Neo-reformed and proud of it.

But he’s got a big point here. As a non-Calvinist who simply can’t see the biblical basis or theological attraction for the dogma, I’ve dealt all my life with condescending remarks about the seriousness of my faith or the sufficiency of my theological understanding. Those remarks used to bug me; as they persist, they bewilder me.

Good questions. I just answered them over at your site.

Like you, I’m a big fan of Scot’s work, but I think he overstates his case in this instance and applies a bit of double standard. At the same time, I give him a lot of credit for critiquing emerging-ites like McLaren, Bell and Burke when others within the movement will not.

The way I see it, Calvinists and Emergents can certainly drive each other crazy, but they both have some valid points from time to time. If we could find a way to de-escalate this family feud within evangelicalism, we’d all be better off.

If you’re interested, I came up with 5 questions for each group to consider. Scot was gracious enough to offer a response and I’d love to hear yours.

http://thecommonloon.blogspot.com/2009/02/fued-rages-on-five-questions-for.html

” Full of grace and truth “. We need both. Randy Alcorn has a good book called ” The Grace and Truth Paradox “. Here are some relevant quotes.

‘ Truth without grace breeds a self righteous legalism that poisons the church and pushes the world away from Christ. Grace without truth breeds moral indifference and keeps people from seeing their need for Christ ‘

‘ Most sinners loved being around Jesus. They enjoyed His company, sought Him out, invited Him to their homes and parties. Today most sinners don’t want to be around Christians. Unbelievers tore off the roof to get to Jesus. Sometimes they crawl out the windows to get away from us! Why is that? What did Jesus show them that we don’t? Grace. People sensed that Jesus loved them, even when He spoke difficult words. He was full of grace and truth. ‘

‘ Somethings wrong if all unbelievers hate us. Somethings wrong if all unbelievers like us. If we accurately demonstrate grace and truth, some will be drawn to us and others will be offended by us- just as they were by Jesus.
When we offend everybody, it’s because we’ve taken on the truth mantle without grace. When we offend nobody, it’s because we’ve watered down truth in the name of grace. ‘

‘ When you stand for truth, you’re held in contempt by some non-Christians ( and even some Christians). When you try to demonstrate grace, you’re held in contempt by some Christians (and even some non-Christians). When you try to live by grace and truth, in some eyes you’ll be too radical, in other eyes not radical enough ‘.

‘ Truth without grace breeds self righteousness and crushing legalism. Grace without truth breeds deception and moral compromise ‘.
– Randy Alcorn

I think we should becareful of trying to shape Jesus into our own image or in the image of our favorite preacher or pastor or theologian or some other personality.

Some of the rest of us have not been so lucky. I’m sure most Neo-reformed if pressed will deny that these caricatured beliefs apply to them. However if you watch their life, practice, emphasis, rhetoric, emotional energy, etc. . . it’s hard to say these issues aren’t central for them to the point of being a “necessary condition” for salvation.