Glaring Inconsistencies

For reasons which I cannot explain, I have been receiving both Revival Fires and The Sword of the Lord newspapers for several months. For those of you who are unfamiliar with these two publications, they are published by two different 'camps' in the Independent Fundamental Baptist movement on a monthly basis. I can only assume that someone who has been privy to my ascent out of the IFB denomination is getting me these in an attempt to win me back to the movement. I can assure you, whoever you may be, that it has quite the opposite effect.

There are always fun things to read when we receive these in the mail. One time there was a sermon that was built around the assumption that all evil comes from the west because the sun sets in the west (who knew?). There are also interesting sections of the newspapers such as 'NOT FOR LADIES (Just for Men)' emphasis theirs and 'Helps for the Helpmeet'. These probably deserve their own blog post so we'll just leave those alone for now.

This months Sword of the Lord (Vol. LXXVI No. 24 - Nov. 26, 2010) was especially interesting to me. They have been running (for seven months now) an ongoing article entitled "The Case Against Calvinism" where they have attempted to build a, you guessed it, case against Calvinism. They have disparaged the character of John Calvin, written how all five points of the so-called TULIP are evil and claimed that all Calvinists hate evangelism with a burning passion. The problem isn't that they are against what they call Calvinism, because there are many Christians who hold to that way of thinking, the problem is in their amazing inconsistency. In this months issue in the bottom right hand corner of the front page is the seventh installment of their 'Case Against Calvinism'. Fine. It's what's in the upper left hand corner of the front page that is so disturbing. Directly diagonal from their seventh installment of 'The Case Against Calvinism' is a sermon entitled 'Only Trust Him' by none other that Charles H. Spurgeon. AMAZING! I wonder why they didn't publish Spurgeon's sermon entitled 'A Defense of Calvinism' instead? You see, Spurgeon was an unashamed Calvinist. Here are some quotes if you have any doubts, "It is no novelty, then, that I am preaching; no new doctrine. I love to proclaim these strong old doctrines that are called by nickname Calvinism, but which are truly and verily the revealed truth of God as it is in Christ Jesus." (Spurgeon's Sovereign Grace Sermons, Still Waters Revival Books, p. 170). And, "Calvinism did not spring from Calvin. We believe that it sprang from the great Founder of all truth." (Charles Spurgeon, Sermons, Vol. 7, p. 298). There is no legitimate denying that Charles Spurgeon was, in fact, a full-on five point Calvinist and he made no bones about it.

What is the big deal? Nothing, other than the fact that the SOTL has spent the last seven months building their case against calvinism (which is fine) only to publish one of the more outspoken calvinists of the 19th century on the same front page as the seventh installment. It is this kind of glaring inconsistency that is prevalent in this separatist movement, but rarely if ever called out within the movement itself because of blind faith in the so-called man of God, or for fear of the consequences of asking questions. It is glaring inconsistencies such as this one that takes these publications (and the IFB movement itself) from simply being arrogant and isolationist to being not credible with anyone outside of the four walls of their denomination.

1+1 never equals 3. No matter how much you print it, or how loud you yell it from a pulpit.

Think. Love. Live.

Trevor W.