Christian
CounterCulture?
Posted by Michael Bunker
editor@lazarusunbound.com
“And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the
word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches,
and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it
becometh unfruitful.” (Mark 4:18-19)
July 23, 2004 – I want to start this article with a story that will
serve as both a parable, and a filter.
In 1993 I was working in the
Dallas,
Texas area. I was introduced to cigars by an acquaintance who
offered me one after work. I have to say that I enjoyed that cigar
immensely. A lot went in to my instantaneous affinity for cigar
smoking. I had never been a smoker; I never smoked cigarettes and
never did drugs. As a student of history, I was well informed of
the critical roll that tobacco had played in the formation of a
republic on this continent, and in its early successes. Many (if
not most) of the founders, the Puritans and the Pilgrims, were
tobacco growers and tobacco users. However, I was also well aware
of the insidious roll that greed had played in bastardizing what God
had given as a financial, cultural and sociological gift to the
Protestant fathers.
Depraved man had taken the pure simplicity of the tobacco plant,
hybridized it, sprayed it with fertilizers and pesticides, laced it
with about 21 other types of chemicals (many cancerous and
addictive), chopped it up and rolled it in chemically bleached
papers and sold it to the world as “cigarettes”. Hollywood taught
the masses (and children) how to inhale it (something early tobacco
users would never have done), suck it up into their nasal passages
and into their lungs, in order to get a temporary high and to look
cool. Opportunists and wicked money grubbers made millions, while
thousands died from addiction.
All the while, there were still the purists - men who enjoyed the
purity of the untainted tobacco plant, rolled from whole leaves and
packed in boxes – the only additive being some vegetable adhesive
glue and a paper ring that could be easily removed. They didn’t
inhale it, and they weren’t addicted to it – they just enjoyed it in
moderation. Tobacco was a simple, inexpensive pleasure – usually
smoked at the end of a hard day’s work. Knowing this history helped
me to enjoy that first cigar in 1993.
A few days after that first cigar, I went to a local tobacconist and
purchased 3 top notch cigars for .75 cents each. I announced to my
wife that I was now a cigar smoker, and asked her what she thought
about that. She told me that she didn’t mind, she liked the smell,
but would rather that I not smoke them in the house since she was
pregnant with our first child at the time. After that, I would
smoke a couple of cigars a week, usually in my back yard – enjoying
the evenings after a day at work.
In late 1994 I hit another milestone. My wife bought me my first
full box of cigars. It was a box of 25 Baccarat Lonsdales. She
probably paid $17 or $18 for the whole box. But soon, tragedy
struck…
The Cigar Boom
The worst thing you can do with something that is pure is make it
popular. In early 1995 the cigar boom crashed across America and
around the world. Some loud-mouth blowhards in the media and in
Hollywood
launched the boom by smoking cigars in public and by gracing the
covers of shiny magazines. Cigars were in. Masses of the ignorant
public flooded the cigar stores buying anything in sight, and paying
whatever prices the stores would charge. There were waiting lists
for almost every brand and prices skyrocketed. In less than a year
that box of Baccarat Lonsdales was around $45 and still going up.
There had always been some unscrupulous characters in the cigar
business – folks who sold junk and tried to convince the ignorant
that they were getting the real thing – and now they had an
opportunity to make millions. There had also always been some
low-end characters on the user end of the transaction – people who
smoked cigars because they sought the persecution, or because they
thought it made them look cool. Soon opportunists, greedy merchants
and misguided capitalists took over the business. Thousands of
untrained, unskilled children in tobacco growing countries were
enlisted to hand-roll sub-par tobacco to fill the growing orders.
Tobacco companies rushed products to the market to try to meet the
demand. Junk cigars, which only 2 years earlier would have sold 2
for a dollar, were packed into fancy boxes and priced at $5-$12 a
stick. Cigar bars and cigar stores opened up in malls and shopping
centers across America.
So I quit smoking cigars. I refused to participate. Everyone was a
cigar smoker now… but the purity of it was lost.
The Cigar Bust
Six years later, the boom was over. The ignorant public grew tired
of the fad and stopped buying the product. It wasn’t cool anymore.
Cigar Aficionado magazine even officially dropped the word “Cigar”
from the title of the magazine. Prices dropped. Warehouses were
stocked with cigars and mainly just the purists remained. Cigar
retailers admitted that the cigars that they were hawking for $10 a
stick during the boom, could now be purchased for around a dollar a
piece… even cheaper if you would buy in bulk. Stores and bars
closed down or changed their marketing strategies. The purists
breathed a sigh of relief and began, once again, to partake in a
simple pleasure – one that had once built a great Republic. Some
folks who jumped on board during the Cigar boom are still around.
They are becoming purists and beginning to see the truth about pure,
simple tobacco. I started buying cigars again in 2001.
End of parable.
Neo-Calvinism
As we scanned the theological horizon only 5 years ago, it was hard
to find anyone preaching or teaching the Doctrines of Grace. Sure
there were some comfortable-Calvinist, Presbyterian churches (the
frozen chosen), and even some Reformed Baptists out there – but who
even knew what they believed? Where were the websites and the
books? You could find some if you looked hard enough, or if you
were willing to rifle through the used book stores with a fine-tooth
comb. The truth was out there. There were purists who believed and
held on to the truth of the Gospel of Grace. YOU could find THEM if
you looked hard enough too, and if you knew where to look. Then the
“revival” hit. Neo-Calvinists sprung up from everywhere, websites
were launched, books became available… and I have to tell you, that
much of this was good… really good. Many publishers began making
available the classics of true Christian theology. Bunyan, Knox,
Owen, Gill, Watson, Boston… all became available on the internet and
in some bookstores. The battle was once again joined. The
overwhelming, apostate, Arminian majority was soon faced with the
Truth from a dozen different angles at once. But comfortable
Calvinism itself was faced with a dilemma it had never faced before…
Calvinism was now… profitable! Sure there had always been popular
Calvinists out there; you had James White, R.C. Sproul, John
MacArthur and John Piper – folks who had always had an audience for
their books and tapes. The Republican majority would roll out James
White during election years to warn “christians” that
abortion-mongers would overrun the country if the “right people”
were not elected. Focus on the Family and the other “christian”
media harlots were glad to have the occasional Calvinist on the air,
so long as they never talked about THEOLOGY; so long as they never
told the Truth about Arminianism and its birthplace in Rome; so long
as they never actually said that Free-Will theology was false
“christianity” and was Romanism repackaged.
Then the neo-Calvinist boom hit. Few people saw it coming. The
same folks who had handed the country over to the Papists and
Arminians in the first place now had a chance to make a killing.
The truth was watered down and sprayed wholesale on the hungry
public. A people who had been lied to and starved of the truth,
were now given some lukewarm milk and they were convinced it was
steak. So long as the message never moved anyone to action; so long
as the doctrine was sound (however limited); and so long as no one
rocked the boat… the neo-Calvinist opportunists could continue to
make a fortune by soft-selling the Truth.
A Digression
Without getting into a deep discussion (or argument) about the
spiritual state of the founders of the
American
Republic – it must be admitted by most thinking men that quite a few
of the most principle architects of that republic were truly
Christian men and Doctrines of Grace adherents. John Witherspoon
and James Madison were hard core believers in the truth of the
Doctrines of Grace, and these two men (more than any others) were
the principal thinkers and crafters behind the Bill of Rights.
Madison, who had been a student of Witherspoon’s at
Princeton, fundamentally believed in
the Total Depravity of humanity – and it was on this foundation that
he crafted the limitations on government. Madison and Witherspoon
were revolutionists above all; they firmly believed in the freedom
of man, and the bondage of the human will. All government, in
order to be a legitimate authority, must derive its authority from
God, and it must limit itself to that which is specifically provided
for in Scripture. Government cannot require that which the Bible
forbids, nor can it prohibit that which the Bible commands.
Madison knew that men, by their fallen natures, were wicked and
depraved and that the concentration of raw power in the hands of
wicked and corrupt men would always lead to tyranny and oppression.
The Gospel required that government must be handcuffed in order that
true Christian free men could obey the dictates of the Biblical law
and conscience in the diligent performance of their duty.
Modern “christianity” teaches that Grace is the freedom from
law, while the Bible teaches that Grace is freedom in law.
Laws were to be written and enforced to allow Christian men the
freedom to do their duty, unencumbered by tyranny and despotism.
Christian men and women, likewise, were subject to the law of God;
therefore they were free to obey God’s commandments without concern
about violating the laws of men. Government of men was
instituted by men, to restrict the depraved proclivities and
desires of the wicked – and to prevent them from interfering with
the Gospel work of Christian people. Above all, the depravity of
man must be constrained by the shackles of the law, lest the lawless
become the law, and the Godly become slaves.
Back to the Neo-Calvinist Boom
Comfortable Calvinism is threatened by the full Truth of the
Gospel. Christ did not just decide to elect some predestinated
people to Himself, but He also chose to SEPARATE them unto
Himself. Neo-Calvinists taught predestination without subsequent
fruit; they taught that you could be “chosen” without separation and
holiness; they taught election without a cross. Christ prophesied
that His true elect would be hated, scorned, persecuted, cast down,
trampled upon - the off-scouring of the nations, and the enemies of
the world. Neo-Calvinists taught that election meant lawlessness,
acceptance and comfort. Fat, greedy, compromisers started building
more and bigger churches, anxious to reap from what they considered
to be “the great revival” or “the next reformation”. They began to
preach against “mean” or “harsh” Calvinism, mainly because they
themselves were convicted by it. They begged men to ignore the
Prophets of doom, and to take up their velvet crosses and to follow
them.
One of the pied-pipers of the comfortable, neo-Calvinist set is a
man named Rob Schlapfer. He amusingly (and ironically) calls his
website ChristianCounterculture.com. Why it is amusing will surface
as we examine it. Why it is ironic will be apparent by a quick
perusal of the site. Schlapfer fashions himself as the modern
heir-apparent to Francis Schaeffer, and parrots most of Schaeffer’s
catch-phrases incessantly. Although I am a great admirer of
Schaeffer, and applaud his brilliance in identifying and explaining
the Christian worldview – I must say that the fruit of the Schaeffer
movement evolved into the disastrous reconstructionism of the
1980’s. Schaeffer is not responsible for this. He warned us all
before he died that if the window of opportunity to RADICALLY change
America and her government (in the early 1980’s) was not seized
upon, then it would be lost forever. Schaeffer’s followers did not
heed this warning, and became party to much of the reconstructionist
political failures of the late 80’s (after Schaeffer’s death). It
has always been the flawed position of the reconstructionists that
government can be taken and “fixed” by Christians. The carnal lusts
of the reconstructionist allows him to bastardize Scripture in order
to blend the Kingdom of God with the kingdoms of this world.
Reconstructionists believe that God will use them to fix what is
wrong in this country.
But God has promised to destroy the kingdoms of this world, not
rehabilitate them. God has called His people OUT of the kingdoms of
this world; He has not called us to fix Satan’s dominion. Schlapfer
and his ilk have mastered the art of doublespeak, and many fall into
it without even realizing it. Listen what Schlapfer says in his
“manifesto”:
“…today’s Christian culture is destroying Christianity.
By today’s Christian culture we mean the vast network of people —
ministries, businesses, bookstores, magazines, musicians, TV & radio
programs and the like — who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ
today. While individual differences certainly exist among them, a
consistant pattern is easily detected: the culture it represents is
indistinguishable from the world it seeks “to save.” It is worldly
at its very core. Today’s Christian culture so resembles the
world, that standing contra mundum — against the world, in
opposition to its culture — would amount to standing against itself.
(ChristianCounterculture.com manifesto)
Sounds great doesn’t it? Keep that quote in mind if you decide to
peruse Rob Schlapfer’s web pages. Sounds just like the message we
have been preaching for years now. But what does it mean?
Schlapfer’s gaggle of websites are tightly produced, modernistic,
productions… in short, they are cool. Flashy. Mod college
kids love them. The production values in most instances are better
than Amazon.com or CNN.com. In fact, anyone trying to make a BIG
buck in America today should take a lesson from Rob Schlapfer. His
fancy bookstore (http://www.discerningreader.com) is littered with
professional pictures of beautiful models, posed in intriguing
ways. College girls with fabulous hair, sprawled on the ground
reading very deep Christian books (albeit dressed like the
world and caked with makeup… see, you can be gorgeous, popular,
modern… and a Christian too!). Schlapfer’s ultra cool site
Antithesis.com advertises itself as “Progressively Conservative” and
“Radically Biblical”. I, however, have been unable to find out what
Schlapfer actually BELIEVES on any of his websites. He has links to
some Biblical stuff, and he certainly flirts with the truth on
occasion… but what does HE think about the Papacy? Who does he
think is the antichrist? The Apostles, Prophets, Reformers,
Puritans – all with one voice, warned us about the last days
Antichrist Papacy, and her byproduct – APOSTATE PROTESTANTISM. All
of the giants of the faith warned us that seductive men would come
in the last days, pushing DECEPTION. Schlapfer’s cool, modern,
progressively conservative “christianity” is mere marketing, and
doesn’t have the legs to even stand up against its own manifesto.
But we must admit that the eye-candy is appetizing and there is just
enough fascinating lures around that most people probably are
captivated pretty easily. Check out his “former” forum called The
Dialogue Box (http://p197.ezboard.com/bthedialoguebox)... You’ll
find out that he cancelled his forum because some mean Calvinists
wouldn’t play nice there… so the forum is gone, BUT, Schlapfer has
strategically placed some nice fancy ads on the page (to replace
all that nasty dialogue). One shows a very diverse crowd of
modernly dressed worldlings; all apparently impatient and waiting to
get in to what Schlapfer calls “…OUR BEST
SALE EVER”. Another ad shows a woman’s
backside. She is wearing very tight, modern, culturally acceptable
blue jeans, but obviously they are not tight enough to keep her
boyfriend’s hand out of her back pocket. The ad text says, “make
love”. I suppose Schlapfer is pushing still another one of his
newsletters, because I went to the link – where I was quickly
informed that I should admit that I (as a Christian) have been too
prudish about sexual intimacy.
I can go to ChristianCounterculture.com and figure out how to sign
up for numerous newsletters. I can go to every one of Schlapfer’s
pages and figure out how to buy tons of fancy, neo-Calvinist books.
I can actually stand there and be dumbfounded in the diversity of
theological opinion that can all be considered “orthodox”, and I can
even be scolded for being too harsh, mean and unyielding. What I
cannot do is figure out what Schlapfer believes about anything
important to me. Welcome to the “Christian CounterCulture”. In our
modernist, apostate culture – Christian Counterculture means “you
can believe the truth and be cool too!”
Government Lapdogs and Lackeys
Here are some facts for ya. When I set up LazarusUnbound.com and
our online bookstore… I wasn’t able to do many of the things I
wanted to do, because my conscience would not allow me to marry
myself to the pagan “christian” culture and the government. In
order to be able to sell “Christian” books at a profit, you must
become a reseller. In order to become a book reseller, you have to
fill out huge forms that prove that you are absolutely married to
the government and the government banking system. You have to
provide state sales tax forms and IRS tax forms. You have to apply
for a Federal ID number and show proof that you have a business
license and multiple credit accounts! Otherwise you cannot buy
“christian” books at wholesale. It sounds shocking to some of you,
but it is true. Schlapfer runs a very profitable book business
because he doesn’t expose the evils of tyrannical government.
Schlapfer does not expose the evils of the Beast because he is a
purveyor of her doctrines and a partner in her crimes. The
neo-Calvinists have agreed together that the government is not all
that bad… and you have to obey the government anyway… so let’s
preach a gospel of peace and reconciliation (with the world) that
doesn’t encourage anyone to flee Sodom before it is too late. Great
thinkers like Jonathan Edwards and James Madison warned us that
Arminian government, if it was allowed to thrive and grow, would one
day consume everything around it. The only thing worse than being
consumed in the gaping maw of the Beast, is to be anesthetized into
thinking that the belly of that Beast is actually Heaven.
James White, John Piper, and other neo-Calvinist writers are really
doing well for themselves. The money is flowing, their churches are
growing (like their wallets) and they can herald themselves as the
princes of the new reformation. But where is the fruit? The
Reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries led
to the REVOLUTIONS of the 18th century. Reformation
CAUSES persecution, not comfort and cultural acceptance. Why
are these pied-piper neo-Calvinists preaching the divine right of
Kings? Prophets of profits can do no other. As elections approach,
James White will be called upon to use all of his immense oratorical
skills to convince you that one Papist puppet is better than another
one. He will get you to cry for all the aborted babies and swear on
your honor that you will stand in the gap for those without voices,
and he’ll do it quite well because he has done it for years. Then,
5 days after Election Day (regardless which Papist puppet wins the
presidency), Dr. James White will board the cruise ship The
Vision of the Seas for his 7 day Alpha and Omega ministries
cruise (this years topic? JUSTIFICATION!). You can find details on
this fine Justification cruise at
http://www.aomin.org/cruise/cruise2004.html.
I have no problem with a man taking a vacation with his wife; it is
the blatant, scam marketing of comfortable neo-Calvinism that I find
objectionable. But comfortable “christianity” sells, the
Charismatic movement has proved that beyond all doubt. There is big
money in religion. White, Schlapfer, et.al, they learned from the
best.
“And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye
poor: for yours is the
kingdom of
God. Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall
be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. Blessed
are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you
from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name
as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap
for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the
like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. But woe unto you
that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you
that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for
ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you, when all men shall
speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets”
(Luke
6:20-26).
Worldly men always spoke well of the false prophets, and always
reproached those who were doing the will of God. The Bible says
that if a man is teaching the Word of God, that men will hate him;
they will separate from his company; they will cast his name out as
evil… for the Son of man’s sake.
Let me light a cigar and I’ll continue…
During any boom, whenever something becomes really popular, some
purists always complain that opportunists and greedy charlatans are
cannibalizing the industry; but the rich opportunists always click
their tongues and shake their heads in disappointment and dismay…
“Don’t you see all the good we’re doing? What’s good for us is good
for everyone!”
A Prophet is never popular, and a message that does not condemn
sinners and encourage God’s children to separate from the world – is
not God’s message at all. The leaders of the doublespeak cult of
neo-Calvinism have a good racket going… but it is obvious by their
behavior that they do not believe what they preach. Here’s a test…
give ol’ Rob Schlapfer a call, if you can. Ask him if you can come
by and see him. His website claims that Christians ought to look
different from the world… go by and check him out, and tell me what
you come up with. I’ll be shocked if you ever get in the door. Ask
yourself why rich Calvinist authors are represented in every
Arminian/Charismatic bookstore in
America.
Ask yourself why their books are so popular, and why they are sold
right next to the Left Behind quackery and The Purpose
Driven Life. When did the Doctrines of Grace STOP getting you
killed and hated, and START making men wealthy?
Half a Gospel
Some people hear the truth about the neo-Calvinists and they have a
hard time absorbing it. Why is that? It seems as though God has
given these men the truth… how can they be so blind about the times?
The only thing more dangerous than a man without the Gospel is a man
with only half of the Gospel. The Gospel teaches us that God
is sovereign in all areas of salvation. God elects, God calls, God
saves. But the neo-Calvinists refuse to teach that God also
SANCTIFIES. When they do teach it, they teach a sanctification that
only separates from open, blatant sin; but there is one major theme
to all of prophecy… the truth is that God pulls his people out of
the mouth of the Beast, and separates them unto Himself. The
neo-Calvinists teach a cross that doesn’t separate and doesn’t
divide. Christ carried His cross outside the camp (John
19:17).
Many walk who are enemies of the cross of Christ (Phil.
3:18).
The cross promises persecution (Gal. 5:11,6:12). The preaching of
this cross (the cross that separates and divides) is foolishness to
them that perish (1 Cor. 1:18). Whoever does not bear the cross (of
separation and persecution) cannot be Christ’s disciple (Luke
14:27); in fact six times in the Gospel, it is said that if a man
will not take up his cross and follow Christ, he cannot be the
disciple of Christ. The daily cross of Christ involves separation
and persecution. Comfortable Calvinism is cross-less “christianity”;
it is half of a Gospel.
You will never see a man so angry as when he sees that his
“christianity” doesn’t have shoe leather. Scores of comfortable,
neo-Calvinists continue to separate from our company because we
preach the cross of Jesus Christ and that a man who is a Christian
should do what he says he believes. A seared conscience is
an interesting thing to watch. I cannot tell you how many friends
and supporters I would have if I wasn’t willing to preach the daily
cross of Jesus Christ our persecuted and hated Savior.
What will you do with your cross?
I am your servant in Christ Jesus,
Michael Bunker
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