Thursday, January 12, 2006
OK, That's It - I Quit...
...talking about charasmatics and cessasionists anyway.
Quite a while back, Adrian Warnock convinced me I was a "Reformed Charasmatic." That was way before this whole huge thing erupted in recent weeks, so when it did erupt I comfortably plunked myself in that position.
Now, Pyromaniac wants to tell me I really am a cessassionist.
And yet, my particular beliefs have not changed one whit, so you guys can fight over me all you want.
Here's what I am willing to say. There are some looney charasmatics out there, the Benny Hinn's of the world. There are also some pretty high and dry reformed cessasionists types, most of the examples of which I can think of right now, you would not know. You know who they are though. People more or less afraid of the Holy Spirit.
I think everybody in this thing has been arguing against those archetypes, when few, if any, of us actually fit the bill. Therefore, I'm tired of it, have been for a while actually.
You want to know what I really think? I agree with Phil (and pretty much everybody else) that what passes for signs and wonders today does not stack up against what did in Acts. But I don't think it's because God has ceased to grant such power. I think it is because we are so lost, we don't know how to access that power. And I think part of the reason we are so lost is we spend so much time trying to figure out what label to use.
So with that, I leave this conversation. I'd much rather spend my time seeing if I can figure how to be that radically Christian. If I can, God will tell me whether He is still handing out the gifts or not and I won't have to worry about what everybody else says.
Quite a while back, Adrian Warnock convinced me I was a "Reformed Charasmatic." That was way before this whole huge thing erupted in recent weeks, so when it did erupt I comfortably plunked myself in that position.
Now, Pyromaniac wants to tell me I really am a cessassionist.
And yet, my particular beliefs have not changed one whit, so you guys can fight over me all you want.
Here's what I am willing to say. There are some looney charasmatics out there, the Benny Hinn's of the world. There are also some pretty high and dry reformed cessasionists types, most of the examples of which I can think of right now, you would not know. You know who they are though. People more or less afraid of the Holy Spirit.
I think everybody in this thing has been arguing against those archetypes, when few, if any, of us actually fit the bill. Therefore, I'm tired of it, have been for a while actually.
You want to know what I really think? I agree with Phil (and pretty much everybody else) that what passes for signs and wonders today does not stack up against what did in Acts. But I don't think it's because God has ceased to grant such power. I think it is because we are so lost, we don't know how to access that power. And I think part of the reason we are so lost is we spend so much time trying to figure out what label to use.
So with that, I leave this conversation. I'd much rather spend my time seeing if I can figure how to be that radically Christian. If I can, God will tell me whether He is still handing out the gifts or not and I won't have to worry about what everybody else says.
