Actually, I think you can find some five-pointers among the group as well.

The trouble is how they view the church. Its all very new school. Now, you can be a new schooler and a five point Calvinist.

The troubling thing for me, however, is how the new school mentality is something both the conservatives and progressives have in common. Its also a mentality you find in evangelicalism today and the more broad sections of the conservative Reformed denominations today – including the OPC and PCA. There is this undying thirst to be “culturally relevant” and “influential”.

And by that I DO NOT mean influencing people with the Gospel. That is proper.

What I mean by that is a desire to grab for worldly power – whether in the political, educational, artistic, or whatever realm.

Its the mentality that says, “you know, I really haven’t done anything to advance the Kingdom until I have ascended to a position of power in the world.”

Certainly, God calls some to exercise their faith in positions of worldly power. But those instances are rare. And they are rare because the principles which govern the world are antithetical to those which govern the Kingdom. And it is very difficult to ascend the ladder of worldly power without compromising the principles of the Kingdom. A Christian can only go so far as a politician without compromising on his faith because politics is governed by popularity. And last I checked, the Christian faith has never been popular. A Christian artist will have a very difficult time becoming world famous like Van Gogh or Picasso because, again, being world famous is on the basis of popularity – a luxury a Christian can not afford. Yes, you have your Rembrandts. But how many of them can rise to the top in today’s culture?

I would submit that until Christians really and truly submit to their lowly position in the world, their hope of actually and really influencing the world WITH THE GOSPEL will remain diminished. Only then can a Christian politician or artist be who he is without anxiety over “making it in the world.” Let him be humble and content to be marginalized and unpopular. Let the church be content to be unpopular. Only when we remain faithful and uncompromising will we see the Kingdom advanced by God’s grace.

You are right, they are both pelagians. Alas.