Where Did All These Calvinists Come From? A Visual History

MacArthur only gets two mentions on the chart, one for the Strange Fire conference last year, and the other for when in 2011 he told the Young, Restless, and Reformed to grow up, gettle down, and keep reforming. The result of this, according to the chart, is that some YRR stopped listening to him. But one might think that a chart on the resurgence of Calvinist thought would make MacArthur a hero. What about “The Gospel According to Jesus”? or The MacArthur Study Bible? In the comments section of Challies’ blog, some questioned him about MacArthur, and the excuse for any positive mention of him was that his preaching began before the chart did. But the chart began with Piper and Grudem in 1986 and 1987. If I recall correctly, both of these men were preaching and teaching prior to 1986. But the bottom line is MacArthur doesn’t fit their own self-styled expression of Calvinism. Had MacArthur been known for drinking beer, watching filthy movies, and being open-but-cautious to the charismatic movement, then he would have been hailed on this historical chart as the John Wycliffe ‘morning star’ of New Calvinism.

When I was ordained in 1983 (New Jersey in GARBC church): Virtually all of the young GARBC guys I knew in Jersey were Calvinists.