A partial apologia
I didn't wish to post further on this issue, but I am compelled to after what my friend(s) told me.
Let me set the stage
1) The Evangelist in question is a disagreeable person. Now, not everyone will agree with that, and I do not know personally. But I must give some weight to those who think so. Some issues include arrogance, being extravagant, and most importantly, cursing those who oppose his ministry.
2) He possesses / channels / handles / manages true power, and in the name of the Holy Spirit. How else do you explain the massive slainnings?
Lets examine this further. We will all agree of course, that we do not expect God's servants to be perfect. Otherwise, all of us will never be used in any big ways. Everyone has their flaws. But we will all agree too, that we have certain expectations for them. Imagine what a turn off a proud person will be. Or to bring it further, imagine someone who has adulterous relations preaching. Surely no one will listen to him. It is not possible to do God's work when you do not seem to be obeying God's commands. Nor will a ministry be effective if you do not command respect. Let me qualify this. We know that God can and does use the worst sinners there are to great effect. But the thing is this - they repent and turn from their sins. So it is still in the present day. We want the Great leaders we follow to be good role models and good examples before we listen to them. No doubt they will point us to follow Jesus. But we will inevitably still look at them.
Next, I believe that when we do things in the name of God, and something does happen, it should be from God. I would find it very strange if someone does something in the name of God, but God does not approve of it, and yet something miraculous happens. I would find it very hard to believe that the Devil did it - how would God allow it?! Did He not himself teach us that we shall tell the genuineness of prophets by the fulfillment of their prophecies? How then can we tell if both real and false prophets have their prophecies fulfilled? In the Book of Acts, we see 2 people who are not of Christ driving out demons in the name of Christ, but they were shamed by the demon attacking them.
So now, we have a little problem. The Evangelist is not as "good" as we expect him to be. To many, his character leaves much to be desired. Yet at the same time, he is able to do works that are really great. So the question really goes to this
1) Is he a servant of God?
2) If so, why is he like this? If not, then where does the power come from?
What makes a person a servant of God? The easiest way to know will be to enter the perspective of either God or the person in question. Unfortunately, that is not possible. The powers? But that will leave us with no basis to answer the second question. The character? I would love to use it, but it is so subjective. What type of Character is Good enough? Well.. we cannot really say, but I think it should be quite safe to assume that your ministry will only be as good as your character depth is.
There is one possible salvaging point though. Our assessments of people's character could be wrong. In other words, we could be wrong in thinking that he has a poor, distasteful character. Maybe perhaps, he is really trying to change. But I won't be very convinced by this. For one, I believe that my friend is really quite fair in his assessment. For another, the descriptions sound too "bad" for that.
So, I haven't found a way to answer that question
What about the second part? Since we had not established the first, let us do both cases. If he is really a servant of God, then I do not have much to say. It will just be another person who is work in process. Sure, it may not be how we would do things, but God is free to do as he likes. What if he is not? The implications are quite terrible. It will suggest that the powers are demonic powers. And that, I find it very difficult to accept. We have so many Christians in that place, with some of the most devoted ones (the pastors etc), and so many of them "fell" under the demonic power?! Not possible! I refuse to believe that. Even if the people were "stupid" and were not on their watch, I hold fast to the principle that God will protect you as long as you want to glorify Him - which many of them surely did.
So we are left with the first option. He is really a servant of God. And extraordinary anointing is given to him. And he is but a work in process. Why God decides to use a person as unpleasant as that is beyond me. But surely God will deal with him in His own way, in His own time. And surely God will not allow a person's ungodliness to use the power entrusted to him for ungodly purposes. I believe that the moment that is tried, God will say no. And nothing will happen. If you look at it outside of Theism, you have real reasons to be afraid, for here is someone who is powerful and without restrains on the power. But in the context of a loving and Good God, then we need not be afraid, for God will surely not allow His powers to be used for evil.
Hope this makes sense.
Let me set the stage
1) The Evangelist in question is a disagreeable person. Now, not everyone will agree with that, and I do not know personally. But I must give some weight to those who think so. Some issues include arrogance, being extravagant, and most importantly, cursing those who oppose his ministry.
2) He possesses / channels / handles / manages true power, and in the name of the Holy Spirit. How else do you explain the massive slainnings?
Lets examine this further. We will all agree of course, that we do not expect God's servants to be perfect. Otherwise, all of us will never be used in any big ways. Everyone has their flaws. But we will all agree too, that we have certain expectations for them. Imagine what a turn off a proud person will be. Or to bring it further, imagine someone who has adulterous relations preaching. Surely no one will listen to him. It is not possible to do God's work when you do not seem to be obeying God's commands. Nor will a ministry be effective if you do not command respect. Let me qualify this. We know that God can and does use the worst sinners there are to great effect. But the thing is this - they repent and turn from their sins. So it is still in the present day. We want the Great leaders we follow to be good role models and good examples before we listen to them. No doubt they will point us to follow Jesus. But we will inevitably still look at them.
Next, I believe that when we do things in the name of God, and something does happen, it should be from God. I would find it very strange if someone does something in the name of God, but God does not approve of it, and yet something miraculous happens. I would find it very hard to believe that the Devil did it - how would God allow it?! Did He not himself teach us that we shall tell the genuineness of prophets by the fulfillment of their prophecies? How then can we tell if both real and false prophets have their prophecies fulfilled? In the Book of Acts, we see 2 people who are not of Christ driving out demons in the name of Christ, but they were shamed by the demon attacking them.
So now, we have a little problem. The Evangelist is not as "good" as we expect him to be. To many, his character leaves much to be desired. Yet at the same time, he is able to do works that are really great. So the question really goes to this
1) Is he a servant of God?
2) If so, why is he like this? If not, then where does the power come from?
What makes a person a servant of God? The easiest way to know will be to enter the perspective of either God or the person in question. Unfortunately, that is not possible. The powers? But that will leave us with no basis to answer the second question. The character? I would love to use it, but it is so subjective. What type of Character is Good enough? Well.. we cannot really say, but I think it should be quite safe to assume that your ministry will only be as good as your character depth is.
There is one possible salvaging point though. Our assessments of people's character could be wrong. In other words, we could be wrong in thinking that he has a poor, distasteful character. Maybe perhaps, he is really trying to change. But I won't be very convinced by this. For one, I believe that my friend is really quite fair in his assessment. For another, the descriptions sound too "bad" for that.
So, I haven't found a way to answer that question
What about the second part? Since we had not established the first, let us do both cases. If he is really a servant of God, then I do not have much to say. It will just be another person who is work in process. Sure, it may not be how we would do things, but God is free to do as he likes. What if he is not? The implications are quite terrible. It will suggest that the powers are demonic powers. And that, I find it very difficult to accept. We have so many Christians in that place, with some of the most devoted ones (the pastors etc), and so many of them "fell" under the demonic power?! Not possible! I refuse to believe that. Even if the people were "stupid" and were not on their watch, I hold fast to the principle that God will protect you as long as you want to glorify Him - which many of them surely did.
So we are left with the first option. He is really a servant of God. And extraordinary anointing is given to him. And he is but a work in process. Why God decides to use a person as unpleasant as that is beyond me. But surely God will deal with him in His own way, in His own time. And surely God will not allow a person's ungodliness to use the power entrusted to him for ungodly purposes. I believe that the moment that is tried, God will say no. And nothing will happen. If you look at it outside of Theism, you have real reasons to be afraid, for here is someone who is powerful and without restrains on the power. But in the context of a loving and Good God, then we need not be afraid, for God will surely not allow His powers to be used for evil.
Hope this makes sense.
posted by P{ZM} at 6:18 PM
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