This installment is titled “The History & Theology of Calvinism” by Curt Daniel, Chapter Nineteen, Twentieth-Century International Calvinism.

This chapter is divided into eight sections, and is the last chapter dealing with the history of Calvinism. Beginning with chapter twenty, the author deals with the Theology of Calvinism. 

“For the first fifteen hundred years of its history, Christianity was confined mainly to parts of the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Europe. Starting with the Reformation it began to spread to America, then in the nineteenth century Missionary Movement it grew slowly around the world. But it really went international in the 20^th century. Wherever Christianity went, Calvinism also went.” 

The Netherlands. Eleven paragraphs. Very little in this subsection would be of much interest to most Baptist pastors in the United States. 

France. Two paragraphs. None of the names mentioned in this subsection are familiar to me. 

Miscellaneous Europe. Four paragraphs. The Reformed faith is almost extinct in Switzerland. Pockets of Calvinism continue in Eastern Europe, especially Hungary. There are a few Reformed groups in Italy, mainly due to the remembrance of Peter Martyr Vermigli and the Waldenses, who still survive. There are only tiny Reformed communities in Spain and even fewer in Greece. Calvinism has grown slowly in Russia and some of the former Soviet nations. 

Canada. Four paragraphs. W. H. Griffith Thomas

and J. I. Packer

are Reformed leaders who came from Britain to Canada. D. A. Carson,

Michael A. G. Haykin,

and John T. McNeil are Canadian Calvinists who migrated to the USA. Arnold Gallimore was an obscure Canadian Baptist pastor who wrote popular biographies of Spurgeon, Edward Irving, Charles Wesley, Susanna Wesley, and the highly acclaimed biography of George Whitfield. T. T. Shields,

sometimes called “The Spurgeon of Canada,” was a staunch Calvinist Baptist fundamentalist. 

South Africa. Six paragraphs. Calvinism came to South Africa from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The first internationally known South African Calvinist was Andrew Murray,

originally from Scotland. Sadly, as was the case in the southern United States, Calvinists in South Africa supported apartheid. Calvinism is still very much alive in South Africa. 

Australia and New Zealand. Two paragraphs. The only men’s names I recognize in this portion of the chapter are well known New Testament scholar Leon Morris,

whose commentaries I enjoy, and Arthur W. Pink, who lived there for a short time. 

The Far East. Five paragraphs. There is some Calvinism in Singapore and Indonesia, the result of it having been a Dutch colony. Robert Morrison and John Livingston Nevius

were early Calvinist missionaries in China. Calvinism flourishes more in South Korea than in other Far East countries. About 25% of South Korea is Christian, of which Presbyterianism is the largest sector. 

Conclusion. Mention is made of Calvinism in Brazil and Mexico, as well as in churches in Africa.

This installment is titled “The History & Theology of Calvinism” by Curt Daniel, Chapter Eighteen, Twentieth-Century British Calvinism.

This chapter is divided into six sections. 

The author writes, “as in America, there was a decline in Calvinism early in the 20^th century, but a resurgence in the second half. The rediscovery was due in part to a renewed interest in Calvin, Spurgeon, and especially the Puritans.” I think it is likely that the resurgence of Calvinism in the UK was produced by the most prominent of the 20^th century British preachers, D Martin Lloyd Jones. Having been a trained physician, who had no formal theological training, he was strongly influenced by and popularized to a modern audience, the Puritans. 

The Anglicans. Three paragraphs. W. H. Griffith Thomas (1861–1924)

was one of several “Low Church” Anglicans that carried on the tradition of J. C. Ryle,

Charles Simeon, and Thomas Scott. They adhered closely to The Thirty-Nine Articles. Griffith Thomas helped found Dallas Theological Seminary late in life, with cofounder Lewis Sperry Chafer.

Mention is made of T. H. L. Parker, Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, John R. W. Stott,

and J. I. Packer,

who wrote Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, Fundamentalism and the Word of God, and Knowing God. 

Other English Calvinists. Mention is made of Peter Toon, Paul Helm, Alan Clifford, Anthony N. S. Lane., Peter Masters,

the longtime pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Ernest Kevin, Gospel Standard Baptists, Arthur W. Pink,

who wrote The Attributes of God, The Sovereignty of God, and several Gleanings titles. John Blanchard, Errol Hulse,

The Banner of Truth Trust, Iain H. Murray,

and Jack Cullum are mentioned. 

Wales. Two paragraphs. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones,

originally from Wales, G. Campbell Morgan,

Welch Calvinistic Methodism, Geoffrey Thomas, Hywel Jones, Omri Jenkins, and the Evangelical Movement of Wales. 

Northern Ireland. Mention is made of the Evangelical Free Presbyterians, Ian Paisley,

W. J. Greer, and The Christian Bookshop in Belfast. 

Scotland. Three paragraphs. Mention is made of the Church of Scotland, David F. Wright, William Still, James Philip, Eric Alexander, Sinclair Ferguson,

Ronald Wallace, the Free Presbyterian Church, John MacLeod, R. A. Finlayson, G. N. M. Collins, Douglas MacMillan, and Donald MacLeod. Jack Seaton

and Nicholas Needham are numbered among a tiny sprinkling of Reformed Baptists in Scotland. Calvinism is still alive and well in Scotland. 

Conclusion. “British Calvinists are still a small minority of the population, but they exert a far-reaching influence around the world. They are not likely to disappear in the foreseeable future but may well experience revival and flowering again.”

This installment is titled “The History & Theology of Calvinism” by Curt Daniel, Chapter Seventeen, Twentieth-Century American Calvinism.

 

This chapter is divided into six sections. 

The Presbyterian Denominations. There are five paragraphs under this subheading. Since most of my readers are Baptists and not Presbyterians, I will mention only names and institutions. J. Gresham Machen left Princeton Seminary in 1929 to form Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia and left the Northern Presbyterian Church to help found what became the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

Also mentioned are Carl McIntyre,

the Bible Presbyterian Church, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, the Reformed Presbyterian Evangelical Synod, Covenant Theological Seminary and Covenant College, and Biblical Theological Seminary. 

Leading Presbyterian Theologians. Seven paragraphs. Loraine Boettner,

the author of The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, The Millennium, Roman Catholicism, Studies in Theology, and Immortality. Also mentioned are Gordon H. Clark, Edward John Carnell, Carl F. H. Henry, Ronald Nash, John Robbins, and Gary Crampton. The well-known Bible Presbyterian missionary to Switzerland, Francis Schaeffer,

studied at both Westminster and Faith seminaries and authored The God Who Is There, Escape From Reason, He Is There And He Is Not Silent, and How Should We Then Live? Toward the end of his life, he became involved in the pro-life movement and cowrote Whatever Happened To The Human Race? with C Everett Koop, M.D., who later became Surgeon General of the United States. Donald Gray Barnhouse, James Montgomery Boice, Philip Ryken, John Gerstner,

R. C. Sproul,

Rousas J Rushdooney,

Gary North, Ligon Duncan, D. James Kennedy,

and Alan Cairns of North Ireland are also mentioned. 

Dutch-American Calvinists. Five paragraphs, mentioning Norman Vincent Peale,

Robert Schuller,^[1]

the Christian Reformed Church based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary, and the publishing houses of Eerdmans, Baker, Zondervan, and Kregel. Mention is made of the encroachment of neo-orthodoxy, the names of a number of men most Baptists would not recognize, and the extremely prolific Joel R. Beeke.

 

Baptist Calvinists. Nine paragraphs. “Up until the early 1900s, a large number (perhaps most) of Baptists in America were Calvinistic, differing with Presbyterians and Dutch Reformed mainly on baptism.” By far, the largest Baptist group in America is the Southern Baptist Convention. Most of the founders of the SBC were Calvinists. Theologians like Curtis Vaughn and preachers like Ernest Reisinger

and the Founders Ministries asserted the Calvinism of the Southern Baptist Convention’s founders. Leaders of the Calvinist resurgence have included Thomas Ascol,

Thomas J. Nettles,

Timothy George, and Mark Dever. Several at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, are outspoken advocates of Calvinistic Baptist theology, such as President Albert Mohler,

Thomas Schreiner, Bruce Ware, and Michael A. G. Haykin.

Mention is made of Sovereign Grace Baptists, Sovereign Grace Baptist Fellowship, Arthur W. Pink,

Reformed Baptists, Walter Chantry, New Covenant Baptists, John Piper,

and Wayne Grudem.

Mention is also made of the Bible Church movement being basically Baptist without the label. The author erroneously identifies John MacArthur as a traditional Calvinistic Baptist. John MacArthur has never identified as a Baptist.

He is a well-known pastor and author who has written dozens of books, including The MacArthur Study Bible, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, and The Gospel According to Jesus. He is said to defend the historic Reformed doctrine of what some call Lordship salvation. Such men oppose his view in that regard as Zane Hodges. Paul Washer is also mentioned as a Calvinist Baptist who opposes “easy believism.”

 

At this juncture, I would like to interject two comments. First, I believe that Paul Washer’s (and other’s) use of the phrase “easy believism” is confusing. Better is the term “decisionism.”^[2] Also, I am not persuaded the author is correct in his understanding of John MacArthur’s position as the historic Reformed doctrine that some call “Lordship salvation.” What I am persuaded is missing is John MacArthur’s failure to emphasize what I understand to be “crisis conversion.” It is essential to recognize that the strongest Calvinists in recent English-speaking history, such as George Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, William Carey, Adoniram Judson, Asahel Nettleton, and C. H. Spurgeon, were strong advocates of a view of evangelism that is wonderfully reflected in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. So convinced were gospel ministers that John Bunyan properly portrayed evangelism as it is presented in the New Testament that even Methodist ministers were required to read Pilgrim’s Progress, recognizing that it classically represents God bringing a sinner to the end of himself, to a place of inward soul crisis. At that point, the sinner turns to Christ. That emphasis entirely missing from the ministry of John MacArthur and many like him. Sadly, most Baptist Churches in the United States have no church members who have ever experienced anything like what was so common in the ministry of Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield, John Wesley, and Asahel Nettleton. 

Miscellaneous Calvinists. Anglican Bishop J. C. Ryle was strongly Calvinistic. David Wells is Calvinistic. A. W. Tozer was a five-point Arminian who had such an exalted view of divine sovereignty that he sometimes seems more Reformed. Also mentioned are Voddie Baucham,

Thabiti Anyabwile, and Anthony Carter, prominent African-American Calvinists. 

Conclusion. Three sentences close out the chapter.

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[1] Was expelled from his denomination for his neo-orthodoxy.

[2] Decisionism is the belief that a person is saved by coming forward, raising the hand, saying a prayer, believing a doctrine, making a Lordship commitment, or some other external, human act, which is taken as the equivalent to, and proof of, the miracle of inward conversion; it is the belief that a person is saved through the agency of a merely external decision; the belief that performing one of these human actions shows that a person is saved.

 

Conversion is the result of that work of the Holy Spirit which draws a lost sinner to Jesus Christ for justification and regeneration, and changes the sinner’s standing before God from lost to saved, imparting divine life to the depraved soul, thus producing a new direction in the life of the convert. The objective side of salvation is justification. The subjective side of salvation is regeneration. The result is conversion.

This installment is titled “The History & Theology of Calvinism” by Curt Daniel, Chapter Sixteen, Neo-Orthodoxy.

 

This chapter has ten subdivisions. 

Roots.

Two paragraphs in this section, beginning with a few comments about Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard of “leap of faith” fame.

Karl Barth.

Three paragraphs in this subsection. Karl Barth was a Swiss theologian. He wrote a commentary on Romans, a book titled The Word of God and the Word of Man, The Humanity of God, and several summaries of his theology: Credo, Dogmatics in Outline, The Kingdom of God and the Service of God, and Evangelical Theology. His so-called masterpiece was the Church Dogmatics in fourteen large volumes. It is the largest systematic theology ever written in any language from any perspective.

 

Barth on Scripture.

Mention is made of dialectical theology and crisis theology. Barth claimed to have high regard for the Bible but said that Scripture points to, contains, or becomes the Word of God rather than is the Word, by its very nature. Barth believed in the old liberal view of Scripture rather than the historical Reformed orthodox view. 

Barth on God.

His theology proper and Christology improve old liberalism but is still not fully orthodox Calvinism. 

Barth on Salvation.

Barth said that the doctrine of election is the sum of the gospel, but he had a radically different theory than Calvin and historic Calvinism. He denied absolute foreordination and the twofold will of God. He put forth a purified supralapsarianism or super–supralapsarianism, centered on Christ, who is the only person who is elected. The work of Christ on the cross was not limited to the elect, nor is it penal substitutionary satisfaction like Calvin or even Arminius proposed. This strongly implies that Barth believed in ultimate universal salvation. But he neither asserted nor denied it as such. Some think he caught that there is a Hell (but nobody is in it) or that preaching on Hell is only a useful ruse to move people to a crisis of faith. Christ will be Judge to restore order in the universe, but not necessarily to consign lost sinners to Hell. In sum, he taught a radically different soteriology than historic Calvinism. 

Emil Bruner.

Bruner was also German-Swiss who taught at Zürich and then in Tokyo. He was more liberal than Barth in several ways, such as in rejecting the virgin birth. Bruner denied and scorned the idea of biblical inerrancy. He denied the Pauline authorship of the pastoral epistles. He believed Scripture has myths and contradictions. He believed Adam and Eve were non-historical myths. He thought Moses did not write the Pentateuch, which was compiled by scribes centuries after the prophets wrote their books. He believed two later editors wrote Isaiah. He felt the Gospels contain myths, such as Luke’s record of a Roman census and Matthew’s star of the wise men. Even the gospel accounts of the resurrection appearances are contradictory.

 

Scottish Neo-Orthodoxy.

Five paragraphs. A form of Neo-Orthodoxy began to appear in the Church of Scotland after World War II. They disliked the Westminster Confession of Faith. 

American Neo-Orthodoxy.

Reinhold[1] and Richard Niebuhr came out of what was left of the old German Reformed Church in America and develop what some consider an American form of Neo-Orthodoxy. They interacted very little with previous Calvinists and were as far from the Reformed mainstream as their European counterparts. Evangelicals resisted Neo-Orthodoxy for decades, but some eventually capitulated and claimed to be both evangelical and semi-Barthian.

 

Appraisal.

Neo-Orthodoxy may be considered one of Calvinism’s two errant and illegitimate children. The other is Arminianism. Both arose as reactions to and rejection of true Calvinism and resembled each other more than either wishes to acknowledge (e. g. their mutual rejection of the TULIP[2] doctrines and insistence on God’s universal dealing with man. But at least Arminius and Wesley were evangelical, which Neo-Orthodoxy is not. Nor is Neo-Orthodoxy another form of Amyraldism,[3] which may not have been in the mainstream, but at least was in the true Reformed family.

The Neo-Orthodox are usually united in their opposition to Reformed scholasticism, the Puritans, Covenant Theology, both Dort and Westminster, and Princeton Theology. They ignore or oppose the truest representatives of Reformed theology, such as John Owen, Jonathan Edwards, and Charles Spurgeon as well as more contemporary Calvinists such as D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, James I. Packer, R. C. Sproul, and John MacArthur. Cornelius Van Til wrote over 1000 pages of close analysis of this theology.

Here is a summary:

Nothing could be more untrue to history than to say that the theology of Barth and Bruner is basically similar to that of Luther and Calvin. Dialecticism is a basic reconstruction of the whole of the Reformation Theology along critical lines. A Calvinist should not object to Lutheranism in Barth; there is no Lutheranism there. A Lutheran should not object to the Calvinism of Barth’s doctrine of election; there is no Calvinism in it. A Calvinist should not object to the Arminianism in Barth's universalism; there is no Arminianism in it.[…] There is no more Christianity and no more theism in Bruner than there is in Barth.[…] If evangelical Christianity in general ought to recognize in the Theology of Crisis, a mortal enemy, this is doubly true with respect to those who hold to the Reformed faith.[…] The Theology of Crisis is a friend of Modernism, and a foe of historic Christianity. 

Conclusion.

“Van Til was right. Neo-orthodoxy is neither another form of Calvinism nor of true Christianity, but is the new Modernism and pseudo-Christianity. It is not even as evangelical as the Arminianism of John Wesley, for at least Wesley believed in the fundamentals of the gospel. In sum, Neo-Orthodoxy is a bastardized theology that wrongly claims to be Reformed. It is well to be warned.”

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[1] This is the favorite theologian of former FBI Director James Comey.

[2] TULIP is an acronym that developed after the death of Calvin and in response to the five points of Arminianism, referring to Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement (Particular Atonement), Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints.

[3] Amyraldism. This word is derived from the Latin form of the name of Moise Amyraut (1596–1664), perhaps the most eminent and influential professor of the French Protestant Academy of Saumur.