The Demons of African Pentecostalism

At the end of December the New York Times and Foreign Policy published pieces on African Pentecostalism, deliverance, and the demonic. Co-authoring the Foreign Policy article, Jill Filipovic and Ty McCormick focused on the relationship between Pentecostalism, witchcraft, and traditional African religion in the small country of Malawi. For her part, Tanya Luhrmann offered some observations on the role of demons and deliverance in Ghanaian charismatic churches and attempted to compare it with general observations about evangelicalism derived from her study of the Vineyard Churches. Both articles discuss the role of the demonic among African Pentecostals.

What are we to make of the role of demons in African Pentecostalism?

In Africa the Pentecostal understanding of salvation as deliverance from sin, death, and the devil has become intensified in light of traditional African religion coupled with the influence of British and American charismatic teaching. Traditional African ideas about the spirit world or various gods became Christianized by mapping them onto Christian ideas about the devil and demons. Birgit Meyer has described this as “translating the devil” by which she means the way in which African Pentecostals have re-described the African world of spirits in terms of the Christian world of demons.   Continue at Dale M. Coulter

Do You Know What Your Missionaries Actually Teach?

Stop sending prosperity-preaching missionaries to the jungles of Peru. They’re killing the villages here. Your missionaries are spending tens of thousands of dollars, traveling across land and sea, invading and settling into new cultures, and it’s all for nothing. They’re doing more harm than good.

Your short-term and long-term missionaries are bringing death to Peru in the form of the prosperity gospel and word of faith teachings. Men and women are coming down here and telling these people that they’re poor because of sin and doubt. They’re telling the people to speak positive and claim success and health. These missionaries are telling people that they can be rich and live like the patriarchs of the Bible, blessed by the hand of God because of their faith and unshakable holiness.   Continue at Sean DeMars

 

Four Points About Tongues from 1 Corinthians 14

A goodly portion of Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians is focused on correcting that congregation’s abuse of spiritual gifts—tongues in particular. The whole theme of the apostle’s admonition about how the gifts were to function is neatly summarized in 1 Corinthians 14:40: “All things should be done decently and in order.” Along the way, it’s hard to miss the stress the apostle places on that which edifies. The point Paul makes repeatedly is that the gifts should always be used in a way that enlightens and instructs the mind. “I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue” (v. 19).

That principle has been largely ignored—and often diametrically opposed—in the doctrine and practice of the modern charismatic movement. The real point of 1 Corinthians 14 is often buried under endless arguments about the exegetical nuances of that passage. I want to take a more big-picture perspective of the text and point out a few of that chapter’s most important ideas.

1. “Tongues” were real languages.

Paul is clearly no proponent of any kind of “speech that is not intelligible” (v. 9). Sounds and syllables without meaning are of no use whatsoever. “There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning” (v. 10). Throughout the chapter, he is talking about real languages with real meaning. The ecstatic gibberish of the modern charismatic movement does not even fit the apostle’s definition of a language.  Continue at Phil Johnson

A Mess in the Maternity Ward?

Fred ButlerVolunteer Ministries Coordinator

Leveling Charges Against John MacArthur

Popular theologian and apologist Dr. Michael Brown has written two articles for Charismanews critical of John MacArthur and the upcoming Strange Fire conference.

In his first article, ”John MacArthur, Strange Fire and Blasphemy of the Spirit”, Dr. Brown says John has “seriously overstepped his bounds and misused the Word of God” by wrongly accusing charismatic leaders of “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.”  He further claims John is guilty of a double standard.  Specifically, Brown says that while John calls on charismatic leaders to denounce the extremes within their movement, John does not call on noncharismatic pastors to denounce dangerous “once saved, always saved” doctrine.

Brown’s second article, An Appeal to John MacArthur to Embrace God’s True Fire, takes issue with John’s criticisms of the famed Brownsville Revival that took place from 1995–2000 at the Brownsville Assembly of God church in Pensacola, Florida.  Michael Brown taught at the Brownsville Assembly during that time and denies that the movement was a “mindless, emotional orgy marked by irrational, sensual, and fleshly behavior” (John MacArthur’s description).  Brown says he can “testify to the fact that day after day, Jesus was exalted, the Scriptures were preached, and sinners were called to repentance and believers were encouraged to surrender their lives afresh to God.”   Continue at Fred Butler

Not Laughing Now

by Phil Johnson

Rodney Howard-Browne, self-styled “Holy Ghost Bartender,” has taken notice of the Strange Fire conference sponsored by Grace to You (October 16-18, 2013). He seems unnerved by the prospect that twenty-first-century charismatic phenomena are going to be examined in light of Scripture. Howard-Browne’s trademark giddiness has gone missing. Recently, he wrote this stream-of-consciousness rant on his Facebook page:

There is coming a massive attack on the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement by a group of individuals that don’t believe in the power of the Holy Spirit today - these men do not believe in speaking in tongues or the gifts of the spirit - they think that because of excesses in the church that they have a right to write off the fastest growing sector of Christianity - over 800 million in the earth today - that would be as bad as writing Jesus off because of one of the 12 was Judas Iscariot - if these individuals just adopted Gamaliel’s advice of Acts 5:38-39 that would be fine however they have no fear of God and are in grave danger of blaspheming the Holy Ghost - they think that because the movement has had scandals that have been publicised that this gives them leeway to do what they are doing - however the only reason why it gets the attention is because these individuals are on TV - everywhere I travel I hear of scandals outside of the Pentecostal charismatic realm but these are never publicised because no one knows them - they are calling their exposé strange fire however you better have the alternative if you are going to criticise something as counterfeit you have to produce the real - or else you had better shut up! The only ones who have the right to bring correction are the ones inside the camp not outside!

All the standard charismatic arguments are summarized there:    Continue at Phil Johnson

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What does the Bible say about Ancestral Sin, Generational Spirits, and Curses?

Many charismatics and proponents of deliverance ministry often speak of ancestral sin and the generational demonic spirits that they believe frequently accompany it. Appeal is made to Exodus 20:5-6 -

"You shall not worship them [i.e., false gods or idols] or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments."

Several things should be noted about this text.

Nothing is explicitly said here about the passing down or generational transference of demonic spirits. The threat articulated here is the judgment of God, not the perpetuation of a demonic presence in a family line.

It is crucial to observe what the text says about those on whom this judgment comes. It is "those who hate Me" who are subject to this punishment. Nothing is said about innocent victims of ancestral rebellion. Along these lines, we must take into consideration Deut. 24:16 - "Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin" (cf. Ezek. 18:2-4,20). The point is this: if you do not "hate" God, this threat is not applicable to you. We should also note that divine "blessing" or the experience of "loving kindness" does not extend automatically to the children of godly people but only to "those who love Me [God] and keep My commandments."

Finally, the emphasis in the passage is on God's mercy, not his wrath. The point is that whereas the effects of disobedience last for some time, the effects of loving God are far more extensive ("to a thousand generations").    Continue at Sam Storms

Charismatic Chaos

The charismatic movement, once considered a splinter group on the fringe of Christianity, has gained steam and entered the ‘90s at full speed. Dramatic new accounts of bizarre, supernatural events are attracting men and women hungry for religious experiences while causing others simply to ask, What is really happening here?, or more important, What should I believe? 

This 12-message album thoughtfully and carefully shines the light of Scripture on teaching that is gaining a massive and loyal television following, leading to disunity on a world-wide scale, and promising to fuel controversy for years to come. Recorded by John MacArthur, these messages will help you gain an understanding of his bestseller Charismatic Chaos in a short amount of time.

    Includes the following 13 messages:

Listen Does God Still Give Revelation? June 16, 1991 Selected Scriptures 90-53 Download: High Low

Listen Does God Still Give Prophecies? June 30, 1991 Selected Scriptures 90-54 Download: High Low

Listen Proper Biblical Interpretation August 04, 1991 Selected Scriptures 90-55 Download: High Low

Listen Does God Do Miracles Today? August 11, 1991 Selected Scriptures 90-56 Download: High Low

Listen The Third Wave August 25, 1991 Selected Scriptures 90-57 Download: High Low

Listen How Do Spiritual Gifts Operate? September 01, 1991 Selected Scriptures 90-58 Download: High Low

Listen What Was Happening in the Early Church? September 08, 1991 Selected Scriptures 90-59 Download: High Low

Listen Does God Still Heal? September 22, 1991 Selected Scriptures 90-60 Download: High Low

Listen Speaking in Tongues September 29, 1991 Selected Scriptures 90-61 Download: High Low

Listen What Is True Spirituality? October 13, 1991 Selected Scriptures 90-62 Download: High Low

Listen Does God Promise Health and Wealth? Part 1 October 27, 1991 Selected Scriptures 90-63 Download: High Low

Listen Does God Promise Health and Wealth? Part 2 November 03, 1991 Selected Scriptures 90-64 Download: High Low

Listen Does Experience Determine Truth? June 09, 1991 Selected Scriptures 90-52 Download: High Low