Wannabee
Obi Wan Kenobi
You can disagree all you like Tom. That's what he said from the pulpit at GCC, and I was there. So, you're either calling him, or me, a liar.
Your comment about TMS grads is unhelpful, derogatory and simply based on your own prejudices. As one, and one who has regular contact with both grads and students, I can assure you that this is absolute nonsense. You act like MacArthur's against the ropes or something. There have been a few who have embraced a more reformed doctrine/hermeneutic/system, but the majority are still comfortable with the TMS position, which is decidedly MacArthurite. Having said that, there is grace in the class rooms and the professors do not treat students who don't "tow the line," so to speak, with any harshness. As long as they present a good argument and handle Scripture well they do well. When looking for a seminary a friend of mine advised me to "find a seminary that will teach you how to think, not what to think." That's what TMS does. They teach systematics, but the focus is on preparing the men to grapple with Scripture and arrive at the truth on their own. This is decidedly uncharacteristic of most of today's seminaries, which perceive a need to force their own "systems" down the throats of their students.
This grows wearying Tom. You have a bone to pick and you need a platform. You've been called and don't like it. If you sense a need and see bashing MacArthur as your service to God then by all means start another thread. If you leave MacArthur's name out of it I probably won't even notice. But it would be much better for you, the PB, and God's Kingdom, if another approach was taken; one tempered by love, mercy, grace and humility.
Don't expect an apology. There can be fine line between confidence in God's Word and arrogance. If someone disagrees with you it can seem like arrogance, though it may not be. You rest in the sovereignty of God in salvation. Your brother in Christ may not. Yet, because you understand God's Word more clearly in regard to predestination you can speak confidently. Your brother, however, is convinced and sees your position as arrogance. Pride? Perhaps. But, whether it is or not, it's instilled by a confidence in God's Word. You disagree with MacArthur, but in your manner of dealing with your disagreement you continue to reveal your own arrogance by making yourself an expert and claiming that a faithful man of God is naive, short-sighted, etc. Disagree all you want. But, in doing so, learn from the character of men like Sproul and Waldron in the process.Doesn’t it sound just a bit “prideful” to you? When do you think we can we expect an apology from MacArthur to his Reformed brethren?
My suspicion is that TMS grads are leaving the Calvinist dispensational ghetto and are bleeding over into a more consistently Reformed/Calvinistic eschatology, and this concerns MacArthur. Thus the strong words.
Your comment about TMS grads is unhelpful, derogatory and simply based on your own prejudices. As one, and one who has regular contact with both grads and students, I can assure you that this is absolute nonsense. You act like MacArthur's against the ropes or something. There have been a few who have embraced a more reformed doctrine/hermeneutic/system, but the majority are still comfortable with the TMS position, which is decidedly MacArthurite. Having said that, there is grace in the class rooms and the professors do not treat students who don't "tow the line," so to speak, with any harshness. As long as they present a good argument and handle Scripture well they do well. When looking for a seminary a friend of mine advised me to "find a seminary that will teach you how to think, not what to think." That's what TMS does. They teach systematics, but the focus is on preparing the men to grapple with Scripture and arrive at the truth on their own. This is decidedly uncharacteristic of most of today's seminaries, which perceive a need to force their own "systems" down the throats of their students.
This grows wearying Tom. You have a bone to pick and you need a platform. You've been called and don't like it. If you sense a need and see bashing MacArthur as your service to God then by all means start another thread. If you leave MacArthur's name out of it I probably won't even notice. But it would be much better for you, the PB, and God's Kingdom, if another approach was taken; one tempered by love, mercy, grace and humility.