Since I posted my series of 7 blog posts exposing all the false claims and untrue statements about the beliefs and teachings of Latter-day Saints made in the second edition of his book on Systematic Theology, his friends and colleagues have been bending over backwards to try and bolster his morale and save his reputation, the above video being the by-product of their efforts. It contains statements of support and encouragement from ten of his friends and associates, the full transcript of which is as follows (the transcript on the video was turned off, I had to obtain it another way):
“Brian Arnold: Hey Wayne, just wanted to say congratulations on the second edition of your Systematic Theology. All of us in Phoenix Seminary are so proud of you in this accomplishment; and we consider it an honor to call you a colleague and a friend. For myself, I first read Systematic Theology as a 19 year old college student, and it lit a fire in my heart to study theology, and it is why I am where I am at today; so thank you from the bottom of my heart. We put together a brief little video of some of your friends, who also wanted to pass along their congratulations. I hope you enjoy it.
“Vern Poythress: Hi Wayne.
“Jason Fritz: Hi Wayne.
“Ray Ortlund: Wayne, congratulations.
“Sam Storms: Just a brief word of profound appreciation for this new second edition of Systematic Theology.
“Al Mohler: It is my great joy to congratulate Wayne Grudem on this new release.
“Tom Schreiner: Wayne congratulations.
“John Piper: Congratulations Wayne on the publication of your Systematic Theology 2nd edition.
“Jason Fritz: I know it is going to be a tremendous blessing to so many people, as it has been in my life already. I also want to take this opportunity to let you know what a privilege it is to be one of your pastors. We love you Wayne, we love Margaret. God bless you both.
“Sam Storms: I think I have told you before what a blessing it has been to me, to people in my church. I think it is a gift to the body of Christ that will live on for generations to come. So again, thank you for your hard work; I know it was an incredible task to produce this second edition, especially given the fact that it is now so much larger than the first edition; but I plan on digging into it deeply, and reading through the entire thing once again. So I hope and pray that you are blessed to see the release of this book. I look forward to getting my copy. Thank you again for all the effort, the countless hours you poured into this work. I know that the lord will use it mightily for his glory, to bring a lot of correction to a lot of bad theology out there too.
“John Piper: It has been a staple of our discipleship in Bethlehem for decades, and just the other night Noel and I were reading in our advent devotional, and lo and behold, a quote from Wayne Grudem in the devotional. So it has been pervasive and global and foundational, and I thank God for you.
“Gregg Allison: When I began my teaching career in 1994, I began using the first edition of Systematic Theology; so hundreds of students have worked their way through this wonderful resource. Now in the year 2020, after 26 years of teaching, I am using the second edition of Systematic Theology; and look forward to many more years of using this great resource.
“Vern Poythress: Congratulations on the second edition of your Systematic Theology, it is even better than the first. I trust that the Lord will use it to further spread the knowledge of the truth throughout the world, many languages I understand. So congratulations
“John DelHousaye: The biggest impression that it made on me were the hymns that you had at the end of every chapter. At the time, I thought that that was different and unusual, and in fact it was. But I have come to see it as something very dear, which is that the goal of our work should ultimately bring us to worship. And I also think it is appropriate that I am talking to you from a church, because you have always written for the people; and you made theology accessible, so that anyone can understand God better.
“Al Mohler: Wayne there are very few books that really changed Evangelical history, you have written one of them. And the continuing influence of your book is seen in the fact that it is coming out in the second edition, after so many hundreds of thousands have been sold already. I pray the lord will use it. I congratulate you for writing it. It is an incredible triumph. God bless you Wayne.
“Tom Schreiner: I am so thankful for the amazing clarity of your book, its faithfulness, and especially the pastoral application. I pray that the second edition will have even more impact than the first.
“Ray Ortlund: So many weeks, as I am ramping up for Sunday morning preaching, I have needed clarity and richness of understanding, and greater depth on a theological topic. I have picked up your Systematic Theology, looked up that topic in the index, then turned to the passage: I have been helped, I have been equipped; I have therefore preached the gospel more faithfully, more fully, because of our partnership in the work of the kingdom. And Wayne I believe, that what you have done by grace, what I have done by grace, shoulder to shoulder, for the sake of Jesus in this generation, I believe contributes to the next great awakening. I am profoundly grateful. God be with you Wayne.”
Sorry, but that won’t work. The accusations and claims that he has made against the beliefs and teachings of Latter-day Saints are so blatantly false that they are legitimate grounds for legal action to be taken against the publisher. You can’t expect to spread falsehoods and lies about other people’s beliefs and convictions, and expect them to keep quiet about it. The only way for him to rescue his reputation is to instruct his publisher to withdraw all printed copies of the book from circulation, destroy all existing copies, replace them with an amended version, and then to offer to replace all previously purchased copies of the book with the new version free of charge—and to do it all at his own expense, not the publisher’s expense. And then to offer a public apology to Latter-day Saints and to the Church for the false claims and accusations he has made about their beliefs in the first printing of the book.
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