Let’s look at the last one first. There are two persistent myths about “Calvinism.” The first seems to be as widely accepted by evangelicals as it is by the critics of Calvinism, i.e., that the central dogma or organizing principle of Calvinism is the doctrine of predestination. Because evangelicals accept this premise (because they don’t seem to read Calvin or his successors much) they speak of any Protestant who holds any of the five points of the Synod of Dort as a “Calvinist.” This leads to the weird expression, “So and so is a 1 (or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5) point Calvinist. The second myth is a corollary to the first, i.e. that Calvin was a tyrant. This is a fiction created by the critics of Calvin and his followers, on the assumption that anyone who held to the doctrine of absolute divine sovereignty must have been a tyrant (even if the evidence says otherwise)....
Second, there is precious
little evidence that the doctrine confessed and preached at Mars Hill Church is Reformed. There’s little evidence that Mars Hill is a recognizably Reformed congregation. Compare the Mars Hill doctrinal statement to the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Canons of Dort, or the Westminster Standards. The doctrine of the continuing work of the Spirit confessed by Driscoll and Mars Hill Church is closer to that of the Anabaptists than it is to Calvin (who regarded the Anabaptists as “fanatics”
, Beza, the Synod of Dort, or the Westminster Assembly. The doctrine of baptism confessed by Driscoll and Mars Hill Church is exactly opposite that confessed by all the Reformed Churches since the earliest 16th century...
It was nice of Pastor Driscoll to add a second post, softening the blow of the original post but the original reflects his contempt for historic, confessional Calvinism. Fine. He’s entitled to his opinion. I would rather have him speak his mind about how dead, suburban, and disinterested in evangelism or whatever else he thinks we are than to be patronized for the sake of public relations. Better, however that he and we be honest about that fact that Pastor Driscoll isn’t actually a Calvinist. He may not be pleased with the “old” Calvinists but at least they were actually Calvinists.
