SBC-Today (vs.) Free Will Baptist Theology

I won’t take up a lot of your time today with this topic, because quite honestly the Obsessed Anti-Calvinist over at SBC-Today do not deserve much of anyone’s time.  

However, I would like to ask, and answer, a question that has been repeatedly ask of me by up and coming Southern Baptist Pastors…

Here is the Question:  “What is the difference between the theology of the SBC-Today/New Traditionalist in the SBC, and Free Will Baptist Theology?      

Here is my Answer:  “Other than the Free Will Baptist being Theologically Consistent and Intellectually Honest, NOT MUCH!”

Grace for the Journey,      

Battle for the Baptist Faith and Message

With the momentous resurgence of Passionate Missionary Calvinism within the Southern Baptist Convention over the last few years, I guess it was just a matter of time before those who oppose this resurgence of Calvinism within the SBC began to question the strongly Calvinistic Statement of Faith of the SBC; the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.

Peter Lumpkin’s, an often vocal and aggressive critic of Calvinism on the blogs has recently posted an article titled Calvinists Critique Morris Chapman's Clarification: Part II in which he mostly criticizes Timmy Brister for his critique of Morris Chapman’s (somewhat infamous) comments to the convention this year in Louisville, KY where Chapman felt obligated to (once again) take a broad swipe at Calvinism in the SBC.

Now Peter, who is fast becoming known as an aggressive Anti-Calvinist and Anti-Alcohol “watch-dog” in the SBC, wasted no time in this article in going after Timmy Brister with both barrels blazing. Ironically, or should I say in typical fashion, in this article Peter is guilty of exhibiting toward Brister the exact attitudes he has accused Timmy of having toward Chapman. It appears that Peter is willing to allow himself the freedom to be critical of others in the SBC but would very much like to muzzle all other voices, especially those who speak out against those who abuse their positions in the SBC to advance their personal Anti-Calvinist or Anti-Alcohol agendas.

However, if Peter (who repeatedly refers to Brister as a “strict/stern/hyper Calvinist” and his Calvinism as “skewed”) wishes to engage in this tactic of “attacking” those who disagree with him, instead of debating the issues… well then he should not be shocked when others go after him in like fashion.

But more to the point of this post is something very disturbing that Peter says about the Southern Baptist statement of faith; The Baptist Faith and Message 2000. Now, Peter is notorious for (how shall I say this…) displaying “Extreme Gymnastic” skills in twisting the meaning of the English language, and playing “Fast and Loose” with his reinterpreting the meaning of words, grammar, and sentence structure as seen in his comment below.

“ And, so far as the BF&M is concerned, Timmy wants it to definitively teach regeneration precedes faith. I’ll bet that would be a new one on Adrian Rogers, Jerry Vines, and all the other non-Calvinists who worked on the revision committee.

Personally, I think the BF&M is rubbery enough to include strict Calvinists, modified Calvinists, and non-Calvinists among its supporters. For Brister, however, non-Calvinists and even modified Calvinists like Akin find no support there. It definitively teaches the theological tomfoolery that there exists an animal others have called a born-again unbeliever. ”

Here is what the Baptist Faith and Message actually says:

“ A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace.”

Peter appears to be reading this portion of the BFM2000 with blinders on, so I will put the part he appears to have a hard time reading in bold print.

"It (Regeneration) is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ"

That any man, with any degree of integrity, would attempt to tell Southern Baptist that our statement of faith does not in fact teach that regeneration precedes repentance is either a display of intellectual dishonesty, or crude arrogance… or both.

Peter’s strict/stern/hyper bias against Calvinism and all Calvinist is on full display in this article. And this salvo from the pen of Peter Lumpkin is a clear indication that the long war on Calvinism in the SBC is far from over, and in fact a new chapter in this war has just began; “The Battle for the Baptist Faith and Message”.

Grace Always,

Calvinist are not Christians?

Dr. James White addresses an accusation from a fan of Dave Hunt that Calvinist are not even Christians… and in his gracious and careful manner addresses six common questions concerning Calvinism that this seriously misinformed man ask.

I am reminded by this of the extreme danger of allowing works like Dave Hunt’s “What Love is This” to go unanswered. And why we must be ever ready to give a defense of “the faith once delivered to the saints”.

Apologetics can be wearing work and there are times when we all just want to throw up our hands and say how many times do we have to answer the same foolish questions… But the enemy does not rest and therefore we must not abandon the defense of truth no mater how weary we may become.

This is an excellent video message from Dr. James White on the Reformed understanding of Salvation. Click (here) to download and listen.

I highly recommend it!

Grace Always,

Calvinist Blasphemers

Recently I ran across a comment by one of those “Angry Anti-Calvinist”, who is ashamed to give his real name, while reading an article on Timmy Brister’s Blog that exemplified for me the impact, and danger to the SBC, of having prominent SBC Leader host and participate in such events as the recent John 3:16 Conference.

rey Says: December 11, 2008 at 10:32 pm

Cooperate with Calvinists and you make converts to ATHEISM, not Christianity. Going around telling people “Our god held a lottery and you lost–go burn now for his glory” can’t make Christians, only Atheists and Calvinist blasphemers.

I then followed the link to this “Angry Anti-Calvinist’s” Blog where I was treated to the following comment by rey/beowulf2k8:

A Hyper-Calvinist is a Calvinist who admits to believing what all Calvinists believe. A regular Calvinist is a Hyper-Calvinist trying to convince non-Calvinists by lies that he doesn’t believe what all Calvinists believe. All Calvinists believe that their god is the author of evil and that this god causes each and every sin that is committed then punishes the puppet for doing what he made it do, but that he also arbitrarily elected some puppets to escape punishment for what he made them do.

Posted by beowulf2k8 at 7:07 PM

How in the world can any Calvinist cooperate with this kind of an attitude? For cooperation to exist and flourish in the SBC there must be at the very minimum some decorum of civility, and acceptance of the views of the other side. What I see coming from the Anti-Calvinist is no desire for acceptance and cooperation with Calvinist, but instead only Anger, Rejection, and a strong desire to Exclude Calvinist whenever possible.

If this is the kind of attitudes that Jerry Vines Ministries is producing in the SBC then we are indeed headed for some very troubling days ahead.

Grace Always

More on the Anti-Calvinism in the SBC

Follow this link to read:

More on the Anti-Calvinism in the SBC

Just a reminder to Jerry Vines, Johnny Hunt, SWBTS, NOBTS, and all Southern Baptist… Our Non-Baptist Evangelical Christian Brothers are watching and listening to what our Seminary Professors and Denomination Leaders are saying.

Are you embarrassed yet? I Am!

Someone needs to tell these guys to STOP this war on Calvinism before serious and lasting damage is done to the SBC and the Evangelical Community as a whole.

Grace Always,

Old, Angry, and Arminian!

“Old, Angry, and Arminian” accurately describes how many Calvinist in the SBC view those who gathered at the now infamous John 3:16 Conference, sponsored by Jerry Vines Ministries and hosted by the President of the SBC, at First Baptist Church Woodstock Georgia. “Old, Angry, and Arminian” may seem like a provocative title, however seeing that the John 3:16 conference was itself provocative toward the Calvinist of the SBC, I am of the opinion that what is good for the goose is good for the gander. Yes, yes, I know these men do not claim to be Arminian; however “Old, Angry, and Pelagian” just does not have the same ring to it as “Old, Angry, and Arminian”. :-)

Dr. Allen, speaking at this conference is quoted as saying “Should the Southern Baptist Convention move toward 5-point Calvinism, such a move would be away from, and not toward, the gospel.” This statement was received, by the ‘cool-aid-drinkers’ who paid good money to hear this kind of diatribe, with a standing ovation. A standing ovation… let that sink in. These guys are; passionate, aggressive, and yes hyper anti-Calvinist. The new generation of Calvinist in the SBC has been described as “Young, Restless, and Reformed”. Those gathered at this conference came off as “Old, Angry, and Arminian (Anti-Reformed), and I’m of the opinion that their ongoing war against Calvinism will not end well for the SBC.

Let me be very clear in saying that Dr. Allen is “Dead Wrong” in his analysis of what a return to 5-point Calvinism would mean for the SBC. In truth, should the Southern Baptist Convention move away from 5-point Calvinism, as Dr. Allen suggest, such a move would be away from, and not toward, the Gospel at all. Actually the SBC moved away from 5-point Calvinism at the turn of the 19th century and embraced a; Semi-Pelagian, Decisional Regeneration, False Gospel. And today in the SBC we have children being baptized in fire trucks with all the lights flashing and the bells ringing, and children at VBS putting their pictures in the basket marked “Heaven” instead of the burning barrel marked “Hell” and then told they are now saved. No, Dr. Allen we have seen what a move away for 5-point Calvinism produces and we want nothing to do with it.

I am in full allegiance with Spurgeon when he says“Calvinism is the Gospel!” And when you take any one of the 5-points away you diminish the Gospel and in truth you have no Gospel at all… what you have is Semi-Pelagianism or full blown Pelagianism, both of which have been condemned as preversions of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (heresy).

More than a few bloggers have posted reviews of this conference; for their views see: (Andrew Lindsey, John Mark, Timmy Brister, and Justin Taylor).


Grace Alwasys,

Warning - They are Out There!

On the “SBC Voices” blog last night I ran across (or got ran over by) one of the most angry, aggressive, and belligerent, Anti-Calvinist I have come across in a long time. I post this not because this person said anything new, (I have heard all this before) but I post this because of my growing concern that such “hate” is being fostered in the SBC by those who hold conferences in order to “Address Calvinism in the SBC”.

This person posted under the name of Jeannie and left no means of contact (note, Jeannie is probably not this persons real name). This person came in late on the discussion (comments #44, #47) but wasted no time in making his/her belligerent views toward Calvinism known.


Comment #44

Jeannie 11.18.08 at 9:45 pm

The best thing a church can do is preach the Gospel of God, not the gospel
of John Calvin. Since they’re the opposite, the choice should be easy to the one who ‘believes’ the Word (God) is Sovereign (the truth).

It hard to believe that God was Sovereign to Mr. Calvin when in his opinion (judgment) of the Word at John 6:29, he says, “First, it is plain enough that Christ does not speak with strict accuracy, when he calls faith a work, just as Paul makes a comparison between the law of faith and the law of works,” (See Calvin’s opinion of the inspired Word of truth by Paul at Romans 3:27.)

Unlike Pilate, Mr. Calvin saw fault in the Word (Christ), and reformed (corrected) it/him to fit a faith of his own (that faith ‘is not’ a work to be accounted as merited by a man and rewarded). (See Abraham at Gal 3:6/James 2:23 and Heb 11:6)

Anyway, Calvinism isn’t called the “reformed” faith for
nothing. I for one refuse to have my faith (the Word of God) reformed
(corrected) by any man.

… (remainder omitted)

Comment #47

Jeannie 11.19.08 at 12:32 am

Do you believe Calvin practiced doctrines of Grace? If so, you haven’t studied his life. As the sovereign of Geneva, his grace was cruel. Whereas Christ died for the ungodly, Calvin burned them instead.

No Calvinist should complain that he’s not well received in other churches, be they Southern Baptist or whatever. WHAT are they doing in our churches anyway? We don’t want their doctrines and they don’t want ours. As far as our churches go, Calvinists need to mind their own business, like the other Christian cults do.

2 Pet 2:1-3 explains Calvinists in our churches….

Comments Anyone?

Voddie Baucham on The SBC and Calvinism

Voddie Baucham has posted an article titled “The SBC and Calvinism: A Personal Perspective”.

Voddie writes of his fall from grace with the powers that be within the SBC “I was still part of the gang. That is, until I came out of the closet. No... I’m not gay. It’s far worse than that. I’m a Calvinist! That’s right, I’m a fire-breathing, TULIP believing, five-point Calvinist. That, my friends, is the unpardonable sin in contemporary Southern Baptist life…”

If you still believe that there is not a war being waged by the powers that be in the SBC against the Calvinist of the convention then don’t take my word for it… go read Voddie’s article for yourself.

Grace Always,

Calvinism in the SBC- An Open Letter to Johnny Hunt and Jerry Vines

Todd Burus has written an Open Letter to Johnny Hunt and Jerry Vines concerning the wisdom of the John 3:16 Conference...

This letter was written on October 6, 2008 and what has Todd heard from the President of the SBC and Jerry Vines... "Crickets"

That in itself is very telling about these two men...

You can read Todd's letter here: Calvinism in the SBC- An Open Letter to Johnny Hunt and Jerry Vines

Also we have learned that both the Founders Ministries and Rc Sproul's Legonier Ministries requested booth space at this conference and were turned down. What does the President of the SBC have to say about this extremely un-courteous if not openly hostile behavior by either the staff of First Baptist Church Woodstock Georgia or the staff of Jerry Vines Ministries? Whichever staff was handling this event Johnny Hunt is responsible as it was held at his Church under his authority.

The more we learn about this John 3:16 Conference the more one must question the wisdom of all those Calvinist who voted for Dr. Hunt to become President of the SBC?

Grace Always

A Seminary Student’s Thoughts on the John 3:16 Conference

JohnMark has put up a short yet excellent summary of what the John 3:16 Conference held at Johnny Hunts Church in Woodstock Ga. was really all about…

I was going to write a post on this Conference, but for some reason I never got around to it… probably because I am soooooooo tired of all this “Hatred” of Calvinism coming from these Anti-Calvinist... Particularly Jerry Vines!

A quote form James White:

“If you can evangelize, call men to Christ, believe in common grace, etc., and still end up smeared by the "hyper" name, then clearly the debate has devolved down to a level beneath what is proper for believers.”

As I have commented on other blogs, I am pretty much through with these guys and I do not intend to ever again attend an event or conference where a single one of them are speaking, nor will I ever recommend SWBTS or NOBTS as a good choice for a young man or woman to attend seminary. And I plan to be around for a least another 40 or more years, so I hope to be advising the next generation of where to attend Seminary for many years after the above mentioned Anti-Calvinist are long gone home to be with the Lord.

Anyway, here is the link to the excellent summary of the John 3:16 Conference… you really should go read it.

A Seminary Student’s Thoughts on the John 3:16 Conference

The Anti-Calvinist!

Pastor John Sneed of Davenport, Iowa, writes on the clear and present danger of the Anti-Calvinist in our midst...

You really should read this article!

http://semperdeogloria.blogspot.com/2008/06/anti-calvinists-it-is-humbling-and.html

Grace Always,
Greg Alford

Anti-Calvinist Elected SBC President!

One of the most vocal Anti-Calvinist the SBC has to offer has been elected President with 52% of the vote on the first ballot…

Ted Traylor, pastor of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, Fla., who nominated Johnny Hunt, says “Hunt will unite the convention and forge a hopeful future”… What world has Ted Traylor been living in?

If by “uniting the convention” Traylor means that the election of a full blown Anti-Calvinist and further alienating the Young Reformed Generation that is abandoning the SBC in droves those who are left will be more united, then he is probably right.

I will hold off commenting more on this until I have time to digest fully what this will mean for the Reformed movement in the SBC… But this I know “It is a very dark day in the SBC for the Reformed Movement!”… as I seriously doubt a single Calvinist will be nominated to serve on any BOT by Johnny Hunt over the next two years.

Grace Always,