Dr Paul Allen

John MacArthur, Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship (Thomas Nelson, Nov 12, 2013) 9781400205172. While offering some very needed points, John MacArthur’s Strange Fire, unfortunately, extrapolates from those points to an entire “movement.” As I note below, I also believe that MacArthur suppresses some biblical truth on the basis of a postbiblical doctrine, the very offense with which he charges others. Nevertheless, there is much to be learned from his criticisms; he has brought again to our attention some serious errors that charismatic churches must be on their guard against. I start with some agreeable points in the book and then move to points where I believe MacArthur has clearly overstepped the bounds of reason and Christian civility; there my tone cannot be as conciliatory. (All pagination in this review refers to the uncorrected page proofs that I received shortly before the book’s publication.) Introduction On the positive side, addres

John MacArthur accuses half-a-billion Christians of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit September 12, 2013  By  Adrian Warnock   134 Comments Today  one in four of the two billion people who identify themselves as Christians are Charismatics or Pentecostals  ( ref ).  I want to be absolutely clear that I am very happy to identify myself as one of their number.  Do I have concerns about some charismatic leaders? Of course!  Do I believe that abuses have occurred in many places? YES.  There are some who call themselves charismatics, but their beliefs and practices are frankly unbiblical. Surely there are extremes in every movement. Unapologetically, I do believe that much good is coming out of our movement. The Charismatics and Pentecostals are acknowledged by experts to be   proliferating like no other previous movement in history.  It seems to me that the movement contains many  vibrant, faith-filled people who have a deep trust in God, a sense of a relationship with God, and a strong de