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John MacArthur’s Strange Fire, Reviewed by R. Loren Sandford

| October 19, 2013 | 12 comments

In bashing spiritual gifts, MacArthur characterizes the gift of tongues, for instance, as “babble”, relegating it to the flames of “strange fire”, seemingly ignoring the clear teaching of Scripture on the various uses of it. It was evangelistic on the day of Pentecost, but Paul in 1 Corinthians 14 clearly defines its use in corporate prayer (with interpretation) and for private personal edification, saying, “I wish that you all spoke in tongues.” The 120 did in fact speak in tongues on the day of Pentecost. Paul did in fact franchise its disciplined use in gatherings in Corinth and clearly described it as praying with an unfruitful mind for personal edification. Nowhere does the Scripture say that any of the supernatural gifts would cease.

MacArthur cries out against people falling into senseless trances but seems to miss that this very same thing happened to Daniel who broke into physical trembling when the angel touched him after he awakened from what was clearly a trance state. He seems to miss that the priests at the dedication of Solomon’s temple couldn’t stand up under the weight of the presence of the glory of God. And didn’t the disciples appear to be drunk on the Day of Pentecost? Speaking in foreign languages would have attracted little attention in a city where many thousands of Jews from different regions of the world had gathered for the feast, so it had to be their drunken behavior under the power of the Spirit that drew the comments. Through the filter of his cessationist theology, when these things happen today MacArthur calls them “strange fire”.

This book isn’t about strange fire. It’s about putting the fire out.

PR

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Tags: essay, John MacArthur, loren, review, sandford, Strange Fire

Category: Spirit, Winter 2014

About the Author: R. Loren Sandford died on September 17, 2021. He was the eldest son of John and Paula Sandford, widely recognized as pioneers in the charismatic renewal, prophetic ministry and inner healing. A graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary, Loren entered full time ministry in 1976 and was the founding pastor of New Song Church and Ministries in Denver, Colorado. As well as traveling internationally as a conference and seminar speaker, he was the author of numerous books, including: Burnout: Renewal in the Wilderness (1998), Purifying the Prophetic: Breaking Free from the Spirit of Self-fulfillment (Chosen, 2005), Understanding Prophetic People: Blessings and Problems with the Prophetic Gift (Chosen, 2007), The Prophetic Church: Wielding the Power to Change the World (Chosen, 2009), Renewal for the Wounded Warrior: A Burnout Survival Guide for Believers (Chosen, 2010), Visions of the Coming Days: What to Look for and How to Prepare (Chosen, 2012), Yes, There’s More: A Return to Childlike Faith and a Deeper Experience of God (Charisma House, 2015), A Vision of Hope for the End Times: Why I Want to Be Left Behind (2018), and The Last Great Outpouring: Preparing for an Unprecedented Move of God (2020). Married since 1972, he and Beth have two daughters and one son who have collectively given them nine grandchildren. Loren was also a member of the Osage Nation, a Native American heritage he deeply treasured. rlorensandford.com Twitter: @pastorrls

Pneuma Review says:

June 4, 2014 at 12:30 am

A friend of the ministry sent this in response to R. Loren Sandford’s review:
_______________
While I appreciate R. Loren Sandford’s passion, and clearly buttons have been pushed, vitriol on top of vitriol usually only produces more vitriol.

I do not have a copy of *Strange Fire* by John MacArthur so can only respond to Sandford’s response, and while I have no reason to doubt the veracity of any of the statements in the review above, let us consider a calmer approach.

If for a moment MacArthur thinks his suppositions are true, then what he is saying by default is that Charismatics are demon-possessed. And if that is true, Pastor MacArthur, then you have quite a conundrum on your hands because of the millions upon millions of Charismatics worldwide. By your own admission, you can offer them no hope because you disavow exorcism. Now that is a problem, is it not?

By extending that “logic” further, Pastor MacArthur must be confessing, in a round-about way, that the Dark One has more power and influence than the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This would also pose quite a theological puzzle.

Anonymous says:

June 4, 2014 at 12:30 am

MUST READ FACT CHECK:

Given the fact that the reviewer, R. Loren Sandford used MacArthur’s comment about “Fuller Theological Seminary abandoned the doctrine of biblical inerrancy in the early 1970s,” as a stepping stone to say, “MacArthur is wrong on many fronts and should be held accountable for what is either blatant intellectual dishonesty or just inexcusably sloppy research,” I decided to look into when Fuller “abandoned the doctrine of biblical inerrancy.”

The June 1998 issue of Theology, News and Notes, the official magazine of Fuller Theological Seminary contains the installation address of Donald A. Hanger as the “George Eldon Ladd Professor of New Testament,” which he delivered on Oct. 4, 1993. He says,

“There are those for whom it is not enough to affirm the inspiration and authority of the Scriptures. One must also assert their inerrancy. It is hard to imagine anything more debilitating to the work of the Biblical scholar than the a-priori insistence on inerrancy. The faculty of this seminary, we may be thankful, saw how unreasonable, unnecessary and misleading this doctrine is, and in 1972 changed the seminary’s statement of faith” (p. 7).

http://www.epm.org/resources/2009/Dec/10/biblical-inerrancy-and-fuller-seminary/

To back this up, I have provided comments from Dr. Harold Lindsell, one of the four founding faculty members of Fuller Theological Seminary, where he speaks of how this decline started ten years before the 1972 change in the seminary’s statement of faith.

http://www.biblical-data.org/Fuller_seminary.pdf

Seems to me Mr. Sandford, before you challenge MacArthur’s honesty or research abilities, you should make sure you have the facts straight about your own school! Talk about “inexcusably sloppy research.”

Pneuma Review says:

June 4, 2014 at 12:30 am

Invitation to readers: develop a TL;DR summary of this review.

Pneuma Review says:

November 16, 2013 at 6:28 pm

Invitation to readers: develop a TL;DR summary of this review.

George Burgess says:

November 4, 2013 at 3:44 am

MUST READ FACT CHECK:

Given the fact that the reviewer, R. Loren Sandford used MacArthur's comment about "Fuller Theological Seminary abandoned the doctrine of biblical inerrancy in the early 1970s," as a stepping stone to say, "MacArthur is wrong on many fronts and should be held accountable for what is either blatant intellectual dishonesty or just inexcusably sloppy research," I decided to look into when Fuller "abandoned the doctrine of biblical inerrancy."

The June 1998 issue of Theology, News and Notes, the official magazine of Fuller Theological Seminary contains the installation address of Donald A. Hanger as the "George Eldon Ladd Professor of New Testament," which he delivered on Oct. 4, 1993. He says,

"There are those for whom it is not enough to affirm the inspiration and authority of the Scriptures. One must also assert their inerrancy. It is hard to imagine anything more debilitating to the work of the Biblical scholar than the a-priori insistence on inerrancy. The faculty of this seminary, we may be thankful, saw how unreasonable, unnecessary and misleading this doctrine is, and in 1972 changed the seminary's statement of faith" (p. 7).

http://www.epm.org/resources/2009/Dec/10/biblical-inerrancy-and-fuller-seminary/

To back this up, I have provided comments from Dr. Harold Lindsell, one of the four founding faculty members of Fuller Theological Seminary, where he speaks of how this decline started ten years before the 1972 change in the seminary's statement of faith.

http://www.biblical-data.org/Fuller_seminary.pdf

Seems to me Mr. Sandford, before you challenge MacArthur's honesty or research abilities, you should make sure you have the facts straight about your own school! Talk about "inexcusably sloppy research."

Pneuma Review says:

October 25, 2013 at 4:59 pm

A friend of the ministry sent this in response to R. Loren Sandford’s review:
_______________
While I appreciate R. Loren Sandford’s passion, and clearly buttons have been pushed, vitriol on top of vitriol usually only produces more vitriol.

I do not have a copy of *Strange Fire* by John MacArthur so can only respond to Sandford’s response, and while I have no reason to doubt the veracity of any of the statements in the review above, let us consider a calmer approach.

If for a moment MacArthur thinks his suppositions are true, then what he is saying by default is that Charismatics are demon-possessed. And if that is true, Pastor MacArthur, then you have quite a conundrum on your hands because of the millions upon millions of Charismatics worldwide. By your own admission, you can offer them no hope because you disavow exorcism. Now that is a problem, is it not?

By extending that “logic” further, Pastor MacArthur must be confessing, in a round-about way, that the Dark One has more power and influence than the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This would also pose quite a theological puzzle.

And by using the worst of the worst examples as a means of pointing out the flaws in any human institution, then it is no wonder the world-at-large has such a dim view of Evangelicals, who have myriad examples of failed faith, broken morality, and the stain of sin on their hands. Pointing fingers can be a telltale sign of grasping for straw-man arguments.

I hope that I am wrong, Pastor MacArthur, and before I write more, I shall wait and make an attempt to read *Strange Fire*. In the meantime, let our calm and mature faith prevail. Let us not call down fire from heaven but rather, let grace-filled prayers for truth be raised for Pastor MacArthur’s edification, and may this ultimately be transformed into good and glory for our Father in Heaven!

KMW

Bibliata TV says:

October 25, 2013 at 8:16 pm

Is MacArthur arguing that charismatics and Pentecostals are not Christians?

Bibliata TV says:

October 25, 2013 at 4:59 pm

Is MacArthur arguing that charismatics and Pentecostals are not Christians?

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