{"id":1559,"date":"2009-12-06T23:28:10","date_gmt":"2009-12-07T07:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/2009\/12\/06\/a-word-about-manhattan\/"},"modified":"2009-12-06T23:28:10","modified_gmt":"2009-12-07T07:28:10","slug":"a-word-about-manhattan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/2009\/12\/06\/a-word-about-manhattan\/","title":{"rendered":"a word about manhattan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019m a little late to the party, but it seems to me that so far one point is missing from all the discussion of the manhattan declaration.<\/p>\n<p>The fundamentalist reaction, all over the place, is to note that the declaration is a serious compromise of the gospel by its declaration that all signers are Christians. I\u2019ll not repeat all of the analysis on this point, you can find that elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>The evangelical reaction is mixed. Some fairly conservative names have signed the document while others have notably and publicly made their opposition clear. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.albertmohler.com\/2009\/11\/23\/why-i-signed-the-manhattan-declaration\/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed:+AlbertMohlersBlog+%28Albert+Mohler%27s+Blog%29\" target=\"_blank\">Al Mohler<\/a> is a prominent conservative signatory while <a href=\"http:\/\/www.shepherdsfellowship.org\/pulpit\/posts.aspx?ID=4444\" target=\"_blank\">John MacArthur<\/a> is a prominent non-signatory.<\/p>\n<p>Dave Doran <a href=\"http:\/\/gloryandgrace.dbts.edu\/?p=177\" target=\"_blank\">comments<\/a> in one of his blogs on the subject:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Thankfully, to this point Dr. Mohler has kept a theological edge that has prevented him from fully embracing the ecumenical path of men like Timothy George and Chuck Colson. I hope he never loses that edge. Well, truth be told, I really hope he slides closer to John MacArthur\u2019s position.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>This quotation contains all the elements of the one point I\u2019d like to highlight and poses a serious question for the rising neo-fundamentalists who seem to want closer ties to the conservative camp.<\/p>\n<p> <!--more-->  <\/p>\n<p>The point is this:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Many neo-fundamentalists (or \u2018young fundamentalists\u2019 or what have you\u2026) have applauded MacArthur\u2019s analysis and opposition to the MD. And as far as it goes, I would have to say MacArthur is spot on in his comments.<\/li>\n<li>The assumption of many is something like this\u2026 \u201cSee, MacArthur is too a fundamentalist.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Well. Is he?<\/p>\n<p>Dave Doran has been making a lot of good points in his discussion of fundamentalism lately. I agree with a good deal of it. I have noted some of my disagreements. One of the things I agree with is one of his <a href=\"http:\/\/gloryandgrace.dbts.edu\/?p=170\" target=\"_blank\">statements<\/a> concerning the essential stance of fundamentalists:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>For the sake of the clarity of the gospel, believers and churches must separate from those who compromise the faith by granting Christian recognition and fellowship to those who have denied essential doctrines of the faith (Rom 16:17; Phil 3:17-19; cf. 2 Thess 3:6-15).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>All right, I agree with that. This view is consistent with the stance fundamentalists have taken for about sixty years.<\/p>\n<p>Now let\u2019s apply it to this situation.<\/p>\n<p>Is Al Mohler granting Christian recognition and fellowship to those who have denied essential doctrines of the faith by signing the Manhattan Declaration?<\/p>\n<p>When the MD says:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong>We are Christians<\/strong> who have joined together across historic lines of ecclesial differences to affirm our right\u2014and, more importantly, to embrace our obligation\u2014to speak and act in defense of these truths. We pledge to each other, and <strong>to our fellow believers<\/strong>, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence. It is our duty to proclaim <strong>the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness<\/strong>, both in season and out of season. May God help us not to fail in that duty. [Emphasis mine.]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Now Mohler protests that he hasn\u2019t changed his views on Catholicism, etc. He claims there remain sharp divides between him and these other faiths. But he signed a document that includes the words highlighted above.<\/p>\n<p>Is he granting Christian recognition and fellowship to those who have denied essential doctrines of the faith? Yes or no?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If the answer is no, then Mohler <em>is<\/em> just in an \u2018<a href=\"http:\/\/gloryandgrace.dbts.edu\/?p=177\" target=\"_blank\">uncomfortable alliance<\/a>\u2019 to promote a socio-political agenda.<\/li>\n<li>If the answer is no, then Mohler <em>is<\/em> still not embracing the ecumenical evangelism of Billy Graham, which of course means that it doesn\u2019t matter that he chaired the Graham crusade in Louisville or that he presides over the Graham center for evangelism at Southern Seminary.<\/li>\n<li>If the answer is no, then Mohler <em>is<\/em> in fact keeping the \u2018theological edge\u2019 that has kept him from \u2018fully embracing the ecumenical path\u2019.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But is the answer \u2018no\u2019? What if the answer is \u2018yes\u2019?<\/p>\n<p>Consider, for example, some of MacArthur\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.shepherdsfellowship.org\/pulpit\/posts.aspx?ID=4444\" target=\"_blank\">comments<\/a> about the MD:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><font face=\"Verdana\" color=\"#222222\">[The Manhattan Declaration] assumes from the start that all signatories are fellow Christians whose only differences have to do with the fact that they represent distinct \u201ccommunities.\u201d Points of disagreement are tacitly acknowledged but are described as \u201chistoric lines of ecclesial differences\u201d rather than fundamental conflicts of doctrine and conviction with regard to the gospel and the question of which teachings are essential to authentic Christianity.<\/font><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><font face=\"Verdana\" color=\"#222222\">Or\u2026<\/font><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The Declaration therefore constitutes a formal avowal of brotherhood between Evangelical signatories and purveyors of different gospels. That is the stated intention of some of the key signatories, and it\u2019s hard to see how secular readers could possibly view it in any other light. Thus for the sake of issuing a manifesto decrying certain moral and political issues, the Declaration obscures both the importance of the gospel and the very substance of the gospel message.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Read the whole thing at MacArthur\u2019s site.<\/p>\n<p>What do you think? Is Mohler granting Christian recognition and fellowship to those who have denied essential doctrines of the faith?<\/p>\n<p>If the answer is \u2018yes\u2019, then what MacArthur does now will go a long way to show the difference between fundamentalists and conservative evangelicals.<\/p>\n<p>If the answer is \u2018yes\u2019, then fundamentalists should say something like this:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think bro. Mohler has grievously erred in granting Christian recognition to people who are not true Christians. Until he repudiates that recognition, we must mark him as a disobedient brother and dissuade others from sitting under his influence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Isn\u2019t that what the fundamentalist response should be? Isn\u2019t that what separation looks like?<\/p>\n<p>In some of the argumentation about separation, men have said, \u201cOh, well, how can I practically separate from someone like Mohler? Should I send him a letter? Should I put an ad in the paper?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is disingenuous. Of course someone like me, and most fundamentalists, have no direct connection with a Mohler or others like him. But should we then do nothing?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Shouldn\u2019t we mark him?<\/li>\n<li>Shouldn\u2019t we, by marking him, make that mark clear to others who are following us so that they aren\u2019t influenced by the error?<\/li>\n<li>Isn\u2019t that what Dave means when he says:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote>\n<p>For the sake of the clarity of the gospel, believers and churches <strong>must separate<\/strong> from those who compromise the faith by granting Christian recognition and fellowship to those who have denied essential doctrines of the faith (Rom 16:17; Phil 3:17-19; cf. 2 Thess 3:6-15).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>And then, what should be done about MacArthur? Well, it is clear that in this case for certain, bro. MacArthur hasn\u2019t granted Christian recognition to those who have denied essential doctrines of the faith. Does that, then, make him a fundamentalist?<\/p>\n<p>Well, has he separated from bro. Mohler?<\/p>\n<p>Has he marked him in any way as someone whose errors are so grievous that MacArthur cannot participate in partnership in Gospel ministry any longer until this compromise is repudiated? Or is it likely that you will see bro. Mohler taking the platform at the next Shepherd\u2019s Conference as he has done several times in the last few years? Which will it be?<\/p>\n<p>I think you know the answers to that one.<\/p>\n<p>And the answer distinguishes neatly the difference between fundamentalists and conservative evangelicals. The conservative evangelical will say, \u201ctut, tut\u201d and carry on. The fundamentalist will not continue in fellowship when the gospel is compromised.<\/p>\n<p>And I think, more than merely hope that Mohler \u201cslides closer to John MacArthur\u2019s position\u201d, I would like to see him repudiate his own errors and go further than MacArthur and repudiate his conservative evangelical errors as well. (How exactly can you \u2018slide closer\u2019 to MacArthur\u2019s position anyway?)<\/p>\n<p>If this <a href=\"http:\/\/gloryandgrace.dbts.edu\/?p=134\" target=\"_blank\">statement<\/a> is true (and it is):<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>When a genuine Christian brother welcomes into Christian fellowship someone who teaches false doctrine, that genuine Christian brother, according to John, has become a partner in the false teaching. Standing against the false teaching means standing against this partnership with it. The truth and seriousness of the issue at stake necessarily demands this additional application.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Then the fundamentalist has something hard to say to the Mohlers of this world and something almost as hard to say to those who will not make the same compromise but will still maintain ongoing ministry partnerships.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"don_sig2\" style=\"border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px\" height=\"50\" alt=\"don_sig2\" src=\"http:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/don_sig2.png\" width=\"150\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019m a little late to the party, but it seems to me that so far one point is missing from all the discussion of the manhattan declaration. The fundamentalist reaction, all over the place, is to note that the declaration is a serious compromise of the gospel by its declaration that all signers are Christians. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[105,37,71,44],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2fYWj-p9","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1559"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1559\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}