J. Rodriguez Jr. 1929
Puritan Board Freshman
--From the most recent Reformed Forum (Christ the Center) Podcast, July 2, 2017 episode entitled “Dutch Neo-Calvinism and the Roots for Transformation”. Bill Dennison talking about Cornelius Platinga’s Engaging God’s World book and more recent similar literature on transformationalism stuff:
Starting at about Minute 30
The best presentation and the clearest presentation of that [horizontal focus, here-on-earth transformationalism] is Engaging God’s World by Cornelius Plantinga, in the epilogue, where he points out that everything that we see here on this earth will be what we see in the New Heaven and the New Earth. So [C. Plantinga] points out that the forest in Germany will be there. Flip Island, North Carolina [Scribe's Note: Did he mean Fripp Island, South Carolina?] will be in the New Heaven and New Earth. So I always point out to the students Lookout Mountain will be in the New Heaven and New Earth. Covenant College will be there we just won’t have cracks in the sidewalk anymore. It will be restored. Okay.? So I mean…so that’s the horizontal aspect. Now what comes to play theologically here, in this teleologically horizontal position…what happens is that you have in the literature, I’m starting to more and more see, is a concept in terms of a reunderst…a redefinition of sanctification that sanctification now is pressured, is pressed, on something that we do. Okay.? So justification being something that God does in Christ to us, yes. But, also, sanctification is something we do. And, therefore, sanctification is something in which we work towards concerning the consummation, the horizontal aspect. So the task is essentially to transform, and for the creation order people transform all the spheres to the subordination of the norms of Christ…norms that God has put in place, excuse me, in terms of those spheres so that ushers in the final kingdom, or the shalom people whose obsession is not…they don’t like, for example, they don’t care much for Dooyeweerd and Vollenhoven, and so their principle aspect is shalom basically through the literature of Nicholas Wolterstorff and Cornelius Plantinga, and so they’re looking for the concept of mending a broken creation through peace and justice, so they get…their obsession is a kind of movement towards social justice, and that’s what Christians must work towards, that’s what we must do, and that’s what we must be optimistic about in terms of God working in us, his instruments, to bringing in the kingdom in the final consummation. Personally, I think it is absolutely absurd. I become…I have become, if I can give a side on this…I even now become quite sarcastic to my students in the classroom who some of them picked up on this idea, and I say to them: “Let me just see you transform your dorm floor…let me see you do that…before you even think about the world.” [Another hosts/guests: “Every square inch of it.”] Yeah. Yeah… “You can’t even do that.” I says, “And some of you can’t even transform your roomates, you leave your roomates, so how are you going to have this unity aspect.” The other thing I’ve become quite sarcastic about in many ways, then if this is the view of transformation of culture, then let’s start taking…let’s start going in the middle of where ISIS is, let’s go to Iran, let’s see you transform the culture, let’s see you go to Mexico in the middle of the drug wars…Lords and let’s see you do it. I want to see…you can’t even do it in the city you are in. Most of our colleges, Christian colleges, have moved out of inner city and moved to the suburbs. WHY?? You know, you know…So let me put a…let me put a really strong statement right now. I believe that this notion of the transformation of culture is the biggest mythology in Christian education and in the Christian world right now being portrayed. It’s nothing but a works righteousness version of sanctification and the idea of the social gospel. That’s all it is. [Another host/guest: “Wow.”] I guess that says it [loud laughter]. [Another host/guest: “And that’s all folks…talk to you next time.”]
Starting at about Minute 30
The best presentation and the clearest presentation of that [horizontal focus, here-on-earth transformationalism] is Engaging God’s World by Cornelius Plantinga, in the epilogue, where he points out that everything that we see here on this earth will be what we see in the New Heaven and the New Earth. So [C. Plantinga] points out that the forest in Germany will be there. Flip Island, North Carolina [Scribe's Note: Did he mean Fripp Island, South Carolina?] will be in the New Heaven and New Earth. So I always point out to the students Lookout Mountain will be in the New Heaven and New Earth. Covenant College will be there we just won’t have cracks in the sidewalk anymore. It will be restored. Okay.? So I mean…so that’s the horizontal aspect. Now what comes to play theologically here, in this teleologically horizontal position…what happens is that you have in the literature, I’m starting to more and more see, is a concept in terms of a reunderst…a redefinition of sanctification that sanctification now is pressured, is pressed, on something that we do. Okay.? So justification being something that God does in Christ to us, yes. But, also, sanctification is something we do. And, therefore, sanctification is something in which we work towards concerning the consummation, the horizontal aspect. So the task is essentially to transform, and for the creation order people transform all the spheres to the subordination of the norms of Christ…norms that God has put in place, excuse me, in terms of those spheres so that ushers in the final kingdom, or the shalom people whose obsession is not…they don’t like, for example, they don’t care much for Dooyeweerd and Vollenhoven, and so their principle aspect is shalom basically through the literature of Nicholas Wolterstorff and Cornelius Plantinga, and so they’re looking for the concept of mending a broken creation through peace and justice, so they get…their obsession is a kind of movement towards social justice, and that’s what Christians must work towards, that’s what we must do, and that’s what we must be optimistic about in terms of God working in us, his instruments, to bringing in the kingdom in the final consummation. Personally, I think it is absolutely absurd. I become…I have become, if I can give a side on this…I even now become quite sarcastic to my students in the classroom who some of them picked up on this idea, and I say to them: “Let me just see you transform your dorm floor…let me see you do that…before you even think about the world.” [Another hosts/guests: “Every square inch of it.”] Yeah. Yeah… “You can’t even do that.” I says, “And some of you can’t even transform your roomates, you leave your roomates, so how are you going to have this unity aspect.” The other thing I’ve become quite sarcastic about in many ways, then if this is the view of transformation of culture, then let’s start taking…let’s start going in the middle of where ISIS is, let’s go to Iran, let’s see you transform the culture, let’s see you go to Mexico in the middle of the drug wars…Lords and let’s see you do it. I want to see…you can’t even do it in the city you are in. Most of our colleges, Christian colleges, have moved out of inner city and moved to the suburbs. WHY?? You know, you know…So let me put a…let me put a really strong statement right now. I believe that this notion of the transformation of culture is the biggest mythology in Christian education and in the Christian world right now being portrayed. It’s nothing but a works righteousness version of sanctification and the idea of the social gospel. That’s all it is. [Another host/guest: “Wow.”] I guess that says it [loud laughter]. [Another host/guest: “And that’s all folks…talk to you next time.”]
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