Letter to the Editor – 6 January 2012

Greetings in the name of Christ!

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As an avid reader of the Christian Observer for many years now, I look forward to the end of each week and the newest edition. The CO’s analysis and reporting of the news of the church is often second to none, and a great benefit to the church as a whole.

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Because of this, it pains me to read the article by Mr. Cloud being posted in such a storied periodical.  True enough, those from outside our fellowship can often have much insightful information and can point out things we Calvinists can miss.  All truth is indeed from God, and He can speak through whomever He wishes, even a pagan like Baalam.  So I read the article with an open mind.  Keep in mind I agree with much if the movement in question, but the church I attend does have Sunday Schools, Nursery, and Youth Group (though my family and I do not take part, and have not been questioned for our decision).

Well, the invective coming off of Rev. Cloud’s keyboard continued to grow as I read it.  His attacks against the doctrines of grace are less than gracious.  Also, though he is not a Ruckmanite lunatic, and claiming that he is open to updating the AV by the “proper people,” he has time and again rejected any attempts to do so (even works based on the Received Text such as the NKJV), saying: “I do not believe any changes need to be made in the KJV nor do I believe any changes should be made in the KJV.” (http://www.wayoflife.org/database/riplingerslanders.html)

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He also is good at painting things in a broad brushstroke.  True, there are extremists “associated” with Vision Forum (VF), but then again every movement has its extremists.  Indeed, I submit that the Integrated Church Movement (ICM) has far fewer extremists per capita than the Fundamental Baptist movement represented by Mr. Cloud.  Anyone who has read or listened to VF’s materials with an open mind (and not using them to promote an agenda) will see that those involved love the church of Christ and seek its growth and development.  Indeed, strengthening of the family unit is a basis for growing the church, from within and without.  Indeed, Cloud openly declares the organization of denominations “error” at best, lumping Presbyterians and organized Baptists in with Romanists, Lutherans, and other groups.

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I would submit that there is no neglect of world missions; indeed as history has shown, Reformed Evangelists (David Livingston, William Carey, Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield) who trust in divine sovereignty rather than human effort and “scaring the fire out of people” grow the church in a far greater and more enduring way.  He calls dominionism a “heresy” as he is a dispensationalist, and promotes the idea the world is only going to get worse, and seems to think Christians trying to change the world around them for good is “heresy” and that good Christians should just huddle in their little worlds and wait for an imminent Rapture.  He openly agrees with Moody’s belief that we just need to “save people” from a “sinking ship”.

Look at the ideas he calls “heresy” in this article

– Calvinism (!)

– Trying – by the Spirit’s power – to make the world a better place by Biblical principle (“Dominionism”)

– The belief that we should even in some way shape or form live by the Ten Commandments

– The denial of his dispensational view that Christ is ready to rapture everyone out and the world is “going to hell” in a handbasket.  (Postmils, many Amils, and even Historic Premils would all be heretics)

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All of these views that he calls “heresy” permeate the Westminster Standards, the Three Forms of Unity, and the Baptist Confession of 1689, which we as Reformed people should cherish.  Even most Romanists are more sober than this in their critiques of Calvinism!

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This article is NOT written in a “dispassionate, objective, and respectful manner”. It is a polemic, and an invective thrown ostensibly against a movement within the church, but ultimately seems to be his vehicle for attacking the very core principles the Reformed Presbyterian church holds to, and claims to continue to cherish!  We are not

– “likely poles apart theologically with Mr. Cloud”

– to him we are heretics preaching a doctrine destructive to Christianity!

I am saddened and troubled that there seems to be such a hostility to the Family Integrated Church movement, that you would deem it acceptable to post an article from such an avowed hater of all things Reformed to get a point across.  You could have done much better, and there are critics of the ICM who have engaged in fruitful dialogue rather than such bile.

Sincerely,

Johnathan Tate, Sr.

Fairivew, NC

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[Editor’s Response: To paraphrase Strother Martin’s road gang captain character in the 1967 movie Cool Hand Luke, “What we’ve got here is the editor’s failure to communicate.” Looking back with 20/20 hindsight, there should have been a better explanation about why this article was published.

The descriptive phrase “dispassionate, objective, and respectful manner” was a poor way of describing only David Cloud’s style of prose, and not the web of logical fallacy, unsubstantiated over-generalization, and theological flotsam Cloud uses in his writings. The editor was subconsiously making a comparison to the prose style of now-Arlington Baptist College (Texas) vice president Ergen Caner’s bumbling “Calvinists are worse than Muslims” playground insult style of theological invective.

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The editor’s reason for publishing the article was not to disparage Vision Forum or Calvinism, nor was it an endorsement of the theology of David Cloud. The reason the article was published was to bring to the attention of the Presbyterian and Reformed community an example of the characterizations and distortions of Calvinism and the movements within the P&R community coming out of fundamentalist and other theological circles. If one thinks that the subject Cloud article is particularly “out there”, just Google “David Cloud Calvinism” and take look at the results.

The point that the editor was trying to make, but did not effectively communicate, is that that there are a lot of people that read Cloud’s articles and take them at face value, and that the content of the subject article is demonstrative of the distortions of Scripture that we in the P&R community will face when we deal with the wider visable church.

One final point to Mr. Tate and to anyone else that takes umbrage at anything in the Christian Observer or in Presbyterians Week – please let the editor know! More than two years after the death of Christian Observer publisher the Rev. Dr. Edwin Elliott, the editor still reflects on how much he learned from the oversight of his dear friend and brother in Christ. The editor will continue the effort to fill the editorial shoes of Dr. Elliott, but will only move closer to that goal by the direction of the Holy Spirit and by the iron sharpening iron of fellow Christians like Mr. Tate. – Bob Williams, Managing Editor]

P.S. – Mr. Tate recommends the following articles that will help in understanding the “big picture” surrounding these issues: