The Issue You May Not Ever Have Named (subjectivism)

[EarlyActs]

From

“The Current Religious Scene

and the Bible”

G. Paxton, 1974 (President, Queensland Bible College, Australia)
in Present Truth, R. Brinsmead, editor

1 of 2 posts



























When we come to speak of neo-evangelicalism, we do not wish to deny the great benefits that have come from neo-evangelical scholarship in Biblical studies. The fact remains, however, that the great bulk of evangelical folk have their Biblical theology molded by popular convention speakers and authors and not by solid, sober theologians, and exegetes from evangelical ranks. The big names in popular evangelicalism are not the names of our better theologians and exegetes. Often when the work of such scholars is consulted, it is consulted in the already fixed framework of the one doing the consulting.

1. We emphasize that what has been previously said about (another movement) and the Bible is true of the neo-evangelical Christian. Frequently the Bible is treated as a contextless repository of information supportive of a (very unsatisfactory) preconceived view of Christian existence. Superficiality marks so much of influential speaking and writing in evangelical circles today. Also, not infrequently, the Bible is just simply ignored. Only recently I was reading an earnest statement concerning Christian existence which was quite wide of the biblical perspective. One of the chief characteristics of the presentation was the well-nigh complete absence of Scripture…

There are two chief characteristics of so many of the young folk who apply to our college in Australia. First, a self-confessed ignorance of the “bible. (Most of them give the reason for coming to college as “to get to know the Bible.”) Second, an unshakable dogmatism in what they believe! Wherever they get their theology, it is not from the Word of God!

Continued...

 

[EarlyActs]

2 of 2:




2. When we say that the Bible is so much ignored in neo-Pentecostalism and neo-evangelicalism, this raises the question, where does their information come from? In many instances it comes directly from the Lord Himself—or his Spirit! More than once I have heard popular and influential leaders say things which could only be attributed to a “private session with the Lord Himself only the night before”! This we might add, apart from the Word!

Sometimes evangelical leaders will even lay claim to special visions and revelations as the source of the (sometimes quite bizarre) views. We call this “evangelical guruism.” But alas, how dominant is this type of thing! This is appeal to the Spirit apart from the Word. It is not unfair to say that if such a position is challenged, there is even appeal to the Spirit over the Word!

3. This leads us to a third characteristic of so much popular evangelicalism—the determinative role of experience. If the neo-Pentecostal or the evangelical has experienced it, then the Bible must teach it! This appeal to experience over the Word takes different forms.

For example, one of the most frequently encountered forms is the “changed-life criterion.” How difficult it is to suggest something may not be Biblical if is has changed the person’s life! Have you ever tried to get a charismatic to rethink his view when he keeps telling you how great a change it has brought into his life? How much more he loves Jesus because of the experience! This is the pragmatic approach: “it work!” It works; therefore it is Biblical.

Another form is the “great numbers criterion.” If a particular Bible teacher has great crowds flocking to hear him, then surely this is a sign that the Lord is endorsing his message. Would the charismatic movement be so heartily endorsed were it not so huge and widespread? Would Bill Gothard’s Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts seem so true if it were attended by only 200 people in an obscure part of Los Angeles rather than 18,000 in the Los Angeles coliseum? “Might means right” is more a part of our mentality than we realize! It amounts to the fact that great crowds are seen, ipso facto, as the blessing and endorsement of the Lord. The basis of this is a legalistic premise—the Lord only blesses us when we are right.

How difficult it is to get people to consider what a person says if that person is in the minority! Minority is inferiority while majority is superiority in so much evangelical thinking.

In conclusion we suggest that the three great “neo’s” are fundamentally agreed in this subordination of the Bible to the human spirit. Though there are outward differences and even some exchange of hostility, herein lies the fundamental affinity of the three “neo’s.”

When we speak of experience over the gospel, we are asserting that the message of the Bible is subordinated to the message of man. And when we speak of experience over the Word, we are saying that the meaning of the Bible is subordinated to the meaning which man imposes on the Word.

This focuses, we believe, the fundamental drift of the current religious scene. We do not suggest for a moment that there are no long-lost Biblical elements coming through the three “neo’s”… But such Biblical elements are with a fundamentally wrong framework. We are all, because of our sinfulness, saddled with error. However, it is better to have elements of error in a correct Biblical framework than to have elements of truth in a fundamentally incorrect framework. In this last instance even the elements of truth serve the deeper-lying error.

Notwithstanding the imperfections of the 16th century Reformation, it was a Reformation in the true sense of the word. The Word of God dictated the thinking of the Reformers. Today in the supposed reformation to end all reformations, we suspect that the reforms are dictating to the Word what it should say and when it should say it. But there is no genuine movement of the Spirit without a genuine movement of God’s gospel and the Word.

 

[Arial]

From

“The Current Religious Scene

and the Bible”

G. Paxton, 1974 (President, Queensland Bible College, Australia)
in Present Truth, R. Brinsmead, editor

1 of 2 posts



























When we come to speak of neo-evangelicalism, we do not wish to deny the great benefits that have come from neo-evangelical scholarship in Biblical studies. The fact remains, however, that the great bulk of evangelical folk have their Biblical theology molded by popular convention speakers and authors and not by solid, sober theologians, and exegetes from evangelical ranks. The big names in popular evangelicalism are not the names of our better theologians and exegetes. Often when the work of such scholars is consulted, it is consulted in the already fixed framework of the one doing the consulting.

1. We emphasize that what has been previously said about (another movement) and the Bible is true of the neo-evangelical Christian. Frequently the Bible is treated as a contextless repository of information supportive of a (very unsatisfactory) preconceived view of Christian existence. Superficiality marks so much of influential speaking and writing in evangelical circles today. Also, not infrequently, the Bible is just simply ignored. Only recently I was reading an earnest statement concerning Christian existence which was quite wide of the biblical perspective. One of the chief characteristics of the presentation was the well-nigh complete absence of Scripture…

There are two chief characteristics of so many of the young folk who apply to our college in Australia. First, a self-confessed ignorance of the “bible. (Most of them give the reason for coming to college as “to get to know the Bible.”) Second, an unshakable dogmatism in what they believe! Wherever they get their theology, it is not from the Word of God!

Continued...

I will give a link to a definition of neo-evangelicalism from Got Questions in case it is not clear what that is to some.
gotquestions.org/neo-evangelicalism.html

 

[EarlyActs]

I will give a link to a definition of neo-evangelicalism from Got Questions in case it is not clear what that is to some.
gotquestions.org/neo-evangelicalism.html

There is also a current group by a woman named Pivec in connection with a BIOLA prof who assess the ? movement which I think is mostly AofG. They had their own rally in WA DC in late October about the vote, got no coverage. They advocate for both genders of children, etc, and other good causes, but they have 'apostles' and 'prophets' etc.

I tried for 2 weeks to make direct cvontact, but got nothing.

 

[EarlyActs]

Reckless Christianity: The Destructive New Teachings and Practices ....

Holly Pivec and R. Douglas Geivett provide meticulous research and an incisive critique of the Bethel movement in Reckless Christianity

www.lutterworth.com

Book Review: Counterfeit Kingdom

Counterfeit Kingdom – The Dangers of New Revelation, New Prophets, and New Age Practices in the Church (B&H Publishing, 2022) by Holly Pivec and R. Douglas Geivett is important for all Ch…

faithandselfdefense.com

 

[Arial]

FYI: More information of NAR

Unveiling The New Apostolic Reformation: Understanding Its Beliefs And Practices (2025)