John MacArthur’s Strange Fire, reviewed by Monte Lee Rice
Assessing probable impact in non-western Majority World
I shall now briefly assess the relevancy, impact MacArthur’s book may have and evoke from within the non-western Majority World. Knowledgeable observers may quickly deduce that MacArthur’s message would largely fail to resonate with the interests of Southern Hemisphere and non-Western Pentecostal and Charismatics as well as with the non-Pentecostal/Charismatic world. This probable disinterest would arise from how MacArthur’s Western Enlightenment-steeped fundamentalist worldview, incongruously contrasts with Southern Hemisphere/Majority World religious supernaturalism—which takes for granted efficacious links between religious practices and miraculous occurrences, both within and outside the Christian faith.
A good illustration that demonstrates this incongruence is West Malaysian Methodist Bishop Hwa Yung’s attempts to reinterpret the impact of Pentecostal and Charismatic movements in Asia, in manners that take more seriously affirm the indigenous nature of these movements within the Asian continent. He thus faults the “three-wave” theory (e.g., Pentecostalism → Charismatic Renewal → Third Wave) for its biased western and particularly North American historiography, “which see everything flowing out of American Pentecostalism.”[11] Yung thus contends that the Asian Pentecostal/Charismatic movements primarily emerged because of the sacralistic Asian worldview, and that these movements are thus wholly indigenous without dependence upon the “three wave” historical development of Charismatic movements in the Western world.[12] Hence, Yung believes that “a truly indigenous Christianity in Asia,” will always be “supernaturalistic, and therefore Pentecostal-Charismatic!”[13] While I differ from Yung’s strict contention that Asian Pentecostal/Charismatic historiography is wholly independent of Western connections, I believe his analysis points to a definitive epistemological incongruence between MacArthur’s message and Southern hemisphere Christianity.
Yet notwithstanding the incorrigible quality I have described between MacArthur’s underlying epistemology and Majority World sacralistic sensibilities, I am concerned his inflammatory rhetoric against Pentecostalism and the Charismatic movement can negatively influence Southern Hemisphere non-Pentecostal/Charismatic believers at the grassroots level, away from healthy ecumenical appreciation towards and with Pentecostal/Charismatic spirituality, practices, and theological scholarship. I say this contending that popular caricatures of Pentecostal and Charismatic spiritualities and practices as devoid of biblical authority and mature theological reflection, do substantially exists within more mainline and Reformed albeit conservative Evangelical communities in the Southern as well as Northern hemispheres. Hence, I would caution that MacArthur’s broad sweeping tactics and ideological caricaturizing is detrimental at the grassroots level, because it is there that its rhetorical power demonstrates its influential effectiveness.
Conclusion
I shall therefore conclude by suggesting that Reformed networks indeed reflect on the viable impact MacArthur’s message may pose towards impeding healthy ecumenical fruit at the grass-roots level within both Reformed and non-Reformed communities. Relevant here is Assemblies of God theologian Frank Macchia’s reflection on his participation involvement in an international dialogue between the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and Pentecostals. In that dialogue, Reformed and Pentecostal participants issued a formal statement granting theological and hence legitimate space to one another’s differing views on spiritual gifts, the ongoing reality of gifts from the Holy Spirit, and need for expanding one another’s horizons on our understandings of the Holy Spirit and gifts, through ecumenical dialogue.[14] Perhaps for the sake of fostering the ongoing fruit of worldwide ecumenical sharing between the Reformed and Pentecostal theological traditions, a formal censure may be order—by Reformed bodies against MacArthur’s defamation campaign.
Reviewed by Monte Lee Rice
Category: Spirit, Summer 2014
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