Wittenburg Wednesday: Is Calvinism on the Rise?

This week’s Wittenburg Wednesday discussion will center around the topic of Calvinism.  Is Calvinism on the rise?  David Cloud says yes.  Here is an excerpt from a recent e-mail sent out by his Way of Life ministry:

CALVINISM ON THE MARCH AMONG EVANGELICALS

A report in Christianity Today for September 2006 was entitled “Young, Restless, Reformed: Calvinism Is Making a Comeback–And Shaking up the Church.” It documents the rapid spread of Calvinism in Evangelical circles, and I am seeing the same thing among Fundamentalists.

The report cites John Piper, R.C. Sproul, R. Albert Mohler, Louie Giglio, Joshua Harris, J.I. Packer, and the Puritans as among the chief influences responsible for the upsurge in Calvinism. Piper’s book “Desiring God” has sold more than 275,000 copies.

The trend toward the acceptance of Calvinism is evident at leading evangelical seminaries such as Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Under the direction of Al Mohler, Southern Seminary has become “a Reformed hotbed” and is turning out “a steady flow of young Reformed pastors.”

Writing in SBC Life, Malcolm Yarnell, associate professor of systematic theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, observed that TULIP theology is causing division in churches. Steve Lemke, provost of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, warns: “I believe that [Calvinism] is potentially the most explosive and divisive issue facing us in the near future. It has already been an issue that has split literally dozens of churches, and it holds the potential to split the entire convention” (“The Future of Southern Baptists as Evangelicals,” April 2005). Lemke says that “the newest generation of Southern Baptist ministers” is “the most Calvinist we have had in several generations.” He warns that Calvinism can result in a lowered commitment to evangelism, saying: “For many people, if they’re convinced that God has already elected those who will be elect … I don’t see how humanly speaking that can’t temper your passion, because you know you’re not that crucial to the process.”

Cloud also asserts this is not only the case among Evangelicals, but even among Fundamental Baptists:

CALVINISM ALSO ON THE MARCH AMONG FUNDAMENTALISTS

A few years ago I visited the Bob Jones University bookstore and was amazed at the large number of volumes that were available on Puritanism, and there is no warning about the Reformed theology. I thought to myself at the time that this probably signifies that many BJU teachers and graduates are being influenced by Puritan theology.

Since then I have seen growing evidence of this. I know of formerly non-Calvinist Baptist churches that have become Calvinistic after BJU graduates were called to the pastorate. On a recent trip to Australia I was shown a publication (“Why Read the Puritans Today”) that was sent out to an independent Baptist mailing list by a BJ graduate. The booklet lists 10 reasons for the renewed interest in Puritanism. The recommendation was not accompanied by any warning about Reformed theology and its attendant Calvinism and Amillennialism. I don’t know if this BJ grad is a Calvinist, but he is certainly helping to promote Calvinism with this type of thing.

And this is not something limited to those associated with Bob Jones. In 2005 an extensive survey was done of “young fundamentalists.” Entitled “Young Fundamentalists’ Beliefs and Personal Life,” the survey results are available online at http://www.sharperiron.org/ downloads/ 2005%20Young%20Fundamentalists%20Survey%20Results.pdf. For the purposes of the survey, a “young fundamentalist” is one who is under 35 years old. The survey contained 135 questions pertaining to life and doctrine, and roughly 1,100 surveys were completed. The vast majority of respondents identified themselves with three fundamentalist schools: Bob Jones University (29%), Maranatha Baptist Bible College (22%), and Northland Baptist Bible College (21%). When it comes to Calvinist views, an amazing 58% of the respondents hold a Calvinist view of sovereign election, with another 8% unsure. THUS ONLY ABOUT 35% OF THE RESPONDENTS TO THE FUNDAMENTALIST SURVEY REJECT CALVINISM. Some 14% of the respondents hold to either amillennial (8%) or postmillennial (5%) views, which goes hand in hand with Reformed theology. I believe we will see this percentage increase in coming days, with a growing rejection of the pre-millennial, pre-tribulation position.

When someone put the original edition of my article on the growth of Calvinism (from our Friday Church News Notes) on the Shaperiron.org web site as a blog, there were 16 pages of responses and most of the replies were either in favor of or sympathetic toward Calvinism or were neutral. Many of them ridiculed me in a fashion that I have found to be typical among “young” Calvinists. A haughty smirkness characterized many of the responses.

You can read Cloud’s entire e-mail on the subject here(just a quick note, Cloud has consistently denied requests to debate this topic with Calvinist James White, click here for his response). 

Ever since I was a Bible College student at PCC, it does seem that Calvinism has began making more inroads.  Even at PCC, there was what I would call a “hip Calvinist underground” among students known for their intellectual acuteness - the ones who actually thought through issues.  For some reason, this told hold mostly in the Speech department as opposed to the Bible majors.  I always found that interesting.

 I remember being infatuated with Calvinism myself, beginning back in those days.  For a long time I would refer to myself as a 5-pointer.  Though these days I would not wish to be associated with that title,  in my heart of hearts I would still have to confess to “Calvinistic tendencies.” 

So, have you noticed some of the same things?  Is Calvinism on the rise?  Is this a bad thing?  Is this just an intellectual issue valuable only to “coffee shop theologians?”  How much, if any, division does this cause?  Should it be an issue to divide over?  Does Calvinism lead to theological smugness or pride?

There are your topics, have at it!