Essay on "History of Charismatic Gifts and Theology"

Essay 8 pages (2775 words) Sources: 11

[EXCERPT] . . . .

This ecumenical point-of-view is attractive given the otherwise divisive nature of a topic like the cessation of charismatic gifts and also parallels what Hassett points out about the fact that miracles can and do happen in ways less dramatic than glossolalia or exorcism. Interestingly, even early Christian theologians like Hippolytus wrote about the universalism inherent in signs in Refutation of all Heresies. Sign gifts and charismatic gifts can be viewed as the Holy Spirit working through people in order to deliver nonbelievers to the Church, strengthen the faith of existing believers, and also to signal the beginning of the End Times.

A few charismatic churches ascribe to a more nuanced view that some but not all sign gifts are acceptable and prove continuity with Scripture. These piecemeal approaches lack either the substantiation of the cessasionist view, which is grounded in Scripture, or the historical and academically theological support of the noncessationist view. In short, the "gift-mixes" approach is inconsistent and can only be viewed as a means to be politically divisive or to differentiate one church from another for economic or political gain (Wagner). When early theologians like Origen and Augustine formulated their beliefs related to sign gifts, the echoes of Christ's presence on the planet may have still been strongly felt. These early theologians were commenting directly on the gospel, whereas contemporary theologians have between them and Christ a period of two thousand years of human history. Yet the echoes of Biblical sign gifts are still strongly felt today, and Christ's spirit remains alive in every church regardless of its denomination. Sign gifts have ceased, as the Bible points out, but Christ's love remains. The Holy Spirit may indeed work in mysterious ways through perceived miracles, but the real miracles are in smaller and more mundane gifts than the spectacles on display in charismatic churches.

Scripture does clearly show that charismatic gifts should be "desired," even if they are not to be continually manifest: "Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy," (1 Corinthians 14:1). Unfortunately, charismatic preachers have woefully misinterpreted passages like these, a phenomenon that has no root in classical theological literature but which has become far more prevalent in the last few centuries and especially the 20th century. For-profit ministries have capitalized on the popular appeal of the sign gifts, and their unscrupulous methods have led to a resurgence of interest in the efficacy of charismatic gifts. "A failure to discern prophecies within charismatic churches tempts others to simply dismiss all prophecies outright," (Reinke 1). It is not that all prophesies are false, but that even those prophecies that have come true are not genuine sign gifts as they were bestowed on Christ's disciples in their formidable effort to establish the early Church. Another prime problem with the noncessationist charismatic trend is that too much "emphasis is placed on phenomena and subjective experiences," (Edgar). The Bible, and even the early Christian theologians who supported the validity of sign gifts in the centuries subsequent to Christ's original apostasy, clearly claims that gifts are not given for selfish, "subjective" means, for the sake of awe and wonderment, or for entertainment.

The noncessationist view is also inherently illogical for several reasons. One is that the noncessationist view presumes that the work of Christ in His time and by His apostles was not enough; that their charismatic gifts were somehow insufficient to prove the truth of the Word of God made flesh. Christ was in fact sufficient, and contemporary humans need only recall the Resurrection if not Christ's own miracles as reminders of that sufficiency. Human beings may require ongoing proof of God's love, which is why Scripture exists. Miracles were performed judiciously by Christ and not in the haphazard and egotistical way that the modern "charismatic gifts" appear. Furthermore, many noncessationists testify as to the importance of sign gifts as "revitalizing" the church when nowhere in Scripture do Christ or the apostles indicate that sign gifts are an essential component of spreading the Gospel. To "eagerly desire the gifts of the spirit" does not mean to desire those gifts so much as to unleash a wave of false prophets (Edgar). That "such a tremendous working" as the "miraculous infusion" of the Holy Spirit would have been suddenly disappeared after the first few centuries of the common era may all be a part of God's plan, ironically substantiated by the most charismatic of all the modern Christian movements, Pentecostalism.

If all concrete evidence derives from Scripture, then there is no evidence to support the charismatic claim in noncessationist sign gifts. On the other hand, Scripture does offer evidence that sign gives and the gospel itself were firmly apostolic and situation-dependent. 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 offers the greatest scriptural proof for the cessationist claim. Current gifts that serve God and are undertaken by and for the grace of God are certainly gifts but they are also non-charismatic. Faith, hope, and charity are not sign gifts but Christian duties. When healing does occur, it may absolutely occur in God's name and through the Holy Spirit, but this does not constitute a charismatic gift; it constitutes God's enduring love for humanity and forgiveness for sin. Prophecy, when it is genuine, is not a sign gift but an anomalous occurrence worthy of attention and possibly a reminder to "follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy," (1 Corinthians 14:1). Speaking in tongues is a new phenomenon in charismatic churches, particularly Pentecostalism, proving essentially that there is no continuity between the Biblical era sign gifts and those that take place in contemporary churches. Glossolalia has in most cases, though, been deemed "a perversion, psychopathology," rather than a scripturally sound symbol of the beginning of the End Times (McClymond 407). Christians need no additional charismatic gifts to prove the efficacy of scripture or the eminence of Christ, and non-believers need no more than personal testimonies from believers pointing to the value of faith.

Works Cited

Anderson, Allan Heaton. An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity. 2nd Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Augustine. On Christian Doctrine. Retrieved online: http://faculty.georgetown.edu/jod/augustine/ddc.html

Bible: NIV

Bodson, Eric. The seal of the spirit and Christian initiation. One in Christ 49(1): 94-113.

Edgar, Thomas R. "The Cessation of the Sign Gifts." Retrieved online: http://www.the-highway.com/cessation_Edgar.html

Hassett, Miranda K. "Charismatic Renewal." Chapter 21 in Chapman, Mark D., Clarke, Sathianathan, and Percy, Martyn. The Oxford Handbook of Anglican Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.

Hippolytus. Refutation of all Heresies. Translated by J.H. MacMahon. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 5. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. .

McClymond, Michael J. "Charismatic Gifts: Healing, Tongue-Speaking, Prophecy, and Exorcism." Chapter 30 in Sanneh, Lamin and McClymond, Michael. The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to World Christianity. John Wiley and Sons, 2016.

Origen. Contra Celcus. Translated by Frederick Crombie. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 4. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight.

Reinke, Tony. "Piper Addresses Strange Fire and Charismatic Chaos." November 16, 2013. Desiring God. Retrieved online: http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/piper-addresses-strange-fire-and-charismatic-chaos

Wagner, C. Peter. Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow. Baker, 2012.

Wallace, Daniel B. "Two Views on the 'Sign Gifts': Continuity Vs. Discontinuity." Bible.org. Retrieved online: https://bible.org/article/two-views-sign-gifts-continuity-vs.-discontinuity

"What Was the Purpose of the Biblical Sign Gifts?" Retrieved online: http://www.gotquestions.org/sign-gifts.html READ MORE

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