LifeWay Pushes Book By Baptismal Regenerationist
The downward slide at LifeWay continues. Since Thom "
Nepotism" Rainer took over it has been one fiasco after another.
I walked into a LifeWay store the other day and saw a book prominently displayed entitled
Not A Fan by Kyle Idleman. I thumbed through it and made a mental note to follow up since I had never heard of the author.
A quick search revealed that Kyle is a
pastor at Southeast Christian Church, the largest church in Louisville, Kentucky and one that is squarely in the "Restoration Movement." In the deep south these churches are known as the "Church of Christ" though they differ somewhat in northern areas of the country.
On their "
What We Believe" page, Kyle's church proudly declares,
We believe the Bible teaches that one receives God's grace by putting faith in Christ, repenting of sin, confessing Christ and being immersed into Christ.
"Immersed into Christ" = WATER BAPTISM for everyone in the "Restoration Movement" = HERESY for anyone who believes in salvation by grace through faith.
Thom, what is going on? You have the
ever clueless Ed Stetzer pushing numbers that make no sense. You have the
Gospel Deception Project filled with Calvinism authors. Now you have this.
Memo to LifeWay trustees: Can we please get a real Southern Baptist to run LifeWay?
Charles
Ed Young, Jr. Attacks Reformed Theology And Bloggers
For years, many influential non-Reformed pastors gave the
Deformed Reformed community a pass. That seems to be over.
Check pastor Ed Young Jr.'s
remarks. Ed is pastor of one of the largest churches in America. He says what
The Calvinist Flyswatter has been saying for years. His remarks will go a long way toward awakening a Southern Baptist Convention that is just now starting to learn of the dangers of the new/hybrid/hyper/neo/extreme Calvinists.
All I can say is, kick it, Ed!
Charles
P.S. Memo to Tom Ascol: How long did you think you could fool the SBC?
Was W.A. Criswell A "Founders-type" Calvinist?
In reponse to Dr. Eric Hankins' "
A Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation," Dr. Tom Ascol at Founders Ministries is claiming that
W.A. Criswell was a Calvinist. Ascol quotes from some old sermons of Dr. Criswell, including one in which he said, "I am a Calvinist." Naturally, Tom's sycophants have taken up the cause and are blogging about Dr. Criswell. One sycophant (name withheld to prevent from embarrassment) declared Dr. Criswell to be a "five-point Calvinist."
According to Ascol and his Founder's followers, case closed.
But was Dr. Criswell's Calvinism the same new/hybrid/hyper/Reformed/neo Calvinism that Dr. Ascol wants to use to "reform" the Southern Baptist Convention?
I hold in my hand
The Criswell Study Bible (Thomas Nelson, 1979). Yes, you read it right. The CRISWELL Study Bible. Criswell as in "W.A." The notes on Romans 8:30 say,
An order of salvific events may be deduced from this passage combined with insights from other passages. The order of events is in some cases chronological, but many of the aspects happen simultaneously, making the order primarily logical rather than chronological: (1) foreknowledge, (2) predestination, (3) calling, (4) contrition (2 Cor. 7:10), (5) repentance (Luke 13:3), (6) faith (Heb. 11:6), (7) regeneration (Titus 3:5), (8) justification, (9) reconciliation, (10) sanctification, (11) adoption, and (12) glorification.
Article Five of Dr. Hankins' statement says,
Article Five: The Regeneration of the Sinner
We affirm that any person who responds to the Gospel with repentance and faith is born again through the power of the Holy Spirit. He is a new creation in Christ and enters, at the moment he believes, into eternal life.
We deny that any person is regenerated prior to or apart from hearing and responding to the Gospel.
Concerning the order of salvation, Dr. Criswell held
repentance and faith to be prior to regeneration,
unlike the "regeneration before faith" Southern Baptist Founders Calvinists of today. Whatever Dr. Criswell meant by the words, "I am a Calvinist," his theology was nothing like Dr. Ascol and his Founder friends.
What about it, Tom? Wanna come out and play?
Charles
Labels: Calvinist, Extreme Calvinism, Founders Ministries, SBC, Southern Baptist Convention, Tom Ascol
