I am convinced that one of the greatest but most subtle spiritual dangers Christians face is pragmatism. I have written about this in the past, usually in the context of statements such as, "Never criticize any method that God is blessing," something Rick Warren wrote in The Purpose Driven Church. Over the past few days I have seen pragmatism rearing its ugly head in the ongoing discussions about C.J. Mahaney and the difficulties he finds himself in.

In this article I want to define pragmatism and show how and why it draws us. From there I hope to show how it has impacted the discussion about Mahaney and Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM) and to show the danger this may present. I expect that this will be the last thing I write on this situation; I have posted this article only because I believe the events before us have brought the church an important opportunity to face a growing challenge.

A Pragmatism Primer

Pragmatism is a school of philosophy that arose in the United States in the late nineteenth century. It is rooted in the teachings of men like John Stuart Mill who exerted a formative influence on philosophers John Dewey, who subsequently applied pragmatism to education, and William James who applied it to religion. These men believed that the way to determine truth was to examine practical results. In its essence, pragmatism holds that truth is determined by consequences. Whether something is right or wrong, good or bad, depends primarily on its results.