Internet Monk Interviews John Hendryx

I just read the Internet Monk’s interview of John Hendryx, creator and editor of Monergism.com

. . . one of the finest reformed theology sites on the internet. John is a brilliant guy, a first class debater, and not your usual knuckle-headed, stick-in-the-mud Calvinist. … John’s presentation of historic reformed theology, and his application of it in contemporary evangelicalism, is characterized by excellence and kindness, two qualities missing in a lot of theologians.

I have checked out the monergism.com site and must agree:

If you want exhaustive, subject driven internet resources on Biblical and Reformed theology, monergism.com is a one-stop library.

John Hendryx goes on to talk about Affectional or Affective Theology:

If this term is unfamiliar to you, consider the following: people usually deny God, not because they lack evidence, but because their hearts are rebellious. So the unbelievers’ problem is moral/ethical first, and then intellectual. Thus he/she requires a supernatural work of God to understand and apprehend spiritual truth as revealed in Scripture. Those who know facts, therefore, are not the same as those who forsake sin, repent of trusting in their good works, and come to love and trust in Christ. We must, therefore, appeal to the entire person and not merely their intellect.

John continues:

God is hidden from man because he loves sin and remains in hostile rebellion against God. This antagonism for the gospel is seated in the affections, and is not because we lack data or are not smart enough. So we appeal to the heart of those bound in unbelief (and believers blinded by error) because God is not to be understood as a mechanical precept or an axiom as found in mathematics. To come to faith in Christ one must first have a desire for Christ and spiritual things; we must perceive and take delight in His unmatched beauty and unsurpassed excellency.

Why is the site called Monergism.com?

I called the website monergism.com because I wanted to focus in on the critical nature of this lost concept in our day and age. Since many evangelicals, unfortunately, have fallen away from the Biblical/Reformation teaching on this issue, I wish to emphasize the beauty and practical importance of understanding it. The significance of the term monergism is related specifically to regeneration (or the new birth). It simply means that unspiritual, unregenerate persons intrinsically hate (with their affections) the light so will not come into it (John 3:19). Man will not even cooperate with God’s grace but needs a new sense, a new understanding, in short, he needs to be born again, given new eyes to see, circumcised ears to hear, if he would even desire to believe. Monergism means that regeneration does not come about as the result of something we do but something God alone sovereignly grants to those He came to save for His own glorious purposes. It is a redemptive blessing of Christ purchased for His people (Eph 1:3, John 6:39; 1 Pet 1:3).

I really liked the answer to the question: What is your philosophy in debating non-Calvinistic Christians? What is the purpose, and what is your method? (emphasis mine)

It has become increasingly clear to me that people do not necessarily respond positively to airtight arguments. Again, the problem, even among Christians, is often moral/ethical and not only intellectual. We hold on to our various positions due to pride and faulty presuppositions and need to let go of some of our erroneous traditions. Therefore I am convinced that about 90% of persuading a person is subjective and must be accomplished presuppositionally using the Scripture. 1 Peter 3:15 makes it clear that while Christ and the Scripture are our greatest presupposition, our positions should be discussed with the utmost gentleness and respect both toward unbelievers and brothers who may differ over secondary issues. And admittedly I do not always live up to this standard. But at least I have it as an ideal.

How about Christian activism in politics? (again emphasis mine)

Some of us seem to hold the false belief that if we just changed the laws and made the US political system based on the Bible then all would be well while not considering the changing of hearts. My response to this is that the problem is not just OUT THERE, it is with us. If we lived like we believed the gospel ourselves, then God would use us to change the culture. While I can agree that civil law can be used to restrain evil, we often bludgeon our secular opponents with it as if they could somehow be saved through obedience to it. I believe the first table of the law cannot be legislated. Persons must be persuaded into the Kingdom by human instruments casting seed with the Spirit germinating it, so to speak, but not by the sword or by coercive legal measures.

Instead, we are to take up our cross and persuade as Jesus did, through meekness, suffering, joy, helping the poor and loving others above ourselves.

And his thoughts on modern church growth methods?

The seeker-friendly, market-driven fellowships are filled with true Christians. But the sheep will soon go hungry. If a church does not preach the law and the wrath of God, for fear of offending someone, then how will anyone realize they need a savior to begin with? If you’re already OK then why are you here? Unfortunately I think the answer is, “to be entertained”. Therefore, I believe we should be just as vigilant in keeping marketing and therapeutic self-help techniques out of our churches as we would Buddhist meditation chants. The later is so overtly religious and un-Christian that we have no problem keeping it at bay, but marketing and therapy are as American as hot dogs, so we erroneously integrate them as useful helps to the gospel.

What about Christian unity?

The confessions that we hold as truth in understanding Christ are what actually bind us together as a community. Changing these beliefs are what will cause our demise and propel us toward a sense of rootlessness. This, alongside glorifying God, is the most important reason we should put a high value on theology. We need to love one another, but in the way God commanded, not according to our therapeutic pre-misconceptions about what love is.

And what of tolerance?

Tolerance is the word of the day. If it is arrogant and hateful of missionaries to preach the gospel to an island of people who have never heard it, then it is even more arrogant (since it is hypocritical) for doctors to go and give medicine to those same people who might need it for an incurable disease. The real intolerance is seated in those who demand that we all embrace relativism as a dogma. The Church has abandoned itself to such nonsense and we need to wake up, get out of our stupor and think.

This interview is very definitely worth reading in full at Internet Monk’s site