The things I do for you, my reader. After finishing part two of this series in response to Strange Fire, I sat down to continue to hunt for more biblical arguments to refute. For page after page, instead I read salacious details about a string of scandals affecting mostly TV preachers. Most of these people I have never even listened to, and am only vaguely aware of. They really don’t seem to be part of my corner of the charismatic movement. They... Read more
It is not at all uncommon for cessationists to report stories like this (in some cases sheepishly!). For to be clear, what is described here is eXactly what we charismatics call prophecy, and in case you were wondering most of the sound ones would certainly agree that whatever this is it sure doesn’t have the authority of how God spoke to Isaiah. Now I hope you can see that if our argument hence boils down to what in some way... Read more
We don’t follow men like Spurgeon slavishly. But I think this quote that Sam Storms found from Spurgeon is remarkable in that he explains that he does believe that God guides people today: “Our personal pathway has been so frequently directed contrary to our own design and beyond our own conception by singularly powerful impulses, and irresistibly suggestive providences, that it were wanton wickedness for us to deride the doctrine that God occasionally grants to his servants a special and... Read more
I must begin today with a shockingly offensieve quote from the book Strange Fire. My response to the Strange Fire Conference is given yet more weight by this quote. Although there are a few places in the book where MacArthur does seek to nuance his assualt, places like this seem to make it clear that it really is the whole charismatic movement on which he elsewhere says he has declared war. “It is a sad twist of irony that those... Read more
Today I realised I was at a crossroads. I could either decide I have said enough in my post Strange Fire, a Charismatic Response among others, and walk away from the current controversy, or I could determine to address it more thoroughly. There is always, as R.C. Sproul Jr points out, a tension between truth and unity. The Bible does tell us to stay away from divisive people (Titus 3:10), and it may well come to that at some point.... Read more
The MP3 of the radio chat I had yesterday is available. It is in two segments Michael Brown speaks first to Phil Johnson and then to myself and Sam Storms. I think that it should make interesting reading. During the chat I posed four questions for cessationists that I think help to determine whether you are a moderate cessationist, or one who doesn’t accept any experiences of God as valid. I explain in my book that a vibrant sense of... Read more
The Strange Fire Conference continues to generate a lot of interest and discussion online. My main response can be found at Strange Fire – a charismatic response. Today, from 2pm to 4pm EST (7pm-9pm UK time) this will be the focus of on Michael L Brown’s nationally syndicated radio show, coincidentally called The Line of Fire. The guest during the first hour of the show will be MacArthur’s right hand man, Phil_Johnson. I should be overlapping with Phil around a quarter... Read more
Christians have a long history of disagreeing with each other over doctrine. There is nothing new about that. Sometimes that disagreement can get quite heated. So for example, in the time when Wesley and Whitefield were arguing over Calvinism, Charles Wesley wrote a shameful hymn called “The Horrible Decree” which says of Calvinism: O HORRIBLE DECREE Worthy of whence it came! Forgive their hellish blasphemy And much more besides. As I concluded my post responding to MacArthur’s first session, such... Read more
I’ve just listened to most of the first session of the Strange Fire Conference. My connection was spotty, so I missed some of it. I know that wisdom would probably dictate that I should wait, listen to it all, even read his book, then respond to it as a whole. But, my brothers have just been insulted. How can I not rise to their defence immediately? As I suspected there was no attempt to demonstrate from Scripture that the charismatic... Read more
Later today the Strange Fire conference hosted by John MacArthur begins. A few weeks back I expressed my concern about some of the publicity for this event seeming to accuse all charismatics of being blasphemers. This event also prompted Terry Virgo to share a video about how Lloyd-Jones encouraged him as a young charismatic. I will be watching at least some of the event online. But one thing I am not expecting to hear is a novel or convincing argument... Read more
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