Answering the Cessationists’ Case against Continuing Spiritual Gifts, by Jon Ruthven
Conclusion
Our friend George need not fear. Cessationism is an increasingly beleaguered position represented by three concentric circles. Many strongest defenders of cessationism in the inner circle are defecting to more modern “mediator” positions, who can see both sides and respect the arguments of charismatics, but still resist personal change. But this second circle in turn is losing defectors to the outer circle of the “open-but-cautious” position. It may well be that if present trends continue, and we speak the truth in love, that our friend George will one day discover that cessationism has taken its rightful place in the Museum of Theological Curiosities beside the “gap theory” of creation, the bodily ascension of Mary, and the doctrine that Mussolini is the antichrist.
PR
Notes
1 For our purposes, a “cessationist” is one who believes that miracles or “miraculous” spiritual gifts accredited the new doctrine inscripturated in the New Testament, and therefore they ceased when either the apostles died or the New Testament was written.
2 Jack Deere, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit (Zondervan, 1993), Surprised by the Voice of God (Zondervan, 1996); Gordon Fee, God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul (Hendrickson, 1994); Wayne Grudem, Power and Truth (Assoc. Vineyard Churches, 1993), Systematic Theology (Zondervan, 1994); Gary Greig (above); Max Turner, The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts (Hendrickson, 1996); John Wimber (with Kevin Springer) Power Healing (Harper, 1987); and my own On the Cessation of the Charismata (Sheffield Acad. Pr., 1993).
Category: Pneuma Review, Spirit, Spring 2000
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