'm told John MacArthur is going to make a cameo appearance on tonight's edition of "Larry King Live." The scheduled topic has to do with disgraced Rep. Mark Foley. The hour will apparently include a discussion of homosexuals in the Republican party and their impact on the agenda of the religious right.Of course, the topic on "Larry King" is always subject to change at the last moment, so I always hesitate to post an announcement like this until MacArthur actually departs for the CNN studios. He's doing that as I type.
As I said last April: King's "religion panels" are always an adventure in Kafkaesque absurdity. Larry likes to plant John MacArthur between Deepak Chopra and Father Michael Manning. Despite Manning's smarmy, grinning, "I'm OK/you're OK" approach to every difficult issue, and Deepak's professed desire to be harmonious with everything in the imaginary pantheist universe he inhabits (except the supremacy and exclusivity of Christ's Lordship), both of them regularly find it impossible to stifle their visible and audible outpourings of contempt for John MacArthur.
Pastor MacArthur phoned me about a half hour ago. At a moment when I would have been frantically thinking through what I should and shouldn't say on a live international television program just a few hours from now, he was reviewing sermon topics for next year's Banner of Truth ministers' conference at Leicester. After we had talked for ten minutes or more about the Banner conference (which, after all, is still more than six months away), I asked if he wasn't supposed to be preparing for the Larry King interview tonight.
He casually replied that he still had about 20 minutes till his ride showed up. Then he quickly changed the subject back to the ministers' conference.
Priorities.
He's the most amazing man I have ever known.
32 comments:
I've never met the man and most likely will never get the opportunity and can still agree with your statement: "He's the most amazing man I have ever known."
Rick
I pray, and will pray, that the Holy Spirit would do "exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to His power that works in His pastor". To Him be all the glory. Amen.
I had no idea that he would be speaking at the Banner.
I'll be praying and watching. It is SOOO difficult for John to be understood on these panels because he's coming at it from a perspective that is foreign to these people, and really requires a whole hour of establishing authority alone. So I expect the usual eye rolling. But by faithfully standing up for the Word, there WILL be people watching somewhere who will be moved by the Holy Spirit because of John's faithful witness.
I'm not a fan of Larry king in general, but I do like it when he occasionally makes his liberal guests squirm in their own inconsistencies.
I'm a fan of anyone who holds to a Reformed (yes I capitalized it) world view, so I don't care what show it is that a Reformed cat shows up on. By the way, everyone on that show was a lunatic. If the panel would have had time to discuss their thoughts and show their rationale, MacArthur would have shone brightly.
As always though he was able to get the Gospel out in spite of the spin!
My youngest son laughed out loud when the one gentlemen told John that he was missing the whole point of the Gospel, unbelievable. Thank God for John MacArthur!
And I meant to say, "...Everyone on that show was a lunatic, EXCEPT JOHN MACARTHUR."
I love how he explained that the debate was over two issues. What sins will we exclude from the party? The gay men seemed to really appreciate that aspect. Yet, when it came to the biblical exposition of homosexuality and the Gospel, MacArthur shared the truth in love.
IMPORTANT: I hope everyone will write Larry King and thank him for having Dr. MacArthur on the show. I always do this and let them know I am sure to watch the show when he is on. You can contact Larry King here.
Well to debate with the caliber of people they usual have on the religion discussions on Larry King Live would take about 20-minutes of prep for a person like John Macarthur. I watched one evening as Dr. Albert Mohler tore apart in three simple sentences what two Liberal Theologians tried for half-hour to explain.
bbhlrSee: I would have lost it at, "Pastor MacArthur phoned me about a half hour ago".
Totally lost it. no recovery.
{RING RING}
cent: Hello?
{voice}: Is this Frank Turk?
cent: Yes?
{voice}: Frank, this is John MacArthur.
The rest is a South Park episode ending with Kenny getting killed.
The rest is a South Park episode ending with Kenny getting killed.
Ummm, don't they all end that way?
(And no, I have never seen a South Park episode. This is just hearsay. Or heresy, as the case may be.)
It was short and sweet and of course he got the gospel out! It scares me to think that those 2 gay guys really believed what they were saying! Yikes! Way to go Johnny Mac- and of course to God be the Glory!
I've never seen South Park and I have no idea who Kenny is, but I can understand Frank's point. I think?
I sure wish I could have seen this, I've heard Pastor MacArthur was able to declare the gospel to all watching. Not very often a faithful brother gets an audience like that to proclaim the gospel with so many unbelievers listening.
SDG...
Here is the transcript for those who missed it(it starts about halfway down).
I just read the transcript. MacArthur was brilliant, as usual. It is so apparent that the Bible is the center of his beliefs - there is absolutely no inconsistency in anything that he says when he's on with King.
Slims said "everyone was a lunatic except MacArthur." You almost would think that King does it that way on purpose, because that's always the way it comes off...almost like the old Newhart show - a sane guy surrounded by a bunch of nutballs.
"the bororean" said "my youngest son laughed out loud when the one gentlemen told John that he was missing the whole point of the Gospel". And I did the exact same thing while reading the transcript. What a dose of irony.
Another home run for John MacArthur. Praise the LORD!
----
bill
I just realized something: we have to get Dr. MacArthur a TeamPyro button to wear on Larry King the next time he goes.
LOL. There is only one Frank.
What? You think he wouldn't wear it?
I ALWAYS miss these appearances by John MacArthur on Larry King! Have to read the transcript. (Sigh!)
So now South Park is brought up on Pyromaniacs. Is anyone surprised that it was Centuri0n who did so? .......I didn't think so. Surely some kind of a T-shirt needs to appear as a result.
Oh please: who hasn't seen the YouTube South Park on 9/11 conspiracies, been duly upset about the vulgar use of God's name and the one "F" bomb, and laughed like an idiot at the real conspiracy?
Am I really the only one?
I generally find Larry King tiresome. I admire John for his willingness to go into the "lions' den" like that, as well as his overall graciousness. My prayer is that discerning people will be able to see through the contempt of the other two "theologians" and recognize the emptiness of their respective positions on issues such as this.
I probably would be a lot more caustic if I were on such a program. People like Chopra and Manning make me want to crack their heads together.
You mean that the 9/11 conspiracy sites are really created BY the government to make us THINK they did it? Yes, that's hilarious!
I agree with ya Turk, I dont claim to be an avide South Park watcher like I was as a Pagan, just like the Episodes dealing with Heresy.
GO GET EM JOHNNY!!!!!!
Soli Deo Gloria!
James
Cent, how about a Pyro tie for John MacArthur. A nice navy blue with several small pyro logos all over it! I think it would work and the chances of him wearing it are greater than him wearing one of *those* shirts on Larry King. :)
Phil, thank you for the heads up! He was awesome, as usual. Praise God!
I miss this every time, but I love reading the transcripts. Instead of watching “Larry King Alive” last night, I was thumbing through my copy of “The Gospel According to the Apostles” last night looking to see if Phil had contributed to that book also. If you want to see what John MacArthur thinks about Phil, turn to the front of that book! Phil, it must have had you blushing … not a sight I want to see!!
Janet:
I have a great design for a TeamPyro tie, but Cafepress doesn't do ties.
It makes me sad.
It was so great to hear John proclaim the gospel unapologetically on a national show. What is so needed is more time and focus. If I could offer one suggestion it would that when homosexuality is discussed in such a forum, that the key issue is authority. By what authority does someone say "God made me this way?" The term "bestiality" was used and that tends to throw off everything and close up ears. Instead, get the other side to answer that question on authority, and stick there. And it would be nice to have John and, say, Sullivan, alone for a full hour.
So the response about his ride coming in 20 minutes implied he was already prepared? Or he had time between the phone convo & actually arriving on set to prepare?
Either way, Turk made a funny in this meta. Just thought I'd point that out (as if nobody noticed).
Ha! Although I oversee Banner of Truth's U.S. operation, I'm glad to see Pastor John is already working on his Leicester, U.K. conference messages, even ahead of schedule! :-)
Grace & peace,
Steve B.
www.trophiesofhisgrace.blogspot.com
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