James White – Mr. Apologetics Misfires – Part 3

As mentioned in Part 2, the real story behind the Robbins/Sungenis debate is what happened immediately after the exchange had ended. As we’ll see in a moment, purportedly “Protestant” men, and in virtual unison, began to assail Dr. Robbins while defending Roman Catholic Sungenis. The one thing I find amazing is how patiently Robbins stomached these ersatz-Reformed men, or better, “ersatz-men.”  But, maybe I’m being a bit harsh? After all, with the exception of White, I don’t know if any of the other list  participants even consider themselves Reformed.  Regardless, the only thing that comes close to the dismal performance of those attacking Robbins is years ago when I saw Conservative columnist Cal Thomas tear the legs off of some smarmy Liberal. After the debate some of my Conservative friends were – amazingly – defending Cal’s socialist opponent! Cal’s arguments were strong, sound and persuasive and his refutation of this particular Liberal’s arguments were devastating. Yet, and in spite of Cal’s performance being more than any Conservative could hope for, some of my “Conservative” friends felt sorry for Cal’s opponent.

Admittedly, while combing through the material White sent me it was difficult to decipher who the players are in every instance, so if by chance I have erred in attributing a quotation to the wrong person my apologies in advance. However, seeing that all those who were opposing Dr. Robbins were speaking with essentially one voice, I guess it really doesn’t matter a whole lot. You might say what follows is Robbins contra mundum.

James White – Mr. Apologetics Misfires – Part 2

Before getting into Dr. White’s charge that John Robbins “took him to task” for not being “nasty,” “angry,” and “mean-spirited” to papist apologist Robert Sungenis, I would like to look at a few points raised in the debate itself.  As I mentioned in Part 1, in addition to the above charge, White accuses Robbins of “going after” him “for not calling Robert Sungenis a papist.” While I could not find anything to support this charge in the material White provided, John did ask, “In light of Galatians 1, would you object to calling Robert Sungenis damned? If so, why?” I admit I could not find Dr. White’s response to this question, but I hardly think this supports his charge.

Admittedly, some of the responses in the exchange tend to bleed together, and, at times, it’s even difficult at times to tells who is saying what, so perhaps I overlooked something?  But, in fairness, asking whether or not Dr. White would consider Sungenis damned is hardly “going after” him and certainly not for failing to identify Sungenis as a papist.

Why We Left the PCA

The following blog by Lauren Kuo is reprinted here with permission.  It provides powerful testimony of the unchecked and growing apostasy in the PCA.  I recommend you check out the rest of her blog, Standing Fast: A Response to the False Teaching in the PCA.  Mrs. Kuo and her husband Vincent fled the PCA nearly a year ago.  The interesting thing is that Vincent was an Assistant Pastor and a member of the Ohio Valley Presbytery of the PCA for nearly ten years.  The Kuo family were members of Community Presbyterian Church and Redeemer Church which are both PCA churches in Louisville, Kentucky.  I’m not familiar with Redeemer or their pastor, David Dively, but Community Pres and their pastor, William Smith (pictured above), are by now well known to readers of this blog (see here).  It appears that instead of ridding herself of false teachers like Smith, the PCA is ridding herself of any remaining Christians, which, after all, is to be expected when churches fail to discipline men like Smith. “Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord.

Paul’s letter to the Galatians reflects his passion , straightforwardness, and incredible insight. False teachers had infiltrated the Galatian churches, introducing a corrupt Gospel message. Paul’s strict tone was not a reflection of anger, but of intense love. His instruction was clear and direct; salvation is the result of faith, not works.

The purpose of this blog is to try to respond to the PCA with heartfelt passion and straightforward honesty. For, I believe that false teachers have infiltrated the PCA, introducing a corrupt Gospel message. Many will mistake my response as an expression of anger and bitterness. My prayer, however, is that my readers will understand that I write out of an intense love for my Savior and for His beloved bride – His church. My message to churches today mirrors Paul’s clear instruction to the Galatians; salvation is the result of faith, not works.

John Robbins 1948-2008

John Robbins went home to be with his Lord.  He died at his home in Unicoi, Tennessee on Thursday, August, 14. He was 59.

Please pray for John’s family and for the Lord’s peace during this time.

John will be greatly missed.

James White – Mr. Apologetics Misfires – Part 1

This past week I received two separate emails written by Dr. James White to two separate people inquiring about his stand on the Federal Vision controversy that continues to rage in Presbyterian and Reformed churches.  Evidently the point of contention in both letters is Dr. White’s reluctance to identify any of the Federal Visionists as false teachers advancing a false gospel.  White argued that

When a man says he  believes we are justified by faith alone apart from works, confesses the sole mediatorship of Jesus Christ, the reality of the salvation of the elect in perfection, etc., I may find his other assertions inconsistent, etc., but I am not going to ship the man off to hell.  I’ll leave that to God, thank you. It is truly beyond my imagination how anyone can be so narrow minded, so convinced of their own perfection of insight and understanding, that they could see how I have spoken against Wright, FVism, etc., debated Wilson and clearly made my point, and yet, because I will not adopt a Robbins-esque slash/burn mentality, am somehow “supporting” FVism.