Fundamentalist Against the Calvinists: Here We Go Again

The first article is not much. The second link, the letter from the president of a Fundamentalist seminary carries much more weight.

FWIW, I think the president is right on the money, and the behavior he castigates we see on this board often.

Telling is this paragraph:

 

I'm going to hazard an unsupported opinion here.

I'm remembering 40 years ago in my own church, where my pastor, a strong conservative, identified with the Fundamentalists more than he did the less-conservative Southern Baptist Convention (although the church itself was SBC to the core) I can remember copies of John R. Rice's Sword of the Lord newspaper being available. Jack Hyles (FBC Hammond, Indiana) was held out as a model to follow for the bus ministry and personal soul-winning. Dr. Elmer Townes (now a dean at Liberty U) was the expert in church growth. Fundamentalists also promoted a personal purity that was attractive to many. In the 1960s and 1970s it was easy to be against long hair and short skirts and other marks of unholy living.

And there wasn't a Calvinist in a carload. One reason (but not the only reason) was that Calvinism was seen as not very evangelistic; it killed soul-winning; and was anti-missionary. Never mind the theological arguments; it if discouraged evangelism, it was bad.

Seems to me that today, IFBs may not embrace Calvinism, but there is less hostility to it. Part of the reason may be that many openly Reformed churches are growing, are out-reach oriented, totally missional and evangelistic. Methods may differ, but the goal is the same.

And though the number is growing, the SBC is a long way from being majority Reformed. But the Conservative Resurgence made it possible for many Fundamentalist churches to find a home there. Dr. Falwell's Thomas Road Church, for instance, now affiliated with the SBC.

One IFB church in my city has also affiliated with the SBC.

Southern Seminary has a distinct Calvinist reputation, led by President Mohler; but other SBC seminaries have not followed suit. But some of the students have discovered the Doctrines of Grace (DoG hereafter).

I'll not develop this thought, but the return to inerrancy in the SBC as also contributed to the rise of interest and embrace of DoG.

If Calvinism and Fundamentalism are not yet bosom buddies, there appears to be a thawing of the atmosphere to allow some degree of co-existence.

 

As a southern baptist I wish all baptists, the ibc, the primitive, all of us, would put our differences aside and embrace each other. I've been guilty of talking down about other baptists and I know that's dead wrong. We quarral with each other more then we do with methodists or any other denomination.

 

I wonder what all the quarreling has gotten us?

A black eye? A lack of missionary service? Lowered offerings to support the work of the church?

It would be almost fun to see which churches are growing or crowing... I would almost expect that those churches where the issue is to be "against" almost everything are shrinking out of sight while those who are "for" Christ, the Word, and missions evangelism are growing.

 

Charismatic churches seem to be growing fastest.