Paul's Passing Thoughts

Chapter 12:  The Truth About New Calvinism; Its History, Doctrine, and Character

“Legitimate groups have nothing to fear from their members reading critical information about them.”

Here we go again. Everything is right on schedule. A Southwood parishioner forwarded the following email to me sent to Southwood congregants by a Southwood elder:

Bill Nash

Elder (Active) at Southwood Presbyterian

Comment re: Others Blogging About Southwood

Gentlemen, I just talked to William Plott who is familiar with the guy writing this blog – he was a trouble maker who was critical of the PCA church’s in Ohio while William lived there. The blogger is from near Dayton, Ohio – probably living in his Mom’s basement. He is not PCA but a reformed Baptist who has nothing good to say about John Piper, Tim Keller, Bryan Chappell, Billy Graham and the Apostle Paul. He has Theonomist leanings. He is not a pastor, but a layman. He has been excommunicated from one Baptist church. The technical term for this guy is ” nut job” and we have already burned too many calories reading his foolish rantings. Tell everyone to stop reading his drival. Move on. Peace, Bill

My first question is the following: are the posts true and factual, or not?  The personal attack by this person who represents the Southwood elders is according to the New Calvinist playbook. After laying the foundation of this doctrine for the better part of a year, facts are not needed, only an unction from the elders on high. And apparently, this former member of Southwood is apparently a “nut job” also, but his post is referenced with specifics, and those specifics are either true or not true.

Secondly, New Calvinist elders are never shy about lying. I have complimented the PCA on numerous occasions concerning their brave stand against this doctrine when it was known as Sonship theology. Notable Presbyterian Jay Adams wrote a book in contention against the doctrine in 1999. Is he a nut? Is Terry Johnson a nut? The pastor I cite in the last post concerning Tchividjian’s newest book (Southwood’s pastor and elders endorse Tchividjian): is he a nut? Is Dr. Peter Masters (pastor of the Metropolitan) a nut? What makes me a nut? I can answer that: anybody who disagrees with the Southwood elders is a nut, and those who contend against them are even worse.

Thirdly, concerning the comments in the email that are unbecoming of an elder, ie., the suggestion that I live in my mother’s basement, I will not address. But I will say this: leaders who follow this doctrine seek to control parishioners, and this can be seen in his  email. He is confident that all that is needed is to merely tell the congregants that I am a “ nut job”  living in my mother’s basement, and all that I have to say is “drivi[e,sic]l,” and that will be that—problem solved. When New Calvinists seek to take over a church, this is their first order of business, to control the congregation through demotivation: “We are vile sinners who are no better off than unbelievers,” “We must depend on others to reveal our sin because we are unable to see it ourselves,” “We must outdo each other in seeing the depths of our vileness before God,” “We must stay at the foot of the cross,” etc., etc.

But this elder’s command/order/ imperative to the congregation to not read my posts is a serious, serious, red flag. Cultwatch.com says the following:

Common sense tells us that a person who does not consider all information may make an unbalanced decision. Filtering the information available or trying to discredit it not on the basis of how true it is, but rather on the basis of how it supports the party line, is a common control method used throughout history…. Legitimate groups have nothing to fear from their members reading critical information about them….If you are instructed by a group not to read information critical of the group, then that is a sign of a cult” [emphasis mine].

As  I have said before, and will continue to say, this doctrine is spawning cult-like churches throughout the US. Other than in the email, the use of unbalanced self-character assassination and the character assassination of dissenters to control information and make parishioners dependent is evident at Southwood.  Cultwatch states:

Character Assassination is used to help create the guilt in you. Character Assassination is a type of false reasoning used by people and groups who have no real arguments. The technical name for Character Assassination is “The Ad hominem Fallacy”.

Fifthly:

He is not PCA but a reformed Baptist who has nothing good to say about John Piper, Tim Keller, Bryan Chappell, Billy Graham and the Apostle Paul.

I admit, the accusation that I have nothing good to say about the beloved apostle Paul cuts deep, and I find the listing of the others in the same sentence with him far more offensive than anything I would ever dare say about the apostle Paul. I am also aware of what New Calvinists believe about Billy Graham, including his own great grandson Tullian Tchividjian, and find the elder’s mention of Graham disingenuous and contrived.

Furthermore, since a Presbyterian New Calvinist joined the SBC and founded a ministry that is now orchestrating hostile takeovers of Southern Baptist churches, Southern Baptists definitely have a stake in this fight to earnestly contend for the faith. Moreover, the assimilation of this doctrine into Southern Baptist circles by well-known Presbyterians Tim Keller, David Powlison, Ligon Duncan et al, is very evident. Therefore, I find the subtle accusation that I am a Reformed Baptist ( I am a Southern Baptist member in good standing) sticking my nose in Presbyterian business—without merit.

Sixthly, yes, like James D. Kennedy’s daughter, I was brought up on church discipline and excommunicated for contending against this vile doctrine of New Calvinism. Fortunately for her, Presbyterians have protections not afforded to Baptists. Because this has been introduced, and not by me, much will be written about this in the next parts and names will be named. Also, for Southwood members who want to know the details of how New Calvinists ravaged my extended family in order to try to muzzle me, and sent friends of mine fleeing to other states, email me at pmd@inbox.com for documentation.  Others who are privy to this situation will also be contributing to this series.

Seventh, another control mechanism that can be seen in this email pertains to the dismissal of credibility in regard to “layman.” Though to say that I am a consummate layman is not exactly true, I have no reason to reject this label because nearly all of the false doctrine permeating today’s church comes from Christian academia. One of the few exceptions is the uneducated, New Calvinist, CJ Mahaney, former president of SGM ministries who was forced to step down for parishioner abuse. He is presently being sheltered by the New Calvinist camp. SGM, via New Calvinist doctrine and strategies, has been labeled a cult by many and there are several expose websites that document their abuses (SGM survivors.com is one example).

Lord willing, this ministry will continue to post daily on the Southwood issue until the December 4^th meeting. The goal is to supply the Southwood congregation with information, information, and more information. My wife has also prepared a post in response to “elder” Nash’s character assassination.

If elder Nash has the intestinal fortitude to call me a “nut job” while looking into my eyes, he can email me at pmd@inbox.com and that can be arranged. At that time, he is more than welcome to accept a free copy of my book, “The Truth About New Calvinism,” so I can serve Nash by teaching him the history of the doctrine he believes. Like him, I would be inclined to think I am a nut job also, except for the fact that a well-known seminary is putting the book in their library, and reputable ministries are ordering multiple copies; so, maybe not.  I would be amiss not to give the credit to several other “layman” who contributed to the book and made it possible.

paul