New Calvinism
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New Calvinism, also known as the Young, Restless, and Reformed Movement, is a movement within conservative
Evangelicalism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
that reinterprets 16th century
Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...
under contemporary US values and ideologies.


History

The movement started in the 1980s, with the founding of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood in 1987 in the United States, which stresses the
complementarianism Complementarianism is a theological view in some denominations of Christianity, Rabbinic Judaism, and Islam, that men and women have different but complementary roles and responsibilities in marriage, family, and religious life. Some Christians ...
between men and women (in contrast to
egalitarianism Egalitarianism (; also equalitarianism) is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds on the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hum ...
, and as opposed to
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
). The teaching of
covenant theology Covenant theology (also known as covenantalism, federal theology, or federalism) is a biblical theology, a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall structure of the Bible. It is often distinguished from dis ...
(as opposed to
Wesleyanism Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...
, or
Arminian Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the Christian theology, theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed Church, Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remo ...
theology), a rejection of
dispensationalism Dispensationalism is a Christian theology, theological framework for Biblical hermeneutics, interpreting the Bible which maintains that history is divided into multiple ages called "dispensations" in which God the Father, God interacts with h ...
, and a church governance by male elders are also hallmarks of the movement. The movement gained wider publicity with a conference held in
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
, in 2006, '' Together for the Gospel'' by American pastors John Piper, Paul Washer, John MacArthur, Matt Chandler, Al Mohler, Mark Dever and CJ Mahaney. In March 2009, ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine ranked it as one of the "10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now", while questioning if "more Christians searching for security will submit their wills to the austerely demanding God of their country's infancy".


"Old" and New Calvinism

Rooted in the historical tradition of Calvinist theology, New Calvinists are united by their common doctrine. In a ''
Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "eva ...
'' article, Collin Hansen describes the speakers of a Christian conference: As implied by the “New” designation, some differences have been observed between the New and Old schools. John Piper, for example, has identified what he considers to be 7 main differences between the two: # New Calvinism is complementarian and not egalitarian. # New Calvinism uses contemporary forms of music. # New Calvinism is popular among
Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
. # New Calvinism is popular also among Charismatics. # The books of Jonathan Edwards feature prominently, in addition to those of
John Calvin John Calvin (; ; ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French Christian theology, theologian, pastor and Protestant Reformers, reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of C ...
. # New Calvinism is engaged to using the internet and social media to communicate. # New Calvinism includes
multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...
.


Criticism

R. Scott Clark, professor of church history and
historical theology Historical theology is the study of the history of Christian doctrine. Alister McGrath defines historical theology as 'the branch of theological inquiry which aims to explore the historical development of Christian doctrines, and identify the fa ...
from Westminster Seminary California, argues that New Calvinists like Driscoll should not be called Calvinists merely because they believe in the five points of Calvinism, but rather he suggests that adherence to the
Three Forms of Unity The Three Forms of Unity is a collective name for the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, and the Heidelberg Catechism, which reflect the doctrinal concerns of continental Calvinism and are accepted as official statements of doctrine by man ...
and other Reformed confessions of faith is what qualifies one a Calvinist. Specifically, he suggests that many of the New Calvinists' positions on
infant baptism Infant baptism, also known as christening or paedobaptism, is a Christian sacramental practice of Baptism, baptizing infants and young children. Such practice is done in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, va ...
,
covenant theology Covenant theology (also known as covenantalism, federal theology, or federalism) is a biblical theology, a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall structure of the Bible. It is often distinguished from dis ...
, and
continuation In computer science, a continuation is an abstract representation of the control state of a computer program. A continuation implements ( reifies) the program control state, i.e. the continuation is a data structure that represents the computat ...
of the gifts of the Spirit are out of step with the Reformed tradition. J. Todd Billings, professor of Reformed Theology at
Western Theological Seminary Western Theological Seminary (WTS) is a private seminary located in Holland, Michigan. Established in 1866, it is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America, a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States ...
, argues that the New Calvinists "tend to obscure the fact that the Reformed tradition has a deeply catholic heritage, a Christ-centered sacramental practice and a wide-lens, kingdom vision for the Christian's vocation in the world." Between 2012 and 2013 numerous Southern Baptist Ministers responded to New Calvinism by affirming a "Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding". The document was originally endorsed by six former SBC presidents: Morris Chapman, Jimmy Draper, Paige Patterson, Bailey Smith, Bobby Welch, and Jerry Vines, two seminary presidents Chuck Kelley of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and five state executive directors (Jim Futral of Mississippi, David Hankins of Louisiana,David Hankins
lbc.org
Mike Procter of Alaska, John Sullivan of Florida, and Bob White of Georgia). The statement includes a Preamble and 10 articles of affirmation and denial as it relates to Christian Soteriology. Traditional Reformed theologians criticize the selective and altered use of texts by Reformed classical authors, like Spurgeon in the publications of the New Calvinists without alerting their readers.


New Calvinism Around the World


China

In
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, a new form of Calvinism emerged independently and without the influence of the American movement of the same name in the 1990s. The movement in
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
developed in a completely different way from the rest of the world, especially in China, where it was provoked by the large number of highly educated people who converted to
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
as a way of combating what they consider to be doctrinal errors spread by native churches in the country and building a national church within Calvinism. The emphasis of Chinese Calvinism is on ecclesiology and the involvement of Christianity with the State and society. One of the means of spreading Calvinism in the country is literature and the translation of works by Reformed authors. Unlike the new Calvinism in the Americas, the Chinese movement seeks to distance itself completely from charismatic influence, thus becoming closer to denominations such as the Presbyterian churches, especially due to the influence of missions in South Korea, the country with the largest number of Presbyterians in the world. In addition, the profile of Chinese Calvinists is more educated and younger than that of other Chinese Protestants. Although present in the official Chinese church, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, Calvinists have developed mainly in house church movements. One of the effects of the People's Republic of China (PRC) rapprochement with capitalism is its expansion of individual freedoms and religious freedom. Since then, interest in Calvinism has grown in the country. For most scholars, the focus is on the cultural and political implications of this trend, an appropriate focus given that much of this recent growth has been driven by intellectuals within China who are attracted to the transformative potential of Abraham Kuyper’s (Kuyperian) model of cultural engagement for contemporary Chinese society. For a smaller number of scholars, the interest in Reformed theology reflects a broader interest in exploring the potential of reinforced confessional identities to enable the church in China to come to terms politically, socially, and legally with the theological variety that is perceived as at the root of much of the conflict directed at and growing within the Chinese church today.


Brazil

In Brazil, the new Calvinism movement has many similarities with the North American movement, and its growth occurred mainly through the internet, but also through literary production and conferences. Due to the diversity of influential leaders, New Calvinism reaches Baptists, Methodists, Anglicans and the Assemblies of God in Brazil, not limited to the Reformed Churches as in the past. The criticism of Neo-Pentecostalism, widely disseminated in Pentecostal, Baptist and Reformed churches, brought the various Protestant groups closer together. Due to the desire for reform spread by several Protestant pastors in the 2000s and 2010s, criticisms of neo-Pentecostal Anthropocentrism by Calvinist preachers are supported and shared by young evangelicals of all traditions. In addition, the participation of Pentecostals in conferences, congresses and symposiums with a doctrinally reformed vision has increased, and such participation has further influenced Calvinism's rapprochement with classical Pentecostalism. As a cultural movement that creates its own values and traditions, New Calvinism has served as a reaction to secularism and an impulse to return to principles and lifestyles in accordance with the Christian faith. Although New Calvinism is largely interdenominational, the Presbyterian Church of Brazil, the largest Calvinist denomination in Brazil, experienced rapid growth between 2004 and 2016. Part of this growth is the result of the exodus of mainly former Pentecostals to Presbyterianism. Among the denominations most affected by the movement are the Pentecostal churches, which in recent decades have undergone a drastic change in the profile of their members. Although Pentecostalism grew mainly among people with lower incomes and less education in the 1960s-2000s, in recent decades this has changed. The social ascension of many Pentecostals, as well as the increase in the level of education in the country, allowed many Pentecostals to become interested in theological study. Reformed literature met this need, spreading widely among Pentecostals. Several independent Reformed communities and Reformed Baptist or Covenant Baptist churches emerged adhering to the New Calvinism in Brazil. However, they emphasize that their focus is on individual salvation and that their (New) Calvinist theology would simply be the expression of biblical theology. The main consequences of the New Calvinism in Brazil include: # the emergence of Reformed Pentecostalism, an orientation that seeks to converge the Pentecostal and Reformed traditions, represented mainly by the New Life Christian Church; # the emergence, in 2017, of the Reformed Baptist Convention of Brazil, which seeks to bring together Calvinist Baptists; # the emergence, in 2009, of the Reformed Anglican Church of Brazil, created by Anglican Calvinists; # the accelerated growth of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil between 2004 and 2016, which, according to the denomination's statistics, grew by more than 37% between the years, while the Brazilian population grew by 10.5%; # the emergence of several new Calvinist denominations in Brazil, such as the Christian Church of the Alliance (2001) Igreja Esperança (2008), and the Presbyterian Church of the Reformation in Brazil (2017); # the creation of a Declaration of Faith by the General Convention of the Assemblies of God in Brazil in 2017, which declares Arminianism as official doctrine and combats Calvinism; # splits in traditionally Pentecostal churches that gave rise to Calvinist churches. In 2020, specifically, part of the leadership of the Maranatha Christian Church and a few thousand members joined together to form the Revivalist Reformed Christian Church, with more than one hundred temples and congregations in the year of its founding; and # participation of several Calvinist pastors in the Bolsonaro Government. The main names of the Brazilian movement include Augustus Nicodemus Lopes, Hernandes Dias Lopes, Heber Campos Júnior, Jonas Madureira, Russell Shedd, Yago Martins and Franklin Ferreira.


Notes


References

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Further reading

*{{cite serial , last=Faw , first=Robert , series= Religion & Ethics Newsweekly , title=The New Calvinism , date=3 April 2014 , network= PBS , location=Louisville, Kentucky, United States , url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2014/04/03/april-4-2014-new-calvinism/22607/ Reformed Christianity 21st-century social movements 21st-century Reformed Christianity Religious belief systems founded in the United States