Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Lest I be misunderstood

I think maybe I left the wrong impression in my previous post, Reformed Rhetoric. Let me clarify….

I love studying Reformed theology! I am looking forward to Together for the Gospel 2010 like I can’t even tell you. I am looking forward to the first meeting of the Mid-Michigan Reformation Society in August and having Dr. Beeke come speak to us in November. I love reading articles on monergism.com and I love reading (most) Reformed bloggers! I don’t find myself less convinced of the tenets of Reformed theology, I am actually finding myself more drawn to these great truths and the exaltation of a holy and sovereign God who loves His elect so much that He sent His Son to make propitiation for them on a cross. I certainly am not having a bonfire and burning my Calvin’s commentaries and Sproul books!

What I find less appealing is the subculture of being Reformed that has grown up around those who hold to some flavor of Reformed theology.

I don’t like the “us versus them” mentality, a school of thought that I have been a part of for a long time. I don’t like the smarminess and condescension we sometimes exhibit and that has been raised to the level of an art form by some. I really dislike the pomposity of some people who espouse their flavor of Reformed theology and denigrate others. I am very concerned about the hero worship of Reformed pastors/preachers/authors past and present. I don’t care for the blurring of the lines between actual Reformed theology and “Reformed” church practice as championed by certain bloggers (most notably one with the initials RSC). I am concerned most of all when we elevate being a “Reformed Christian” over being a non-Reformed Christian.

There are plenty of things that concern me about the Reformed subcultures we have developed, whether of the “old skool Dutch” Reformed traditions we see in bastions like Grand Rapids or in the more recent “young, restless, reformed” subculture. None of those concerns is a fault inherent in Reformed theology. All of them are the result of pride, something I am a bona fide expert on. There is nothing inherently incompatible with seeking a Biblical ecclesiology and holding to Reformed theology. Now if I can just convince my Reformed brethren of that….

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I knew you were a dirty rotten Arminian all along!

Steve Martin said...

Thanks be to God that we Lutherans aren't like that!

If anybody disagrees with us we let them have their say...before we banish them to the nether regions. (LCMS)

Actually, there are so many Lutherans who believe it's alright to believe in anything and everything that it leaves one speechless. (ELCA)

Arthur Sido said...

Josh,

Tough words from a dude who lists "Spiritual Mothering" on his reading list!

Renee said...

LOL
I think any of us who've been "around the block" a few times has run up against "theology thumpers" I guess I would call them! They are a special variety of Bible thumper!

I've been familiar with (and have believe in) the doctrines of Grace for a long time now and I'm still often surprised how much grace is lacking from a lot of people's "reformed theology".

I've experianced that lack of love to be much more pronounced when I've been faced with some serious life issue. I would venture to guess more people than we care to know have gone through that too.

To the credit of God though, it goes to prove He is capable of anything when we witness His saints walk the road out of domestic violence, out of child abuse, out of homosexuality, out of pornography! You know - all those type issues that most "Christians" won't touch with a 10 foot pole! A lot of people want to be sheilded from sin (their own included) as opposed to really being freed from it!

"Reformed theology" should do just that - it should reform the church!

Alan Knox said...

But "us vs. them" makes it so much easier... that way we know who our "neighbor" is, because it certainly isn't "them".

Another great post!

-Alan

Arthur Sido said...

Ms. Modest Fashion Cents,

I agree that there is often a lack of grace associated with the advocates of the doctrines of grace. I have found myself drifting away from the most virulent proponents of Reformed theology. I rarely read certain blogs that I used to read every day and I have pretty much stopped listening to The White Horse Inn. We all agree in principal that the Reformed should be the most humble but in reality that is often not the case. I am first in line on that admission.

I am not even sure that “Reformed” is the right word anymore as applied to the visible church gathering. Can we really reform something that is basically an extra-Biblical tradition? I am starting to like the word that Dave Black used in The Jesus Paradigm, when it comes to the church we should look to restore the church to its Biblical foundations and practices rather than trying to reform the church form that came from Rome.

Renee said...

Arthur

That's a good point about the fact that the goal isn't to "reform Rome". After all, redemption is far different than reformation!