I've been reading (or wasting time reading?) various blogs this evening. One post I read tonight has really lingered in my mind. Justin Taylor of "Between Two Worlds" has a post titled, "The Gospel According to Bart". Not Bart Simpson, mind you, but Bart Campolo (the son of Tony Campolo). Bart Campolo wrote an article published in Youth Specialties' Journal of Student Ministries titled, "The Limits' of God's Grace" [*See "Update" Below!].
Read Justin Taylor's intro first, then click on the link to Campolo's article. I just want to warn you ahead of time, Campolo's article is blasphemous heresy. However, the tragic part is that Campolo is supposed to be an evangelical. I think it's important that we see what happens when we Christians fail to cling steadfastly to God's revelation of Himself in Scripture. I've written before about how we evangelicals are not being adequately taught doctrine in many of our churches, and also about the need for Christian parents to teach the Bible to their own children. Well, Consider Bart Campolo exhibit "A".
The Campolo article makes me wonder: How many of today's evangelicals could see or experience tragedy (as Campolo does in his work in the inner city) and still confess with Job,
"The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." (Job 1:21)?
*Update: Youth Specialties removed Bart Campolo's article from their website, but you can still read the article here at The Journal of Student Ministries' website.
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4 comments:
i fail to see how one establishes bart's claim as heretical. that's a mighty stiff charge against someone for just raising the question of theodicy. i get the sense from evangelicals that even asking such questions is heresy. that seems frightening enough to keep me in the episcopal fold where a heretic has to get in line behind a lot of john shelby spongs. from george
Dear George,
Campolo's bold expressions of disbelief in God, as He has revealed Himself in Scripture, merit the "mighty stiff charge" of blasphemous heresy. Your failure to see that, sadly, reveals your own ignorance of God and His word, (1 Corinthians 2:14). I suggest you read the Scriptures for yourself--I would recommend the gospel according to John. I will pray that God would be merciful to you, as He was to me, and cause you to also see the good news of the glory of God in Jesus Christ. When you by grace are enabled to see the Lord Jesus Christ as He truly is, you won't wonder why I called Campolo's statements heretical.
moreover, it is not BAD theology bart is dabbling in. it is process theology, which is actually a good theology in that it explains a lot of the evil in the world. however, one unexplainable evil in the world is the wrath that evangelicals pour on one another for using their minds on occasion. i don’t think even process theology could explain that awful tragedy.
If process theology is "actually a good theology in that it explains a lot of the evil in the world", then it does even more than God Himself. You may recall that in the book of Job, God never explains the evil that came upon Job (Job 38-41). The reason is, God doesn't owe us explanations. God doesn't answer to us; we answer to God.
I would assert that Bart Campolo is not only "dabbling" in bad theology, but he is wallowing in unbelief. And, this I say, not an expression of my "wrath" (that's a ridiculous assertion for you to make), but based on what the Bible clearly says, versus what Campolo says.
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