Reckless Faith: When the Church Loses Its Will to Discern
Overview
Scripture and reason—the two together comprise the formula for true discernment. Yet in many American churches, reason has been abandoned for something more digestible; faith that feels good. It is what pastor John MacArthur calls "reckless faith"—and it leads people away from the one true God. Because of it, numerous Christians have lost their way. They've given up absolute truth in favor of blind, uncritical trust. Replaced black-and-white, foundational doctrine with clouded belief systems. They've even come to view reason and doctrine with contempt—as if spiritual truth were supposed to bypass the mind altogether. In the wake of such emotion-based "faith", the church is losing its ability to discern right from wrong. And it is leaving itself defenseless against false teaching. But there is still time for the church to turn around. Still time for a return to discernment—if Christians will "incline their hearts to understanding" and begin to use their hearts, their minds, and the unchanging Word of God to determine the truth that endures forever.
Product Details
- Title: Reckless Faith: When the Church Loses Its Will to Discern
- Author: John MacArthur, Jr.
- Publisher: Crossway Books
- Publication Date: 1994
- Pages: 231
Top Highlights
“Neo-orthodoxy’s attitude toward Scripture is a microcosm of the entire existentialist philosophy: the Bible itself is not objectively the Word of God, but it becomes the Word of God when it speaks to me individually.” (Page 26)
“Note that at both poles reckless faith seeks spiritual truth apart from Scripture—and that is the very point at which it becomes reckless. Both kinds of reckless faith also have this in common: they are irrational and anti-intellectual. ‘Anti-intellectual’ doesn’t mean they oppose intellectual snobbery. It means they spurn the intellect and encourage blind, uncritical trust. Anti-intellectuals often set faith against reason, as if the two were opposites. That kind of ‘faith’ is gullibility. It is foolishness, and not biblical faith. Biblical faith is never irrational.” (Page 12)
“The formula is not Scripture plus philosophy, but Scripture interpreted by careful, sensible, thoughtful, Spirit-directed reasoning. That is the essence of discernment.” (Page 15)
“Neo-orthodoxy is the term used to identify an existentialist variety of Christianity. Because it denies the essential objective basis of truth—the absolute truth and authority of Scripture—neo-orthodoxy must be understood as pseudo-Christianity.” (Pages 25–26)
“The times of decline in the history of the church have always been marked by an undue emphasis on tolerance—which leads inevitably to carelessness, worldliness, doctrinal compromise, and great confusion in the church.” (Page 22)
- Title: Reckless Faith: When the Church Loses its Will to Discern
- Author: John F. MacArthur
- Publisher: John F. MacArthur
- Print Publication Date: 1994
- Logos Release Date: 2001
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Modernist-fundamentalist controversy; Truth (Christian theology); Knowledge, Theory of (Religion); Faith and reason › Christianity
- Resource ID: LLS:40.170.11
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-02-11T15:33:26Z
John MacArthur (b. 1939) is a Calvinist theologian, author, editor, and teacher. He is a popular conference speaker and the president of both The Master's College and The Master's Seminary. He has also served as pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California since 1969. Best known for his expository exegesis of the Bible, Logos has collected more than 3,000 of his sermons in the John MacArthur Sermon Archive and offers the complete MacArthur New Testament Commentary.
MacArthur’s pulpit ministry extends around the globe through his media ministry, Grace to You. In addition to producing daily radio programs for nearly 2,000 English and Spanish radio outlets worldwide, Grace to You distributes books, software, and CDs by John MacArthur. He has written hundreds of books and study guides, including the bestselling John MacArthur Essential Bible Study Library and the MacArthur Study Bible. He is also the author of notable titles like Different by Design and Twelve Ordinary Men.
Reviews
3 ratings
David R. Bess
10/15/2019
John MacArthur is a superb Bible teacher and theologian, but his other works on polemics and apologetics haven't appealed to me. This one is an exception. MacArthur does very well here in identifying the two greatest threats to the evangelical church -- experientialism and ecumenism. He goes into detail describing the origins of existential philosophy and how it crept into the church. He then shifts to ecumenism and explains how the Evangelicals and Catholics Together statement, endorsed and embraced by many prominent evangelical leaders, is fatally flawed. In doing so, he provides an excellent summary of the difference between Protestants and Catholics, and why the Reformation occurred. This book really needs to be back in print -- it addresses well the underlying concerns that are missed in the other "Charismatic" and "Strange Fire" titles. I recommend this one highly.
James
3/18/2015
