I am old enough to remember the early days of television and faith healer Oral Roberts immediately found that medium. During my first pastoral ministry in a small Ontario town, faith healer Kathryn Kuhlman was on every radio station twice each day. Busloads of people from nearby towns travelled to Pittsburgh to shop for her services. Such wide exposure attracted others like Kenneth Copeland, Pat Robertson, Benny Hinn, and Peter Popoff all of whom have become well-known televangelists and faith healers. Now out of Abbotsford comes a Canadian rocker/biker healer named Todd Benton making it big in Lakeland Florida. The spurious nature of these charlatans is obvious to us, but not to everyone and that of course is the danger to which John MacArthur et al (R.C. Sproul, Conrad Mbewe, Steve Lawson, Joni Erickson Tada), speak and should speak. Besides the fraudulent faith healers, there are other highly publicized TV preachers who warrant censure. This is a given but I would argue for the use of the proper weapon. Pick the frauds off to be sure. What I am taking issue with is the use of the Uzi sub-machine gun when a sighted Remington 700 SPS Tactical Rifle is all that is required. The Strange Fire Conference in October 2013 employed the Uzi and it advised all true believers to arm themselves with the same. The Uzi destroys everyone as it sprays all that is in front of it.
Let us not be mistaken. The Strange Fire Conference was a critique of the Charismatic/Pentecostal movements. An objective evaluation is a good thing. McArthur’s own position has become clear. It is this: The charismatic movement with signs, wonders, miraculous spiritual gifts and prophecy is a work of Satan and is being used to destroy the Church of Jesus Christ. That’s an Uzi outcome. In the range of this scatter fire fine Christian leaders have been struck, such as scholars and teachers as John Piper, C.J. Mahaney, Joshua Harris, Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, Francis Chan, and D.A. Carson, who are non-cessationists and therein lies their blameworthiness.
I’m embarrassed. Evangelicalism gets enough negative publicity in the popular press. This Irresponsible Fire conference was anything but a forum for communication and mutual understanding and common ground.
Let us not be mistaken. The Strange Fire Conference was a critique of the Charismatic/Pentecostal movements. An objective evaluation is a good thing. McArthur’s own position has become clear. It is this: The charismatic movement with signs, wonders, miraculous spiritual gifts and prophecy is a work of Satan and is being used to destroy the Church of Jesus Christ. That’s an Uzi outcome. In the range of this scatter fire fine Christian leaders have been struck, such as scholars and teachers as John Piper, C.J. Mahaney, Joshua Harris, Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, Francis Chan, and D.A. Carson, who are non-cessationists and therein lies their blameworthiness.
I’m embarrassed. Evangelicalism gets enough negative publicity in the popular press. This Irresponsible Fire conference was anything but a forum for communication and mutual understanding and common ground.
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