I arrived in Detroit from speaking at the Toledo Conference and I get a text message from our massive AOMin headquarters high atop the AOMin towers (uh, yeah), “The hate mail is pouring in.” Seems one of my comments from yesterday was posted on the Steve Ray “Catholic Convert” message board. Now, if you’ve ever visited that web-board, you know that many of the folks who frequent it are…less than…subtle, shall we say? And so the hate mail has indeed been pouring in. Of course, none of it even tries to deal with the issues I have raised, but what do you expect from hate mail anyway? Though I have stayed focused upon the issues raised, the gospel, etc., these folks know nothing but ad-hominem and insult. Says much about what fills the heart, to be sure. So I popped on over to the web-board, and found it to be filled with all sorts of fair, even-handed, theological comments, like this one from Doug C. in Houston:
Second, Tim Staples told me that White got his clocked cleaned by a friend of his in a debate on Peter being the rock. After the debate, White admitted that he had to uphold his anticatholic position or he has no ministry.
White is a master spin doctor and a very prideful man. A very good friend of mine (she’s excatholic) was actually friends with him. She attended one of his debates in California and she approached him a few days later, asking why he was so arrogant and rude during the debate, and why he kept changing the subject. He told her not to speak to him again.
Just a note for ol’ Doug. Twice a week I do a webcast called The Dividing Line. The number is toll-free, 877-753-3341. Next one will be Tuesday morning, 11am PDT. How about having the integrity to call? What you are doing above is called rumor-mongering. It is also called “lying.” I’ll be looking for your call, or, if you can’t make it during the morning, try Thursday, 4pm PDT, which should be about 6pm your time. In either case, I look forward to your having the integrity to attempt to back up your rumors. 🙂
Meanwhile, the adoration continues on television, and the fact that the vast majority of non-Catholics are non-Catholics not because they have knowingly embraced the gospel of grace but because they just don’t “like” Roman Catholicism is becoming more and more clear. I had not predicted, at least with sufficient clarity, the light this event would shine upon the carcass of evangelicalism. I refer, of course, to the actions of so many “evangelicals” who show not the first concern for the gospel, show no understanding of the vast difference between the biblical gospel and Rome’s substitute, and have sought to gain the approbation of the world through joining the ecumenical love-fest in sending the Pope directly into heaven (a belief, ironically, not even well grounded in Roman Catholic theology itself). The solas have been thrown under the bus by almost every single evangelical leader I’ve seen on television or heard commenting in other forums.
Few events have illustrated just how shallow is the confession of faith of so many who would be called the “children of the Reformation.” Please don’t tell me you love the gospel, you love sola fide, when you are willing to throw it out the window the first time it becomes culturally or socially advantageous to do so. A person whose heart is captivated by the truth of justification by grace through faith alone in Christ alone based upon the Word alone cannot simply throw that passion to the wind when the first test-case comes along, as with the current issue regarding the recently passed bishop of Rome.
Finally a word to the hot-headed RC’s on Steve Rays’ board: in case you haven’t noticed, I have been speaking about one primary issue since yesterday: the gospel. So ask yourself a simple question: why do you believe John Paul II has been ushered directly into the presence of God? Do you believe what that Vatican representative said, that Mary threw open the door to heaven? Why does John Paul II get a pass from purgatory? You sure he is a saint? Upon what basis? If you tell Protestants they are engaging in the sin of presumption when they say they know they have eternal life, why aren’t you consistent here? And if you do admit the possibility of purgatory here, doesn’t that prove my point regarding the real issue, that being the fact that your religion does not provide any meaningful basis for having true peace with God that is based upon the work of Christ rather than your own faithful attendance to the sacraments? Why hide these issues behind the blustering insults that seem to be your modus operandi? Think about it.
