If you're looking for some inspiration and empowerment in your life, look no further than this article at The Resurgence.
In it, Dr. Ortlund, by the sheer power of his word, has created a definition of "Reformed" which has trumped that of thousands upon thousands of Reformed Christians for about half a millenia. His creational fiat has triumphed over creeds, confessions, and catechisms. It truly is Ortlund Time!
He has inspired me to embrace postmodernism and do likewise. In the face of official documentation, I declare that Dr. Ortlund's first name is "Sally", making him Dr. Sally Ortlund Jr. Furthermore, I myself classify The Resurgence as Roman Catholic, even though they don't submit to the Pope. I'll simply refer to them as The Romanist Resurgence for short. I laugh in the face of historical definitions!
I just love being postmodern. It allows me to create definitions to suit my own tastes. You should join the fun! But watch out for bullies like Daryl Hart and R. Scott Clark. They want the Reformed Church to define what it means to be Reformed (here also).
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4 comments:
@Zac:
have fun with the "New Calvinists", also known as New Evangelicalism version 2.0!
Ha, funny post. I read his article and I understand what he's saying, I don't think he was actually trying to redefine 'reformedness'. He was just warning Christians who consider themselves reformed not to feel pride in their theological correctness, right? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?
I think you're partially right. His intention is partially to warn against pride and hypocrisy. But the people he has in his cross-hairs are those that are "Reformed", not Christians in general.
Here's the quick background (overly simplified) to this controversy. Perhaps, this will shed some light on what I'm getting at. In the 16th century, the Lutherans rejected the doctrinal position on the Lord's Supper that a bunch of churches commonly held. Rather than being a united church coming out of the Reformation, there became two groups (excluding the heretics), i.e., Lutherans and Reformed. The "rejects", who were doctrinally united and networked together, were known as the Calvinists or Reformed Church. These churches composed confessions and creeds, which have been held for nearly 500 years, and the name "Reformed" (or "Calvinists") has always been used to refer them.
In the 18th century, in America, a phenomena called the Second Great Awakening took place. It emphasized religious experience over the content of your faith (doctrine). Evangelicals in the States and, to an extent, in Europe are heirs to this perspective. Church doctrine and membership is not the mark of being a Christian; having a religious experience is.
Ortlund is not a minister in the Reformed Church, nor could he be if he so desired. He is more an heir to the Second Great Awakening. He's one of a group of ministers that have discovered what are called the "Five Points of Calvinism". They've begun to call themselves "Reformed/Calvinists", because they think that Reformed = 5 points. Then, when people (like myself, and people who are much smarter than me) take exception to this, they object that they're being narrow, exclusive, and acting like a Judaizer.
We Reformed shouldn't find any reason to be proud (although we struggle with that because we're still sinful). The faith we hold teaches the exact opposite. But that doesn't mean that it's ok for him (or Piper or Driscoll) to use "Reformed" to refer to whatever they would like. The universe doesn't revolve around them; they're not free to redefine words that have an historical pedigree and common meaning all around the world.
What's at stake is the identity of important ecclesiastical bodies around the world and the doctrinal tradition that undergirds it. My fear is that people will be fooled into thinking that Reformed simply menas, "the 5 points of Calvinism", and then they will fail to investigate and appreciate the true depth of the Reformed system of doctrine,
which would be to their spiritual joy and maturity.
[This part was too long to fit on the previous comment.]
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