Invisible Things and Radical Reformed Theology
Invisible Things and Radical Reformed Theology
A few years back I didn’t know that radical reformed theology was a thing – but after experiencing it create divisions in my family, I’ve been studying it. They believe in determinism – the notion that God determines everything that happens in life – good or evil. Radical reformed theologians also believe in double-predestination – that God predestines some to be saved (the “elect”) and others to be damned. It easily devolves into preaching fear and coercion to manipulate and control parishioners. I have a nearly-grown child who won’t spend time with me or even talk to me because a reformed church in Denver has brainwashed them into thinking they’ll go to hell if they have a relationship with me. It’s because I disagree with their views on determinism, double-predestination, and how people get saved. In their view I’m guilty of preaching a false gospel and am therefore accursed according to Galatians 1. One of the things they do is over-emphasize the wrath of God. In that church hell is the hammer and apparently everyone’s head looks like a nail. A notorious church which shares their views on double-predestination is Westboro Baptist. They share this thing of creating divisions among family members (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMbfQ117Jts), but add the dubious practice of protesting at soldiers’ funerals. One interesting fact: near the end of his life, the founder of Westboro Baptist, Fred Phelps, told members of the LGBTQ community across the street, “You are good people.” The man who led his parishioners to wave signs such as “God hates fags” did a complete one-eighty. But only after he had been deposed as spiritual leader by a group of elders at Westboro. The newly self-appointed leaders of the church kicked him out for siding with the enemy. It appears that once his power trip was over, Fred Phelps repented and gave up his gay-bashing rhetoric.
A recent scientific study showed that people in positions of power experience a dopamine release similar to people taking cocaine or heroin. In other words, power can be physically addicting. Lord Acton’s famous line that “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” seems applicable. I would suggest that Fred Phelps may have been addicted to power. Radical reformed theology fed his addiction by giving him license to manipulate and control his parishioners through fear and coercion. You’ll burn if you disagree with our views on how people get saved. Together they mistreat people outside Westboro Baptist in the name of “witnessing” for Christ. But what they preach isn’t the Good News of Christ. They are preaching their views on determinism and predestination. They believe in “irresistible grace” which is the “I” in reformed theology’s doctrinal acronym TULIP. One of their members said it doesn’t how they present the message – the “elect” will be drawn to believe in any case. This is the “U” in TULIP – “unconditional election”. In other words it doesn’t matter how these “witnesses” treat people who don’t believe like they do – the “elect” will be drawn to believe no matter how they are treated – or mistreated. I believe the same thing is going on at my child’s reformed church in Denver. The latter doesn’t engage in protests at the funerals of soldiers, but they have no problem tearing families apart over doctrinal differences or telling unbelievers that “God doesn’t love you.” In contradistinction Jesus said, “whoever does it unto the least of these, has done it unto Me.”
Church leaders wield a significant amount of power and are corruptible by a lust for it – like anyone else. It isn’t easy being a spiritual leader who holds sway over parishioners’ hearts and minds. Here in America we have freedom of religion and I wouldn’t trade that for anything. But we who are free must shoulder the responsibility for those who misuse that freedom. The alternative would be Big Brother – or some facsimile thereof – to come in and start regulating what churches may or may not teach. Which would devolve into something far worse. It behooves us to be diligent to unpack the presuppositions and doctrines of those whose theology cause them to preach hatred and fearmongering. Their doctrines should be analyzed for scriptural consistency and called out where they violate the tenets of sound biblical interpretation.
Fear is a powerful motivator and can be used to manipulate and control others. Covid-19 has scared us into social distancing and shutting down churches, restaurants, and other public gatherings. And I’m not saying it’s wrong to fear a pandemic, but God’s Kingdom isn’t built on fear and coercion. It’s built on faith, hope, and love. Here’s an oft-quoted passage in Romans 1 which talks about the wrath of God and is popular with reformed preachers:
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse… (NKJV)
Radical reformed preachers like to claim authority (and you’ll burn if you question it) and often wield the wrath of God like Thor’s hammer. A few interpretive questions from this passage: 1) how is the wrath of God revealed from heaven? 2) how do men and women “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (and what does “righteousness” even mean?) 3) What may be known of God and how is it manifest in them? 4) What are His invisible attributes, and can they be clearly seen? 5) Why are they (unbelievers) without excuse? 6) Are these “churches” (cults) justified in using this passage to engage in various forms of fearmongering?
I’d like to start in the middle, with “His invisible attributes” which are “clearly seen” “since the creation of the world.” In today’s postmodern world, how many would agree that the invisible attributes of God are clearly seen? Postmodernism tells us there is no objective truth and most educated folks would argue that creation isn’t even a thing – that it’s anti-science and that God doesn’t even exist. Or if He does exist, we can’t know anything about Him. But I would suggest there’s nothing incompatible between current scientific thought regarding the big bang theory, Einstein’s relativistic equations, and the creation account in Genesis 1, but that’s a topic for another post. The creation account also sheds some light on what His invisible attributes might look like and how they may be clearly seen. Let’s look at Genesis 1:26-28:
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (NKJV)
Notice the plural pronouns in verse 26, “Us”, “Our” and “them”. And in verse 27, “male and female He created them.” One early Eastern Christian tradition suggested that the Holy Spirit is the feminine aspect of the Trinity. And it makes sense. John 3 talks about being “born of the Spirit” and the Old Testament word for “spirit” is the Hebrew “ruach” which is a feminine noun (the New Testament word is “pneuma” which is neuter). If that’s the case, then God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (the “Us” in verse 26) created man and woman in their image with the ability to procreate. Note that females are created in the image of God as much as males are – the notion of a patriarchy bent on oppressing females was never God’s intention. Then He said, ‘go love each other and fill the earth (with your kids) and subdue it’ (we’ve obeyed that commandment). In other words, to be created in the image of God is to be fundamentally relational beings. And the family unit – dysfunctional as it often is (and under attack in Western society), was meant to reflect the perfect communion within the Godhead between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Note that marriage is the only social institution which God inaugurated in the creation account (see Genesis 2:24-25).
This is called a “social trinitarian” view by theologians. Unfortunately, most families don’t reflect the image of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit very effectively. Every family has some level of dysfunction in it. I went through a contentious divorce before I realized that we all want to feel cared-for, trusted, and respected in any significant relationship. And there wasn’t much of those things going on in our family – especially toward the end. But we weren’t alone. Paul wrote that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23).
God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit care for, trust, and respect one another perfectly. And they created us with the need to feel cared-for, trusted, and respected in our significant relationships. But especially with our closest neighbors – our family members. It’s like a three-legged stool where one leg is caring, another is trust, and the third is respect. If I’m in a relationship but something happens where I don’t feel like I can trust that person or that person doesn’t trust me – the stool starts to fall over. Relationships break. Divorce happens. Likewise with respect. And caring.
Note that trust and respect must be earned. No one is entitled to your respect or your trust. Yet the fallout of our postmodern educational system leaves many with that sense of entitlement – especially when it comes to respect. Feelings rule and logic drools. I want to be respected – therefore you must respect me. C.S. Lewis, in a criticism of Western education, wrote, “We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.” (The Abolition of Man, Macmillan Publishing, NY, 1986, p. 35). We’ve been teaching our kids that morality is relative for quite a while now. More recently our schools have begun to teach that identity politics and political activism are the best ways to serve society. It isn’t your character or moral choices which make a difference – it’s what group you belong to. And woe is you if you aren’t female or a member of a minority. But lately the Left has begun eating itself. Feminism is now at odds with transgenderism.
And caring may not always be all warm and fuzzy. Most parents understand there are times when “tough love” is necessary. These emotional underpinnings of significant relationships are what I believe to be the “invisible attributes” which are “clearly seen” in what it means to be created in the image of God. A cursory look at the Scriptures makes it obvious that God the Father wants to feel cared-for, trusted, and respected by His created beings – which is us. We see it from Genesis to Revelation. The great commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” In a sense God the Father wants to feel cared-for by His created beings. In another sense He knows that we live in a world full of malevolence and suffering – and that if we chase after things of this world we will miss out on the life He intends for us to have. Jesus said, “seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”
But most educated folks in this generation would rather deny He exists than love Him. Maybe they forget that relationships are a two-way street. If you are in a relationship with God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, He will make sure you feel cared-for by Him (in spite of what a radical reformed preacher might tell you). And how does that happen? Through faith. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God wants to feel trusted by you. You earn His respect simply by trusting Him. And in turn, once you put your faith in Him, He will make sure you feel trusted – by Him. In other words, He will give you something to do to contribute to manifesting His kingdom on this earth (other than flying hate-filled signs at soldiers’ funerals).
And let’s not forget respect. The first commandment in the Ten is that “You shall have no other gods before Me.” There is no other god we should give our worship to and when we fail in that area it leads to all kinds of suffering. Things like human sacrifice often accompanied idol worship in ancient times. In modern times people die when they replace God with the State as in the old Soviet Union or the Third Reich. We see that today in China, North Korea, and elsewhere. People die at the hands of their own government. God wants to feel respected by us. And again, if we obey Him in that, He will see to it that we feel respected by Him. Think about it. God will reciprocate. The Creator of the universe wants to make us feel cared-for, trusted, and respected – by Him.
This isn’t just a win-win. It’s a win-WIN for us. The creator of the universe wants us to care-for, trust, and respect Him, but He will make sure we feel cared-for, trusted, and respected in return. And when He starts to do that in your life, it will turn into the joy C.S. Lewis often talked about. What is holiness? I’ve always hated that word – maybe because it implied a set of behaviors I felt I couldn’t live up to. But it isn’t about religious duty. I believe it is words, thoughts, and actions which engender caring, trust, and respect toward our Creator and toward others. It is what I would call relational integrity.
So these things are what I believe Paul was talking about when he mentioned God’s “invisible attributes” in Romans 1:20. They are clearly seen when we look at being created in the image of God from a relational perspective. Radical reformed theologians might not want to admit it, but we are emotional creatures who depend on one another to give our lives meaning and significance. Our significance transcends reformed doctrines about predestination, determinism, and a twisted view of soteriology which denigrates the character of God the Father. God’s grace isn’t irresistible because He respects our free-moral agency – our ability to believe and choose what we will. If God uses force to make us accept His grace then it isn’t really a gift. And how can He judge people whom He predestined to refuse to believe and to therefore be damned – from before the foundations of the world? In that system why was the cross necessary? Why not bypass the cross and use this mystical power of His to force us to believe the things He wants us to believe and love the things He wants us to love? He doesn’t work that way because He respects our free-moral agency. It is what it means to be created in His image. The cross was a necessary demonstration of His love for us (while we were yet sinners) so that we could feel His identification with the suffering we experience in a malevolent world and begin to trust Him. But after that ultimate demonstration of laying down His life for people who don’t believe in Him, He left it up to us whether we want to embrace the salvation He offers. The “whosoever” of John 3:16 remains. These are the invisible attributes of God which are clearly seen in our every-day (often dysfunctional) relationships, but which are twisted by radical reformed theology. Radical reformers would prefer to focus on His omnipotence and wrath rather than His desire for relational integrity in the lives of all His created beings.
Here’s a summary of the remaining interpretive questions with a few thoughts:
- How is the wrath of God revealed from heaven? God gets angry when we trust in things other than Him. I know what’s that like. After a contentious divorce, my kids would come to me and say things like, “Dad, did you know the government is spying on us through our TVs?” They were 5 and 7 years old at the time and their stepdad was telling them this stuff. But they trusted him because he and their mom had a relationship and I didn’t re-marry. They had credibility that I didn’t. I know what it’s like to have my kids trust someone who isn’t trustworthy. It made me very angry. Jesus called God, “the Father”. I think it’s like that with God. Most atheists, when they kick God out of their lives, replace Him with the State. Statheism becomes their religion. But governments will fail us at some level – especially if we make an idol out of them and allow them to become too big in our society. Orwell wrote all about it – Big Brother will be watching if we let it get to that. I believe it breaks God the Father’s heart when we trust in things of this world more than Him. Tens if not hundreds of millions died in the Twentieth Century at the hands of their own governments. Did God cause that? No. He simply gave us what we chose. People chose forms of government which promised them Utopia but delivered Dystopia. We are free-moral agents – there can be no real love without free will. His wrath happens because He cares for us and doesn’t like to see us trust in things that can’t give us what He can – or worse – things that will destroy us.
- How do men and women “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (and what does “righteousness” even mean)? When we love power more than relationship. Men like Fred Phelps loved power more than God or man. Hitler loved power. Stalin loved power. Voldemort and Sauron love power. Good men can be corrupted by it. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. As Gandalf said in The Lord of the Rings, “You cannot offer me this ring. I would use this ring for good, but through me it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine.” One example is the control the NEA exercises over the narrative being taught in our school system. Our government forces us to teach evolutionary dogma as if it were fact, not theory (in every state except Kansas I believe). Alternative views are not allowed. The narrative is controlled. Because the bureaucrats in charge of the state-run educational system want to indoctrinate kids in a secular ideology which doesn’t include the possibility that God exists. It is an expression of the religion of Statheism. Let’s replace God with the State. And it begins by convincing young people that there is nothing beyond nature and that we are simply products of chance. If evolution is a “fact” there is no right or wrong. Leftists prefer moral relativism because it allows them to exercise power unfettered and unchallenged. There can be no moral absolutes because those would transcend what the government might want to do one day. Political leaders who love only power don’t want to be held accountable. This is neo-Marxism at best based on a materialist world view. In contrast to those who love only power, “Righteousness” is thoughts, words, and actions which correlate with God’s design for human existence. To be in voluntary relationship with one another and with their Creator. To care-for, trust, and respect one another is more important than wielding power over others. To respect the free-moral agency of others – their beliefs and choices, whether you agree with them or not. Note that you can respect the free-moral agency of someone even if you don’t respect what they believe or the choices they make. This view underlies the cliché regarding freedom of speech: “I don’t agree with what you say, but I’ll fight for your right to say it.” Those on the Left who want to shut down freedom of speech love power more than relationship. It’s a theme in my book, Alfedora and the Drakebureau.
- What may be known of God and how is it manifest in them? We sense a need to feel cared-for, trusted, and respected in our daily interactions with our fellow human beings. Many of us are blind to what I would call “relational integrity”. I was flying blind until after my failed marriage. I had to go through a contentious divorce (my ex did everything she could to cut me out of my kids’ lives) and do a master’s degree in theology before I understood that. Maybe it’s because I was educated as an engineer. In any case we all feel the sting of broken relationships at one point or another in our lives. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” as Paul wrote (Romans 3:23). But we were created in the image of God with a need to be in relationship with our Creator and our fellow human beings. Even the most hardened criminal wants to feel respected. The problem is he or she doesn’t understand or isn’t willing to acknowledge that respect has to be earned. They think it can be taken by force. Cain wanted to feel respected by God. But when God showed respect for Abel’s sacrifice but not for Cain’s, Cain murdered his brother Abel. We feel these things plainly. But we forget that we were created in the image of God. God wants to feel cared-for, trusted, and respected by us. And if we will trust in Him and His gift of salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, He will reciprocate that – He will make sure we feel cared-for, trusted, and respected by Him.
- What are His invisible attributes and how are they clearly seen? As already discussed.
- Why are they (unbelievers) without excuse? Because they feel their own inability to find meaning and integrity in their significant relationships yet refuse to turn to the Creator who gave them those desires and who demonstrated what relational integrity is through the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We fall short of the glory of God by saying and doing things which undermine the sense of caring, trust, and respect among those closest to us. Yet we fail to ask for His help. Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10, NKJV) A more abundant life happens when we begin to find integrity in our significant relationships. And we need the work of the Holy Spirit through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to find that. Before He said the words in John 3:16, He said, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5). The kingdom of God is built on relational integrity. God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in perfect communion with one another. And they want us to be a part of it – to participate in that. But we were born into sin and taught to love power more than our fellow human beings or our creator. Jesus said in Mark 1:15, “Change the way you think, believe the good news, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” We won’t know how good that news is until we actually see it fully manifested. But we can begin now. We can begin by asking for His help in our efforts to find meaning and significance in our relationships with other human beings and ultimately with our Creator.
- Are these “churches” (cults) justified in using this passage to engage in various forms of fearmongering? Not only no, but hell no. God’s wrath isn’t about sending people to hell. It’s about His anger when His children fail to trust Him. A little over a year and a half ago I was kicked out of a radical reformed church in Denver and told it was because “you have blasphemed our church”. What I had done is post a YouTube video questioning their coercive practices. I also had the gall to disagree with their soteriology (their views on how people get saved) and views on double predestination and encouraged my son to leave. Which he did – and it was a very brave thing that he did because he knew his mom and stepdad would never speak to him again. But now he’s doing wonderfully. But that church likes to talk about the wrath of God and pretend they are the only ones who understand how people get saved because those things reinforce their coercive practices and fear mongering. They love power more than they love God or their fellow human beings. In fact they have no problem telling people who aren’t deemed to be part of the “Elect” by their so-called pastor, “God doesn’t really love you.” Why not? Because God hasn’t predestined you to be part of the “Elect” like He has us. In a video about Westboro Baptist, someone said that because of this doctrine of predestination, “the Holy Spirit will draw the ones who are meant to believe, so it doesn’t really matter how we present the message.” In other words, it’s okay to use words like “God hates Fags!” or “Thank God for IEDs” in their so-called “witness”. They are witnessing to their man-made doctrine of double predestination, not to the Lord Jesus Christ. In a similar fashion that reformed church in Denver tells people, “God doesn’t love you.” They’re witnessing to their views on predestination. It has nothing to do the being a witness for Jesus Christ. If anything it’s the opposite of a witness for Christ. He was about setting people free. Free from their sins, free from oppression, free from fear of eternal damnation, and free to find integrity in their significant relationships. But these churches are about putting people in bondage through false accusations and fear of eternal damnation. They preach a false gospel. And their doctrine of double predestination makes God the author of evil. It defames His character and overemphasizes His wrath at the expense of His mercy, grace, and love. There is no truth or grace in any of it.
The net-net is God the Father’s wrath (the Greek word is “orge” in Romans 1:18 and could be translated “indignation”) happens when He watches His created beings trust in the things of this world rather than in Himself and the salvation He freely offers us through Christ. We trust in things which are destructive and chase after power and fame and fortune – things which cannot satisfy the human heart. How many people have died in the last few years during “selfie” accidents? We feel a need to find meaning and integrity in our significant relationships but we say and do things which undermine the trust and respect we desire from others. Or we think we are entitled to those things and instead of working hard to earn the trust and respect of others we make ourselves out to be victims of the society which gave us life. And we may not feel it, but we share a need to be in a relationship with our Creator – with a transcendent reality which puts our heart and mind at ease from the suffering and malevolence in the world. Yet we won’t trust Him – we’d rather trust in our popularity or our status on social media or our career or the power of the State with its monopoly on violence and threat of imprisonment. Jesus said, “Change the way you think and believe the good news. The kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Mark 1:15, my translation). And then He went about doing good – healing the sick, raising the dead, and feeding thousands with a few fish and a few loaves of bread. He demonstrated that God’s kingdom is the best place for human beings to be. And it’s not hard to understand that when we get a glimpse of the character of God the Father. Through His invisible attributes which are clearly seen – mostly through our own struggles to find relational integrity on a daily basis.
Because of all that I’m happy to be labeled a blasphemer by that reformed church in Denver. Woffian is Old English meaning “to blaspheme”. Welcome to my journal.