The Gospel According to Dave Hunt...
Huntianism-A radically Pelagian theology, advocated by Dave Hunt, which seeks to disprove Calvinism by...
a.) misrepresenting Augustine, Calvin, Luther, and pretty much any other person he happens to disagree with b.) revising history to suit his own theological agenda c.) Attacking Calvinists themselves rather than attacking their theological stance d.) approaching theology in the most irrational, unscholarly, and prideful manner that it never fails to shock me! e.) creating lies about faithful men of God from the past in an attempt to disprove their theology f.) making judgements about the personal character of men who lived hundreds of years ago. This pretty much sums up Dave Hunt!
Never have I read a more foolish, unscholarly and outright prideful writer as Dave Hunt. His writings are filled with venom, his characterization of the Reformers are nothing but lies, and he ignorantly builds straw man arguments, using them to "disprove" what he believes is wrong. And what does he believe? Dave Hunt is a radical Pelagian who despises Calvinism and creates lies about historical Calvinists in order to "disprove" their theology. Here are just a few quotes from Dave Hunt himself:
-“Calvinism presents a God who fills hell with those whom He could save but instead damns because He doesn’t love them” (What Love is This?)
-“Calvin drew from a badly polluted stream when he embraced the teachings of Augustine! How could one dip into such contaminating heresy without becoming confused and infected?” (What Love is This?)
- “Calvin’s conduct day after day and year after year was the very antithesis of what it would have been had he truly been led of the Spirit of God” (What Love is This?)
-"Charles Spurgeon could not accept the teaching that regeneration came before faith in Christ through the gospel.” (What Love is This?)
-"Am I denying that Calvin was saved? No, only God knew his heart. But if all he believed was (as he taught) that Christ died only for the elect, and that his infant baptism into the Roman Catholic Church proved that he was one of the elect, then he never got saved no matter how eloquently he wrote about Christ’s sufferings on the Cross for our sins." (From the Mind of Dave Hunt)
-“Most of those today, including evangelical leaders, who hold Calvin in great esteem, are not aware that they have been captivated by the writings of a devout Roman Catholic newly converted to Luther’s Protestantism only two years previously (in the early part of 1533). Oddly, in spite of its paramount importance and his voluminous writings, we have no clear testimony in Calvin’s own words concerning his salvation. He refers only to ‘a sudden conversion’ which subdued his ‘over-much hardened’ heart, but gives no description of how or what happened. … By any standard, this young man, though unusually bright, was far from mature in the Christian faith. … Unquestionably, his Institutes could not possibly have come from a deep and fully developed evangelical understanding of Scripture. Instead, they came from the energetic enthusiasm of a recent law graduate and fervent student of philosophy and religion, a young genius devoted to Augustine and a newly adopted cause. … At the time of writing his Institutes Calvin, far from being an apostle like Paul, was a brand-new convert to the faith who had scarcely begun to walk with the Lord. Therefore, it could not have been spiritual maturity under the guidance of the Holy Spirit that brought forth the Institutes, but the power of Calvin’s brilliant legal mind.” (Debating Calvinsim)
-"Calvinism offers a special definition of human depravity: that depravity equals inability -- and this special definition necessitates both Unconditional Election and Irresistible Grace. … There is not a verse in the Bible, however, which presents Calvinism’s radical idea that the sinner is incapable of believing the very gospel which offers him forgiveness and salvation and yet he is condemned by God for failing to believe. … To say that God commands men to do what they cannot do without His grace, then withholds the grace they need and punishes them eternally for failing to obey, is to make a mockery of God’s Word, of His mercy and love, and is to libel His character.” (Debating Calvinsim)
-“Take a human understanding of ‘dead,’ mix it together with the young John Calvin’s immature understanding of God’s Word, tainted by Augustinian philosophy, stir it up and out comes the theory of Total Depravity.” (Debating Calvinism)
-“There is no escaping the fact that in Calvin’s entire Institutes of the Christian Religion there is not one mention of God’s love for the lost!” (Debating Calvinism)
-“One of the sad features of Calvin’s Institutes is the demeaning language he continually employs (much like Luther) to vilify all who disagree with him.” [note: I find this quote particularly funny! Anyone who has read even a little of Dave Hunt's writings can observe how venemous, deceptive, and outright prideful they are.]
-“Tragically, Calvinism’s misrepresentation of God has caused many to turn away from the God of the Bible as from a monster.”
-“Rather than any natural brilliance, Calvin’s arguments reflect a bias toward the sacramentalism he learned as a Roman Catholic from Augustine, which he elaborated upon and thereafter was compelled to defend. His logic often betrays a spiritual immaturity. Incredibly, Calvin argued: ‘… But if baptism was of God [referring to the Catholic infant baptism he received as a child], it certainly included in it the promise of forgiveness of sin, mortification of the flesh, quickening of the Spirit, and communion with Christ.’ These astonishing statements reflect a sacramentalism which maintains that the physical act of baptism has spiritual power and imparts regeneration. To be baptized by Roman Catholic priests who were not even Christians but held to and promoted a false gospel, was perfectly acceptable to Calvin because they used the name of God when they administered it!” [note: I'm so glad that Dave Hunt is so spiritually mature and has such a great knowledge of John Calvin's character as to label him "spiritually immature." I'm sure he's qualified to make those judgements. I'm sure Dave talked to Mr. Calvin a number of times and came away with firm convictions about his spiritual immaturity! (a hint of sarcasm there). Also notice how Dave Hunt completely twists Calvin's own words in an attempt to prove that he trusted in his baptism as a means of acceptance with God. Calvin merely states that baptism depicts, in a visible and tangible way, the promise of forgiveness, mortification, quickening of the Spirit, and communion with Christ.]
Dave Hunt is a joke. The foundation of his Pelagianism lies in unscholarly straw man arguments which are both deceptive and preposterous. He is an embarassment to those Arminians who have worked through the issues thoughftfully, and He is a revisionist historian whose mischaracterizations of John Calvin, Augustine, and others are just plain lies. John Calvin thought that his baptism was the basis for his acceptance with God? This sure isn't the John Calvin I've been reading, whose love for the doctrine of justification by faith alone permeates all of his writings. Charles Spurgeon wasn't a Calvinist Mr. Hunt? Are you serious? Do you honestly desire for me to take you seriously? Spurgeon was one of the strongest Calvinistic Baptists throughout history and if you don't believe me, pick up some of his sermons and READ! Hunt feels qualified to merely sweep away Augustine's theology by saying that he was a Roman Catholic whose teachings were influenced by Manicheism. Has Dave Hunt actually read the Confessions, or The City of God? The truth of the matter is, Dave Hunt is not a theologian, a scholar, or even a true student of God's word. Dave Hunt is a deceptive Pelagian whose extreme man-centeredness is actually closer to Roman Catholicism than anything I've ever read by a "Protestant." He is ignorant of church history, prideful in his deceptive assertions, and heretical in his teaching concerning salvation. A word to those who have ever considered reading Dave Hunt: DONT WASTE YOUR TIME! If you want to understand Pelagianism, read a Pelagian author who has actually thought through the issues rationally. God remains sovereign in the salvation of sinners despite the attacks of mindless men like Dave Hunt. He sovereingly chose us before the foundation of the world, sent His Son to purchase redemption for His people, gave us the Holy Spirit of promise who regenerated our depraved and sinful hearts, and will keep us to the end, producing in us obedience and devotion. I close this post with a quote by Charles Spurgeon who according to Hunt was an Arminian. Ahh...this nonsense makes me laugh.
"... and I will go as far as Martin Luther, in that strong assertion of his, where he says, 'If any man doth ascribe of salvation, even the very least, to the free will of man, he knoweth nothing of grace, and he hath not learnt Jesus Christ aright.' It may seem a harsh sentiment; but he who in his soul believes that man does, of his own free will turn to God, cannot have been taught of God, for that is one of the first principles taught us when God begins with us, that we have neither will nor power, but that He gives both; that he is 'Alpha and Omega' in the salvation of men."
-C.H. Spurgeon (from a sermon entitled...Free Will a Slave)
a.) misrepresenting Augustine, Calvin, Luther, and pretty much any other person he happens to disagree with b.) revising history to suit his own theological agenda c.) Attacking Calvinists themselves rather than attacking their theological stance d.) approaching theology in the most irrational, unscholarly, and prideful manner that it never fails to shock me! e.) creating lies about faithful men of God from the past in an attempt to disprove their theology f.) making judgements about the personal character of men who lived hundreds of years ago. This pretty much sums up Dave Hunt!
Never have I read a more foolish, unscholarly and outright prideful writer as Dave Hunt. His writings are filled with venom, his characterization of the Reformers are nothing but lies, and he ignorantly builds straw man arguments, using them to "disprove" what he believes is wrong. And what does he believe? Dave Hunt is a radical Pelagian who despises Calvinism and creates lies about historical Calvinists in order to "disprove" their theology. Here are just a few quotes from Dave Hunt himself:
-“Calvinism presents a God who fills hell with those whom He could save but instead damns because He doesn’t love them” (What Love is This?)
-“Calvin drew from a badly polluted stream when he embraced the teachings of Augustine! How could one dip into such contaminating heresy without becoming confused and infected?” (What Love is This?)
- “Calvin’s conduct day after day and year after year was the very antithesis of what it would have been had he truly been led of the Spirit of God” (What Love is This?)
-"Charles Spurgeon could not accept the teaching that regeneration came before faith in Christ through the gospel.” (What Love is This?)
-"Am I denying that Calvin was saved? No, only God knew his heart. But if all he believed was (as he taught) that Christ died only for the elect, and that his infant baptism into the Roman Catholic Church proved that he was one of the elect, then he never got saved no matter how eloquently he wrote about Christ’s sufferings on the Cross for our sins." (From the Mind of Dave Hunt)
-“Most of those today, including evangelical leaders, who hold Calvin in great esteem, are not aware that they have been captivated by the writings of a devout Roman Catholic newly converted to Luther’s Protestantism only two years previously (in the early part of 1533). Oddly, in spite of its paramount importance and his voluminous writings, we have no clear testimony in Calvin’s own words concerning his salvation. He refers only to ‘a sudden conversion’ which subdued his ‘over-much hardened’ heart, but gives no description of how or what happened. … By any standard, this young man, though unusually bright, was far from mature in the Christian faith. … Unquestionably, his Institutes could not possibly have come from a deep and fully developed evangelical understanding of Scripture. Instead, they came from the energetic enthusiasm of a recent law graduate and fervent student of philosophy and religion, a young genius devoted to Augustine and a newly adopted cause. … At the time of writing his Institutes Calvin, far from being an apostle like Paul, was a brand-new convert to the faith who had scarcely begun to walk with the Lord. Therefore, it could not have been spiritual maturity under the guidance of the Holy Spirit that brought forth the Institutes, but the power of Calvin’s brilliant legal mind.” (Debating Calvinsim)
-"Calvinism offers a special definition of human depravity: that depravity equals inability -- and this special definition necessitates both Unconditional Election and Irresistible Grace. … There is not a verse in the Bible, however, which presents Calvinism’s radical idea that the sinner is incapable of believing the very gospel which offers him forgiveness and salvation and yet he is condemned by God for failing to believe. … To say that God commands men to do what they cannot do without His grace, then withholds the grace they need and punishes them eternally for failing to obey, is to make a mockery of God’s Word, of His mercy and love, and is to libel His character.” (Debating Calvinsim)
-“Take a human understanding of ‘dead,’ mix it together with the young John Calvin’s immature understanding of God’s Word, tainted by Augustinian philosophy, stir it up and out comes the theory of Total Depravity.” (Debating Calvinism)
-“There is no escaping the fact that in Calvin’s entire Institutes of the Christian Religion there is not one mention of God’s love for the lost!” (Debating Calvinism)
-“One of the sad features of Calvin’s Institutes is the demeaning language he continually employs (much like Luther) to vilify all who disagree with him.” [note: I find this quote particularly funny! Anyone who has read even a little of Dave Hunt's writings can observe how venemous, deceptive, and outright prideful they are.]
-“Tragically, Calvinism’s misrepresentation of God has caused many to turn away from the God of the Bible as from a monster.”
-“Rather than any natural brilliance, Calvin’s arguments reflect a bias toward the sacramentalism he learned as a Roman Catholic from Augustine, which he elaborated upon and thereafter was compelled to defend. His logic often betrays a spiritual immaturity. Incredibly, Calvin argued: ‘… But if baptism was of God [referring to the Catholic infant baptism he received as a child], it certainly included in it the promise of forgiveness of sin, mortification of the flesh, quickening of the Spirit, and communion with Christ.’ These astonishing statements reflect a sacramentalism which maintains that the physical act of baptism has spiritual power and imparts regeneration. To be baptized by Roman Catholic priests who were not even Christians but held to and promoted a false gospel, was perfectly acceptable to Calvin because they used the name of God when they administered it!” [note: I'm so glad that Dave Hunt is so spiritually mature and has such a great knowledge of John Calvin's character as to label him "spiritually immature." I'm sure he's qualified to make those judgements. I'm sure Dave talked to Mr. Calvin a number of times and came away with firm convictions about his spiritual immaturity! (a hint of sarcasm there). Also notice how Dave Hunt completely twists Calvin's own words in an attempt to prove that he trusted in his baptism as a means of acceptance with God. Calvin merely states that baptism depicts, in a visible and tangible way, the promise of forgiveness, mortification, quickening of the Spirit, and communion with Christ.]
Dave Hunt is a joke. The foundation of his Pelagianism lies in unscholarly straw man arguments which are both deceptive and preposterous. He is an embarassment to those Arminians who have worked through the issues thoughftfully, and He is a revisionist historian whose mischaracterizations of John Calvin, Augustine, and others are just plain lies. John Calvin thought that his baptism was the basis for his acceptance with God? This sure isn't the John Calvin I've been reading, whose love for the doctrine of justification by faith alone permeates all of his writings. Charles Spurgeon wasn't a Calvinist Mr. Hunt? Are you serious? Do you honestly desire for me to take you seriously? Spurgeon was one of the strongest Calvinistic Baptists throughout history and if you don't believe me, pick up some of his sermons and READ! Hunt feels qualified to merely sweep away Augustine's theology by saying that he was a Roman Catholic whose teachings were influenced by Manicheism. Has Dave Hunt actually read the Confessions, or The City of God? The truth of the matter is, Dave Hunt is not a theologian, a scholar, or even a true student of God's word. Dave Hunt is a deceptive Pelagian whose extreme man-centeredness is actually closer to Roman Catholicism than anything I've ever read by a "Protestant." He is ignorant of church history, prideful in his deceptive assertions, and heretical in his teaching concerning salvation. A word to those who have ever considered reading Dave Hunt: DONT WASTE YOUR TIME! If you want to understand Pelagianism, read a Pelagian author who has actually thought through the issues rationally. God remains sovereign in the salvation of sinners despite the attacks of mindless men like Dave Hunt. He sovereingly chose us before the foundation of the world, sent His Son to purchase redemption for His people, gave us the Holy Spirit of promise who regenerated our depraved and sinful hearts, and will keep us to the end, producing in us obedience and devotion. I close this post with a quote by Charles Spurgeon who according to Hunt was an Arminian. Ahh...this nonsense makes me laugh.
"... and I will go as far as Martin Luther, in that strong assertion of his, where he says, 'If any man doth ascribe of salvation, even the very least, to the free will of man, he knoweth nothing of grace, and he hath not learnt Jesus Christ aright.' It may seem a harsh sentiment; but he who in his soul believes that man does, of his own free will turn to God, cannot have been taught of God, for that is one of the first principles taught us when God begins with us, that we have neither will nor power, but that He gives both; that he is 'Alpha and Omega' in the salvation of men."
-C.H. Spurgeon (from a sermon entitled...Free Will a Slave)
posted by ReformedVictorious at 3:46 PM
3 Comments:
Good stuff in there Jordan. I know I need to keep reading (and a little faster if possible) but it is good to learn from those who have read and seen that someone is not worth reading. I dont know if you have read anything from NT Wright or if you were going to expound on his works, but he might be a good one to post up there.
Also, here is one of my favorite quotes from the *ahem* Arminian Spurgeon...
“Some persons love the doctrine of universal atonement. Yet if it was Christ’s intention to save every man, how deplorably has he been disappointed, for there is a lake of fire, and into that pit of woe have been caset some of the very persons, who according to the theory of universal redemption were bought with His blood. We cannot preach the gospel unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of His elect and chosen people which Christ wrought upon the cross.”
Thanks again man. Keep up the great work.
jake
Wow! This guy does sound like someone else you and I have been reading lately! ;)
Part of me wants to graciously say, "Well, we've all got our problems..." But this guy is seriously laughable. I hope I never meet him because 1) I would have a hard time keeping a straight face and 2) he would probably persecute the hizell out of me! =o
I must warn that Clavanism is very heretical!
So many Calvanists hold alligance to John Calvin BEFORE the Scripture! Proof: when you challenge a Calvanist via the Words of God, they almost always go back to the Reformation, butit is imperative that we realize the Church was born on the day of Pentecost! There are not two seperate churches,but on the contrary THE Church is made up of living (spiritually & physically) members who have been Born Again by the Spirit of God Almighty, through faith in Christ Alone!
In love I truly must say that - to believe in Calvinism, one HAS to jump over (skip over), cut out, rearrange & twist the incorruptible Words of God!
Of coarse God has used men mightily who did adhere to Mr. Calvin's doctrines (ie George Whitefield)- but nonetheless that does not confirm its Biblical!
I write this in genuine love - & do not not fellowship with one who is a Calvanist, I simply grieve over such a heretical view & deception!
The whole OSAS (Unconditional "live how you want" Security (Even though most OSAS adherers wouldn't say that - but this doctrine gives one permission for such a lifestyle).
Grace is a gift! The Bible speaks of one can fall from Grace - which is turning back to a life of works & living by the Law! The New Covenant is about God's Holiness being imparted to the repentanat one, and God redeeming "whosoever will call on the name of the Lord"! I'm so glad that Christ dies for ALL of mankind and He holds His hands out not just for a select few, but EVERY sinner alive! Amen!
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