Introduction
In Part Two, we looked at the distortions of Calvin's writings that have morphed into modern Calvinism. The Protestant scene today is very complex, due to a fundamental split that occurred in Protestantism in the 19th and 20th centuries. This split has also affected how the doctrines of modern Calvinism have affected the modern churches.
The Protestant Split
Modern Protestantism, over the 20th century, has undergone a split. The Protestant churches are now divided into what are called "liberal" and "conservative". The original "liberal" and "conservative" labels applied to how these churches viewed the Bible.
The "conservative" churches still see the Bible as the unerring Word of God, while the "liberal" churches see it as no more than a set of religious writings open to varied interpretations. Thus, today, the "conservative" churches are called “evangelical” or "fundamentalist.” This split goes back to the mid-19th century, when what become known as higher criticism of the Bible became popular [1]. This methodology was a result of growing skepticism and unbelief that had entered many Christian communities due to the speculation of scholars and scientists.
In our own time, theologically liberal churches have gone so far against the concept of the supernatural that many could be regarded as in the same camp as atheists. But modern Calvinism, particularly as modified by mid-19th Century preachers such as Russell H. Conwell, has exerted a significant impact on conservative Protestantism. Since classic Calvinism is basically fundamentalist, it has tended to effect only those bodies of a theologically conservative bent. Theologically liberal churches, by contrast, are impacted very little by Calvinist thinking.
In general, the "conservative" Protestants of today are called evangelicals. Originally in America, evangelical simply meant Protestant. In the 1920s, however, the modernism that had divided Europe's Protestants began to do the same to Protestants in the United States.
By the end of the 19th century, the old evangelical consensus that had united American Protestantism no longer existed. Protestant churches became divided over new intellectual and theological ideas, such as Darwinian evolution and historical criticism of the Bible. Those who embraced these liberal ideas became known as modernists, while those who rejected them became known as fundamentalists. Fundamentalists defended the doctrine of biblical inerrancy and adopted a dispensationalist theological system for interpreting the Bible. As a result of the Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy of the 1920s and 1930s, fundamentalists lost control of the Mainline Protestant churches and separated themselves from non-fundamentalist churches and cultural institutions [2] [3] [4].
Strictly speaking, the term evangelical still means Protestant. However, in America today, the "conservative" faction is the most vocal and high-profile faction in Protestantism. Therefore, in common use, evangelical means "conservative”—sadly, often with little distinction between those identifying as conservative in cultural and political terms and those who wear this label in the spiritual realm. From here on, when I use the term evangelical, I mean conservative.
The Fall of the Protestant Churches
While the fall of theologically liberal Protestantism should be obvious to all, in their turning away from God and embracing the doctrines of men, the great deception rampant among Christians today is that evangelical Protestantism remains spiritually unfallen. While the latter have professedly retained faith in the Bible as God's Word, they have allowed distorted versions of its teachings to take control to such an extent that they too have wandered far from Christ, and have become as fallen as those in the theologically liberal camp. Many of the errors embraced by today’s evangelicals are based on modern Calvinism.
A Modern Calvinist Revival
In the 1950s most evangelical churches could not be regarded as Calvinist. Today, more than likely, the reverse is true. There has been, over the last 30 years, among the Evangelical Churches a Calvinist Revival [5] [6l]. Looking at modern Calvinism, as outlined in Part Two, what is it about Calvinism that has appealed so much to evangelicals over the past 30 years?
In a word, narcissism. Not the full Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) definition of it, but the increasingly narcissistic tendencies of worldlings which have affected so many professedly conservative Christians as they have increasingly mirrored the fallen spiritual condition predicted in Revelation 18. The key elements of a full DSM defined narcissist are:
1. A grandiose sense of self-importance, exaggeration of achievements and talents
2. Dreams of unlimited power, success, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
3. Excessive yearning for admiration
4. Illusions of exceptionalism, leading to a desire to associate only with similar individuals or institutions
5. A lack of empathy for the feelings and needs of others
6. Unreasonably expectation of favorable treatment or compliance with his or her wishes
7. Exploitation of others to achieve personal ends
8. Envy of others, coupled with the assumption that others are envious of him or her
9. A spirit of arrogance [7].
When we look at this list, it more or less defines the human sin problem. That is, we all suffer from a measure of narcissistic tendencies. Looking at the above list, I think it fair to say that Lucifer was the first narcissist in the universe, and humanity’s fall in the Garden of Eden passed those inclinations to the rest of us.
We will now look at how modern Calvinism appeals to those tendencies, and how they have been exacerbated by the spiritual declension seen in modern and contemporary evangelicalism.
Actually, the 9 points above can be simply summarized to three key points:
1. I am "really special". Points 1 - 4, 7 - 9.
2. Others need to submit to me. Point 6.
3. Others possess little or no value. Point 5.
I am "really special"
What could be more appealing for someone who wants to feel "really special" than to think God has especially chosen them, over others, to be saved? The problem with predestination, as Calvin taught it, is that instead of seeing ourselves on an equal footing with all humanity as sinners in need of redemption, we see ourselves divinely designated as superior to the rest of the human family. As the evangelical churches have continued in their departure from the Biblical gospel, this aspect of Calvin's gospel has increasingly affected their thinking and behavior.
Others need to submit to me
It is logical for someone who thinks they are "really special" to want others to at least acknowledge this and preferably to submit to their wishes. In addition, as Calvin taught the absence of free will so far as deciding one’s spiritual destiny is concerned, any notion of spiritual freedom is anathema to the Calvinist. This brings the Calvinist into line with the Roman Catholic Church with respect to the union of church and state. Authoritarianism is seen as desirable and freedom of choice contrary to the working of God.
Others possess little or no value
A "god" who can create people for the specific purpose of eternally tormenting them in hell for doing the sins he willed them to do anyway, is not the sort of god to engender compassion in his followers for fellow humans. Thus Calvinists, modern ones in particular, will have little regard for the needs and well-being of others. In addition, the distortions introduced by preachers like Russell H. Conwell have led modern Calvinists regard ethnic minorities and the materially disadvantaged as being cursed of God and not worthy of much in the way of tangible compassion.
The Fall of Evangelicalism
It has been fascinating for me to see, in my lifetime, the remarkable and tragic fall of American evangelicalism. In the 1950s, when I was a child, though they had errors such as belief in the immortal soul and original sin, they could still be regarded as traditionally Protestant. Most stood for freedom and were opposed to the uniting of church and state. Since about 1975, however, we have witnessed a rapid moving away from the above principles in evangelical circles. As they have embraced modern Calvinism, they have become narcissistic, anti-freedom, and indifferent to the disadvantaged. Thus they have become the leading force in America for the uniting of church and state.
In order for American Protestantism to embrace the above goal, there would have to be a remarkable shift in their practices and beliefs from what they have been up till the mid-20th Century. This shift has now actually happened, through their embracing the principles of a modern, distorted Calvinism.
Calvin and Seventh-day Adventism
Summing all the above, we see how theologically liberal Protestants have effectively joined the atheists. By contrast, theologically conservative Protestants have largely embraced a modern Calvinism little different from what some might call Christo-Fascism. Fortunately, Seventh-day Adventism is virtually the only traditional Protestant denomination left. However, elements of Calvinism have penetrated our ranks since the 1950s. At that time, in the wake of discussions held with certain mainstream evangelical leaders, a certain segment of Adventist leaders and scholars were ready to embrace the original sin doctrine of Calvinism and its implications for such doctrines as Jesus’ incarnation. This has led to significant divisions in our ranks during the past six decades.
As worldliness and compromise have infiltrated modern Adventism since the mid-20th Century, we see a situation where Adventism is now split into three distinct groups. There are a minority who have embraced theological liberalism—a group which, while a minority, often hold prominent academic positions giving them an influence disproportionate to their numbers. For want of a better term, I will call them the "left" group.
Another minority have lost faith in our classic prophetic understanding because of what they perceive as happening in the world (the USA in particular). They perceive secularism as now so powerful in American society as to totally defeat and eliminate Christianity, supposedly threatening the American way of life. These perceptions gravitate so decidedly against what the Spirit of Prophecy and the Bible teach that many in this group are rapidly losing faith in the inspired writings. Like those on the theological Left, they have allowed perception and experience to overrule the inspired testimony, and have thus sought human solutions to the dilemmas they see in their own lives and in the larger society. Thus they see a need for government legislation to reverse the moral collapse they see happening in America.
This desire for a governmental solution brings them into alignment with mainstream evangelicalism and by default, with Calvinism. Increasingly, they see evangelicalism not as an erroneous version of Christianity to warn others against, but as the last true Christians left in society with whom Adventists should be allied. The compromise that Adventism made with Calvinists in the 1950s over issues like original sin has opened the way for this group to reject what has come to be known as Last Generation Theology, which is really nothing more than the remnant church theology under a different name.
Because of the power of the "liberal" academic Adventists and their wide influence in the church, this group perceive themselves as dis-enfranchised from Adventism and tend to associate themselves with independent Adventists groups of a similar mindset. This kind of thinking is now spreading from American Adventism to groups of Adventists with similar ideas in other parts of the world. While they are a small and relatively powerless group, none the less they still effectively "nibble at the edges" of the denomination. For want of a better term, I will call them the "right" group.
Fortunately for now, the vast majority of Adventists (the "middle" group), while still in a shocking Laodicean state, have embraced neither theological liberalism nor the theocratic mindset of so many in the evangelical community. Those Adventists who cling to their classical faith as rooted in Scripture and the writings of Ellen White must exert their influence to curtail the errors of both theological liberalism and mainstream evangelicalism, both of which—though in different ways—offer a too-easy doctrine of salvation and humanly-crafted solutions to humanity’s spiritual dilemma.
REFERENCES
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_the_19th_century#Modernism_in_Christian_theology
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism_in_the_United_States
[3] FitzGerald, Frances (2017). The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 1439131333.
[4] Marsden, George M. (1991). Understanding Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-0539-6.
[5] https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/04/us/a-calvinist-revival-for-evangelicals.html
[6] https://religionnews.com/2014/05/20/troubling-trends-americas-calvinist-revival/
[7] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/toxic-relationships/201812/how-spot-narcissist
Tony Rigden, a former atheist/deist, came into the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1980 as the result of a miraculous conversion and the reading of the book The Great Controversy by Ellen G White. He has since been a regular Sabbath School teacher, very part-time lay preacher, elder and briefly head elder. Formerly an electronics technician and computer programmer, Tony is currently still part-time programming but mostly retired. Former hobbies included diving and private flying. Currently he is a volunteer guard (train conductor) for one of New Zealand's leading vintage railways.