Don Johnson: An open letter to John MacArthur

Here is the strange thing:

• Don admits nobody is perfectly consistent
• Don says he doesn’t expect perfect consistency

And yet, Don demands to know:

does MacArthur believe what he says he believes about Charismatism? If so, how can he have anything to do with men like Piper?

Answer:

• MacArthur is inconsistent, and Don already admits he doesn’t expect perfect consistency

​Dilemma:

• What is the point of this letter, then?

[TylerR]

​Dilemma:

What is the point of this letter, then?

Tyler, have you ever seen The Godfather?

[Jay]

Don, who gave you the position of holding MacArthur to account? Did anyone ask you to?

Jay, who gave you the position of holding me to account? Did anyone ask you to?

Don, do you consider MacArthur and Piper your brothers in Christ?

But I hope that you don’t think that means they are above questioning or evaluation or criticism.

[Don Johnson]

Jay wrote:

Don, who gave you the position of holding MacArthur to account? Did anyone ask you to?

Jay, who gave you the position of holding me to account? Did anyone ask you to?

Don,

JM and JP are your brothers in Christ. What is your purpose in addressing JM? Are you seeking to gain a brother? I can’t see that you are trying to heal a relationship that has been broken by a brother’s falling into sin because the two of you, to my knowledge, have never had a relationship. He probably doesn’t even know who you are. If he didn’t respond to your private entreaty, why should he respond to an open letter that he even more unlikely to read?

People who take purposeless potshots at brethren with whom they differ have intrigued me for years. Unless, of course, you have a purpose. If so, I’d like to hear it.

Well, guys, we are getting to the “attack the messenger” non-argument again. Please see my note above.

My purposes are abundantly clear, please read the letter again. I don’t think I have written disrespectfully, I have repeated a question asked in the conference but not answered adequately (in my opinion, of course). Please deal with the substance of my argument and refrain from the ad hominem.

Don, was it your call to write this letter or was it suggested to you by someone else?

Don, you’re the one that started this off with your open letter to MacArthur. You can’t say that it’s not fair to ask you these kinds of questions simply because you’re running into disagreement or confusion and insinuate that we’re all attacking your character. Noting that you’re being inconsistent (especially when Tyler suggested that we’re all inconsistent in some way) or that you have no relationship with Piper or MacArthur is not ‘attacking’ you in any way. If you wanted members of SI to applaud you for doing so, then ask the SI admin to refrain from putting on a discussion board. That’s why we have discussion.

Hi Jay

That’s fine, but I choose to ignore that part of the discussion that simply wants to attack me or the FBFI for daring to bring the topic up. You can discuss it all you like, I’m not interested.

If you want to discuss substance, I am willing to engage. Of course, yes, I decide which comments are the substance I want to engage with. That’s how conversations work.

Speaking for myself:

• I have no ax to grind with the FBFI
• ​I have no ax to grind with you

I just don’t understand what you hope to achieve by the letter. You ask whether MacArthur is serious about charasmaticism. I think this is, honestly, a ridiculous question. You then ask how he can fellowship with Piper, a charasmatic. You already know he is inconsistent in this respect, and admit you don’t expect perfect consistency.

I just don’t understand what the point of the letter is, or why you care what MacArthur does in his church. Speaking broadly, I don’t care what you do in your church, for instance. I doubt you care what I do in mine, either.

Dear Brother Don,

I am not attacking you or the FBFI. I’ve read and reread your article and still cannot determine your purpose. I’ll confess my inability to see it and ask again for just a simple statement from you as to why you wrote this and what you wish to accomplish.

Thank you.

How can one be a serious Baptist and dispensationalist and maintain any kind of relationship with Bob Jones University? Yet many of you claim to be and still do.

I know we’re talking about a more serious issue when it comes to revelation and the authority of Scripture. But MacArthur has publicly expressed consternation about Piper in regards to these issues, and recently, too. We don’t know if there will be opportunity for private (or even public) conversation/confrontation at T4G. If he goes to T4G and addresses these matters in a public way, does that change anything?

Ok, I’ll take your request at face value. What are my purposes?

To educate the undiscerning - many claim MacArthur is a fundamentalist. His actions belie it, they even belie his own strong words.

To hopefully cause Dr. MacArthur to think about what he is doing - not that he has seen my piece, but we offered it to him prior to publication. (This one is categorized under the “remote chance” label.)

To mark out carefully my own position for the people to whom I have direct influence. I recommended the book and conference to our church people, with qualifications. This spells out the major concern I have with MacArthur’s position.

To encourage believers who aren’t in our orbit (so to speak) about the concerns they may have in their circles. I have received positive responses from people who say they are more or less in MacArthur’s circle and thought there were some things missing in the position against charismatism.