Aaaaah, the blind idealism of youth. Does anyone else remember this book by John McArthur?
I can’t believe I used to read and blindly agree with this stuff.
The problem with the cessantionalist viewpoint is summarised nicely by Jack Deere.
It is a theology born out of a ‘lack of experience”.
When young and niave, I was taught that theology and spiritual practices came from the bible. This was from people who followed the dispensationalist, cessantionalist view espoused by Mc Arthur and his ilk. That sounds fine and dandy, but…….
What it led to was a view that the so called sign gifts ceased at the completion of scripture. Something which you would think Scripture would clearly state??
It is erraneous to state a strong view of scripture leads to a cessastionalist view. In fact I think the opposite is true. A strong view of scripture would lead one to seek after the experience of the Charismata described in the bible, instead of inventing a convuluted theological framework to justify your own lack of exerience.
