POSITION
PAPER ON SCHOLARS AND OTHER ASSORTED TROUBLE MAKERS
BY PASTOR
STEVE VAN NATTAN Editor:
Blessed Quietness Journal
There
is an obsession these days with scholarship. All of the seminaries in this country,
without exception, have given themselves over to this. The Bible colleges have
done the same. Only a few local church-operated Bible Institutes have resisted
scholarship as their objective. I have traveled all over the country visiting
churches as a missionary's kid, and I have done so later as a missionary. I
have heard the tales of woe from Oregon to Arizona, from Maine to San Diego.
I have walked the
pathetic halls of Dallas Seminary where some students don't even go to church
on Sunday, and I lived, for twelve years, just 30 miles from Grand Rapids Baptist
Seminary (GARBC) where one Baptist student was publicly exalted by St. Andrew's
Roman Catholic Church as an example of good Catholic zeal-- He prayed using
Rosary beads! Now there is a great future scholar for you. The new
President of the same school spent most of his first speech in that school recently
talking about how pretty the girls are, while one of his shining Professors wrote
a book showing that Hell is not real.
It
is interesting that even the ungodly world recognizes the peril of scholarship:
"I
prefer the company of peasants because they have not been educated sufficiently
to reason incorrectly." Michel de Montaigne
Some will say, "Just because scholarship has run amuck here and there doesn't
mean that scholarship is all evil." That is a demonic lie, and here is why:
1. God hates
man's scholarship-
1
Corinthians 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be
wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
It is customary for Bible college and Seminary instructors to show great dignity.
When were they fools? My friend, Pastor Bob Shotts, once asked Dr. John
Walvoord of Dallas seminary about the Bible textual issue. Walvoord, in seeking
to reduce brother Shotts to look foolish to those standing around, asked him to
name some true scholars who supported the King James Version and the Textus Receptus.
All of those Bob named were cast aside by an arrogant gesture by Dr. Walvoord,
who followed with, "Now, name some true scholars." This is the opposite of the
above verse. Brother Bob Shotts had the great honor of being made a fool by John
Walvoord. Thus, brother Shotts usefulness, according to the above verse,
was assured, while Dr. John Walvoord was assured of being a "castaway" and a jerk.
[ By
the way, Pastor Shotts, a fool for Christ, was with me at lunch at a fancy restaurant
one day-- I think we had a Big Mac and fries and a shake-- and as we talked he
and I both became very distracted. I was checking out a group of Arab men,
and brother Shotts was checking out a group of Mexicans. Soon, I told pastor
Shotts that I thought the men I was watching were Arabs. Brother Shotts
said, "You get the Arabs, and I'll get the Mexicans for the Lord." We both
got up and went and visited with them and talked about Christ to them. I
heard brother Shotts invite the Mexicans to come and visit his church
in the his warm southern and godly manner. He was so sweet that the Mexicans
were grinning and loving his gentle spirit. Bob had an uncanny way of making
you think that he was practically family to you in under two minutes flat. Now,
did you ever hear a story like that about John Walvoord? I doubt it. Scholars
are too busy agitating their great brains and maintaining their pompous dignity
to go talk to strangers about the Gospel. Oh, but John Walvoord would
make a splendid "keynote speaker" at your next convention, unless, that is, he
has already gone to his reward where he was warmly received I am sure. ]
The
most mundane little lady in Appalachia, who trusts the KJV as the preserved text
of the Bible, is a greater "scholar" than Dr. John Walvoord, and all the runny
nosed brat PhDs at Bob Jones Unifarsety.
1
Corinthians 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it
is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
I Corinthians
1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto
us which are saved it is the power of God. 19
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing
the understanding of the prudent.
John Walvoord and all those pedants who carry the New International Version, or
any text other than the King James Bible, are Hell bound fools for Satan. I am
a fool for Christ. I believe that Revelation 22 is an absolute, and there
is no room for a gray area:
Revelation
22:18-19- For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy
of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the
plagues that are written in this book: 19
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy,
God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city,
and from the things which are written in this book.
It is alleged by "scholars" that the "original manuscripts" have been lost, and
so we can take the equivalent of First and Second Peter from the Bible, and it
will still be the Word of God. Do you see what monstrous fools these scholars
are? We just read that you cannot take away from God's Word and stay in
the book of life. Tares come in fine clothes with a PhD and pompously spouting
ecclesiastical platitudes and verbose scum-isms.
Never mind, don't let the beggars intimidate you. They are on their way to Hell
with their perverted "Bibles." I TOLD you scholarship is hated by God.
I
Corinthians 1:20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer
of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21
For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
God does not need your scurvy scholarship. He needs preachers. John Machey had
a Bible Institute in Formosa in about 1900 where he taught young men to be preachers.
One day the school cook said he wanted to go to a particularly violent tribe
and preach the Gospel. Machey sent him off. He was not the most likely one to
expect to do such a job, but years later Machey went into the area to see what
had happened.
Hundreds had been saved, and the whole area was eagerly waiting for Machey to
come and confirm their church as correct in the Pauline model. He did so with
no objections at all. A COOK is all God needed! Who needs a scholar? It is scholars
in these seminaries and large pulpits that have pulled virtually every denomination
into the ditch since the Reformation, including EVERY Baptist denomination today.
It is scholars that have made the title "Fundamentalist" a joke in Christian circles.
How many tracts do you suppose the average seminary instructor hands out in a
week? I know mission board leaders who have had no personal witness in years.
Too busy agitating their pedantic possibilities I presume.
1
Corinthians 8:1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all
have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
It is the
most charitable thing you can do to blast a scholar out of his saddle. You might
save a brother, IF he is a brother and not a wolf in sheep's clothing [ commonly
a three piece suit in this era ].
2
And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought
to know. 3
But if any man love God, the same is known of him.
The pinnacle of knowledge is to know God. Nothing needs to be added to that. Seminary
trained Greek scholars feel superior to those who only have a King James Bible.
Can we completely know God only through the English Bible? YES! So, the four flusher
that parses Greek verbs on Sunday morning for God's saints is a fool and
probably not saved at all.
Proverbs
3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 7
Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
As soon as a man
knows he is wise, he is a pitiful worthless fool. God won't use a man who knows
he is wise and scholarly. How can you tell a scholar is standing in front of you?
2.
NINE MARKS OF A SCHOLARLY FOOL:
First,
he talks in a lofty manner
that SEEMS holy. He uses big words without defining them for the most ignorant
child present. After the message, he gathers all the intellectuals at the
front, and the ordinary saint is only permitted to listen from a distance or buy
one of his books on the back table. His conversation will be tossed back
and forth by other such scholarly fools present, who earn their place in the order
of the peck by making sure the presiding scholar retains his position of pontification.
May I suggest you take the higher ground by simply and boldly blasting the
great scholar with a good KJV text on humility. Or ask what some KJV passage
on humility means-- with a very sincere look on your face.
Second, he
refers to other scholars who agree with him rather than proving his thoughts only
with the Word of God. He answers all hard question beginning, "We believe that
blab blab blab blab..." The editorial "WE" implies that he has a flock of
scholarly friends who agree with him. The only legitimate use of the singular
"WE" in the English speaking world is allowed by Queen Elizabeth of England. Don't
let the scholar get away with that editorial trick. Demand the scholar give
you his list of "WE." If he refuses, turn to someone listening, laugh heartlessly,
and say, "The "WE" means he has a mouse in his pocket," and walk away belly laughing.
Have them in derision.
Third,
he frequently uses a bible
text other than the King James Bible. He also corrects the Bible by claiming
that the English is not clear, whereupon he launches into a rapid fire and complicated
discussion of some alleged Greek improvement to the meaning. Tell him, "I
know the Greek well. His name is George Popopolous, and he plays a mean
saxophone." Walk off laughing heartily.
Fourth,
he usually has a covey
of groupies attached to him who think he can do no wrong and must never be questioned.
This can happen even where the man uses the KJV. Beware of Fundamentalist gurus
who seek and get absolute loyalty! They cover their lust for the scholar's
role by claiming they are practicing "pastoral rule." Ask them who appointed
them dictator of Christ's Church. Blast them mercilessly. It is not uncommon
to learn, years later, that these type "scholars" make a secret study
of the female anatomy when between meetings.
Fifth,
the perfect scholarly fool
performs best after a grand introduction and with a good offering.
Sixth, he
seldom, if ever, lowers himself to do a Bible study in a dirty house on the poor
side of town.
Seventh, [this
one will come later] He burns in Hell with the devils who possessed him. And,
you thought God was stuck with him, eh?
Proverbs
26:12 Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than
of him.
Isaiah 5:21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their
own sight! 22
Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong
drink:
Eighth--
I think it is interesting
that, to God, scholars and drunks are in the same context. I agree, in fact,
I think it is easier to get along with drunks than with scholars. Most drunks
know they are drunk. Scholars cannot conceive of the fact that they are
drunk on their own wisdom.
Jeremiah
8:8 How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly
in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain. 9
The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected
the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?
Ninth-- Did
you notice how the Seminaries and Bible colleges brag on themselves? Where
are we ever told to boast of anything but the Lord and his power and goodness?
The advertisements of these schools, who boast in themselves, are the proof of
their poverty of mind and soul. If they turned students into tigers for the Lord,
they could not handle all the applications. The "rough on rats"
Bible Institutes of the world are usually packed to the walls.
The same goes for
local churches that advertise and brag on how much better their "program" is.
It is garbage to God. They are groveling in the refuse at the dung gate. Their
large numbers consist of lookie loos who want an anonymous religion. A classic
case is Grace Community Church of the Valley in California. Stand on the
balcony across from the entrance, and watch the anonymous junkies of John Mac
Arthur's Bloodless prissy natured scholarship come out of the building after the
Sunday AM service. They don't hang around to chat. The vast majority
race to their cars and run back to the security of their toy box at home.
Romans
11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest
ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to
Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Roman 12:16
Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to
men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
Look
how often Paul warns against being proud of wisdom. This is in the midst of one
of the most lofty spiritual mysteries. This teaching is the foundation for "Dispensationalism"
[ A perfectly good word turned into an "ism" ]. The most lofty teaching or doctrine
MUST be made understandable to the simple beginner in Christ. The mark of a Spirit-filled
Bible teacher is that he has the simple yet deep truths so well under Christ-minded
control that the most ordinary saint can grasp them, and no one gives him any
glory for it in the end! AND, his resumé is the fruit of his ministry,
not his degrees.
3.
God gives men wisdom and knowledge. What is it like?
James
3:15 This wisdom[ scholarship ]
descendeth not from above, but is earthly,
sensual, devilish.
The wisdom of scholars is devilish. Demons possess the minds of seminary scholars.
They are more dangerous than an exploding nuclear power plant. They are infested
with raw demonic power. For this reason, you are safer in a meditation class
at Maharishi University in Fairview, Iowa than on the steps of Dallas Seminary
in Baptist Texas. Why? Answer: At Maharishi U. you will KNOW
you are on the devil's turf and take a defensive posture. At Dallas Seminary
you may well relax and assume that you are in a safe haven-- thus committing spiritual
suicide.
16
For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and
easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without
hypocrisy.
4.
Nine marks of a wise steward of the Gospel and the Word of God:
Please read again verses
16-17 above for the context of the following discussion.
First,
his wisdom is PURE.
There
is no mixture with philosophy and worldly filth. He doesn't need to get
support from other great "pillars of the faith". He keeps everything down to two
categories, the "profane or the Holy"
Ezekiel
44:23 (KJV) And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and
profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
He
has no "gray areas".
Second,
his wisdom is PEACEABLE.
He
puts the minds of threatened saints at peace with the Lord. He provokes and blasts
scholarly wolves in front of the Church so as to put the saints at peace with
the Word and at enmity with the wolves. His war is with Satan, not with Bible
believers, so he is at peace with those who are slow of learning or who can only
take in small doses. They are among his closest friends.
Third,
he is GENTLE.
But,
with whom is he gentle? Answer: with Bible believers. Nothing gives him
more zeal than to catch a scholarly viper in his error and slap him up the side
of his fat ecclesiastical head with the Truth. He is gentle with those sheep who
follow the Master in simplicity, but he is death on the complicated air heads
from the halls of mighty thought. An old Irish pastor, Jack Johnson, used to visit
us missionaries on the missionfield in Ethiopia. His simplicity and gentleness
were so real that he could wound us greatly in the Lord, and we loved him for
it and begged him to return and bless us again with such gentle wounds. Gentleness
is possible to those who start as fools and let the Holy Ghost add the wisdom.
Fourth,
he is EASY TO BE ENTREATED.
He is not sure of his teaching unless he has a
King James Bible in his hands. He will take council if you can show him from the
Bible that he has an error. He may even hold back teaching for a while if he sees
that the learner is being overly wounded. The Holy Spirit can stop him and
start him up again as the moment requires. He is "instant, in season, out of season"
[ II Tim. 4:2 ], in other words, he can be interrupted anytime to pass on God's
wisdom, even in the middle of his favorite text, even if he can't "finish this
message today".
Fifth,
he is FULL OF MERCY.
We
note again that the fool made wise by God remembers that he started out as a fool.
No one in front of him, who shows the smallest zeal for the truth will be cast
aside by him. He will not allow a believer to be compared with another believer.
Rather he will exalt Jesus and say, "Here is you example, be like Him." Even the
smallest victory in a faltering believer will encourage him to keep teaching the
sheep. But, his mercy for the sincere seeker will vastly contrast with his zeal
to tear down lofty hypocrites in their wicked schemes. The same Master who loved
and had compassion on the young ruler who was seeking; that Master blasted the
Pharisees and called them snakes. So the fool made wise by God calls the scholars
snakes from the pit of Hell, and that is indeed a very charitable and merciful
thing to say. It in no way compromises gentleness or mercifulness, rather; it
sets it apart in the black and white model which Jesus gave us.
Sixth, he is FULL OF GOOD
FRUITS.
He
is not simply a champion cracker eater or a "keynote speaker." Ian Thomas
had only five sermons, so he would not take an invitation to speak six times in
the same place. The Bible believers in Ireland and England finally just
quit calling him out, which is why he moved to the USA. What a dud!
The wise steward
is found handing out tracts, picking up a piece of cake a little child dropped,
hugging the child to keep him from feeling foolish, never touching ladies other
than his wife, loosening his tie to get going when the message gets exciting,
bragging on the hostess's cooking, helping wash the dishes, being last to turn
out the lights and lock the doors because the deacon in charge has a headache
and had to go home early, teaching anyway when he is a physical mess for some
reason, teaching when his child is sick at home, rejoicing in a $20 offering,
going on when all turn against him, and resisting the Devil at every opportunity,
especially when tempted to overeat. It is impossible to be spiritual and be a
big fat blimp. Nothing is more disgusting than a big slow bellied scholar-- Dr.
Fat Albert?
Seventh,
he is WITHOUT PARTIALITY.
He
never drops a sermon the Holy Spirit gave him because a big giver will be offended.
This is what 95% of modern scholars are doing in America's pulpits. He never drops
a sermon because he is still having some battle with personal victory in the subject.
He never takes sides for his own benefit. He never listens to Christians run down
other saints if they are not present. Even if they are present, he discerns quickly
if reproof and rebuke are self-serving to the giver and blasts the process with
Scripture until it stops. He never gripes about who is sitting in front of him
or how many showed up. Two or three and Jesus is a quorum to him. He never asks
the saints to act together unless they have one mind. He hates party spirit.
Also, WITHOUT PARTIALITY,
he is just as hard on the Pope as he is on Joseph Smith out in Salt Lake. I am
sick of these wimps who write books on the cults but leave the filthy Whore of
Rome out. Do they think the Whore is somehow actually just a fallen Bride. Maybe
that is also why they have no stomach for church discipline when their flock play
the whore. Maybe that explains their waffling over bisexual men in their GARBC
church. Scholars are too lofty to grovel in such matters as protecting young boys.
Eighth,
he is not a HYPOCRITE.
The
wise steward doesn't trust his own ideas unless solidly based on the Word of God.
He never expects the saints to respond to the truth until he has already done
so. He tells the saints right up front if he made a mistake in a former message
and blasts his own errors with the same zeal in which he blasts the errors of
the scholars. I heard one preacher get up and completely destroy his previous
teaching on a certain text. He was totally disgusted with himself and said so
over and over. The saints listening to him learned to examine themselves in true
humility.
A fool made wise by the Holy Ghost will apologize for blunders and carelessness
as big as he did it, then go on and trust the saints to forgive him. A scholar
seldom apologizes for anything, and he is always on guard to cover for past errors
with, "Yes, we said that in the past, and now we understand it better." Note the
editorial "we", like he wants to somehow blame the Holy Spirit for giving him
progressive revelation rather than saying, "Please forgive me, I made a mess of
that text."
CONCLUSION
James
3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
And
so we conclude that there is no use in the Lord's Church for scholars as we know
them today. Never hesitate to put them in their vile depraved place using
the King James Bible. Never buy their books or send your children to their
cemeteries, oops, seminaries or Bible colleges. Their "wisdom" belongs on
the strawberries, not in the church house.
You cannot get a better Bible training and preparation for Christian service than
you will get right there in your own local New Testament church. You don't agree?
Prove it in English and only from the Bible, KJV 1611 please.
Otherwise, kindly address all scholarly rebuttals to Santa Clause, North Pole,
666. Thank you.
LAST GRENADE:
This
Psalm, while having a second meaning in reference to Christ the Messiah, is also
about the situation of the most ordinary man who submits to God:
Psalms
8:1 (KJV) O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast
set thy glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings
hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still
the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy
fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4 What is man,
that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 5
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with
glory and honour. 6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy
hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: 7 All sheep and oxen, yea,
and the beasts of the field; 8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea,
and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD our Lord, how
excellent is thy name in all the earth!
1
Timothy 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God,
be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
I
need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that he died for me.
______________________
A
biblical scholar named Boultamat,
Put
the emPHAsis on the penulTImate;
'Til
in cerebral pain,
He
fried his poor brain;
And
at Whispering Pines his fate he met.
VIDEO
VIDEO
BY AN AUTHOR WHO STUDIED THE SNOB CLASS IN THE USA This
man forces snobs to realize how they are totally out of touch with ordinary people.
As you watch, think of the Christian scholars who are also out of touch with the
ordinary Christian. Which one would Jesus go looking for if he returned in the
flesh to live amongst us?
When
is the last time a Bible scholar answered a question you had arrived at on your
own? I bet you could not think of one, right? That is because the scholars
of this world decided what questions you need answered, and if you don't show
a deep interest in their blather and bluster, they move on and politely curse
you.
The
indication that scholarship in Christians circles is an aspiration rather than
a tool to help ordinary Bible believers is the way thousands of preachers rush
to get bogus doctorates by mail order from fly by night "universities."
These dime store doctors are desperate to be seen as scholars, and they often
remind you that you should call them doctor. In fact, they use their mail order
degree to simply rule the sheep and fleece them.
Preacher,
this is for you. I suspect that a very high percent of all preachers who read
this journal are climbing, building a better and better resume, and emotionally
walking away from their congregations in spite of the window dressing of verbal
hugs they give them. Within conservative Christian circles the exact same gulf
is forming between climbers and ordinary pew warmers. And, as one of the men in
the video says, this will become a monster in the lives of the next generation.
Thus:
So,
what would Jesus do with the picture of "Coming Apart" in the social
structure of America?
1
Corinthians 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock,
and unto the Greeks foolishness; 24 But unto them which are called, both Jews
and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the
foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than
men. 26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen
the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the
weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base
things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and
things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh
should glory in his presence.
The
only local church model God approves of is a model where common men serve common
men. If you are living you whole ministry career to make yourself appear to be
uncommonly special to your preacher friends and to some Baptist patriarch, you
are an abject failure with God. If God does not chasten you soon, you
are a spiritual bastard.
