Half Way Across The Bridge

I'm about half way through listening to all the messages from the Building Bridges Conference.

For the most part, I'm liking what I'm hearing. Naturally, I'm biased so I think the Calvinists are making the better case, but I also think the "non-Calvinists" [for some reason they eschew being called Arminians!] have put forth some good stuff too -with a couple of notable exceptions.

Those exceptions include Dr. Malcom Yarnell's somewhat venemous rant entitled "Calvinism: A Cause for Concern". The other low point for the non-Calvinists was Ken Keathley's presentation. In an attempt to give Southern Baptists an alternative to Arminianism and both the Infralapsarian and Supralapsarian versions of Calvinism, Keathley pitches the philosophical theories of a 16th Century Jesuit theologian named Luis de Molina. (a.k.a Molinism).

Yarnell almost caused me to have an aneurysm when he took a hard left turn down the road toward Absurdityville with the "Calvin burned Servetus" story. Folks, maybe I'm being too harsh, but when somebody decides to torch that straw man, it takes all the strength I can muster just to continue listening!

As far as Keathley goes, his presentation had a much better tone than Yarnell, but I don't believe I heard Keathley even read a single verse of Scripture to try and prop up his Jesuit doctrine. Perhaps that sort of thing works for the nobles within SBC academia, but for us Calvinistic serfs, we might have been a whole lot more impressed had there been just a wee bit of exegesis of Scripture!

Thus far, the highlight of the non-Calvinist side had to be Dr. Charles Lawless and his message debunking the stereotypes of SBC non-Calvinists. I really believe Dr. Lawless is a good man. I had the pleasure of meeting and hearing him preach at our church earlier this year. If all non-Calvinists in the SBC were like him, I believe the SBC would be heading in the right direction.

Overall I think this conference was a positive for the Southern Baptist Convention. The fact is, Calvinism is on the rise within many denominations. With that growth, I believe there will be a need for many more conferences just like Building Bridges. Again, if you're in the SBC or curious about the Calvinism vs. "non-Calvinism" debate, listening to these messages will be worth your time -and I reckon that includes Yarnell and Keathley's stuff too...


(Image: Sterling Bridge from wikipedia)