My personal pet peeve... The Young, Restless, and Reformed are NOT Neo-Calvinists!

Okay... So I was reading a blog post about ecumenism between Protestants and Catholics in Germany during WWII. At the end of the post, the author references how he wished "neo-calvinists" and emergents could learn to get along better.

I assume by "neo-calvinist" that he meant those who are big followers of John Piper, Mark Driscoll, etc. (basically the "young, restless, and Reformed" group).

I have heard people thoughtlessly throw this label out before, and it just galls me. Piper, Driscoll, and all of the hip Calvinists are not (I repeat, NOT) neo-Calvinists. Neo-Calvinism as a movement originated in the Netherlands in the late 19th, early 20th century out of the work of Abraham Kuyper. It continued on in the philosophical work of Herman Dooyeweerd and Dirk Vollenhoven. Today, the movement continues on in the work of people like Al Wolters, Sylvia Keesmaat, the late (?) Gordon Spykman, Roy Clouser, and others. In addition, at least three institutions of higher learning here in North America are decidedly in this tradition: Dordt College, Redeemer University College (Ancaster, ON Canada), and the Institute for Christian Studies (which has strayed a bit from its roots, but that's a different story).

The central tenets of neo-Calvinism include a strong conviction that Christ's lordship extends over all of creation (and thus, all lawful callings are good and Christ-honoring--i.e., pastors, missionaries, theologians, etc. don't have a leg up on anyone), a suspicion of dualistic theoretical constructs and categories (especially Platonic influences within the Christian faith), an affirmation of creation as structurally good but able (through human sin) to be misdirected (vs. again Gnostic/Platonic versions of Christianity which devalue the "material" world), and a determination to think Christianly about all things (politics, biology, ethics, agriculture, etc.). (And yes, N.T. Wright has been influenced by neo-Calvinism--I always find it intriguing listening to people trying to figure out where he gets his antipathy towards Gnosticism, etc.)

While Piper, Driscoll, et al. may be in favor of many of these things, they work out of a very different stream of Calvinism. Their heroes tend to arise from British and Puritan Calvinism which has some significant differences with its continental counterpart (for one thing it tends to be heavily dependent upon Scottish Common Sense philosophy). Perhaps, it would be more accurate to refer to them as Neo-Puritan (though that term may be taken already as well! :).

In any event, the next time you hear someone say something about these "neo-calvinists," ask them who they are referring to and chide them (gently) for being sloppy in applying labels.

Again, let's be perfectly clear. The Young, Restless, and Reformed are NOT "neo-calvinists!" Sorry, but the name has already been taken. We neo-Calvinists have already had it for the last century or so.

Okay, so that's my personal pet peeve :)