Category: History

Apparent Danger: The Pastor of America’s First MegaChurch and the Texas Murder Trial of the Decade in the 1920s

~ Bob Hayton ~ 3 Comments

I recently received a copy of Apparent Danger: The Pastor of America’s First MegaChurch and the Texas Murder Trial of the Decade in the 1920s a new book on J. Frank Norris by David Stokes. Being familiar with the history and big figures of American fundamentalism, I knew something of J. Frank Norris’ infamous legacy.

Norris is the embodiment of a brash, fightin’ fundamentalist, and he packed a gun to prove it. I never realized that he actually was on trial for murder soon after the nation was riveted on the Scopes Trial!

Stokes has done his research and brings J. Frank Norris and his era to life. I’ve started reading through this book, but was just made aware of some fantastic news. The book has been grabbed up by a major publisher and will be re-released under a different title next year.

This is good news for those interested in the tale. The books are still available for another 2 weeks, and they are at a fantastic discount.

I encourage you to pick up a copy at this incredible steal of a deal. The book is a high quality, hardback. Take a look around the book’s website: apparentdanger.com for more on the story and the book. Congratulations to David Stokes, this book looks to be a page turner, and a wider distribution will shed light on a fascinating corner of American and church history.

David Stokes writes a weekly column for Townhall.com and is also a busy pastor, and you can learn more about him here or on his blog.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from the publisher for review. I am under no obligation to provide a favorable assessment of the book.

Charles Finney, Ergun Caner & Fundamentalism

~ Bob Hayton ~ 14 Comments

Most of you have probably heard of the Ergun Caner scandal. Caner, a dynamic speaker, was dean of Liberty University until recently. He came under fire for making self-contradictory statements about his past. He was raised Muslim and it seems that after 9/11/2001 his memories about his past changed in a dramatic fashion. I haven’t been following the scandal all that closely, but there must be truth to it as Liberty deposed him from his position as dean (although they keep him on as a professor, still).

Anyway, Tom Chantry of Christ Reformed Baptist Church in Milwaukee, put out a series of articles in which he set the Caner story in a wider context of evangelicalism’s ills. The posts which most caught my attention centered on Charles Finney and his legacy left to evangelicalism. Chantry views Caner as being a step-child of Finney’s in a sense. Caner’s appeal and widespread acceptance could only have happened in a post-Finney evangelical world.

The reason I’m including fundamentalism in this post, is I believe Chantry’s comments about how Finney shaped evangelicalism apply equally to fundamentalism. In this post I’m going to summarize Chantry’s 3 posts and quote extensively from the last post. I would encourage you to read the entire series however and study out the issue of Charles Finney even further, if you haven’t already.

Encountering Finney

In the first post, Chantry describes his horror of reading through much of Finney’s systematic theology book in school. He was absolutely stunned that someone who believed in a works-oriented salvation scheme to appease an angry god could be accepted as a Christian minister worth emulating. That will sound incredulous if you haven’t heard of Finney’s aberrant theology before. Apparently his theology has been edited down through the years but even still, it is readily apparent that he denied substitutionary atonement. Along the way, according to Chantry, he redefined such fundamental terms as “faith” and “justification”. For more on Finney’s bad theology, read this piece by Phil Johnson.

Charles Finney’s Step-children

In the next piece, we learn how Finney became so influential among evangelicals (who could never be the true children of Finney as they would never accept his godless theology of self-reformation). I appreciate Chantry’s care to distinguish true evangelicals from Finney and his belief that many who revere Finney have been mislead and themselves are genuinely Christian. We learn how it was the methodology of Finney which was most revered, even though those who used it should have looked into the theology behind that methodology. I have previously written of Finney’s impact on evangelicalism through his invention of the altar call. Chantry confirms my research that the altar call seemed to originate from Finney.

…And Finney Begat Caner…

Chantry’s third installment (and I believe one more is coming this week), centers on the connection between Finney and Caner. Caner again would only be a step-child not a true child of Finney. Chantry points out how evangelicalism as a whole has been primed to recieve characters like Caner. I will now quote from the third article at some length.

Without Finney, there could have been no Caner. The reason is that Finney’s influence has created an atmosphere within the Evangelical church in which Caner’s style of preaching, and indeed his multiple deceptions, might flourish.

I have argued that the Caner scandal belongs to all evangelicals. His behavior is a reflection on the state of the evangelical church at large, and we must all take ownership of what has happened. What exactly is the state of post-Finney Evangelicalism, and how has it allowed for the likes of Ergun Caner?

After introducing things, Chantry goes on to discuss several characteristics of Evangelicalism that are Finney’s legacy and also apply to Caner’s appeal.

Evangelical Manipulation

Finney’s manipulation consisted of the “artful, unfair, and insidious” control of the emotional state of his hearers in order to bring about a “decision” which was anything but. We make decisions when we decide to take a certain course of action, generally after thoughtful consideration. Finney’s “decision” had nothing to do with thought. His hearers were whipped into a terror over the thought of hell. This sudden emotional state was a work of Finney’s art, and he knew how to mold it into a decision to follow God. He utilized every form of pressure to bring about the desired end.

Over the years evangelists have learned that other emotions can be equally well utilized to bring about a decision. Various moral crusaders have capitalized upon a manufactured sense of outrage, while missions promoters have made an equally good use of pity. Often these tactics are aimed at producing a donation, but there is no reason why they cannot be turned to the purposes of Finneyite evangelist as well.

Any emotion will do, provided that the speaker can stoke that emotion into flames and that he has the skill to turn it in whichever direction he chooses.

He goes on to show how Caner’s sensational comments about his Muslim heritage were an attempt to manipulate crowds for a positive end. Evangelists do similar things all the time in evangelicalism, and especially in Fundamentalism. Tear-jerking stories, sensational yarns, missionary stories that raise the hair on the back of your neck… I’ve seen and heard them all.

Evangelical Entertainment

As Finneyism first spread, a dramatic shift in worship services began. Finney looked to bring about decisions by whatever means were available. As a result, services began to become more dramatic. The mentality of doing whatever it took to draw in crowds began to take hold around the country. Music was used in a new way in churches – to entertain rather than to worship.

We know the circus atmosphere which this mentality has bred in the modern church. No spectacle is too outrageous if it can have the outcome of making sinners more open to “making a decision for Jesus.” This is perhaps Finney’s enduring legacy in the church. Thanks to his methods, the exemplary pastor is no longer so much a shepherd or a teacher as he is an entertainer.

Again, we can see how Finney paved the way for an Ergun Caner to rise to prominence within the church. Many have observed that he is essentially a stand-up comic. His sermons are long on humorous anecdotes and short on doctrinal truth. One listens to his sermons and can easily imagine a “preacher” who has to go home and “come up with some new material” before he goes out on tour again. In Caner’s case that has meant a steady diet of racial stereotypes and soft ethnic slurs. He can refer to his wedding as “The Godfather meets the Beverly Hillbillies” and everyone has someone to laugh at.

It ought to be hard to figure out what this sort of talk has to do with gospel preaching, but in modern Evangelicalism we can all too easily imagine. Preachers are not thought effective unless they keep their congregation laughing. Those who listen to Caner’s more outrageous pulpit moments may wonder why the churches have put up with him. The answer is that he is truly funny. Most people couldn’t say the things he says and get a laugh, but he is a gifted comedian. In the post-Finney evangelical culture, gifted comedians always have a place in the pulpit.

Again, pulpit antics and over-the-top humor are things I’ve repeatedly observed in many sectors of fundamentalism too. It makes sense that this emphasis on style (anyone remember Billy Sunday?) flows out of a Finneyesque evangelicalism.

Evangelical Growth

If the entertainment-driven services of the modern church are not Finney’s great legacy, then it certainly must be the numbers-mania which now dominates our evaluation of evangelists. Finney thrived on the number of decisions made at his meetings. He counted his converts and published the numbers. There were no other criteria on which Finney could have become popular – let alone a sensation – within the Christian world. Ever since, Christians have been rating evangelists based upon the numbers they produce.

This part ties in to Caner in that his dramatic work at increasing student enrollment has in part justified keeping him at Liberty. Anyone familiar with fundamentalism, especially the Jack Hyles wing of the movement, knows numbers are everything.

Evangelical Relativism

But there is more. Finney, the prophet of moralism, fostered an insidious relativism in the church.

Finney’s theology was man-centered in more ways than one. While it is true that his theology began with God as the moral governor of the universe, his concern with morality was entirely what it said about the future condition of man. He did not concern himself overmuch with the glory of God…. It is not surprising that within his moral system any action may be justified so long as it results in a sinner deciding to follow God. Finney’s approach to evangelism crystallized this relativism; the end of conversion justified the means of manipulative and often blasphemous evangelism….

Today’s evangelists are unlikely to be given a pass if they seek to accomplish the expansion of the kingdom through adultery. There is, however, one sin which is always forgiven. Evangelists may always lie. Any lie is justifiable when it is told for the sake of winning the lost to Christ.

I grew up in a Reformed enclave isolated from the shenanigans of modern evangelists, so I can never forget the first altar call I ever saw from a Finneyite practitioner. Right after he told everyone to bow his head and close his eyes (I didn’t) he told a lie: “I’m not going to ask you to come up front.” It wasn’t just a lie; it was a dumb lie. Even I could tell that the only reason he said it was because he was about to start asking folks to come up front.

Having told one lie, the evangelist got on a roll. He said he just wanted people to raise their hands so that he could pray for them. I sat in the back of that crowded church and watched a sea of heads bowed while the preacher began to call out, “You over there on the right, I’m praying for you! And you, sister, down here in front, I’m praying for you!” Except no one – and I do mean no one – was raising his hand. The man just couldn’t stop lying! Of course as soon as everyone was convinced that they wouldn’t be the first to raise a hand, hands started flying up all over the room. Then he made those poor, deluded people come up front.

The man lied, didn’t he? Broke a commandment? Did what even our smallest children know to be a major sin? It seemed so to me, and it ought to seem so to every Christian. Yet it does not. Within the evangelical culture what he did was perfectly understandable. He got people to the front of the church, and numbers are what matters.

I’m sure many of you, like me, can identify with Chantry and his observations about this altar call experience. Evangelists stretch the truth to get decisions, and ultimately numbers.

This post went a little long, but I wanted to highlight these various aspects of Finney’s impact on evangelicalism. Ultimately he impacted fundamentalism too. I believe fundamentalists of today are waking up to the errors of Finney. I hope future generations will see a more careful evangelicalism too.

Dr. Michael Wise on the Dead Sea Scrolls

~ Bob Hayton ~ 6 Comments

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a lecture at Northwestern College here in Minneapolis with my good friend Shaun Tabatt. It was “An Evening with Dr. Michael Wise” — a very informative and enjoyable presentation on the history and nature of the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS).

Dr. Wise is best known for coauthoring The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation with Martin Abegg and Edward Cook (published by Harper San Francisco, 1986). The book was the first translation intended for the public and included many scrolls that had not previously been published. Dr. Wise is proficient in 9 ancient languages and is a true scholar. His ability to read and pronounce Hebrew and Aramaic was certainly on display last night, as was his extensive knowledge of the DSS.

His presentation followed along the lines of a brief article in the NWC college magazine entitled: Christians, Questions and Ancient Mysteries, also by Dr. Wise. I wasn’t able to find the presentation online, and so I will only be able to highlight the parts I remember.

Background

At least some of the DSS were likely removed from the temple and other areas before the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. They were secretly stashed in the caves on the north western edge of the Dead Sea near the site of Qumran. Dr. Wise described the scrolls as being more like the “Dead Sea Scraps”, with some being no larger than a thumbnail. But all told, there are 931 manuscripts found in the 11 caves of Qumran, and some of them include entire biblical and non-biblical books. These scrolls represented a substantial monetary value as the production of books was quite expensive in antiquity. Materials were so scarce, that many of the DSS were written on gazelle skins (an unclean animal).

Most of the DSS were in Hebrew (5/6), some were in Aramaic (1/6) and 20 were in Greek. About 1/3 of the scrolls were Biblical texts (225 or so), and the rest were religious texts some of which scholars believe were sectarian in nature (about 115 by his count). The sectarian aspect in Wise’s view attaches to texts about the “Teacher of Righteousness”, a messianic type figure from abut 100 years or more before Christ. Wise has some views on that figure that are not widely held among scholars, see this article in the New York Times for more.

Where Wise really shined was in drawing out the significance of the find. By all accounts it is one of the greatest archaeological finds of all time. Dr. Wise showed how both the Biblical and non-Biblical texts both have revolutionized our understanding in many key ways.

Significance of Biblical Scrolls

The Biblical manuscripts (which represent every OT book except for Esther), have moved our earliest copies of individual books of the OT up more than 1,000 years from what we had before. There was some understandable apprehension among scholars when the scrolls were first found. Would they show that our copies of the Bible were extremely flawed? Dr. Wise showed a picture of the Aleppo Codex from A.D. 954 the earliest mostly complete Hebrew Bible we had before the discovery of the DSS. Then he showed a picture of 4QDeutM, a manuscript dating to 150 B.C. (1100 years older than the Aleppo Codex). The passage contains the 10 Commandments from Deuteronomy and is identical — word perfect — to the Aleppo Codex! The accuracy level generally of the Hebrew text of our Bibles has been proven to be very high.

The scrolls also helped correct minor faults with the later copies that we have. He pointed out two cases in Isaiah 53 where letters were mis-copied resulting in unique and difficult readings. One of the largest scrolls found is a copy of the entire book of Isaiah (all 66 chapters), and that scroll corrects those readings that were handed down imperfectly by the Masoretes who gave us the Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT). He also showed where a paragraph in 1 Samuel was found in one of the scrolls that had completely dropped out of the MT.

New questions have also been raised by these biblical texts, however. A Hebrew text that follows the Greek LXX of Jeremiah for instance, was discovered in 2 scrolls. We used to think the Greek was a late corruption, but now there is evidence that two competing Hebrew forms of the book of Jeremiah were to be found in Jesus’ day. It is now known that two or three editions of most books of the Old Testament existed and were current at the time of Jesus. This is an area biblical scholars are now focusing on, the development of the Hebrew canon of Old Testament Scripture. Dr. Wise thinks we shouldn’t be afraid of this kind of inquiry, as all truth is God’s truth. He compared the differences between the editions to the sometimes widely differing English translations of the Bible available today.

Significance of Non-Biblical Scrolls

The non-biblical texts illumine the world of Jesus’ day for us like never before. There are commentaries on the biblical books which help us understand the methods of interpretation which were in vogue in the years before the New Testament authors published their interpretation of the Old Testament. We find a great degree of similarity between the methods used by second Temple Judaism and the authors of the New Testament, according to Dr. Wise. The texts also reveal the kind of ideas and themes which were common in religious thought of the day. Several scrolls reveal a great emphasis on the obscure Biblical character Melchizedek. He is viewed as a heavenly priest just one notch below Jehovah God in status. It is no wonder then that the New Testament book of Hebrews addresses how Jesus compares with Melchizedek.

Perhaps the most fascinating non-biblical find is the presence of a description declaring that the Messiah will “cause the dead to live” (or raise the dead). Nowhere in the canonical Hebrew Bible do we find a description of the Messiah raising the dead. Yet in Luke 7:22, Jesus tells the followers of John the Baptist how they can be certain that he (Jesus) is the Messiah. He lists off the things he is doing, healing the sick, proclaiming good news to the poor, restoring sight to the blind, and raising the dead. Jesus knew it was a current belief in the thought of his day that the Messiah would raise the dead. This Dead Sea Scroll (the Messianic Apocalypse) testifies to that widespread belief as well.

Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit at the MN Science Museum

The event ended with Dr. Wise encouraging us to go see the Scrolls on display at the Science Museum of Minnesota. I blogged about my visit to the exhibit before. I would add my recommendation to go see the Dead Sea Scrolls while they are here (through October 24). It is a chance to view and appreciate a piece of history, and share in the wonder of the Bible itself.

Those Five New Points of Calvinism

~ Bob Hayton ~ 9 Comments

Almost everyone reading my blog is familiar with the acrostic TULIP as standing for the five points of Calvinism. Probably most of you know what each point stands for: Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, Perseverance of the Saints. Then the number goes down as to who knows what each point means. I would venture to guess that there would be disagreement over what people think “L” should mean, or what “T”, “I” or “P” actually imply.

If you’ve read any Calvinist literature, you have seen a recasting of the points. Some turn it from TULIP into ROSES (Timothy George), others like my former pastor John Piper, choose to consider the points in a thematic order rather than their order in the word TULIP. Piper’s pamphlet on the points spells the Calvinist flower: TILUP. I’ve seen books and essays advocate “efficacious grace” or “particular redemption” as opposed the the TULIP title of the point in question.

What very few of you who read this blog know, and what I just learned, is that the acronym TULIP is a very recent development. It apparently hails from the early 20th Century, first appearing in Lorraine Boettner’s 1932 book, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination. I just finished reading an article by Ken Stewart [pdf] which traces the development of TULIP [HT: Dave Doran]. Stewart rummages through the literary remains of the 18th and 19th Centuries in a vain attempt to find any use of our flowery acronym. He finds many treatments of Calvinism in the first half of the 20th Century totally bereft of any mention of TULIP as well. Stewart cites Roger Nicole as one who also noted the newness of the TULIP scheme. From his preface of the 40th anniversary edition of Steele and Thomas’ Five Points of Calvinism, Nicole states: “Ever since the appearance of Loraine Boettner’s magisterial The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination it has been customary to refer to the five points according to the acrostic TULIP.”

A couple months back, Justin Taylor entertained this same theme on his blog, and in the comments proof of the use of TULIP was given in a 1913 article of the New Outlook, which cites a Dr. Cleland McAffee as using the term as a mnemonic device in his lectures back in 1905. So that is apparently the earliest documented use of the TULIP acronym found to date.

Stewart’s piece is well worth the read, as he concludes with a call for Calvinism to be more irenic and pleasing in its tone, especially when interacting with the wider Christian church. So I guess true Calvinism, isn’t all about fives. I for one, would be glad to let the TULIP wither. I love the heart of Calvinism, but a strict adherence to five points that aren’t adequately explained is not helpful. This might be a good time for all of us to go read the original Five Points in their entirety– I‘m referring to the Canons of Dort, of course.

UPDATE: I forgot to include the link to Stewart’s article initially. Here is the link (it’s a pdf file).

Remembering Calvin on His 500th Birthday

~ Bob Hayton ~ 7 Comments

55122_j-calvin_md1Today marks 500 years since the birth of John Calvin. Although Luther nailed his 95 theses on the church door in Wittenburg when Calvin was just 8 years old, it is John Calvin who is arguably the most famous (some might say, infamous) of the Reformers. His work in Geneva has an abiding relevance and lasting influence down to today in both the church and the state. Two hundred years before Montesquieu’s doctrine of the “separation of powers” (which was later adopted by our US Constitution), Geneva adopted political reforms operating on the same principle. In fact several historians have argued that Calvin is in large part responsible for the democratic experiment that is the United States of America.

Today, I wanted to collect some helpful links for the study of Calvin. His influence and legacy deserve attention. The closer you look into the life of this man Calvin, the more absurd modern caricatures of him as a power-hungry, harsh, domineering and unfeeling leader will become. In truth, he was a humble man who was thrust into leadership often against his will. He sought to follow Scripture in all he did, and gave his life to the cause of living the Bible out in all spheres of life for God’s glory. He preached an average of 20 sermons a month, and wrote commentaries on almost every book of the Bible. His Institutes of the Christian Religion is still a treasured and worthy systematic theology book, studied with benefit by many.

Before I provide some links to other posts on Calvin today, let me offer an excerpt from the introduction to his commentary on Psalms. Here Calvin offers a rare autobiographical sketch which gives us insight into his soul. The section I quote here will reveal a bit of the real Calvin’s motives, I hope.

My readers, too, if I mistake not, will observe, that in unfolding the internal affections both of David and of others, I discourse upon them as matters of which I have familiar experience. Moreover, since I have labored faithfully to open up this treasure for the use of all the people of God, although what I have done has not been equal to my wishes, yet the attempt which I have made deserves to be received with some measure of favor. Still I only ask that each may judge of my labors with justice and candor, according to the advantage and fruit which he shall derive from them. Certainly, as I have said before, in reading these commentaries, it will be clearly seen that I have not sought to please, unless insofar as I might at the same time be profitable to others. And, therefore, I have not only observed throughout a simple syle of teaching, but in order to be removed the farther from all ostentation, I have also generally abstained from refuting the opinions of others…. I have never touched upon opposite opinions, unless where there was reason to fear, that by being silent respecting them, I might leave my readers in doubt and perplexity. At the same time, I am sensible that it would have been much more agreeable to the taste of many, had I heaped together a great mass of materials which has great show, and acquires fame for the writer; but I have felt nothing to be of more importance than to have a regard to the edification of the church. May God, who has implanted this desire in my heart, grant by his grace that the success may correspond thereto! [quoted in A Reformation Reader: Primary Texts with Introductions edited by Denis Janz, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2008), pg. 254]

Other posts on Calvin’s 500th Birthday, from around the web: