Monday, January 16, 2006

Cessationism

There is a really good discussion on Cessationism at PyroManiac. There are four or five articles so scroll down to read them all. Phil, the Pyro, makes very good points about how even the leaders of the Pentecostal movement believe in Cessationism to varying degrees. No one believes new books of the bible have been written, no one believes prophecy is the same as in the OT, no one believes in modern day apostles, and no one believes in stoning those who have made false predictions. Clearly, Pentecostalism creates a new and unbiblical group of spiritual gifts. This makes the defense of these gifts difficult, and the appeals to the OT and NT offices that even they believe are no longer existent dishonest at best.
As a full blown Cessationist, something Phil has not yet avowed in his posts, I believe this adherence to modern day prophecies, tongues, or whatever, has led many good people astray. One does not have to look far to find those who want to wait for divine signs before acting. I personally have known people who daily put of their schoolwork and life in general to go get high on spiritual fillings revolving around the new Laugher of the Spirit. I have known people who have made radical life decisions that they did not want to do because they saw a sign in the fact that they received a phone call. I have seen churches with 25 regular attendees, and only 8 members because no one could produce sufficient evidence of a Second Blessing to join the church. I look forward to Phil finishing his series, and I hope it starts a calmer discussion on the subject.

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