Here is Doug Wilson’s response to the arguments put forward by Nathan Busenitz that I referenced earlier today.
Here is Doug’s response to Nathan’s third argument which was definitely the best one he had:
3. And last, Busenitz presents what he believes to be his most important argument — that Driscoll is privileging Old Testament examples over the explicit teaching of the New Testament. This argument fails, not because the verses that Busenitz cites are not authoritative — they are — but rather because this entire discussion can be contained within the New Testament. The same man who said to lay off the coarse jesting is also the one who called his previous Pharisaical righteousness dogshit (Phil. 3:8). The man who said that we were to be sound in speech is the same one who wished that the Judaizers would, in their circumcising zeal, cut the whole thing off (Gal. 5:12). And in the next breath, he tells the Galatians to love one another. So when Calvin calls his opponents barking dogs, and we write journal articles refuting “an esteemed colleague,” who is closer to the language of the New Testament (Phil. 3:2; Rev. 22:15)?
All in all, a very good discussion.
I have to say that part of the reason that I speak bluntly is because I feel the need to be heard. I believe that the way Mark Driscoll speaks to his people communicates to them. They hear what he is saying. He shakes them up. When he talks about the judgment of God, he talks to them about God’s boot coming for their head. that is a quote from this message which I very highly recommend to anyone who wants to understand why Mark preaches the way he does.
Blunt direct unvarnished language penetrates the fog in the listener. It causes a reaction. It demands a response. It provokes pushback. Pushback requires thought. Thought on the topic is my goal as a teacher. When pushback occurs a discussion follows.
John Piper said in one of these messages that he says things the way he says them in order to be heard. He said that if he says things the same way that other preachers say them, then nobody would hear it. When he rewords it and makes it shocking then it cuts through and gets heard.
when I have a room full of adults thinking and engaged and pushing back, then we are all learning.
I love reading the gospels and seeing the way that Jesus took people by surprise with His words. He was a master at saying the unexpected and provoking thought.
Obviously, I am not Jesus and neither is Mark Driscoll, but there is nothing wrong with trying to emulate His masterful teaching style.