I personally don't think Preterists are evil or even spreading any kind of pernicious doctrine. I think preterists are wrong.
I do not believe that any eschatological system is fundamental to the gospel. Christ promised he would return. That is something we can look forward to. But the fact of the matter is that every believer will meet Jesus within a nanosecond of leaving this earth, so Jesus has been meeting us in the air for the last 2000 years and he will continue to meet us there until he gathers his elect and yanks them all into his presence in the twinkling of an eye.
Most preterists here think that dispensationalists like me are a menance to the church. Indeed, just read their taglines. They are obsessive about this subject and when they find themselves ganged up on on one thread and losing the debate miserably, they start a new thread and post another essay by Gary DeMar (whom I think very well may be a poster here) which ultimately gets torn apart and the process begins all over again, and again, and again and again.
i MOMSTLY agree.
Except that I do believe that the Contrarian Preterist/Replacementarian heresies
ARE
destructive in that
1. they prevent some believing Scripture and in Jesus because they prevent appreciation of the convincing power of fulfilled prophecy leading them to Christ.
2. they prevent proper preparation of heart, mind, soul and substance for at least the birth pangs of the looming traumas.
I believe there’s another destructiveness . . .
3. they flatter the Replacementarian mentality that flesh driven, . . . and worse . . . driven; Bible mangling; history mangling; logic mangling; Spirit ignoring constructions on reality take arrogant precedent over solid Bible and God’s perspective and will. That is spiritually destructive to the folks engaging in such—as well as to those looking up to them and influenced by them—resulting in destructivenesses 1 & 2 above for those in their circle of influence . . . as well, likely as this #3.
And,
4. When looming events REALLY start tumbling down around the ears of everyone—at least leading up to the beginning of the Great Tribulation and certainly during . . . when folks see their flawed constructions on reality bear no meaningful, valid, functional connection any longer to daily reality—it can rock if not shatter major chunks of their faith in general. That’s certainly destructive.
I personally don't think Preterists are evil or even spreading any kind of pernicious doctrine.
You personally may not but we've seen plenty of heated rhetoric from certain others of your camp, easily enough to match the heated rhetoric from this side.
Every careless word, man, every careless word.
I do not believe that any eschatological system is fundamental to the gospel.
By and large, yes. Jesus will return, the dead will be raised, God will judge the living and the dead. These will happen and are yet future. Hold to that, well and good. You can keep your Larkin charts, I'll ask the occasional impertinent question from the sidelines.
I do think dispensationalism has gospel implications, from the way it splits Jew and Gentile. Not everyone, maybe even not that many, takes it that far, I am aware. (Quix, to his credit, repudiated a particularly egregious example that I dug up.) But it is inherent in the system. That's what I think is important to address. Should I let it go without comment?
Consider: You're aware of the John Hagee controversy, right? Do you find what he said as jarring as I do? Could his comments have come from any camp other than dispensationalism?
(And by the way, we're not all preterists.)