Why is the PCA so upset about a superficial book like Jesus Calling? – Baptist News Global

The Presbyterian Church in America decided at its annual meeting in 2024 to examine the Christian appropriateness of the bestseller Jesus calls by Sarah Young, a member of the PCA who died in August last year at the age of 77.

That some denominations have developed the cannibalistic habit of eating their own people is still a strange practice. As Stanley Hauerwas puts it: “Nothing could be more scandalous than for Christians to kill each other. When we do that, it is not only murder, it is suicide.”

In 2013 Jesus calls was the seventh best-selling book in America. In total, more than 10 million copies were sold in 26 languages. In 2013, it sold more than Fifty shades of Gray. In October 2014, the expanded 10th anniversary edition was published with some significant changes. The success of Jesus calls led to two further publications: Jesus lives (2009) and Jesus Today (2013). Jesus today was also a bestseller and was named Book of the Year 2013 by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.

Those of us who write “rare” books have a legitimate reaction to Young: jealousy. The PCA’s emotional reaction to one of its own books, therefore, seems unjustified.

“The move seems surprising for the PCA – it is always better educated, less rude and more cultured than the rowdy Southern Baptists.”

The best way I can understand what’s going on in the PCA is to look at the dynamic between the older brother and the younger brother. Being the older brother can be tough when your little brother is stealing the show. In American Christianity, the PCA is in trouble because the Southern Baptist Convention is stealing the show. Its website states: “The Presbyterian Church in America was founded in 1973 as a denomination ‘faithful to the Scriptures, faithful to the Reformed faith, and obedient to the Great Commission.'”

The SBC’s “conservative revival” came after the PCA was formed. Yet the SBC gets all the attention for its neo-Calvinist wing. Presbyterians are convinced they own the copyright to everything “Calvin,” and these Southern Baptists are usurpers.

What should the older brother do?

Joining the crazy book-banning movement isn’t exactly a religious tsunami, but the PCA felt a statement needed to be made. The move seems surprising for the PCA — it’s always been better behaved, less outrageous, and more sophisticated than the rowdy Southern Baptists. This is an unusual move for the folks who insist on doing everything “decently and in order.”

Why attack a dead woman?

Why are people attacking Sarah Young and her book? Only Donald Trump attacks people after they die. (Senator John McCain and Representative John Dingell from Michigan).

Who declares someone a heretic after death? That doesn’t satisfy heresy hunters. Usually they like to see heretics burned at the stake, drowned in the river or beheaded. Where is the fun in being cruel to the dead?

This eye-catching PR move may cause the righteous to sigh at afternoon tea, but does the PCA really want to shed light on a theologically superficial book that contains mostly theological nonsense?

Theology in Jesus calls does not reach the level of heresy. Carlyle Marney was once asked what he thought about being called a heretic. He replied: “The Baptists have never produced a spirit capable of heresy.” The problem with Jesus calls: It contains no theology.

Since only a fool would talk about a book he has never read, I bought a copy of Jesus calls on Amazon and started reading it on my Kindle Fire. I wanted to know what all the fuss was about in this little enclave of American Calvinists. I fully intended to read the book from cover to cover, but after the first 30 devotionals I was too numb, bored, and distracted to continue. Reading a Psalm a day is a million times more inspiring. These devotionals are simple, cheesy, sentimental. They are harmless.

“The guardians of this high and holy faith are ever on the move, seeking those true believers who have not been fully and completely convinced of the infallible nature of the Bible.”

Young’s critics, however, suffer from a severe case of “righteous indignation” and seem to be most upset by her introduction. Although she makes the obligatory statement about belief in the infallible Bible, the guardians of that high and holy faith are always prowling around looking for those who are not fully and absolutely convinced of the infallible Bible.

The biggest PCA critic of Jesus callswas Benjamin Inman. He embodies the deadly seriousness of the Calvinist insistence on purity: “The PCA places such importance on the details of its statement of faith that at ordination every exception must be disclosed and examined. Ordination depends on whether an exception is merely semantic or compromises the system of doctrine and sound piety.”

The Westminster Larger Catechism contains 196 questions. These are not people who are “careless” or negligent in the formulation of doctrinal statements.

For all the scrupulousness of such critics, there is not enough real evidence to determine what Young believed about the Bible. I have no problem with her standard statement: “The Bible is the only infallible, inerrant Word of God, and I strive to hold my writings to that unchanging standard.”

The whole fuss seems to revolve around Young’s statement: “This practice of listening to God has increased my intimacy with Him more than any other spiritual discipline, so would like to share with you some of the messages I have received.”

Direct revelation from God

The messages she supposedly “received” from God are not exactly theologically spectacular. Who has not heard an unprepared preacher rave on a Sunday morning: “I was going to preach on Joshua 1, but last night God spoke to me and told me to preach on John 3.” Then the preacher pulls out his standard sermon on John 3 and delivers it for the 20th time in his tenure.

God has nothing to do with this verbal deception. It is harmless. At most, the pulpit police should have dragged him from the pulpit in handcuffs and brought him before the judge. There they could have given him a suspended sentence and warned him to stop lying in the pulpit. Harmless.

If you are a preacher, if you are a Christian who is involved in the apostolic reception of God’s revelation, you have felt the presence of the Holy Spirit, you have said to someone: “God has spoken to me.”

The Prosecutor: Benjamin Inman

The PCA pastor who caused this fiasco deserves a second look. The original legislation (referred to in the PCA as the “overture”) came from a private citizen, Rev. Benjamin Inman.

“It is a mystery what actually passes for purity among these Bible scholars.”

There is no doubt that Inman is a serious and intense person. He takes aim at Young’s lack of doctrinal purity when it comes to the Bible. It is shocking what exactly passes for purity among these biblical scholars. With so many different interpretations of the Bible floating around like space junk in the evangelical space, it is hard to judge purity.

He accuses Young of idolatry. Inman, who is no stranger to exaggeration, says: “Theologically speaking, the content is a carefully crafted abomination. To put it bluntly and in old-fashioned terms: Jesus calls is an idol. It is a man-made replica of God that is offered with the alleged aim of dialogue with the living and true God.”

Inman’s original bill called for the PCA to consider her remorse for not punishing Young for idolatry, although he acknowledged that “the author’s death in August 2023 placed her beyond the PCA’s jurisdiction.”

Inman openly admits the futility of his proposal.

Thomas Nelson Publishers

The other, more likely suspect in this charade: Thomas Nelson Publishers. Evangelical publishers are adept at selling books full of good, spiritual feelings. You could have the same experience by watching a 5-minute video of a cabin in the woods with rain pouring down and beautiful music playing in the background. If someone whispered, “You’re getting tired, very tired,” you would be hypnotized in 30 seconds or less.

Jesus calls consists of 365 television commercials. You really can’t blame Nelson for making huge profits from his publications. Publishers aren’t always in the business of printing the truth.

Evangelical publishers like Nelson were very hospitable to preachers, seminary professors, Sunday school teachers, fake historians, and amateur moralists, proudly displaying their credentials to publish sweet Jesus stories, horror stories about the end of the world, and fictional stories about the founding of America.

Nelson had to withdraw one of his bestsellers, The Jefferson Lies by David Barton because it was full of lies and misinformation by Barton. Barton, not a real historian, plays one for evangelical audiences and spreads a series of lies about the founding of America. But if it is popular, if it sells, evangelical publishers will put it on the market regardless of the dubious veracity. Nelson has honored Jesus calls with a cover normally reserved for Bible editions: “Large text, soft brown leather, with complete Holy Scriptures.”

Despite her embarrassing lack of theological inclinations, Young never ceases to charm her readers with her sweet spirit and rhetorical insouciance. Her talent for stringing together sentences that say nothing, mean nothing, and yet leave people with emotional satisfaction is matched only by her exaggerated sense of spirituality. One gets the feeling that the author is rambling on about the words of Jesus rather than proclaiming them with authority.

People find that Young’s writings help them “feel” better. Young throws out big punches with the slogan “feel good, feel great, and feel wonderful.”

Jesus calls is not worth banning. I am not making this statement as an uninformed outsider. I have read a library full of soft-core, superficial, positive-thinking evangelical works. Your book is as inoffensive as Joel Osteen’s Thirty-one promises to talk about your life.

The devotions in Jesus calls are spiritualized positive thinking. Watch a sermon by an American megachurch pastor and you’ll have enough of this kind of verbiage. It feels good, says nothing, disturbs nothing, challenges nothing, does nothing. But it feels good.

The PCA, Thomas Nelson, Inman – they are all more to blame than Young. They should be left in peace.

Rodney W. Kennedy is a pastor and author in New York State and Louisiana. He is the author of 10 books, including his latestGood and evil in the garden of democracy.