The Preterist Blog Series

From 2007-2009 I published over 50 articles on the website PreteristBlog.  The understanding between I, the administrator and the other authors was that all content was property of the respective authors.  I have since withdrawn my support from PreteristBlog.  I have repeatedly and respectively asked that ALL of my articles be deleted from that site.  Unfortunately, the administrator, Dee Dee Warren refuses to remove my articles, implying I need something in writing (I'll check my email history).  This action is hypocritical of her as she agreed that it was wrong when hyperpreterist Virgil Vaduva did the same thing to the over 150 articles I'd written for  Planet Preterist.

Warren has made an announcement that she will arbitrarily edit my articles on PreteristBlog -- so, for preservation I have quickly moved my articles from that site to unpreterist.blogspot.com.  You can scan through them by selecting the category pretblog-series

I want to thank Dee Dee for the opportunity to write on that forum over those two years and especially thank the readers. However, I would always suggest that an author get IN WRITING a specific agreement to ownership of their material and what happens to that material if they should leave the site.  I guess this is what I get for being too trusting.

May God bless and keep them in all their endeavors,
Roderick

Hyperpreterist Declaration or Cultic Liberal Manifesto?

Recently at a conference sponsored by the most liberal faction of hyperpreterism a “declaration” was offered for people to sign. When you read it, you will see it sounds more like a socialistic manifesto where big, bad, evil power hungry men have kept his thumb on the poor downtrodden common man. (”Yeah dudes! power to the people!”) This is evident when you consider that the host of the conference is a guy with a real socialistic background.

But perhaps what is more shocking is that some of the signers of this “declaration” were from the “quasi-conservative” faction of hyperpreterism – I guess they really are “all in this [heresy] together”.

The cultic liberal manifesto follows:

Another Hyperpreterist’s “Journey” Ends at Atheism

Hyperpreterism is the teaching that against all of historic Christian interpretation, that the Second coming of Jesus, the general resurrection of the believers, & the Judgment all occurred in AD70.  Hyperpreterism is often that last stop before the person finally takes the leap of unfaith into atheism.  I know at least 6-7 former hyperpreterists who have become functional atheists & now yet another man has come out & admitted he no longer believes in God.

 Jared Coleman, who was a former administrator of the most vocal hyperpreterist website; “Planet Preterist” has come out & revealed:

Hyperpreterism’s New Hero

While I was a hyperpreterist there was always a certain anticipation in the movement that all we needed to really get hyperpreterism accepted was to find a “big name” to accept it. The reasoning was that if we could get a well-known person with lots of influence to accept hyperpreterism then not only would this give hyperpreterism the door into validity, but it would allow us to have a spokesperson, a posterchild, a hero for hyperpreterism.

How Hyperpreterism Impacts

Recently, some hyperpreterists have been asking themselves how their hyperpreterism has “impacted their walk with Jesus Christ”. In response, many of them talk about how it has caused them to realize Jesus’ role as prophet, priest & king. I wonder why they never realized that before. Have they ever considered the fault may lie in themselves?

But it is one specific response that caught my attention. Sam Frost, known as the “presumed scholar” within hyperpreterism because of his erudite blathering as he talks over most everyone that ever has a “face-to-face”, phone conversation with him, made some very outlandish comments.

More Silliness from Sammy the Supposed Scholar

Not too long ago I brought to attention that Sam Frost, the leader of the quasi-conservative faction of hyperpreterists & the supposed scholar had made some more outrageous claims such as claiming “God ordains error in order that we might come to understand the truth” (see here)…your postmodernist buddies would be proud Sammy!

But now Sammy has been spouting more silliness. In a recent article*, Frost tries to compare hyperpreterists to Martin Luther & the other Reformers. He even tries to utilize the argument I used to make as a hyperpreterist – that the first Reformation happened during the advent of the printing press & the “second Reformation” (hyperpreterism) is happening during the advent of the Internet. I guess now that I’m not advocating hyperpreterism Sammy felt safe to plagiarize ideas.

Christ’s Resurrection & Ours – Refuting Hyperpreterist Rubbish

If hyperpreterist treatment of words & concepts wasn’t already too myopic (they like to think they are “consistent” for crowbarring words & concepts into one meaning), the hyperpreterist treatment of Christ’s resurrection compared to the believers’ resurrection is the most flagrant example.  Yet, you’ll see they aren’t as “consistent” as they think.

Historic Christians are “Imbeciles”???

It never ceases to amaze me… the hypocrisy within hyperpreterist circles is astounding.

They get so upset when they are called heretics, though clearly that is what they are.  Not because we are trying to be mean to them or put ourselves up as better than they, but they are heretics because the Bible says they are.  Any teaching that DIVIDES itself & its adherents from the teaching of the apostles (i.e. the historic Christian Church) is a heresy & those “teachers” are heretics (Rom 16:17-18).  I don’t care how buddy-buddy that “teacher” has been with orthodox people in the past.  I don’t care how much name dropping they do.  I don’t even care how often they boast about their degrees – if they divide people from the faith once delivered to the saints, then they are heretics.

The Barnabas Debacle

Scripture not only teaches us by the things that did happen but also by the things that did not. One important lesson can be learned from the situation with the apostle Paul & his ministry partner, Barnabas.

In Acts 15:36-42 we see the subject of this article:

A Hyperpreposterous Interpretation of Dan 12:4

What follows is a hyperpreposterous interpretation of Dan 12:4, utilizing the newly found hermeneutics of hyperpreposterism. Though hyperpreposterism had its official beginning in 1971 when the now reclusive Max Klingtobadpremises first advanced the theory, hyperpreposterous have an elaborate way to see hyperpreposterism in every theological writing they read. But without further delay (see, the veiled time-text reference there???)…I give you this amazing life-changing interpretation.

Don Preston Resigns Because Hyperpreterism Fails to Grow

What follows is a transcript & the actual audio of Don Preston’s resignation speech given at his hyperpreterist church in Ardmore OK. The church had existed for over 16 years but as Preston himself says, the “failure to grow” was his motivation for resigning. This is very significant because not only was this one of the longest established hyperpreterist congregations but it was headed by the hyperpreterist movement’s most esteemed speaker. Now folks, if hyperpreterism isn’t going to grow under the guidance of a guy like Preston, then maybe these people need to ask why.

The Promiscuous Premise of Hyperpreterism

You have heard people call for Christians to be more “open-minded”. Well, who wants to be considered “closed-minded” or “narrow-minded” so, often when a Christian is accused of being so, they will quickly try to show how they too are “accepting”. But does the Bible actually call us to be “open-minded”…when it comes to beliefs & ideology?

Being Thrown Under the Pander-Bus

Over the last three years, the hyperpreterist movement had been struggling with an internal turmoil over whether the most consistent expression of hyperpreterism is “universalism”. (The belief that God no longer ultimately condemns anyone)

 

 During this struggle, lines were being drawn & today we see the outcome.  The seat of the “preterist universalists”(PU) lies with the liberal faction, headed by long time postmodernist/Emergent Church advocate Virgil Vaduva.  Whereas those opposed to the idea that “full preterism” necessarily leads to universalism have been seen in men such as Kurt Simmons, Mike Bennett & Jason Bradfield.

Eschatology Matters?

Perhaps some people will think that eschatology doesn’t matter. After all, we are often told eschatology is too vague, too symbolic a thing to worry about. Let people teach whatever they will –God will sort it out in the end. Yet is this how the Bible tells us to interact with doctrine? As if it doesn’t really matter.

Some of you know that PreteristBlog has some outstanding issues with Gary DeMar’s tacit support of hyperpreterism. We have tried to get DeMar to see that he is fostering & causing many people to adopt hyperpreterism & as you’ll see further in this article, even the hyperpreterists say this themselves. So, I would like to share an email I had recently written to a person that wondered it DeMar’s association with hyperpreterism mattered…since DeMar has done great work in other areas including defending a constitutional mindframe & for combating dispenationsalism. This article has been adapted from an email so the flow is more personal in nature & I will sometimes use the pronoun “you” since I am addressing a specific individual.

Why it is pointless to discuss Scripture with Hyperpreterists

If you have ever had interaction with a hyperpreterist you will immediately notice their constant desire for you to “prove” they are wrong from Scripture. It sounds like a reasonable & even noble enough request until you realize they aren’t sincere in their request. You see, hyperpreterists do NOT believe anyone can “prove” anything to them. If they will not listen to nearly 2000 years of Christians, why do you think they care to listen to you? (Proverbs 26:4-5) They only want you to “discuss Scripture” (sometimes they call it being “exegetical”) with them so that they can employ their tactic of redefining every theological term they can & force you to acquiesce to the redefinitions. This is the tactic of cults like Mormons & JWs who come knocking on your door to “discuss Scripture”. (see here)

Was Athanasius Just a ‘Bitter Heretic Hunter’?

Sometimes when Christians take a strong stance in contending for the faith (Jude 1:3), especially against teachers & teachings that are clearly unchristian, they are accused of being motivated by "self-righteousness", "bitterness", "hate", or of being "heteric hunters".  One of the Church’s most staunch defenders of the faith was a man named Athanasius of Alexandria Egypt.
Athanasius lived in the 3rd-4th century & is known for his fight against one of the very first heresies within the Church.  This heresy was called Arianism after a man named Arius.  In summary, Arianism taught that Jesus was not one with the Father & that Jesus was not divine & that the Triune nature of God was incorrect.
Athanasius would occupy almost his entire adult life with combatting the teaching of Arianism.  My question is, does this mean Athanasius was merely a bitter, heretic hunter?

Army of 1000

The U.S. Army has a slogan, “an army of one” but recently a hyperpreterist referred to a single effort against them as “an army of 1000″ (Chuck Coty — hyperpreterist). This comment came about after administrators of the quasi-conservative hyperpreterist website began breaking their own stated policies not to mention the name of one of their detractors. But as I’ve said before, one characteristic of a cult is that it tries to shut down or ignore all outside critique, & most especially critiques from FORMER group members. They instead want to isolate the group (especially newer members) from anything that might call into question their views. Here is a quote from Coty, advocating that very isolation:

Why Hyperpreterism Can Never Be Systematic

When a premise, assertion or formula is put forth, the true way to test it is to push it to its conclusions. Systematically applying a premise will quickly reveal if the premise itself is flawed.
When it comes to hyperpreterism, it is built on 3 primary premises with 1 overarching premise.

PRIMARY PREMISES OF HYPERPRETERISM

1. That Jesus returned once & for all in the year AD70
2. That the resurrection of the believers happened in AD70
3. That the Judgment of the wicked & righteous happened in AD70

OVERARCHING PREMISE OF HYPERPRETERISM

• That for whatever reason, God for nearly 2000 years has been unable or unwilling to make sure that the Church has a basic & correct understanding of eschatology.

Is Anything Heresy to a Heretic?

This is an extremely important issue not only to me but to all readers of this blog since heresy doesn’t normally come knocking with a name badge, “Hey, I’m heresy”, but rather heresy sneaks into your mind, your heart, your theology.  And while you subscribe to a heresy, you may think it is not you that has a problem, but all the “close-minded” people that are trying to warn you about the heresy you are caught in. (heretics tend to think of other people as “close-minded” or too simple to understand the supposed great knowledge to which the heretic has attained).

How Someone Can be Hooked by Hyperpreterism

It is not a little matter to use the word “heresy”.  Sometimes it is thrown out against something that we simply do not like or do not understand.  But the Bible defines heresy as a teaching of doctrine which is contrary to the doctrines learned from Jesus & the apostles & thus a teaching that divides Christians from real Christianity. (Rom 16:17-18).  Heresy can quietly exist among otherwise “orthodox” Christians.  An early example of this is seen in how the Judaizers were considered “believers” & actually worked with other Christians. (Acts 15:5).  So you see, it is possible to be a “believer” & a heretic at the same time.  So why were the Judaizers tolerated among the Christians?  They were tolerated UNTIL they began to CAUSE DIVISION.  Once a heresy gets to the point that it divides Christians from correct teaching, it is time to part ways.  As a matter of fact, Paul was so strong on this point that in Gal 5:12 he wished that the Judaizers would “cut themselves all the way off” — depart from considering themselves “believers”.