The Charismatics

For a long time I hoped the charismatic movement would spur all the churches forward toward greater unity, since there are Protestants, Orthodox and Catholics who are charismatics. That should, one would think, produce a cadre of people who have a shared context to discuss the work of God's people and the direction God is leading his one church, for centuries divided. As a charismatic anthem has it,

We are one in the Spirit.
We are one in the Lord.
And we pray that all unity
May one day be restored,
And they'll know we are Christians
By our love, by our love.
Yes, they'll know we are Christians
By our love.

The problem is that the charismatics have not kept their house in order. False prophecies, fake faith healers, and several eruptions of doctrinal nonsense of self serving kinds, mar the movement's image in the eyes of the rest of Christendom, and shake whatever unity the charismatics have among themselves. The only solution I see is for the charismatics who are on the level about renewal to get tough with those who are not. Denounce false prophets, rebuke warped doctrine and make it clear that while God sometimes heals, he is never a huckster.

I am quite critical of the charismatic movement of the present day. That is despite identifying myself as part of it. But my criticisms focus on the distortions and abuses, not on the underlying inspiration, which I hold to be sound. A type of critique I do not agree with is to dismiss the message of the charismatics because what they achieve is only a pallid imitation of the great miracles of the apostolic era. Critics ask, where are the mass conversions, the astounding, fully public, well attested healings, or the words of insight and wisdom like unto those that still echo in the church two millennia on? If the charismatic movement really were of one piece with the first Christian Pentecost, shouldn't we see such results in our day?

I do not think that is altogether fair, for it overlooks that the modern movement's results may differ in degree or magnitude while being of the same kind as the apostolic era's miracles. I think that any time the Spirit enters into a situation you are in the presence of a miracle, small or big.

Furthermore I think that critics should be careful what they wish for. Let us not forget that the signs and wonders of the early church included people being struck dead for dishonesty. For something like that to happen today would be quite a departure, one that not everyone would be able to welcome.

Much of the good that the charismatic movement does in our day is offset or erased by the antics of the phonies, and that should concern any charismatic who is not a phony. There need to be frequent joint and public declarations, from those who are on the level, that distance the movement from the malarkey. To the extent that the charismatic movement continues to fail at that, it will continue to fail more generally to persuade and invite and influence the rest of the church world toward charismatic views.

Perhaps the charismatics might be encouraged and emboldened by this reflection: It is their movement, more than others, that is under this kind of attack from within and without: by travesties from within and sharp critics from without. Such things happen to them to an extent never seen among, for example, those who specialize in arguing over Reformation era theological trivia. If the devil is after you, perhaps you are doing something right.

If my intuition is anywhere near correct, Christian unity will need to involve Christ's new commandment, that we love one another, and we will need to do that to a degree not seen or perhaps even imagined in our times. Selfless love toward each other will come to be seen as a spiritual gifting and calling, a spiritual empowerment; indeed, it is the greatest of these, and a more excellent way. (1 Cor 12:31) Loving one another is, I think, what we need to push us toward unity, after so many centuries of division. It is a charism because we are in ourselves unable to love one another to the extent required. It is something we must get from God before we can give it to other people. The charismatics would seem in the right position to introduce this idea, since it is congruent with what they have been talking about all along, spiritual gifts, their origination and functioning. But first it will be necessary for them to clean house.