Michael Horton teaches the world...

As he reads this R. Scott Clark is going to be screaming at his computer screen: "Michael Horton has a degree from Oxford!!!" OK, R. Scott, calm down. Degree from Oxford, eh? Wow, OK. Calm yourself down now.

Here is some typical nonsense from the priesthood of academics regarding what Christianity is all about:

Almost everything that is advocated as “spirituality” or “spiritual disciplines” today is private and focuses on the inner life of the individual, but Christianity is wildly, unashamedly, thoroughly public and focuses on Christ’s historical work and the way that he comes to us by his Spirit–not through private revelations or subjective experiences, but through ordinary human language (preaching), water (baptism), bread and wine (Lord’s Supper). God comes to us in Jesus Christ by his Spirit outside of our reason and experience. His visitation throws us off balance, surprising us instead of simply soothing us or confirming our piety.

So when someone asks us about our spirituality or piety, we typically talk about the public ministry of preaching and sacrament as well as prayer, Bible reading, catechism, and singing Psalms and hymns at home and at church. When the Westminster divines said that “God blesses the reading but especially the preaching of the Word as a means of grace,” they were highlighting this point. From a covenantal perspective, God works from the outside in, from that which God accomplished for us and outside of us to that which he performs within us and through us, from the public to the personal, from what has happened in the past to what is happening in the present. When we follow the opposite direction, we’re swimming upstream–against the current of God’s gracious condescension to sinners.

This was written by an academic named Michael Horton. The man obviously has never stepped one inch outside the well-worn life pattern groove of getting a degree and then teaching like you know something.

Let's start at the beginning:

Almost everything that is advocated as “spirituality” or “spiritual disciplines” today is private and focuses on the inner life of the individual, but Christianity is wildly, unashamedly, thoroughly public and focuses on Christ’s historical work and the way that he comes to us by his Spirit–not through private revelations or subjective experiences

Yes, this is a confused opening. It has to be, because the academic priesthood *knows* it is kicking against the pricks (being Critical Text adherents they probably will think that is a pornographic phrase) when it makes these common statements of self-justifying their inane, sterile churchianity.

Yes, the Holy Spirit regenerates as an outside shock to one's system. Yes, it is the quickening Word of God that carries this shock (the Holy Spirit can effect the shock without the Word, but usually uses the Word). No this does not make Christianity a solely public enterprise no matter how many geeky romantic adjectives you string together (wildly, unashamedly, thoroughly).

(If those aren't exactly adjectives but something more grammatically exotic I'll stand corrected.)

but through ordinary human language (preaching), water (baptism), bread and wine (Lord’s Supper). God comes to us in Jesus Christ by his Spirit outside of our reason and experience. His visitation throws us off balance, surprising us instead of simply soothing us or confirming our piety.

See, these Reformed academics are shallow sacramentalists, no matter how many times or how many ways they claim they're not. Oh, my God, you dumb, over-educated moron (in liberal institutions by the way which means under-educated with a cooked-in juvenile arrogance and sense of specialness). The faith is not about ritual. I mean, that sounds kind of stark and simple, yet it's the plain truth. The faith is not about ritual. The devil has no problem with ritual. It keeps people asleep. Hence the great devil church the Roman Beast Church is full of ritual.

Now note this carefully: The Roman Beast Church burned the Word of God and kept people away from the Word of God upon threat of torture and death - yet - they called people to baptism and communion all day long.

Read that above paragraph a few more times, or at least once if you skipped it thinking you were going to hear something that would upset you.

The devil knows what regenerates God's own, and it's not ritual.

So how do the Reformed academics approach the Word of God? They see it as a 'document' that needs them more than they need it. You see, it's a poor document that has been lying around in tatters and pieces, and without the scholars to pick the poor thing up and put it together 'correctly' it's just not much of anything at all! God bless these modern day scholars! What a burden they've taken on themselves!

There is more than one way to burn a book; and the unregenerate will find every way possible. And justify their activity every way possible.

So when someone asks us about our spirituality or piety, we typically talk about the public ministry of preaching and sacrament as well as prayer, Bible reading, catechism, and singing Psalms and hymns at home and at church.

Sure. He's singing Psalm 18 while he's organizing his sock drawer. A mighty king of a Christian there. And pouring over those catechisms still! And, of course, reading the latest bible product constructed carefully to the latest standards of academia, and most likely making notes for further changes as he's going along. This is a powerful recipe for spiritual growth.

When the Westminster divines said that “God blesses the reading but especially the preaching of the Word as a means of grace,” they were highlighting this point. From a covenantal perspective, God works from the outside in, from that which God accomplished for us and outside of us to that which he performs within us and through us, from the public to the personal, from what has happened in the past to what is happening in the present. When we follow the opposite direction, we’re swimming upstream–against the current of God’s gracious condescension to sinners.

Can you imagine a more empty string of words. He's not making a case for anything here, and he's hedging at every turn because he knows he's talking bullshit.

What he is avoiding talking about is the great stark fact of regeneration. When you're regenerated by the Word and the Spirit you don't think in terms of public vs. private or inner life of the individual vs. some more important public sphere. This is all dung from the tongue of an unregenerate fool. He knows not what he is talking about because he's never humbled himself to the Word and the Spirit.

The Word of God is meaningless to the academic priesthood because they don't - they can't - value it. They can only think to approach it as a document that needs scholarly 'help'.

And spiritual growth is meaningless to them because they have never been regenerated by the Word and the Spirit (hence their prideful clinging to ritual and their wicked exaltation of ritual and cleric over the Word and the Spirit). Once regenerated a Christian is thrown into the fire. A Christian knows spiritual warfare because once regenerated by the Word and the Spirit the world, the flesh, and the devil confront you. The academic priesthood (Reformed or not) have no clue about this. They mock the notion of spiritual warfare. If they even mention it at all. They are now mocking the Puritans for this very reason because the Puritans wrote extensively about spiritual warfare; and why did the Puritans write extensively about spiritual warfare? Because they knew regeneration. They are now mocking the Puritans because the Puritans expose them as the unregenerate prideful empty fools that they are.

Prayers for a broken spirit are in order, academic priesthood. Less teaching, more humbling of oneself to the Word and the Spirit. Again: less teaching. You're not ready for it.