Why I Do Not Believe in ‘Schools of Supernatural Ministry’ Part 1 There is a growing movement out there is the charismatic world of putting on schools and seminars where you can learn how to replicate all of the [so-called] supernatural things Jesus did. They are often called ‘Schools of Supernatural Ministries.’ They claim to be able to able to get you in such a worshipful emotional state that miracles which would normally not be part of life are all of the sudden ‘divinely manifested.’ I have problems with this line of thought for several reasons. 1. It separates the natural from the divine 2. It relies on a Platonic worldview as its structure rather than an Integral worldview 3. It is grounded in a ‘theology of glory’ rather than a ‘theology of the cross’ 4. It claims to be phenomenological but is idealist 5. It manifests (pun intended) sectarian and cult like tendencies I have been reading books on the Holy Spirit lately particularly some that recognize the importance and influence of the charismatic movement or charismatic renewal movement. I do not want to simply ‘X’ out a movement but to engage it. However, within that movement are charlatans, fools, and hucksters (as there are in any movement). I am not singling out anyone in particular in these posts, I am dealing here with a phenomenon. In my own personal experience, having learned things of the spirit (notice this is not a CAPITAL “S”) from an aboriginal perspective, it seems to me that the closer I examine the underlying theological and presuppositions and worldviews of the CM (Charismatic Movement), the more I see Greek philosophy, it’s questions and it’s problems. The foundation may claim to be biblical but the questions and solutions (or manifestations) proposed are articulated within the box of western thinking. Here is where I must demur from this tradition. I find it strange that that which claims to be new seems to only be able to be articulated within the narrow confines of a tattered, oft-discredited, and dubious worldview. Surely God is capable of better than that. I know (not just believe, but know) that the Universe is oriented toward healing, love and light. Not simply the character of the Creator (or our Abba in Christian language), but that the fabric of the universe itself is bound up with the heart and intention of the Creator. This much I could have learned from the great christological texts in the New Testament which speak of the relation of Jesus to the Creation, particularly the Wisdom/Sophia hymns like Colossians 1:15-20. So, of course, I am in principle, not ‘against’ healing, transformation or the world of the spirit/Spirit. What I object to in this modern form of Christianity is its lack of discernment when it comes to articulating in language how, when, where and why the universe (or God if you prefer) makes manifest this beneficent gift of grace. What occurs there are the seeking of ‘techniques’ to replicate experiences, or use of the Bible to ‘discover’ techniques used by others in [so-called] ‘salvation history’ which can be replicated. What I see more often than not is simply the replication of ‘techniques’ (AKA, worship experiences) that then justify this technique by appealing to the ‘unusual.’ I have critiqued this before so will not belabor this point. Beginning tomorrow I will explore how the CM and it’s Platonic or Greek philosophical foundations have created an atmosphere of anti-intellectualism, anti-ecumenism, a false relationship between the material (money, health, etc) and the spiritual, and the tendency toward cults of personality. This is not to say that there are not benefits within the CM, nor that God is not working in the CM. It is to say that this movement has created the potential for spiritual disaster by marrying the structural premises of wrong questions to “Bible answers.” It can be reformed or transformed. Some are working within the charismatic world to bring this about. But the popular expressions of this, found now especially in [so-called] schools of supernatural ministry, are pedagogical deceptions, easily critiqued. For those wondering why I prefer an aboriginal approach to spirituality as opposed to that of the CM, it is largely because an aboriginal approach has far more in common with an Integral worldview (which one could argue is also a characteristic of a good Jewish and Christian worldview) than that of most western Christian, and especially CM discourse. More tomorrow…
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 13:08:16 +0000
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