Nevertheless, I am still quite disgusted at what Mohler has done.
One of my readers, "Phil from CA", pointed out on the comments thread that the Biblical definition of a Pharisee was not so much a Christian who is overtly judgemental, but something much worse - in the end, the Pharisees that Jesus spoke against both rejected Jesus as Lord and imposed unbiblical laws upon the people of God that denied Grace and placed the focus on works.
This definition of Pharisee - the Biblical definition - means that those who are "Pharisees" are actually unbelievers.
It was therefore my mistake to class Al Mohler as a Pharisee, since I could be interpreted as saying that Mohler is an unbeliever. I definitely think that Mohler is a believer, and as such does not fit into the definition of a Pharisee.
So if Al is reading this, I offer my full and complete retraction and apologise for labelling him wrongly. I was a bit "hot headed" after reading Reformissionary's post, and fell into the trap of using a term that did not reflect what I truly felt. The really annoying thing is that when Phil from CA reminded me that a true Pharisee was an unbeliever, I said "Of course I know that! Why did I forget??"
Having said all this, however, I still maintain that Al Mohler's position on Alcohol Proscription is wrong. While he is not a Pharisee, his actions are "Pharisaical" in that he is enforcing an unbiblical belief and placing limits on pastors and church members that neither Jesus nor the Apostles or Prophets placed upon the church.
Al Mohler was one of the signatories for the Cambridge Declaration. This is what one section of the declaration says:
We reaffirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation,which alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured.
We deny that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian's conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation.
Yet Al Mohler is enforcing a postion that goes against that which he affirmed back in 1996.
I still ask all my readers to do the following in protest against Mohler's teaching:
- Remove any blogroll links to Al Mohler's website.
- To encourage other Christian bloggers who have blogroll links to Al Mohler's website to remove them and to explain to them the current situation. Posting a link to Reformissionary's article would be necessary for them to make this decision.
- To write to or email Al Mohler and lovingly but firmly rebuke him for his unbiblical teaching.
From the Theosalient Department
© 2005 Neil McKenzie Cameron, http://one-salient-oversight.blogspot.com/
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.
1 comment:
Al,
As you are probably aware, your teachings on alcohol have been commented upon at Steve McCoy's weblog (http://www.stevekmccoy.com/reformissionary/2005/09/sbts_alcohol_an.html)
Along with many in the Christian blogging community, I wish to advise you that your teachings are not found in scripture. By proscribing the consumption of alcohol, you are denying a gift from God (Ps 104:14-15) and placing limits upon pastors and church members that neither Jesus nor the Apostles placed upon anyone.
Moreover you stance clearly contradicts one section of the Cambridge Declaration, of which you were one of its signatories:
"We reaffirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation,which alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured."
"We deny that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian's conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation."
By committing yourself to this teaching, you are denying Sola Scriptura.
I need to also remind you of Proverbs 30:5-6
"Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar."
I urge you, therefore, as a teacher and fellow brother in the Lord, to publically retract your comments and commit yourself to true Biblical belief - and to do this courageously, not fearing the anger of those within the SBC. If you are to lose your position as Principal of SBTC and be publically expelled from the SBC for standing on the Word of God, then that is a small price to pay for pleasing God.
Yours in Christ,
Neil Cameron
a.k.a. "One Salient Oversight"
http://one-salient-oversight.blogspot.com/
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