The New Calvinists. By E. S. Williams. Oberlin, OH: Wakeman Trust, 2014. 74 pp. Paper, $7.99.
I only became aware of this short book in late February.
Williams is a medical doctor from London. He is a Calvinist with a strong dislike for the New Calvinists.
Three New Calvinists are featured: John Piper, Mark Driscoll, and Tim Keller.
What are New Calvinists, according to Williams? They identify as Calvinists, hold to most Calvinist doctrines, embrace “worldly, sensation-stirring, high-decibel, rhythmic music” (p. 11) and “a new social gospel” (p. 13), “work with charismatic and emerging churches” (p. 16), “and wink at the adopting of Catholic and New Age mysticism” (p. 16).
Here are some sample statements by Williams about the three men he features:
Keller. “[Keller’s thinking] is essentially the old liberation theology of the Latin American Roman Catholics…Keller swerves from the central message of Scripture that this is a doomed world that cannot be restored, except by the coming of Christ and end-time events… [He] insists that the church is called to bring about societal change” (p. 21). Williams discusses Keller’s “Affinity with Rome” (pp. 24-25) and the fact that “Catholic authors and mysticism [are] embraced” by him (pp. 25-27). He also shows that Keller believes in theistic evolution or “what he calls ‘progressive evolution’” (pp. 27-28).
Piper. “[Piper] claimed to have heard God speak, directly to him” (p. 33). He has “a deep commitment to contemporary, worldly worship and to the ‘Christian’ rap scene” (p. 34). At the Passion Conference in 2013, “he preached in the dark, except for a spotlight that focused on him. Why no light? Because the mystical, ecstatic atmosphere of Passion, so carefully cultivated by a mix of darkness, psychedelic strobe lights, and relentless, overpoweringly loud beat music, would have been shattered if the youthful audience had been brought to its senses” (p. 35). “The exploitation and approval of charismatic worship and theatricalism is far out of accord with reformed principles…” (p. 36).
I found this statement about Piper to be outstanding: “When a measure of doctrinal soundness is accompanied by such serious mistakes, the damage to God’s people is far greater than where the erring person is altogether unsound in doctrine…vulnerable believers will be plunged into tragic worldliness” (p. 37).
Driscoll. In the same year this book was published, Mark Driscoll resigned as pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. (The following year, Mars Hill Church folded.) Two years later, he planted a new church in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The concerns that Williams expresses here have followed Driscoll to a new ministry and are still relevant.
At times, Driscoll uses sexually explicit language in his sermons and writings. While this is not a characteristic of Piper or Keller, it is characteristic of some New Calvinists. I cannot comment on some things that Driscoll endorses without offending JOTGES readers. His former church provided “hyperlinks to two pornographic websites” (p. 43).
Another feature of Driscoll’s New Calvinism is that he uses coarse language. Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz, “nicknamed him ‘Mark the Cussing Pastor’” (p. 44).
Like Piper and Keller, Driscoll endorses charismatic experiences as well as the use of rock music in worship.
What is missing in this book is interaction with the doctrines of the New Calvinists. Williams says nothing, for example, about the teaching of some (or most) New Calvinists that a person gains initial salvation by faith, but that final salvation can only be gained by persevering in faith and good works. New Calvinists say that if a saved person fails to continue running the Christian race, he will not gain final salvation. That is not the language of classic Calvinism. It is too bad that Williams did not discuss the doctrinal errors of the New Calvinists.
I recommend this short book to those who wish to have a basic introduction to the New Calvinism.
Robert N. Wilkin
Associate Editor
Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society
