{"id":4369,"date":"2009-02-18T06:00:32","date_gmt":"2009-02-18T06:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/2009\/02\/who-are-the-neoreformed-2.html"},"modified":"2009-02-18T06:00:32","modified_gmt":"2009-02-18T06:00:32","slug":"who-are-the-neoreformed-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2009\/02\/who-are-the-neoreformed-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Who are the NeoReformed? 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are looking at the rise of the NeoReformed; we began Monday<\/a> and this is part two. <\/p>\n

\"Calvin*.jpg\"<\/span>The NeoReformed movement of which I speak is an attempt to capture evangelicalism, redefine it by some clearly-defined doctrines that are Reformed, and kick the
\nrest of us — and there are lots more “of us” than the NeoReformed —
\noff the village green. When we are in need of profound degrees of
\ncooperation (as we see in someone like J.I. Packer), we are finding a
\ndivision of the evangelical village green. No, in fact, they are not
\ndividing the village green; they are constructing a Reformed fence
\naround it. (Well, maybe not. The impact of what I see going on with the
\nNeoReformed will result in a division of evangelicalism.)<\/p>\n

Are you sensing a division? one coming? Do you think there’s room in the tent for us all? What are the themes in theology that seem most divisive?<\/b><\/p>\n

Furthermore,
\nthe NeoReformed have come to equate the meaning of “gospel” with Calvin’s “Reformed
\ntheology.” And those who aren’t Reformed are somehow or in some ways
\ndenying the gospel itself. When gospel is equated with double predestination, often said in harsh terms, we are seeing a good example of the spirit
\nof a NeoReformed approach. This leads, inevitably,  to seeing what
\nthey call the “doctrines of grace” as defining both “gospel” and
\n“evangelical.”<\/p>\n


\n
The groups they’ve chosen to exclude witness to
\nthe new kind of Reformed. The sweeping impacts of the Finney revivals
\nand Wesleyan gospel preaching and the charismatics are simply not, in
\nthe view of the NeoReformed, evangelicals. Anabaptists aren’t even on
\nthe map. A number of historians have clearly demonstrated that evangelicalism in
\nthe USA cannot be properly understood without reference to the powerful
\nrevivals of the Wesleyans; one thinks of David Hempton or Donald Dayton. Their careful studies on the
\nrise of American evangelicalism are often ignored. The approach of Mark
\nNoll and David Bebbington, which is broader based than just a list of
\nReformed theological ideas, is also rejected as inaccurate.<\/p>\n

Oddly
\nenough, a group not formerly connected with evangelicalism, the
\nSouthern Baptists, have (from the Reagan years on) become increasingly
\nassociated with evangelicalism. And many of them are now advocating
\nvery strong forms of Calvinism — something previously not at all
\ncharacteristic of the SBC. I could be wrong here, but my own reading of
\nSouthern Baptist stuff over the years shows a dramatic rise of
\nCalvinism and a desire to be called evangelicals. I’m open to hear how the SBC see this trend. <\/p>\n

And here’s another issue: the NeoReformed are deeply concerned
\nwith complementarianism and see it as a test case of fidelity. Fine, argue your points, but
\ncomplementarianism is hardly the center of orthodoxy. You wouldn’t know
\nthat by the way they write or talk. Some see it as the litmus test of
\nevangelical orthodoxy these days. This grieves me. Don’t we have more significant battles to wage? <\/p>\n

And they also have chosen to make one
\nof their targets today the New Perspective on Paul, and for some odd
\nreason they’ve landed squarely on the door step of Tom Wright. They see
\nhim as the problem. The Problem. When Tom Wright is our problem, it
\nis we<\/b> who have the problem. I blurbed Tom Wright’s book recently with some strong words, and one blogger posted my blurb — a
\nblogger who had not read Tom Wright’s book — and it drew within one
\nday about 75 comments, and I’m pretty sure only one commenter on the
\nentire thread had read both Piper’s book and Wright’s book. The rest
\nwere pretty sure I was wrong. Those who were all riled up about the
\nblurb are the NeoReformed — ironically, they were wondering who I had
\nin mind when I used “NeoReformed” in the blurb. I thought that was
\nobvious.<\/p>\n

If I had to sum it up I’d put it this way: the
\nNeoReformed are those who are obsessed with God’s holiness and grace
\nand have not learned that grace makes people gracious. These folks are
\nAmerica’s newest religious zealots and they are wounding, perhaps for a
\ngeneration or two, evangelicalism.<\/p>\n

My brothers and sisters,
\nbecause God in his mercy has made room for all of us at the cross, there’s
\nroom enough for all of us on the village green. Grace would make it so. We might not be able to agree on theology or in some of the finer points of our confessions, but the village green — evangelicalism — is covered by a big tent, and there’s room for all of us who call ourselves evangelicals.<\/p>\n

What are options? I keep asking myself. Welcome one another in a common mission or send those we don’t agree with to another location?<\/p>\n

Make your decision. Our decision, friends, will shape the future of American evangelicalism. I pray to God we will find a way to focus on the mission of God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are looking at the rise of the NeoReformed; we began Monday and this is part two. The NeoReformed movement of which I speak is an attempt to capture evangelicalism, redefine it by some clearly-defined doctrines that are Reformed, and kick the rest of us — and there are lots more “of us” than the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-evangelicalism"],"yoast_head":"\nWho are the NeoReformed? 2 - Jesus Creed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2009\/02\/who-are-the-neoreformed-2.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Who are the NeoReformed? 2 - Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We are looking at the rise of the NeoReformed; we began Monday and this is part two. 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