First, his Calvinism turns some people who are not Calvinist off.
Second, some are mad at him for not signing the Evangelicals and Catholics Together document.
Third, he has been very bold in addressing the seeker-sensitive church problem.
Fourth, he blasts Christians who get into politics. This is a point I do not agree with him on entirely. But I've decided, so what! He is so solid on the Bible and theology, and that's what I read him for. If I want an expert on politics, I refer to an expert in that field.
MacArthur is a very important voice in the world right now. He is truly devoted to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Nothing else matters compared to that. And our churches are in a bad way.
He is a long time student of theology and he can get on that topic and sometimes put some people off. That's a shame. He is unique in that he sees his ministry audience very broadly. He has his own church, speaks on the radio to average joes around the world, he supports a college, and he is a shepherd's shepherd (he ministers a lot to other pastors). Overall, I think he is brilliant. Although I think he might suffer from a common problem of fame, that is, too many adoring fans. I think, therefore, his critics provide an important role for him -- oddly. It forces him to constantly examine himself and his own teachings. It's a role I doubt those around him can provide, because he is just so much more gifted than the average person. The temptation is to just praise praise praise, and so I think he needs the detractors, even if their motives are bad.
What is meant by Calvinist and how does that translate to what most evangelicals believe.
I agree with you on MacArthur. I started listening to him around 1995 or so. I had a second job and it took me a half hour to drive home and he was on the radio at 10pm so listening to him made the drive that much better. I think his main problem with the reliogious/political activism is that the churches (left and right) that are involved in this usually pound on the sins that they don't do. For example, a church might preach against homosexuality but may not preach to much against divorce (don't want to make our top donor CEO's and the 3rd trophy wives upset now do we. lol). Also I get the impression his church has seen many homosexuals repent of their sins and left homosexuality and become christians. Maybe he feels that would not have happened if he had been heanily involved in politics.