachers.

Verse 5 brings us to yet one more distinguishing characteristic of Gnosticism, and that is a narcissistic self-promotion.

“For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.” ~ 2 Corinthians 4:5

Remember, only a select few were ordained to have access to the “gnosis”. As a result, these individuals felt that they were superior to the ignorant masses, perceiving themselves as having the right to rule over them. If you want to get to heaven, if you want to have salvation, then you do what I say, or else. Notice how the truth then becomes subordinated to authority. Persuasion is not necessary where power is used. The focus shifts from the message to the one delivering it. But Paul said, I don’t come to you with any desire to promote myself. You don’t get to heaven by doing what I tell you to do. You were saved because you were born again when you believed in Jesus Christ!

And that brings us back to the passage we looked at first.

This is perhaps the most scathing rebuke of Gnosticism. The fact that believers are referred to as “earthen vessels” is a testament to the metaphysical reality of the New Birth. Now granted, the word “earthen” in the Greek does mean a piece of pottery. But that just makes the argument all that more powerful. A clay pot is made from the “earth”. It is a part of the physical realm. To say that something that is part of the physical realm can know truth is a slap in the face to Gnosticism!

And what is the result of that? Paul uses the word translated “excellency”. In the Greek it is the word υπερβολη (hoo-per-bol-lay) from which we get our English word “hyperbole”. Hyperbole is using extremely outrageous statements to make a point. Paul says that the truth of the gospel sounds outrageous, but it can be known because it is reasonable because physical, frail clay pots have the ability to know it. This serves to demonstrate that its power comes directly from God and not from those who would place themselves as mediators between God and man.

Think about that for a moment. The power of the gospel is in its ability to persuade. It isn’t some self-appointed authority who demands compliance through the use of force. It is God who persuades through the preaching of His word. That means man has the ability to reason and understand it. This can lead a man to be persuaded that God is who He says he is. He can be persuaded to choose to forego his present life and put his faith in God and become a born again new creature who is the righteous offspring of God. For the apostle Paul to declare that our REAL, righteous new-creaturehood is contained in earthly, physical containers is the antithesis of Gnosticism!

Andy

Tagged with: "subjective power of an objective gospel", 1st century Gnosticism, 2015 Conference on Gospel Discernment and Spiritual Tyranny, applying historical context to scripture, Christian Platonism, Christian Platonists, dualist philosophy, earthen vessels, Gnostic, Gnosticism, Grammatical Historical interpretation, John Immel, objective truth, Plato's Theory of Forms, Platonic philosophy, Protestant Gnosticism, tyranny

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John Immel: Examining the Historical Perspectives and Evolution of Determinism – 2015 TANC Conference: Session 5

Posted in Uncategorized by Andy Young, PPT contributing editor on March 28, 2016

The following is an excerpt of the transcript from John Immel’s 5th session at the 2015 TANC Conference on Gospel Discernment and Spiritual Tyranny.

You have got to stop appeasing these people. You have got to stop apologizing for your own achievements. You’ve got to stop hiding your own virtues. You’ve got to stop deriding your own values. And you’ve got to stop debasing your own character. When they ask you to do these things in the name of righteousness it has one purpose; to appease the “original sin” preachers. And you have one ultimate goal, and this is to rule the world in the name of God. Do not doubt me here. their purpose and their intent is to take over government exactly like the Puritans did in Puritan England.

But here is the dirty little secret that they never want you to understand. These men can only survive in a climate of appeasement and rational subordination. Men like CJ Mahaney are the profiteers on the bankruptcy of intellectual appeasement. Men like CJ can only survive in an environment filled with weakness, uncertainty, self-doubt, and terror. He can only work his way into intellectual leadership by passing of virtues as vice, and turning vices into highest moral achievement. The hallmark of such men is that they surround themselves with mediocrity, all the while pretending to surround themselves with the elite. And God help you if you ever challenge the mediocrity. I speak from experience.

I want you to notice as you observe these men how they react to real achievement. Notice John MacArthur’s denigration of those who run institutions and countries and universities. That it’s somehow beneath their consideration. Notice how the New Calvinists thrive on making men small. Indeed the hallmark of success in these circles is the race to see who can be the smallest, the humblest, the most self-deprecating.

But do not be deceived, this is all theological fraud. It’s a mask that they wear to cover their hideous souls. And here is how you rip off the mask. The moment they self-deprecate or self-abdicate, the moment they pay homage to inability or stupidity or moral corruption, agree with them. Say, “You’re right. You ARE stupid. You know nothing. You are weak and impotent. You ARE morally corrupt. It is true, you are the personification of Augustine’s original sin moral monster.” And the step back and watch the fireworks! Watch how fast they defend their existence as smart and capable and important and [gasp!] good. Watch how fast they defend their achievements and abilities, and posture and strut and make pretense to being the world-shapers and the humble masters of men.

Why do you tolerate this? I’ve been talking for a little over six hours, and we’ve already got a little bit of hate male about me because I’m arrogant. Six hours I’ve been talking, and people won’t tolerate it, yet these men speak with impunity. Why do you appease?

So what is the real motive for the doctrines they preach? I’m going to tell you. This is a quote from Ayn Rand.

“Values are a necessity of any living organism’s survival. Life is the process of the self-sustaining, self-generated action; and the successful pursuit of values is a pre-condition of remaining alive. Since nature does not provide man with an automatic knowledge of the code of values he requires, there are differences in the codes which men accept and the goals they pursue. But consider the abstraction, ‘value’, apart from the particular context of any code, and ask yourself: what is the nature of a creature in which the sight of a value arouses hatred and the desire to destroy?”

The answer to her question is simple. All advocates of the Reformed construct are haters of man as such. They are perpetrators of the most disastrous body of thought ever perpetrated on human existence. And I tell you the truth; no matter the big alligator tears, and their bromides to love, and their endless cyber-hugs on sundry discernment blogs, and the love bombs when new faces walk through the church doors, no matter the marketing and packaging, these people hold man in contempt! They are lovers of death. They are arch-nihilists advocating doctrines that render man a living corpse. And this is who you give tacit approval to by your silence, by your fear, by your appeasement. But they are coming for you. The goal of all determinists is to rule the world in their own image. And if you don’t resist, you will get exactly what you deserve.

Watch all of John’s 5th session below.

Tagged with: Authentic Reformed Theology, Ayn Rand, CJ Mahaney, Colonial Puritanism, determinism, False Gospel of Protestantism, John Immel, John MacArthur, John MacArthur's contradiction, New Calvinism, Protestant ideology, Protestantism and Calvinism, Puritan church state, Puritanism, Spiritual Tyranny, The Puritans, values

What’s Really Behind Gun Control?

Posted in Uncategorized by Paul M. Dohse Sr. on December 4, 2015

“Anti-gun liberals are not left-wing liberal loons by any stretch of the imagination; they are merely among the metaphysical mainstream of world history.”

Probably one of the most life changing experiences I have ever had was listening to John Immel during our first TANC conference. In one of his usual observations that give dignity to life and practical hope, he noted that people always do what they do for a reason—primarily their logic. Writing people off as “stupid” or mentally ill is lazy thinking; it’s a shortcut. Sure, we have all been driven nuts by the clamoring of liberals to do away with guns in the face of what would seem abundantly obvious: terrorism thrives on the concept of shooting fish in a barrel. And obviously, crime doesn’t pay if you don’t know who is packing and who isn’t. And as far as being invaded by another country, if the public is well armed, that’s just a huge problem for the invaders. “But they will just nuke us.” Probably not because invaders want your country’s stuff, and the stuff is no good if it’s burned up.

So what’s up with these annoying anti-gun nutballs? Once again, I must refer you to Immelism: it’s their presuppositions concerning mankind. In it’s most common denominator, it’s the total depravity of man. That’s just as much a secular concept as it is a religious concept. On this wise, the Socialist and the Protestant kiss. It’s the same old social caste song and dance that began in the cradle of civilization. In the beginning there was Socialism, and it has for the most part ruled the ages. In fact, after enough misery, mankind did not finally say “no” until the 17^th century, and finally made the point with muskets in the 18^th century resulting in a thing called “America.”

How does the secular/religious doctrine of total depravity work? A. The masses are unable to know reality; B. Some sort of higher power preordains mediators with special knowledge to rule over the masses in the material realm on behalf of the higher power; C. The mediators, who may in some religions actually be visiting avatars who work with additional human mediators, oversee an enforcement class of people who compel the masses to obey the mediators, usually by force. This can manifest itself in a number of different tri-fold applications with the application of government easily discerned in the mix. For examples, simply see “World History.” In regard to the often-heard reasonable concern by liberals that only the “qualified” should have guns for fear that the totally depraved will be constantly shooting themselves in the foot; yes, that would be the desire to see only the enforcer class having guns because they enforce the bidding of the seers.

Simply stated, you either have a government by the government that owns mankind on behalf of the higher powers, or a government by the people and for the people who own themselves, and are directly culpable to a higher power determined by themselves. Whatever that higher power may be, it is generally agreed that the freedom of man is self evident according to natural revelation, and subsequently, it can be said that man owns man, not the government. Why do many who obeyed governments find themselves on the long end of a short rope? Because of natural laws that are self evident to all men. See “America.”

Anti-gun liberals are not left-wing liberal loons by any stretch of the imagination; they are merely among the metaphysical mainstream of world history. Government cannot own mankind if mankind is well armed. The first step to government owning man, of course, for his own good (sarcasm), is disarming mankind by any means possible. Set against this first step is the universal angst among the tyranny of seers: “If only everybody would obey us, and by force if necessary, the world would be at peace!” Only problem is, the tyrants don’t always agree because they have different higher powers. See “The History of Warfare.”

Liberal commentators don’t think you are stupid like you think they are stupid, they just think you can’t understand reality. What is self evident isn’t reality, they have the higher knowledge. If only you would humble yourself and not rely on your own understanding, utopia could be realized. And they don’t want to destroy America by any means, they want her resources so they can destroy the other mediators who worship the wrong powers of their own imaginations.

And of course, they know best, so that’s when you have the right to bear arms—to do their murderous bidding.

paul