The world’s abuzz about the “New Calvinists” but are they really new? Are we not talking about the same old “new light”, “new school”, Awakening, Revivalist, democratized, populist Calvinism that has been the dominated, (despite the efforts of Old Westminster, and really Old Princeton) the Reformed wing of evangelicalism for the last two and a half centuries? By “new” does Time mean “the same old thing” sans neck ties and proper grooming habits?
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What an atrocious article. Who is this van biema guy? Sounds like a disenchanted student of Jamie whats-his-face Radical Orthodoxy guy.
Robinson’s Gilead gives an excellent portrayal of the sociological drift post civil war from Calvinism to Methodism. It had a great deal more to do with frail human causes like war exhaustion than it did with high minded theological disputes.
What’s new is that these Calvinists don’t seem to know Calvin. They know Piper, and he mediates Edwards to them. But aside from the boys at Southern Baptist Seminary who actually know history, the new Calvinists only seem to know twentieth-century pastors.
Do you have a classification for Phil Ryken, or Paul Tripp, or the late James M. Boice? As a member of Tenth Presbyterian in Philly I hear good preaching from the former two, and I sing, or at least hear, hymns written by Dr. Boice, and I see his widow at church. Tenth Presbyterian also sponsors an annual conference on Reformed theology which meets in four locations. Dr. Ryken will also speak at the celebration of Calvin’s birth in Europe this coming July. Tenth’s main adult Sunday School class is devoting this quarter to the life of John Calvin.
Phil Ryken has a book out about Calvinism. I sent him and Dr. Paul Jones (Tenth’s minister of music) an e-mail saying that two features of John Calvin’s ministry were a capella singing of the Psalms and a willingness to enforce the first table of God’s law as well as the second.
I like Phil Ryken. I pray the same prayer for him as others have prayed for Billy Graham. “Lord, keep this man humble.” After being RPCNA for a long time, it’s an amazing experience being a member of church with much influence in the United States and all over the world.
And, yes, there are things about the RPCNA I miss. My local newspaper reported that in late March there is a toad crossing of one the streets in northwest Philly. The residents look for the line of toads and then contact the city to stop traffic for that day. Hence no need for the lament:
O Tom the toad, O Tom the toad
Why did you have to cross the road?…..
May we glory in Christ’s resurrection!
There’s nothing new here except for a newfound popularity for the ‘five points’ (few enough still for the PowerPoint age, I suppose) and a new detachment from the historic development of the Church (since the big names are newer).
I do appreciate the lessening of phobia for the word ‘predestination’, since in the public imagination the word’s Calvinist but apparently not biblical, pace Paul in Ephesians.