Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Literalism and the Rejection of Messiah
Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., Th.D., Director, NiceneCouncil.com & ApologeticsGroup.com
The Error of Dispensational Literalism
The two cornerstones of dispensationalism are: (1) Israel and the Church must be kept distinct as two separate peoples of God throughout all eternity. (2) Scripture must be interpreted literalistically unless it would lead to absurdity. Both of these foundational premises are absolutely erroneous. In this blog I will briefly demonstrate the tragedy of literalism for both first century Israel and present-day dispensationalism.
Dispensationalists proudly point out that first century Jewish rabbis interpreted the Old Testament literalistically. In fact, this claim is often made at the beginning of their argument for literalism in an effort to establish the historical nature of their hermeneutic. For instance, Dallas Seminary’s J. Dwight Pentecost asserts: "The prevailing method of interpretation among the Jews at the time of Christ was certainly the literal method of interpretation" (Things to Come, 17). Popular and prolific dispensational author Malcolm Ollie Couch, Jr. agrees: "Jewish orthodoxy generally interpreted the Old Testament literally" (Popular Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy, 148).
Unfortunately, literalism was not only a tragedy for the Jews, but is an embarrassment to their best friends, the dispensationalists. (And through dispensationalism’s behemoth presence in American Christian circles, an embarrassment to evangelical theology.) Let us see how this is so. CLICK HERE TO KEEP READING....
TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2009
The Man of Lawlessness
by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., Th.D., Director, NiceneCouncil.com
Len, a reader of my last blog ("The Problem of Antichrist") noted: "One area that wasn't mentioned in your article (unless I missed it) was 2 Thessalonians 2 where Paul talks about the "falling away" and the "lawless one." This seems to be one of the first places that dispensationalists go to support their argument for the anti-Christ and all that goes with his rise to power."
Introductory Comments
He is correct. Dispensationalists have a handful of favorite passages to color in their gloom-and-doom with appropriately dark hues. And this is one of them. Unfortunately for them, scholars note this passage's exceptional difficulty. Augustine writes regarding a certain portion of the passage: "I confess that I am entirely ignorant of what he means to say." Renowned Greek linguist and Baptist scholar A. T. Robertson despairs of the task of interpreting this passage because it is "in such vague form that we can hardly clear it up." Not only so, but once again the term "antichrist" does not occur in this important (for dispensationalism) antichrist passage. CLICK HERE TO KEEP READING
Tuesday, June 23, 2009t
Revis ing Simplicity
by Ken Gentry, Th.D., Director, NiceneCouncil.com
NiceneCouncil.com will soon be publishing a new biography on Scofield, titled: The Praise of Folly: The Enigmatic Life & Theology of C. I. Scofield. This work is a much needed follow-up to Joseph C. Canfield’s The Incredible Scofield and His Book. It corrects come mistakes in Canfield and introduces some newly discovered materials on Scofield.
Lutzweiler writes with authority as a former long-time dispensationalist. He was a graduate of Moody Bible Institute (1956) and Wheaton College (B.A. in Bible and Theology, 1960). He served on the editorial staff of The Alliance Witness (now Alliance Life), official organ of The Christian and Missionary Alliance, from 1962 to 1964
, at the invitation of Dr. A. W. Tozer. From 1964–72 he was Administrative Assistant to Dr. Spiros Zodhiates at AMG International.
In his careful and compelling detective work, Lutzweiler exposes some of the more shady sides of Scofield. Dispensationalist readers will be disappointed in Scofield’ s life, just as non-dispensationalist readers are disappointed in his doctrine.
One aspect of Lutzweiler’s study shows some of the doctrinal errors in the Scofield Reference Bible. Before he does so, he reminds his reader that the first biography of Scofield was by Charles G. Trumbull, a personal friend of Scofield. In his work Trumbull wrote the famous, oft-quoted line that the Scofield Reference Bible was "God-planned, God-guided, God-illuminated, and God-energized" (Trumbull, The Life Story of C. I. Scofield, p. 114). CLICK HERE TO KEEP READING....
NEWS APRIL 30, 2009
Late Great Planet Church: A Brief Review by Joel McDurmon
Director of Research, American Vision
Available from www.NiceneCouncil.com
The long-awaited critical review of dispensational theology has finally arrived: a bit Later than expected, yet even Greater as well. In this information-packed, two-hour DVD, Late Great Planet Church, host and producer Jerry Johnson of NiceneCouncil.com and ApologeticsGroup.com interviews several scholars and leads you through an eye-opening review of dispensationalism’s little-known (and sometimes dark) history and beliefs.
At first, after noticing the two-hour duration listed on the back, I anticipated the documentary would endure too long, especially since a Volume Two remains in production yet. How in the world did they fill up two hours and not get half of the info in there? So I wondered. The presentation greatly surprised me. Not only did it hold my attention the whole time, but it ended leaving me wishing I already had the second volume. Jerry does what any good presentation should do: he leaves you wanting more.
Perhaps Jerry most grabbed my attention early on in the film when he emphasizes that the argument over dispensationalism does not merely pertain to one doctrine in the way that, say, arguments over baptism, or church government, etc., have limited effects. Instead, the dispy system has universal implications for the Christian faith. It, in fact, has impacted the fate of Western Civilization. This claim jerked me to reality, mainly because—it’s absolutely correct and so absolutely important. From this point on, he had me hooked.
I watched and listened as Jerry and his several guest theologians and pastors unfolded and criticized the wide impact that dispys have had. This impact includes a knee-jerk reaction against scholarship (much of which, but not all, had gone liberal) which placed the movement’s entire following under the shadow of anti-intellectualism. Worse yet, the focus on an any-moment secret rapture of the church has stifled dispys from even engaging in, let alone fulfilling, a crucial portion of the Great Commission: that of discipling (not just “soul-winning”) the nations with all of what Jesus commanded us (Matt. 28:20). That the greatest historical waning of Christian influence throughout the world has occurred parallel to the rise of dispensationalism, I believe, is no mere coincidence. Cultural retreatism has its consequences. Late Great Planet Church further elaborates on some of the reasons for this.
Along with its subversive doctrines, the dispy parade has included some ironic hypocrisies. For example, while engaged in their anti-intellectual and anti-seminary mentality, many of their prominent leaders adopted the title “Dr.” for themselves despite having no formal education. Some never even attended college, and yet wielded the badge of the pinnacle of academia to lend credibility and authority to their own writings. Likewise, even though some of the more radical doctrines—such as the two-salvations view that argues Old Testament saints were saved by law-keeping while New Testament Christians find salvation in grace through accepting Christ—find clear documentation in the early leaders (even early editions of the Scofield Bible), many modern dispensationalists ignore or even outrightly deny that dispensationalism has ever held such views. The evidence speaks loudly that they did, and the DVD exposes these problematic issues.
Not only did the full show hold my attention, I actually learned a great deal that I did know (and I thought I knew most of the story behind dispensationalism). The history behind Darby, Scofield, Chafer and others puts the emergence of the dispy system in a new light, helping the viewer see how and why the system grew so popular in American culture, while at the same time showing some of its numerous deficiencies. I appreciated one insight that puts dispensationalism in its peculiar historical context: it belongs historically to the era in which individualistic prophecy experts appeared all over, pronouncing themselves as “raising up the true church” once again. Most of these groups we today mark clearly as “Cults,” including Joseph Smith’s Mormonism, William Miller’s millenarianism, and Charles Taze Russell’s Jehovah’s Witnesses. The lumping of these types with Darby’s novel dispensationalism by no means equates them, but to see their similarities in emergence and methodology provides a helpful insight into their appeal and success.
Today, as Late Great Planet Church correctly points out, few academics—even from the very schools dispensationalists themselves founded specifically for their view—still promote classic dispensational views. In those schools, “progressive dispensationalism” has emasculated the key tenets of the old doctrine, and has brought the system ever closer to a covenantal view. Yet the old dispy system remains strong at the popular and local church level purely due to lack of teaching and the sensationalized hype of works of fiction such as the Left Behind series. The hype built by the works of Lindsey and LeHaye, the DVD mentions, command most of the remaining cultural force behind old-school dispensationalism. I do not think this bodes well for its future.
A greater force, however, looming over dispensationalism’s final demise would be the wide dissemination of this DVD. Even only this first volume provides enough eye-opening information to provoke average pew-dwellers to ask important questions like, “Did the church really not truly understand the Bible until 1830?” And, “Why does this new true understanding of the Bible essentially require Christians to dismiss, as irrelevant to Christians, most of what the Bible teaches?” I hope this video gets out, and I hope these questions start to roll from dispy lips across the world.
I also cannot wait for NiceneCouncil.com’s second installment. I appreciate this first dispensation; I eagerly await the coming of the second half.
NEWS APRIL 13, 2009
THE OBITUARY OF DISPENSATIONALISM by Vic Reasoner
In 1830 Margaret MacDonald had a vision about the end of the world and when she came out from under her trance, she wrote it down. This account attracted the attention of Edward Irving and his church later claimed Margaret has one of their own prophetesses. Irving is regarded as the forerunner of the charismatic movement because of his emphasis on healing and tongues. Irving also had an interest in prophecy and held prophetic conferences. The historian of Irving's church claimed that Margaret was the first person to teach a two stage second coming of Christ.
The Birth of Dispensationalism
John Darby traveled to Scotland to visit the MacDonald home. Darby was a lawyer until a year after his conversion when he was ordained a deacon in the Church of England. Soon after entering the ministry he became disillusioned with the institutional church and started the Brethren movement in Plymouth, England. Darby became known as the father of dispensationalism, the first eschatology to incorporate the "prophecy" of Margaret MacDonald. Darby continued to develop this new view by becoming the first to make a radical distinction between Israel and the Church. Darby taught that God has two special groups of people (or two brides) and a separate plan for each of them. This meant Christ would have to return twice. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING
In Stock - THE LATE GREAT PLANET CHURCH VOLUME ONE (DVD): THE RISE OF DISPENSATIONALISM
CLICK HERE TO ORDER
“It is my conviction that many who are presently disposed toward Dispensationalism would not be victims of the system if they were better acquainted and informed about the system and its history - its theological roots and the doctrinal errors it has spawned.” -- The Late Ernest Reisinger, Pastor Emeritus, Grace Baptist Church, Coral Springs, FL
Many Christians today read their Bibles through the lens of pop-prophecy books like The Late Great Planet Earth and the Left Behind series. They naively believe the prophetic schemes and theological presuppositions expressed in these and other fictional writings represent the doctrinal positions that Christians down through the centuries have embraced. However, that is far from the truth.
Volume One of The Late Great Planet Church: The Rise of Dispensationalism is the first documentary of its kind. It exposes this erroneous system of thought as breaking continuity with history --- and even the very Word of God. In this first volume we will examine the beginnings, beliefs, and motivations of this innovative movement by focusing on its relatively recent development, stormy history and its most influential proponents.
Hosted by Jerry Johnson, President of NiceneCouncil.com and The Apologetics Group, this documentary features pastors, theologians, and historians, who at one time were strongly committed dispensationalists. Several of these men even trained at dispensational academic institutions before abandoning the system. They have since rejected this system as thoroughly unbiblical, viewing it as a stumbling block to the Church and a distraction from the Great Commission.
Featuring
Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., Th.D. Gary DeMar, Ph.D.
George Joseph Gatis, Ph.D., Th.D., J.D. Tom Ascol, Ph.D.
Kenneth G. Talbot, Ph.D., Th.D. Tom Nettles, Ph.D.
R. Fowler White, Ph.D. E. Calvin Beisner, Ph.D.
Rev. Michael Leach, M.Div. David Lutzweiler, B.A. Theo.
"Dispensationalism has thrown down the gauntlet; and it is high time that covenant theologians take up the challenge and respond to them Biblically." -- Dr. Robert L. Reymond, author, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith