The irrational nominalism of Cheungians

In their defence of their idol, Vincent Cheung, Cheungians behave like mindless drones repeating what their guru has taught them so well. It is really really sad that those who claim to be rational are the most impervious to logical reasoning. Not only are they impervious to reason, they propagate Cheungism and share their guru's writings as if they live by every word from his mouth

In the matter of ascribing the title "Author of sin" to God, Cheung came up with a seemingly easy answer to the question of theodicy. By definition, God is good, and therefore God cannot be called evil even though God is the author of sin. But this does not and will not work. Cheung's logical syllogism is as follows:

p = God is the Author of sin
r = God acts according to His nature
q = God is evil

P1: p
P2: not q
Conclusion: Not q

The problem is that statement p, when coupled with r, necessitates conclusion q. If that is indeed the case, then Cheung's argument become as follows:

P1': If p [and r; therefore q]
P2: not q
P3, p, r
C': not q

As it can be clearly seen, the new syllogism is clearly invalid and logically contradictory. Does it matter how true P2 is? If I shout over and over again statement q, that God is not evil by definition, does it solve the logical problem inherent to Cheung's position? NO, it doesn't! Logic is a tool. They are rules governing thought, and validity and invalidity of arguments does not lie in what the subject matter being discussed is. Insert anything, any proposition, you might wish into 'p,' 'q,' 'r' and the validity or invalidity of the argument does not change. The argument form: If p and r, then q; p, r, not q, therefore not q, is an invalid form of argument, regardless of the cognitive content of the argument.

Cheung's drones repeat over and over again "God by definition is not evil." That is "Not Q" and as it can be clearly seen from the form of the argument, asserting not-q over and over again does not make an invalid argument valid. As long as I can show the truth of premise 1', Cheung's argument is toast, period. Cheung's nominalism expressed in repeating "God is by definition not evil" like a mantra over and over again is useless. It is illogical to think that the problem is solved just by the mere assertion of a single premise. This is basic logic 101, on the definitions of soundness and validity of arguments. Cheung failed logic 101, and his followers fall headlong together with him into collective intellectual suicide.

If you are a Cheungian, please repent of following that false teacher. He has led you astray, clouded your mind towards irrational argumentation, in the false flag operation of being rational. May the Holy Spirit have mercy to break the bondage Cheung has on your mind and on your soul

I challenge all unrepentant Cheungians to a contest in logic. Elucidate the logical forms of all your premises and conclusions in nice, neat propositional logic forms, and then we can discuss who exactly is being logical

Defending the "prosperity gospel"?

Are Christian critics of "prosperity" arguing that faith and prayer are absolutely unconnected from material realities? ... In such matters, ordinary African or Asian believers (in the prosperity gospel) are not too far from the mindset of the biblical worlds they read about, in which there is a strong presumption that God will reward his faithful, in this world as well as the next. ... For a Northern world that enjoys health and wealth to a degree scarcely imagined by any previous society, it is perilously easy to despise believers who associate divine favor with full stomachs or access to the most meager forms of schooling or health care; who seek miracles in order to flourish, or even survive. The Prosperity Gospel is an inevitable by-product of a church containing so many of the very poorest. [Philip Jenkins, The New Face of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South (New York NY: Oxford University Press, 2006), 96-7]

I challenge Dr. Jenkins to tell the poor widow who just gave her 2 cents to the prosperity preacher so that the charlatan can enjoy his private jet, that the fact that she is swindled by what little she has is because that charlatan is "an inevitable by-product of a church containing so many of the very poorest." Go tell the poor believers who has just given out of their poverty, because they have been promised a 100-fold return from God, that their increasing poverty is just a "by-product" of being poor in a church that is poor.

I sometimes wonder where scholars put their brains when they defend the "prosperity gospel."

Anti-Semitism is real...

Here is a snapshot of an interaction on Facebook:

James White versus Ed Young Jr

Dr. James R. White has recently did a Radio Free Geneva program demolishing Ed Young Jr's rant against Calvinism, which can be heard here. Ed Young believes that Calvinism is a different gospel from his, and I agree. Ed Young's "gospel" is indeed another gospel, the gospel of Sexpirement in which he and his wife manages to make Absalom's misdeed with his father's concubines glamorous (2 Sam. 16:21-22).

Mark Driscoll: A Pile of Dead Bodies behind the Mars Hill Bus

Chris Rosebrough in his latest radio podcast has exposed *Pope* Mark Driscoll's tactic of "blessed subtraction." One wonders why anyone think that Driscoll is even called a pastor since his conduct here is more like a hired hand.

James MacDonald, TD Jakes and the New Calvinist error

Recently, the blogosphere has heated up with the news first of James MacDonald's interview of "pastor" Perry Noble, and then his invitation of the Sabellian heretic TD Jakes to the same Elephant Room. After rightly taking flak for his invitation to Jakes, MacDonald attempts a defense of his actions, while Tim Challies, Dr. Carl Trueman and Phil Johnson have responded to the news accordingly.

The key issue that has been the focus of discussion is Jakes' orthodoxy or the lack of it. MacDonald has centered his defense in his incredible opinion that Jakes is not a Sabellian. Even if we make the incredible concession that Jakes is merely unclear about the Trinity, doesn't this fact alone disqualifies him as a Christian leader of any sort? Imagine the following:

Person X is unclear about the Deity of Christ, but he is a great Christian leader.

Person X is unclear about Jesus being the only way to God, but he is a great Christian leader

Person X is unclear about the need to be saved from sin, but he is a great Christian leader

It is astonishing that the New [Evangelical] Calvinists have devolved at such a frightful rate. Back in 2009, I wrote an article, which was later submitted to the CREDO500 conference, on the New Evangelical Calvinism as Colin Hanson's book and the formation of the Gospel Coalition around that time made it all the vogue. At that time, there were already worrisome signs of the devolution of the "New Calvinist" movement in the invitation of Federal Vision heretic Douglas Wilson to the Desiring God conference 2009. The invitation of Purpose Driven pope Rick Warren at DG'10 was a shocker as Warren denies the biblical Gospel. Now it seems that 2011 has just broke the 2 year record of YRR compromise with the watering down of evangelical distinctions such that even the doctrine of the Trinity, something even Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox believe in, is being thrown to the wind.

Note what James MacDonald, a council member of the Gospel Coalition, says in his defense. He states that "I do not require T.D. Jakes or anyone else to define the details of Trinitarianism the way that I might." Imagine what would happen if the sentence was "I do not require Arius or anyone else to define the details of the deity of Jesus Christ the way that I might." Can we see the absolute mess the latitudinarian view of confessional doctrine brings us to? What is more fundamental than knowing WHO is this God we profess to worship? Does a husband say that he does not require that his wife knows his name before he marries her? If we cannot agree on who is this God we are worshiping, then why can't we just worship an idol while thinking we are worshiping God? Oh wait, that is called the Golden Calf incident and we know what does God think about THAT!

There are those who say that nobody will be de-converted just by listening to the interview. That may be true, but note that the compromise and damage is already done. Whether TD Jakes is a Sabellian as such has already faded in the background. Evangelicals, and YRRs especially, are being taught by this invitation and MacDonald's defense of it that how one defines or denies the Trinity is simply irrelevant for whether someone is a Christian. In other words, how one understands God is irrelevant to being a Christian. In 2009, YRRs are taught by John Piper that how one understands justification is not important to being a Christian, in 2010 it was the Gospel, and in 2011 James MacDonald tells us that how one understands God is not relevant to being a Christian. Is there no end to this New Evangelical Calvinist madness? What's next? An interview with David Yonggi Cho, the pastor of the largest "church" of the world? Maybe the YRRs can incorporate some of the name-it-claim-it rhema formulas taught by Yonggi Cho into their devotions! After all, MacDonald has already said that he is "also excited to hear him [TD Jakes who is a prosperity Gospel teacher] state his views on money, which may be closer to Scripture than the monasticism currently touring [the] reformed world."

In that article on the New Evangelical Calvinism, my last point was on the issue of Christians as ambassadors of Christ. As I have written:

As Christians, we are called to be ambassadors for Christ; to represent our King as His messenger to proclaim His Word. In the secular world, ambassadors represent not themselves or their interests but the interests of their respective countries. Even if they personally feel a certain way, they do not express their personal feelings (or at least aren't supposed to do so), but only such as benefits their countries' interests.

... Ambassadors are to represent their countries, not themselves. Similarly, in Gospel and truth proclamations, we represent God and not ourselves. We are still not perfect and are still sinful, but we are NOT representing our own human frailties but the perfect, infallible and sinless God whose greatness surpasses our puny human frames. ... We are therefore to be bold in our proclamation, because the message we have does not depend on the state of the vessel for its existence and truthfulness. Our job is in presenting it clearly through faithful exegesis of Scripture, and thus let the Scriptures speak for themselves, and we need not ever apologize or try to be humble in its proclamation. In fact, since this is God's truth we are talking about, humility is portrayed in proclaiming it authoritatively, and the "chastened" attitude is in fact false humility which devalues the Word of God by making its proclamation less authoritative than what it actually is.

As ambassadors of Christ, our job is not to be nice or to reach out to heretics via interviews. What do ambassadors do? They promote the agenda of the leadership in their countries. They are not to mediate as a third party between the leadership of their country and that of another nation! Rather, their interaction is pictured as them representing the leadership of their country. [Which is why the Libyan ambassadors around the world are heinous in their conduct during the Civil War] If they disagree with the policies of the countries they represent, they have no right to change the policies when they represent their countries, but must resign immediately!

So similarly, it is not the job of any Christians, much less pastors, to try to build bridges with those outside the faith. Again, it is not the job of Christians to build bridges with those outside the faith. You Christian, you pastor, are an ambassador for Christ. You have no right to write policies! You have no right to dictate the rules of conduct! You have no right to make judgment calls on who is inside or outside the kingdom of God except by applying the truth of Scriptures in this regard! You have no right to proclaim that TD Jakes is a brother since Scripture has already condemned him as someone who believes in another God! Shame on you, James MacDonald! Traitor to the faith and your calling!

May God grant MacDonald repentance for his compromise, or failing which, to remove his lampstand from his place (Rev. 2:5). Amen.

Harold Camping Resource List

Here is a resource list on the false prophet and cultist Harold Camping. That guy has no shame whatsoever. Utterly despicable.

This is called worship at Saddleback Church

This is a part of Saddleback Church's worship. I really wonder who is being worshipped here, plus what biblical basis do any of the lyrics have.

Contra "Asian Theology" - We confess ONE holy and katholikos faith (Part 2)

[continued from here]

The truth behind the evangelism of the West

Implicit in Pagolu's article is the idea that "the West" as defined by those following in the Greco-Roman tradition was its culture of rationalistic and analytical philosophy. The West somehow was never truly "spiritual" in the sense that the East or Asia is "spiritual". Pointing to the fact that "there is the practice of the offering of joss sticks, meat and other kinds of food to ancestral and other spirits at home and at the workplace" in Asian culture, Pagolu had the idea that the West was never liked that at all. So the West is identified with rationalism and analytical philosophy, while the East is identified with spirituality.

The problem with such a dichotomy is that one wouldn't recognize it in pre-Christian Western culture. While Greco-Roman philosophy is indeed somewhat rationalistic and has some unique features, one can get similar philosophies in China (i.e. Confucious, Mencius etc) or India with her many philosophers. The Franks and Goths were animists, the Greeks were pantheists or polytheists, the Egyptians were also polytheists. Before Christ, are there really any features in the East that cannot be found in the West? Joss sticks? Incense are offered in almost every religion. Union with the divine? You can even find that in Eastern Orthodoxy in their doctrine of theosis. Offering food to idols? That is even addressed clearly in the Bible!

There is thus no real substantial difference between what the early church faced and what we see now in Asia. Yet we see the apostolic method remained the same. Paul preached the Gospel in Jerusalem among the Jews, he preached the Gospel to the Syrians in Damascus, he preached the same Gospel in Athens, he preached the same Gospel ... everywhere he went. Do we see Paul coming up with an "Asia Minor" theology, a "Roman" theology, a "Grecian" theology, or even a "Spanish" theology (assuming he really did go to Spain as he had desired to do so - Rom. 15:24)? Are we so ethnocentric and arrogant that we think we need a special "Gospel" for Asia, as the "old Gospel" is somehow insufficient for the task God has send it out for?

Although the secularists can deny it all they want, the fact is that Christianity or rather the Christian world-view is the mother of Western civilization. It is Christianity that turns the West from what it was to what it now is. Apart from Christ and His Gospel, the West would be no different from the East in terms of its worldviews and cultures.

The eternal Gospel is altogether sufficient for the task at hand

If we do not need a new theology for any and ever culture back then, we do not need any new theologies for our modern times either. The method of preaching of the Gospel is foolishness to many (1 Cor. 1:18-25), and it seems to Dr Pagolu too, as he insists on the need to "demonstrate the power of God in daily living". However, what exactly in Scripture is the power of God? It is to be found in the "foolishness of preaching" (της μωριας του κηρυγματος) (1 Cor. 1:21), which is for those who are called both power and wisdom of God.

It is the Scriptures that show us the way of engaging the culture, indeed any culture. It is not so much how much "the faith" was able or unable "to influence places". We are not to influence places period! The Gospel is to be proclaimed although it is regarded as the most foolish thing to do! It is God who will save His elect through the preached Word, not for us to attempt new methods to being in the goats. God's sheep hear His voice (Jn. 10:4); they will come to faith through the instrument of His preached Word without the blasphemous actions of tampering with both the message and the means God has ordained through the creation of such "disciplines" as "Asian theology".

Dr. Pagolu states that "even if Christians succeed in winning the argument, intellectual efforts alone are incapable of persuading people to embrace the faith". That is most evidently true, but what exactly is the Gospel method in the first place? What is conversion and what is evangelism? If we truly believe in the Scriptures which claim divine sovereignty over every new birth (Jn. 3:8), then we know that evangelism is never about converting souls. Only God can covert souls; we can't. Evangelism is always about proclaiming the Gospel and showing people their sins before a holy God, the wrath of God upon their sins, and their need to flee to Christ for their salvation. The revivalism (a Western American phenomenon by the way) and Arminianism present in Dr. Pagolu's sentence is striking and gives us a hint why the Church is not making much progress in Asia. How can progress be made when we have bad theology permeating the churches? Is God honored by falsehoods about Him?

One holy, catholic faith

I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:

And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:

Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell:

The third day he rose again from the dead:

He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:

From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:

I believe in the Holy Ghost:

I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints:

The forgiveness of sins:

The resurrection of the body:

And the life everlasting. Amen

(The Apostles' Creed)

The last nail in the coffin for "Asian theology" is the fact that Christ is one and His Church is one. We believe in one holy and katholic (καθολικος, -η, -ο) or universal church, and therefore one holy and universal faith. The Faith is one, not many. The last thing we want is to balkanize the church into competing theologies, one for every people group.

The same Gospel that is preached to the Jews is the same Gospel that is preached to the Greeks, the same Gospel that s preached to the Brits, to the Chinese, Japanese, Tibetans, Uighurs etc. There is one faith, one Lord, one baptism (Eph. 4:5), NOT many faiths, many baptisms and one Lord. This catholicity goes through time as well, and it is incredible how much is being embraced by the Asian churches that has neither basis in Scripture nor tradition.

An Alternate Proposal: Sound Doctrine is Critical to Christianity's Expansion

While anecdotal evidence is always fallacious, they can serve as good illustrations of the truth. The early church turned the world upside down with one Gospel, NOT many theologies. The Reformation destroyed the grip of the papacy over entire countries and was on its way to conquering France if not for the severe persecutions by the Romanists starting with the St. Bartholomew Day's massacre on to the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes among other factors. This same Gospel which is the power of God unto salvation will never fail in its task (Is. 55: 10-11, Rom. 10:17, Heb. 4:12) and it does not need our embellishing and "contextualization" at all. We do not need more "signs and wonders" and more "relational evangelism" (as if wordless evangelism ever existed). We need more Christians to understand the Gospel, to understand the whole counsel of God, and to live out these truths. Therefore, we need sound doctrine in the churches, not the mush that passes for instruction especially in Singapore churches. As God's people in the past perish for lack of knowing God's Word (Hosea 4:6), knowing God's Word will be critical for Christianity's very existence, nevermind growth.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this article is manifestly in error. There is no need for any "Asian theology" or "contextualization", both of which are manifestly unbiblical and ahistorical. Rather, the problem with Asia is that the churches are weak. Many are in the state described in Hosea 4:6 and have embraced many errors. False teachers and teachings permeate the churches. For how can we expect God's blessings on us when we tolerate [the equivalent of] Jezebels and Nicolaitans (Rev. 2:12-29) in our midst?

May God grant us a revival of His Word and of sound doctrines in the churches. Amen.

[THE END]

ADD: The response can now be found as one article here.

Contra "Asian Theology" - We confess ONE holy and katholikos faith (Part 1)

It has come to my attention that an article has been posted on the "Christian Post" on the topic of so-called "Asian Theology" here. In this post, I would like to analyze the article according to Scripture.

In this article, Dr. Augustine Pagolu's main thesis is that the only way that Christian mission is to make way in Asia is for more "contextualization" to be done in which Christianity is to jettison its "Greco-Roman" framework that is evidently prevalent today in westernized circles. Instead, just as Christianity contextualized its message to the Greco-Roman world then, Christianity is to be contextualized now for the Asian context, thus giving us the idea of "Asian Theology". Dr. Pagolu then suggests various ways such contextualization should be done in the so-called Asian context.

If it were not for the fact that friends read this article, I would not want to address this issue. So poorly is the case argued for any so-called Asian theology that I very much prefer to go back to my seminary readings of which I have quite a lot to read. After all, going to one of the best seminaries in the world means that the intellectual rigors of education would be very tough.

The Greco-Roman framework?

Dr. Pagolu's main argument rest on various assumptions which are unbiblical and unhistorical. The first major error can be seen in his historical revisionism of the Greco-Roman world. Pagolu claims that the Greco-Roman framework is "primarily rationalistic and analytical". This betrays an ignorance of the Greco-Roman culture. The Greco-Roman culture was very much "spiritual" with many gods who behave worse than humans sometimes. Paul at Athens was provoked within his spirit with the many idols in the city (Acts 17:16). Greco-Roman philosophy was more rationalistic and analytical, yet there is no such thing as a uniform theme of Greco-Roman philosophy as being rationalistic and analytical either. Gnosticism for instance was a very much spiritual yet philosophical religion. The idea of gnosis or secret knowledge was not an end in itself, but rather "passwords" which enable the soul to proceed towards the direction of absolute being^[1]. Such gnosis was not propositional knowledge, but rather esoteric empirical knowledge towards union in the divine.

As I have written in my review of the late Pinnock's et al book The Opennes of God, the whole idea of Greco-Roman framework is nonsensical. Refuting Sanders, I wrote^[2]:

One major problem with Sanders' thesis is that to postulate that the concept (not just the language) of immutability and impassibility as applied to God as being Greek concepts and not Christian concepts, it must be the case that in Greek thought there must be only one concept of God in these aspects. In other words, there cannot exist in Greek thought concurrently the concept of God being immutable and that of being mutable, or being passable and impassable. If that were to be the case, then either way Christianity can be said to imbibe on Greek thought either way, since both logically contradictory positions are covered by Greek thought. And this is what we will see to the case in Greek culture. The gods present in the popular Greek religion are mutable and passable, whereas the philosopher's Ideal or idea of God is immutable and impassable. Since this is the case, how then can Sanders prove his position? We could say that the Open Theists view is actually the Christianization of Greek popular religion, and that would be even more accurate, since the worldviews of both the modern age and during the times of the Greeks are very similar.

Similarly, the whole idea of the Greco-Roman framework is nonsense. No such common framework exists. There is the Platonic framework, the Stoic framework, the Greek popular religion framework etc, but no Greco-Roman framework. Much less is there a so-called unified theme of rationalism and of being analytical in the pluralities in the Greco-Roman frameworks. After all, Gnosticism is anything BUT analytical. Platonism and Neo-Platonism is analytical and rationalistic but it is also spiritual in nature.

Contextualization of the "Greco-Roman framework"?

The next error is the contention that the church contextualized her message towards the so-called Greco-Roman framework. We will address this by looking at (1) the Apostolic church, (2) the early church.

(i) Contextualization in the Apostolic church?

The prime example of such contextulization in the Apostolic church is normally taken to be Acts 17. Paul supposedly approved of the religiosity of the Athenians in his speech in the Aeropagus, and approvingly quoted from two of their religious poets in order to create "common ground" with them.

Such however is a misrepresentation of what actually happened in the Aeropagus.In Act 17:22, Paul mentioned that he looked at or perceived (θεορω; Lexical form θεορεω) the Athenians as being "κατα παντα ώς δεισιδαιμονεστερους". The adjective δεισιδαιμονεστερους seems to be a hapaxlegomena, yet according to the lexicon is based upon two words of which the second word is δαιμονιον or demon. This gives credence to the view that what Paul was actually describing was not being religious in a virtuous sense, but rather superstitious in a a weak negative sense — "Men of Athens, I see that [in] according to all things [you are being] superstitious" (literally translated).

In his book Presuppositional Confrontations^[3], apologist Vincent Cheung addresses the exegesis of this clause. Instead of being a positive commendation of how much they seek after God,

Rather, the point is that they did not know the true God at all. They may realize that there may be a divine existence beyond and other than what they were worshiping, and so constructed altars to these "unknown gods" just as a safety measure. One cannot conclude from this that they were already worshiping the God of Christianity. In fact, the point is that they were not worshiping the God of Christianity. Their altars to "unknown gods" merely constitute a confession of ignorance, and Paul's statement intends to exploit this confession without conceding anything positive about their present way of worship.^[4]

While it may not be a direct insult, Paul was negative about their religiosity and contrasts their admitted ignorance with the truths of Christ he positively knows and will proclaim to the Athenians. The only "common ground" seen here is to use their cultural artefacts to show forth their ignorance of God in order to launch forth the proclamation of the Gospel.

What about the two quotations of the pagan poets by Paul? Here however Paul gives no grounds to the Athenians. Rather, his quoting of the pagan poets was appropriated for the Gospel message, not an accommodating to the poets at all, in the same way as John used the word logos and turned the concept upside down from the Greek point of view.

The first quotation "‘In him we live and move and have our being" is stated to be from Epimenides of Crete^[5]. In its original context it is talking about Zeus. However, we can see in context that Paul uses the phrase to refer to the fact that we can come to know God; that "God is not far from each one of us". Paul is thus using the words of the pagan poet as an unconscious reflection of the truths of General Revelation which they consciously reject. Although the Athenians rejected God and are thoroughly pagan, yet remnants of General Revelation still remain (cf Rom. 1:18-23). The Greeks knew that God can be known, yet they twist that into a pantheistic idea of God permeating the creation. Paul eviscerate the quote (if it is one which I do think it is) of its original meaning to show the General Revelation that the Greeks have rejected in their sinfulness.

Such a reading can also be applied to the second explicit quotation in the later part of verse 28. The original intent was to say that the Greeks especially were Zeus' offspring. Instead, Paul took the same saying and showed that the Greeks had an idea of being created by God, although they twisted it into making an immanent finite deity Zeus their creator.

The whole sermon by Paul at the Aeropagus therefore was not in any way "contextualized". As much of the Gospel was preached by Paul before the Greeks could not stand it any longer. Even before arriving at the Gospel proper, the Greeks were offended by Paul's teaching of such ideas as [the highest] God [of spirit] being the Creator [of matter], the idea of bodily resurrection, of final judgment, of them not being special above other nations etc. The Gospel cuts and offends those who are perishing, while bringing salvation to those who repent and believe, and this two-fold response can be seen in verses 32-34.

Paul's sermon at the Aeropagus has nothing to do with contextualization with the Greco-Roman framework. His message was a thoroughly Jewish Messianic one which is indeed foolishness to Greeks

(ii) Contextualization in the early church?

As we move away from the apostolic era, error of course starts to creep in, thus the various controversies in the churches. The Gnostic error of Docetism came in early, of which it is likely that the epistles of John were written to combat it. The Gnostic heresies are the epitome of any capitulation to Greco-Roman religions and philosophies, and the church did not accede to it at any time, kicking out Marcion and the Valentinians from the church^[6].

Of course, it cannot be doubted that some form of syncretism happened especially in the person and teachings of Origen^[7]. However, even then there was controversy as some churches reject Origen's teachings. At the Reformation, the battle cry of ad fontes expunged as much as possible pagan teachings that has infiltrated the church between the apostolic age and then, and seeks as much as possible to obey Scripture alone.

So while there is some contextualization in the ancient churches, by and large the compromise was slow and not uncontested. Since the Reformation removed as much of pagan infiltration into the churches as possible, it is not true that there is a capitulation to any kind of so-called Greco-Roman framework within the Christian church in general.

[to be continued]

---

References:

[1] Class notes taken by me for ST501: Christian Mind, by Dr. Michael S. Horton

[2] Daniel H. Chew, Book Review: The Openness of God. (accessed Sept 16th 2010; Online http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/ddd_chc82/articles/openness_god.html)

[3] Vincent Cheung, Presuppositional Confrontations (Boston, MA: Reformation Ministries International, 2003). I do not necessaily endorse everything by Cheung but on this issue there is large agreement.

[4] Ibid., 35

[5] See Ibid., 56-57 for discussion regarding whether it really is a citation.

[6] Henry Chadwick, The Early Church (London, England, UK: Penguin, 1967, 1993), 33-41

[7] Ibid., 100-114, 180-181

Peter Lumpkins and his infantile "humor"

Peter Lumpkins, a supposed 'mature' Christian Southern Baptist "minister", has proved to everyone how infantile he is with his vicious and deliberate caricature attacking Dr. James White and the Doctrines of Grace. It is extremely regrettable he is not in one of the P&R (Presbyterian and Reformed) denominations, otherwise I am sure charges will be filed against him and he will be subject to church discipline.

Following on from his attack on Dr. White and Reformed theology in the mis-named John 3: 16 conference (which has nothing to do with John 3:16 and everything to do with the Arminian distortion of the true meaning of the text), and then the Ergun Caner fiasco, Lumpkins has decided to continue his personal vendetta attacking Dr. James White and attacking the Doctrines of Grace. 2 years of vitriol — only one group of people can compete with that — the AODMers. I don't know if Lumpkins will be pleased to know the company he seems to be keeping.

Following on from this, while Arminianism in its evangelical form is not heretical, yet Classical Arminianism is. It is even doubtful if Lumpkins is as orthodox as James Arminius. Regardless, his hatred of the doctrines of grace cast doubt on whether he has even received saving grace in the first place, for how can a true son of God knowingly and continually spits upon the grace that saves him?

The Canons of Dordt has this wise saying against such people who behave just like the Remonstrants of that time:

Moreover, the Synod earnestly warns the false accusers themselves to consider how heavy a judgment of God awaits those who give false testimony against so many churches and their confessions, trouble the consciences of the weak, and seek to prejudice the minds of many against the fellowship of true believers. (from Conclusion)

Consider the wrath and mercy of God, Mr. Lumpkins! Consider before you continue on this path you have chosen.

Brandan Kraft and the abomination stewing over at P-Net

Over the last three posts (here, here and here), I have attempted a rebuttal of the error of Eternal Justification as well as its corollary doctrines (a denial that the elect were ever actually under wrath and the idea of timeless eternity). While it is probably the case that not all participants in the Predestinarian Network (hereafter P-Net) and the forums have the same beliefs in these matters, the founder of this website, Brandan Kraft, does indeed embrace such errant doctrines.

Matt Powell (who it seems had prior interactions with P-Net two years back) has came up with three excellent posts (The Heresy of Eternal Justification, More on Eternal Justification, Eternal Justification and Antinomianism) in which he analyzes the issues concerned in its interaction with the Gospel message (as opposed to mine which come from a more epistemic perspective). As I read it, I began to see how deep the doctrinal rot in P-Net and especially in its founder Brandan Kraft had been. In my initial post on this topic, I have worked out the logical implications of embracing the Eternal Justifcation error. In looking at Powell's posts and the links that he provided, I see with my own eyes that they are not on their way there but are already there. Now, generally, I focus on addressing the issues and as such do not check out much on the people involved. Powell's links however show me how deep the rot is.

Kraft's profile page on P-Net shows the following description:

Soteriological Position: Hyper-Calvinism (Hardshellism)

Creeds and Confessions: London Baptist Confession of 1644, Canons of Dort [sic], Goat Yard Confession of Faith (1729), Gospel Standard Articles of Faith

When Adam and Eve sinned, what really happened?: It was revealed to Adam that he was a sinner and needed the righteousness of Christ which demonstrated the eventual regeneration of every elect individual.

[Bold added]

Kraft flaunts his hyper-Calvinism (don't need to call him out on this one), and this can be seen even in the creeds and confessions he holds to - The Gospel Standard Articles of Faith (GSAF). This is what the document states:

XXIV We believe that the invitations of the Gospel, being spirit and life, are intended only for those who have been made by the blessed Spirit to feel their lost state as sinners and their need of Christ as their Saviour, and to repent of and forsake their sins. (Isa. 55:1, John 7:37, Prov. 28:13, Matt. 11:28-30, John 6:37.)

XXVI We deny duty faith and duty repentance - these terms signifying that it is every man's duty spiritually and savingly to repent and believe (Gen. 6:5, Gen 8:21, Matt. 15:19, Jer. 17:9, John 6:44, John 6:65.) We deny also that there is any capability in man by nature to any spiritual good whatever. So that we reject the doctrine that men in a state of nature should be exhorted to believe in or turn to God of themselves. (John 12:39-40, Eph. 2:8, Rom. 8:7-8, 1 Cor. 4:7.)

[Bold added]

The GSAF denies the offer of the Gospel and duty faith and duty repentance, which is a mark of Hyper-Calvinism.

In my initial post, I have made plain that one of the logical consequences of believing in eternal justification is that it leads to a theory that believers are to be considered as "saints who happen not to realize that they are already justified". All of this was initially meant by me to shock the adherents of Eternal Justification to their senses by showing the hopefully undesirable consequences of embracing such an error. However, it seems I have misjudged Kraft and company. They are already there as it were.

Notice Kraft's answer to the question as to what really happened when Adam and Eve fell — he came to know that he was a sinner and shown that he needed Christ's righteousness as a demonstration of the eventual regeneration of the elect. So, firstly, Adam and Eve did not became sinners, but rather they become conscious of the fact that they were sinners all along. We must note that the question does not ask regarding the episode when God confronted Adam and Eve after their sin, but rather what happened WHEN they sin.

Likewise, the doctrine regarding Christ's righteousness has been altered. Since it is more of a demonstration, substitutionary atonement takes a back seat (if it has a seat at all). Rather, Christ's righteousness becomes primarily to do with showing that all the elect will be regenerated in due time - as we "pardoxically" experience it in time of course). As Powell succinctly states:

[In Kraft's scheme] Conversion is simply becoming aware of our status as saints. Adam didn't change when he fell, believers don't change when they are saved... (Eternal Justification and Antinomianism)

This is a full-blow assault on the Gospel in the name of "grace", which it seems is similar to the "grace" teachings promoted from the other side of the spectrum in the teachings of Joseph Prince.

Moving on, we see a post on something very foundational to the faith, which left me initially stunned and at a loss of words.

...

In this article, I will present evidence, that should be sufficient to indict James the brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, for the crime of Judaizing the Pauline doctrine of Justification by faith alone, without the works of law. James the brother of Jesus, is the antithesis of Paul and never fully comprehended the Pauline doctrine of Justification. I do not believe he was even an apostle as some suggest. A false apostle perhaps, but no true apostle of the Gospel of Christ. However that is another subject worth discussion.

...

[Nicholas Laurienzo, James Exposed]

And here is what Kraft wrote on his profile:

Is the book of James authoritative?: I don't believe it is authoritative.

Such is a denial of the authority of Scripture by attacking the canonicity of James' epistle. Who is Kraft that he thinks he has the right to decide what constitutes or does not constitutes the Word of God? So much for any claim to be Evangelical through this attack on Sola Scriptura, nevermind Reformed.

Branda Kraft is a heretic who is in danger of the fires of hell for his wicked deeds and false doctrines. He and those like him are called to repent of their wickedness, and produce fruits in keeping with genuine repentance.

James White responding to Obama's anti-Christian bigotry

Dr. James White has responded to radical leftist Barack Obama's "dream for a secular, non-Christian nation". Actually, that is a misnomer. It is actually Obama's vision for a homofascist, bigoted, anti-Christian nation, one in which bigoted hate crimes are sanctioned by the State as long as the opponent believes the Bible and practices it.

"If you honor that which sent Christ to the Cross, you are not a Christian" - Dr. James R. White (32 mins into the show)

New Spring Church Band performs "Highway to Hell"

This is a video by New Spring Church band performing AC/DC's rock song Highway to Hell.

Here are the lyrics courtesy of A Little Leaven:

Living easy, living free
Season ticket on a one-way ride
Asking nothing, leave me be
Taking everything in my stride
Don't need reason, don't need rhyme
Ain't nothing I would rather do
Going down, party time
My friends are gonna be there too

I'm on the highway to hell

No stop signs, speed limit
Nobody's gonna slow me down
Like a wheel, gonna spin it
Nobody's gonna mess me round
Hey Satan, payed my dues
Playing in a rocking band
Hey Momma, look at me
I'm on my way to the promised land

I'm on the highway to hell
(Don't stop me)

And I'm going down, all the way down
I'm on the highway to hell

I wonder if this is the latest trend in "contextualization", where you get to sing the Devil's songs in "church" to reach out to the "unchurched", even wishing to join them in hell it seems!

Phil R. Johnson on the Pornification of the Church

Phil R. Johnson aka the Pyromaniac has given a message at the Shepherds' Fellowship Conference on the topic of the pornification of the Church, based upon the primary text Titus 2:7-8. You can hear the excellent sermon here.

News: Rick Warren applauds Obama for inviting "gay" bishop to pray during inauguration

Rick Warren compliments Barack Obama's invitation to openly gay activist Bishop "Vicky" Gene Robinson to pray at his inauguration on Sunday. [more]

My take: Warren should just get out of the pulpit and join the rank of forked tongue politicians where I am sure he would feel right at home.

[HT: Paula]

Obama the Messiah?

I do not want to talk politics here, but this is too good a link to pass up. Check this out! Now, which "christ" will Obama be? Maitreya?

City Harvest's beauty pagent

Well, it seems that City Harvest Church, the most popular Word-faith prosperity "church" in Singapore is truly being consistent with their message of health and wealth. During their Asia Conference 2008 of which the speakers read off like a who's who of heretics, City Harvest has decided to organize a beauty pageant as well. In their own words,

Few would expect to see a droolworthy display of well-toned bods and gorgeous faces strutting their stuff in a church setting, but City Harvest Church put that traditional mindset to rest once and for all by holding a Manhunt and Beauty Pageant during their Emerge! Conference in 2007.

Yup, few would expect it. And while I am quite sure the event would be able to satisfy the fleshly lusts of Man for some time, I'm sure after some time this would be stale. A suggestion for Kong Hee and City Harvest: Maybe you may want to consider something more titillating, like having a 30 days of s-x campaign like what they do in the US by New Harvest Church, s-x advertisements or how about a s-x magazine that targets married, Christian women? After all, that would most definitely be "droolworthy". Oh yeah, I'm quite sure it would bring in the crowds too, lots of them.

[HT: Word and Verse]

Tood Bentley: A minister of "the spirit" of?

Well, here are some more videos compiled by Lane Chaplin on the Todd Bentley "revival" over at Lakeland, Florida, using the audio from the Way of the Master episode on this very topic.

Part 1:

Part 2

[HT: Lane's blog]

And here is a Crosstalk program on this issue:

Claims of revival must always be made in the light of Scripture so that we can determine whether this is a true movement of the Holy Spirit that points to Christ, or if it’s a counterfeit.

With this thought in mind, Ingrid Schlueter welcomed Pastor Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries. Joining him was Pastor John Sharp, the pastor of The Way Christian Fellowship in McCarney, Texas. These pastors joined Ingrid to discuss the alleged revival in Lakeland, Florida.

There are numerous theological and doctrinal problems with this alleged “revival” that are discussed by the pastors, problems that are highlighted by audio clips presented by Ingrid. One clip has Todd Bentley claiming that gold teeth are appearing in his followers. Another mentions how he was ordered by Holy Spirit to kick an “elderly worshiper” in the face! One makes contradictory statements about the source of the “anointing,” while other clip exposes the overemphasis on angels.

[HT: Christian Research Net]

Well, to this we must conclude: Todd Bentley is most definitely influenced by a spirit, but it most definitely is not the Holy Spirit.

Beware of Todd Bentley!

Beware Todd Bentley

I hesistate to place this post under the heading Charismatism, for I am sure Charismatics would denounce this even. But then, I may be wrong, and most definitely Charismatism has contributed to the foundation for the acting out of this abomination.

See these videos:

Demonic possession, yours to watch on Youtube:-

Todd Bentley: Messenger of God? — part 1

part 2

What possesses Todd Bentley?

Hear the demonic laughter of that madman, not to mention the shaking.

Bentley further told of how he was demon possessed after his salvation:

He claims to be delivered from the demons; I think rather that he has just traded one set of demons with another. Most certainly, he is not saved, as no true believer can be possessed by demons. Neither will true believers have demonic visions of being operated by and tormented.

Oh, and this just beats the cake! Bentley has his own ministry [of assault]. You know, the way to heal old ladies is to kick them in their faces with your biker boot. Yeah, right.

I feel a spirit of oppression just by looking at all these clips. Bentley is obviously demonically possessed, and it is saddening to see people with so little discernment as to think it is a work of God.

[HT: Defending.Contending, Truth Matters, Christian Research Service]