In a recent interview, John Piper was asked:

Would there be any cautions that you would have for the New Reformed/New Calvinist Movement you referenced earlier?

In responding to this question, Piper had two remarks.  On one hand, he said:

John Piper

Yes.

My caution concerns making theology God instead of God God. Loving doing theology rather than loving God.

Sam Crabtree said to me once, “The danger of the contemporary worship awakening is that we love loving God more than we love God.” That was very profound. And you might love thinking about God more than you love God. Or arguing for God more than you love God. Or defending God more than you love God. Or writing about God more than you love God. Or preaching more than you love God. Or evangelizing more than you love God.

On the other hand, Piper goes on to say:

The danger on the other side is to say, “All that intellectual stuff, no, no, no. Doctrine, no. Intellect, no. Study, no. Experience, yes!” People who do this wind up worshipping a God of their own imagination. It feels so right, so free, and so humble because they are not getting involved in all those debates. But it isn’t. It is losing a grip on reality. So we are compelled to think hard about God and the Bible.

Hanging on with the danger I am speaking of is pride—a certain species of pride. There are many species of pride, and this is just one of them. You can call it intellectualism. There is also emotionalism, but that isn’t the danger we are talking about right now. Intellectualism is a species of pride, because we begin to prize our abilities to interpret the Bible over the God of the Bible or the Bible itself.

For the entire interview, click here.  For the audio, click here.  Finally, for the video, click here (FYI: I would have just embedded the video, but for some reason or other I did something behind the scenes to mess-up my embedding capabilities). 

[HT: Justin Taylor]

If you liked this, You may also be interested in “New” Calvinism Resources: A Collection of Articles, Audio Messages, and Books.

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Justin Taylor of Between Two Worlds recently interviewed Mark Driscoll.  One of the questions he asked revolved around the hotly debated “New” Calvinism.  Justin Asked,

What is the most encouraging thing you see about the so-called “New” Calvinism?  What are some areas of caution or concern as we enter this new decade?

In response to his question, Driscoll had the following to say:

I think “New Calvinism” is possibly a myth, and I fear it may fracture before too many years are up.

There are four issues:

1. Reformed
2. Complementarian
3. Charismatic
4. Missional

I hold all four of these.

Mark Driscoll

What is touted as “New Calvinism,” though, includes those who disagree with 3 and/or 4. My fear is that cessationist and fundamentalist Calvinists will use those two issues to turn distinctions into divisions.

Many are working hard behind the scenes among various tribal leaders to keep the peace, and I pray we can hold it together and truly have a “New Calvinism” and not the same old unnecessary infighting and separation as old Calvinism.

For Justin’s entire interview, go here.

[Question: What do you think about Marks’ words on “New” Calvinism?]

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After finishing an excellent article by Dr. Michael Horton on the meaning of Reformed (The Hallway and the Room), I was reminded that this journey of defining a movement under the vast umbrella of “New” Calvinism is ongoing and perhaps never ceasing.  Dr. Horton and his peer at Westminster Seminary, CA, Dr. R. Scott Clark, have narrowly defined Reformed by the Westminster Confession,  Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, and Canons of Dort.  Even though these documents serve as the foundation to our understanding of Reformed, I don’t believe that they are an end to our understanding.

For instance, in reviewing Dr. Clarks book, Recovering the Reformed Confessions, Dr. John Frame had the following to say about the meaning of Reformed,

I would propose understanding the Reformed community as a historical community that began as Clark describes, but which no longer follows the original pattern in detail. Even the original community was not as uniform as Clark presents it, and of course greater diversity entered later. In this respect, the Reformed community is like other religious and nonreligious communities. It should be described in all the diversity it had originally and has developed over the years, far more diversity than Clark’s approach admits. In my view, that diversity is not necessarily wrong. It is not necessarily, as Clark would propose, “non-Reformed.” In some ways the newer views and practices represent growing understanding and legitimate applications of biblical truth.

He goes on to say,

And there are some general common characteristics, a kind of “family resemblance,” among the various bodies of the last five centuries that have called themselves Reformed. The idea that “Reformed” should be defined as a changing community is not congenial to Clark’s view.  But it seems to me to be more accurate and more helpful.

Clark is not entirely opposed to change in the confessional theology. He believes that new confessions are needed from time to time (182-191), and he advocates orderly changes in the confessions when the church comes to believe it has been wrong (343). But his view of confessional subscription is so strict (153-176) that it is impossible to imagine how anyone could accomplish changes in them, except in detail. On Clark’s view, the confessions are treated for practical purposes as if they were as authoritative as Scripture; for anyone who differs with them cannot be accepted as Reformed. This is why many churches in the Reformed tradition have somewhat loosened their formulae of subscription. Clark’s complaint that such loosening is not Reformed is not taken seriously in many circles, and, in my view, it should not be (Bold Mine)

Finally,

I think it better to regard anyone as Reformed who is a member in good standing of a Reformed church. I realize there is some ambiguity here, for we must then ask, what is a really Reformed church? Different people will give different answers. But, as I said above, I don’t think that the definition has to be, or can be, absolutely precise. The concept, frankly, has “fuzzy boundaries,” as some linguists and philosophers say.

We should also accept as Reformed people those who hold to generally Reformed convictions, but are members of non-Reformed churches. Again, the phrase “generally Reformed” indicates that the concept is not precise.

With Dr. Frame I couldn’t agree more.

[Question: Should we narrowly define Reformed by the confessions or should we take the approach proposed by Dr. Frame?]

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From Josh Burek of The Christian Science Monitor:

“There is a very clear resurgence of Calvinism,” says Steven Lemke, provost and a professor at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

The renewed interest arrives at a crucial inflection point for American religion. After reviewing a landmark opinion survey last year that showed a precipitous decline in the number of people who identify themselves as Christian, Newsweek declared ominously that we may be witnessing “the end of Christian America.”

In some ways, Newsweek may have understated the shift. Five hundred years after Martin Luther posted his 95 theses challenging the Roman Catholic Church, some religion watchers see not just a post-Christian America but an unraveling of the Protestant Reformation itself. Their alarm is rooted in surveys that show a watering down of Christian beliefs.

Now come the New Calvinists with their return to inviolable doctrines and talk of damnation – in essence, the Puritans, minus the breeches and powdered wigs. Is this just a moment of nostalgia or the beginning of a deeper revolt against the popular Jesus-is-our-friend approach of modern evangelicalism? Where, in other words, is Christianity going?

Josh goes on to say,

By most logic, the stern system of Calvinism shouldn’t be popular today. Much of modern Christianity preaches a comforting Home Depot theology: You can do it. We can help. Epitomized by popular titles like Joel Osteen’s “Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential,” this message of self-fulfillment through Christian commitment attracts followers in huge numbers, turning big churches into megachurches.

For the entire article, click here.

For similar articles, see New Calvinism: A Collection of Articles, Audio Messages, and Books

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The following is from Jonathan Dodson, Acts29 Pastor, on The Message of the Resurging Calvinism.  In this article Dodson believes there are 5 important distinctions driving the New Calvinist:

1. The Gospel is not Religion

2. The Gospel does not produce an Us vs. Them mentality in evangelism

3. The Gospel is bigger than a Fire Insurance Policy and encompasses all of life

4. The Gospel is not correlated with a particular Political Party.

5. The Gospel is driving people back to the city.

For an elaboration on all five of these points, you can find the rest of this article here at The Resurgence.

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Lillian Kwon, from the Christian Post, wrote

Hundreds of Reformed believers passionate about preaching the Scriptures and making Christ known have convened in Minneapolis for three days of talks centered on the life and teachings of 16th century reformer John Calvin.

Lamenting that many churches today have lost confidence in the truthfulness and authority of the Bible, Julius Kim, associate professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Seminary in California, called Christians to heed Calvin’s voice.

In concludin, Kwon reminds us:

As evangelicalism is seeing a growth of New Calvinists, Kim pointed out on Friday that Calvin ultimately didn’t want to produce Calvinists. He wanted to produce biblical Christians.

Go here for the entire article.

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The following is from Desiring God Blog:

John Piper, Collin Hansen, and Carolyn James discussed “the New Calvinists” on September 11 at the Religious Newswriters Association’s annual convention.  The panel was hosted by Julia Duin of the Washington Times.

For the videos from this conference, go here.

This past year Time Magazine contributor David Van Biema wrote that “The ‘New’ Calvinism” is the third most influential idea changing the world right now.  Since the release of this article, and even Collin Hansen’s book, there has been much said in favor and against this surge of “New” Calvinism.

A great conversation has begun across the blogosphere in regards to defining what exactly it means to be “Calvinist” or “Reformed.”  Personally, I have my own opinions, but this is neither the time nor place for that.

What follows is an ongoing list of articles, audio messages, and books relating in favor and against “New” Calvinism.  Moreover, since many of my fellow Christians – who consider themselves “Calvinist” or “Reformed”- contend that the continuation of the Spiritual Gifts cannot exist within a Calvinist or Reformed theological framework, I opted to provide some resources that beg-to-differ (If you believe otherwise, instead of commenting on this post, please comment elsewhere or contact me so that we may consider dialoguing on this particular issue.  Thanks in advance for your cooperation).

Although I’ve read and listened to the vast majority of articles, audio messages, and books below, this does not mean that I accept every jot-and-tittle said and written.  Personally, I consider myself a Christian who adheres to Orthodox Christianity, Reformed Theology (in other words, Calvinism), and the Continuation of the Spiritual Gifts.  Moreover, after reading numerous articles, books, and listening to many sermons on the discontinuation of the Spiritual Gifts, I must say that I’ve benefited tremendously from their insight in providing me balance in my own position.

In the end, may we heed the words of Kevin DeYoung, who said, “Please God, don’t let the New Calvinism ever, ever be about the New Calvinism…if the New Calvinism is to continue as a work of God, which I think it has been, it must continue to be about God.”

(P.S. If you’re aware of any articles, audio messages, and books that would contribute to this ongoing list, you can contact me or leave on a comment on this post with your suggestions). Read the rest of this entry »