Bruce Compton, of Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary believes there is a pendulum swing against Dispensationalism
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Progressive dispensational books don’t sell. If a prophecy book doesn’t identify who the antichrist might be and what signs are on the horizon leading up to an any-moment rapture, it won’t sell. Only people who have found serious flaws in traditional dispensationalism and don’t want to lose their jobs as pastors and teachers will embrace the Progressive variety. They can still claim to be dispensationalists and draw a salary.Nothing like a little hyperbole thrown in for flavoring. DeMar is an excellent speaker and is fun to listen to on some topics, but when he gets into this whole area of evaluating dispensationalism, he is just maddening (no pun intended).
Vlach and his fellow Progressive dispensationalists…I have had some limited interaction with Dr. Vlach and have read http://andynaselli.com/five-myths-about-dispensationalism] Dispensationalism: Essential Beliefs and Common Myths . To my knowledge, he does not claim to be PD. Thus, I am not sure where DeMar gets that information from. If I am mistaken, please correct me.
In all, this is par for the course from DeMar. He seems to be fixated on dispensationalism. Tommy Ice debated him on this subject 10 years ago and blew him out of the water, in my humble opinion. I do not know if the recordings are still available, but they are well worth a listen.
Church Ministries Representative, serving in the Midwest, for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry
The headline led me to believe that this would be a news story about R. Bruce Compton. It turned out to be a rant from Gary Demar, who was quoting Michael Vlach, who repeated one line from Dr. Compton.
What Dr. Compton said is entirely unsurprising. Just as there are styles and fads in other areas of life, there are styles and fads in theology. At the moment, dispensationalism is rather unstylish. Style, of course, has never been a test of viability.
Demar is one of the least responsible representatives of covenant theology. I have yet to see a fair depiction of dispensationalism from him, and his own articulations of covenant theology are so extreme as to leave many covenant theologians cringing. The fact that he could pull a single quote from Vlach, containing a single observation by Compton, to serve his purpose, is hardly surprising, let alone newsworthy.
It is true that dispensationalism lacked new articulations for some decades. Much of the focus was turned toward inner debates between dispensationalists. The dispute between progressive and traditional dispensationalism have consumed much of the energy of dispensationalists for nearly a quarter century.
Dispensationalists of both varieties are once again looking outward. Michael Vlach is a good example of a scholar who is engaging non-dispensationalists over the core issues. His little book explaining dispensationalism is one of the best. Vlach is becoming one of the most important voices in a new generation of dispensationalist spokesmen.
Other good work is being done by the scholars who meet in Clarks Summit every September. Under the leadership of Michael Stallard, they have begun to re-articulate the ideals of dispensationalism. Their first volume should be published in the near future.
As for this story:
Move along folks. There’s nothing here to see.
What Dr. Compton said is entirely unsurprising. Just as there are styles and fads in other areas of life, there are styles and fads in theology. At the moment, dispensationalism is rather unstylish. Style, of course, has never been a test of viability.
Demar is one of the least responsible representatives of covenant theology. I have yet to see a fair depiction of dispensationalism from him, and his own articulations of covenant theology are so extreme as to leave many covenant theologians cringing. The fact that he could pull a single quote from Vlach, containing a single observation by Compton, to serve his purpose, is hardly surprising, let alone newsworthy.
It is true that dispensationalism lacked new articulations for some decades. Much of the focus was turned toward inner debates between dispensationalists. The dispute between progressive and traditional dispensationalism have consumed much of the energy of dispensationalists for nearly a quarter century.
Dispensationalists of both varieties are once again looking outward. Michael Vlach is a good example of a scholar who is engaging non-dispensationalists over the core issues. His little book explaining dispensationalism is one of the best. Vlach is becoming one of the most important voices in a new generation of dispensationalist spokesmen.
Other good work is being done by the scholars who meet in Clarks Summit every September. Under the leadership of Michael Stallard, they have begun to re-articulate the ideals of dispensationalism. Their first volume should be published in the near future.
As for this story:
Move along folks. There’s nothing here to see.
Discussion