Has anyone ever asked you, “Are you one of them tongue-talkers?†After you get your eyes to stop rolling, you have to decide whether or not to do a witty comeback (no, this is not the kind of response I usually choose, but it appeals to my flesh to think about it) “Well, yes, aren’t you? I know if the early church needed it, I sure do.†Or, you may decide to calmly and lovingly offer a defense for what you believe about praying in the Spirit and tongues with interpretation. But what about the out-of-the-blue statement, “All you [insert your “label†here] ever talk about is tonguesâ€? Your mouth drops and you say, “Wait, didn’t you just bring it up?â€
If the early church needed it, I sure do.
Any regular reader of this journal knows we talk about a great deal more than just glossolalia. I am glad that Pentecostals, charismatics, and those that are open but cautious regarding the gifts of the Spirit can agree on so many things. In our unity on essentials, we have diverse beliefs about many other subjects. May you find something in this issue that challenges and instructs you and which God may use to deepen you.
Raul L. Mock is one of the founders and directors of the Pneuma Foundation and editor of The Pneuma Review. Raul has been part of an Evangelical publishing ministry since 1996, working with Information Services and Supply Chain Management for more than two decades. He and his wife, Erin, have a daughter and twin boys and live in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. LinkedIn
John MacArthur’s new book, Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship (Thomas Nelson), is due out on November 12, 2013. Here are some images and quotes from the book as part of our conversation, “Are Pentecostals offering Strange Fire?” When MacArthur, on page 203, says that “we have already seen,…
Craig S. Keener, Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts, 2 Volumes (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011), 1172 pages, ISBN 9780801039522. All of Keener’s books that this reviewer has seen and read are lengthy. This reviewer owns Keener’s two volume work on The Gospel of John as well as Miracles, the thick one…
by Wayne A. Grudem Should Christians Expect Miracles Today? Objections and Answers from the Bible, Part 1 Should Christians Expect Miracles Today? Objections and Answers from the Bible, Part 2 Should Christians Expect Miracles Today? Objections and Answers from the Bible, Part 3 Should Christians Expect Miracles Today? Objections and Answers from the Bible, Part…
Praying in Tongues. This is still a hot topic in the church today. Fortunately, they are many among classical Pentecostals and the broad charismatic movement that have realized there is more to the Christian life than “just†tongues. Non-charismatic evangelicals have had the long standing complaint about Pentecostal/charismatics that “tongues†is all they seem to…
Ergun Mehmet Caner and Emir Fethi Caner, Christian Jihad (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2004), 240 pages. The Caner brothers have written a provocative book that is perhaps even prophetic. I mean provocative in the sense that it is sure to provoke strong responses, whether in agreement or disagreement, and prophetic in the sense of the…
Curtiss Paul DeYoung, Michael O. Emerson, George Yancey, and Karen Chai Kim, “All Churches Should Be Multiracial†Christianity Today (April 2005), pages 32-35. This excerpt from United by Faith: The Multiracial Congregation as an Answer to the Problem of Race (Oxford, 2003) is a summary of the biblical argument made by the book. The…