Charismatic abuses and abusers
Charismatic believers have a great deal to offer, in the area of Christian unity and in others. The problem is that much of the rest of the church world looks at charismatic Christianity askance, knowing all about the aberrations but little about the sincere and, indeed, holy people who represent the movement at its best.
I previously described a general structural problem with the charismatic movement, its failure to keep its own house in order. When some preacher (perhaps self appointed) starts spewing nonsense from his pulpit, the voices rising against him are few and easily drowned out in the general hubbub. What the public hears is the nonsense: The service of God requires that the preacher have a fast and fancy Gulfstream bizjet. You will be blessed if you give.
That kind of thing owes to a lack of hierarchy and accountability; in the charismatic church world, preachers are often autonomous. There is no wise bishop to step in and tell an aberrant preacher to take a year in a monastery to think things over. All of that has been discussed thoroughly by various commentators who have done a good job of detailing the charismatic movement's accountability problem.
This time I want to look at problems that occur on a smaller scale. I do not regard them as less significant for being smaller. Indeed they are often worse. They may involve sexual or psychological exploitation of parishioners, social and psychological manipulation, or counterfeit spirituality being offered as the real thing, such as false teachings and false prophecies that leave people in disappointment or despair.
The topic is not an easy one for me to address. Though I am these days a member of a rather staid, highly structured and liturgical denomination, I consider myself an insider in the charismatic and Pentecostal sectors of the church world. I spent many years there. I have seen much there that is good and inspiring.
My prayer life includes praying in tongues. I have on rare occasions been given words of knowledge--gotten them only as needed, and only on matters in which I was closely involved. (I am suspicious of the man who has words about everything and everyone.) Some say, and this is others praising me, not my own lips, that my presentations of the first and most basic matters of the Christian faith have unusual clarity, for which I can only credit the Spirit and the gift of teaching. I note these things so that no one thinks I am somehow against charismatic Christians on principle; I am one.
I still have some hope that charismatic believers--the sincere, sober-minded, Christ-centered, scripturally grounded ones--have a role to play in moving the church world toward unity. You see, I know such charismatics face to face, have prayed and served and wept and rejoiced with them. They have nothing in common with the exploiters and the abusers. But many feel there is little they can do when monsters arise in their midst, and little to prevent it from happening again.
Another interesting thing is that charismatic believers can be found in both Protestant and Catholic faith communities, creating a bit of common ground for ecumenical discussions.
Charismatic believers have a great deal to offer, in the area of Christian unity and in others. The problem is that much of the rest of the church world looks at them askance, knowing all about the aberrations but little about the sincere and, indeed, holy people who represent the movement at its best.
Following are what I see as correctable failings and abuses within charismatic Christianity. If it seems to you that my criticisms are harsh, then I congratulate you on your perceptiveness. Though I currently serve in a highly structured denomination, the charismatics and Pentecostals are still like family to me, and one will fight for one's family, after all. It is to defend the real deal charismatics from their predatory false shepherds--wolves in sheep's clothing--that I mainly write this. I have some further hope that those who have been hurt by the travesties that occur in charismatic church settings will find healing; perhaps my reflections here will help in some small part with that process.
Something for the rest of the church world to ponder: Soundly grounded, biblically adept charismatics and Pentecostals subscribe, in one form or another, to the following criticisms of aberrant charismatic practices. It is a shame that they are not more vocal and more visible when travesties occur.
Key Charismatic Problems and Errors
Blaming the victim is a crass and craven ploy
If you believe that faith is a force in itself, such that it can move mountains on your say-so (if only you have enough faith), you need to go back to the scriptures. All power on heaven and earth is given unto...who? Not to you, but your faith is your connection to Jesus and his purposes, to the extent that you remain aligned with his purposes. He is the vine, we are the branches. We can do nothing apart from him.
The trouble with thinking of faith as a force we can wield autonomously is that it sooner or later happens--to everyone--that some prayer of yours is not granted. It may be so for some hidden purpose of God's, but what you wanted was not what he did. (Luke 22:42)
Let us consider a sad case. Your baby daughter becomes ill, you pray for her to return to health, but she dies. Soon the devil, and maybe some of his human minions too, are telling you that "You just didn't have enough faith." You are made to feel the matter is somehow your fault.
Or, a far lighter matter (ridiculous even), you give a thousand dollars to some "ministry" supposing you will get a million back. You did not? "You just didn't have enough faith." Sucker.
Giving to get, rather than giving to give, is a perversion of Christian thinking
That brings me to a point that sticks out like a sore thumb when you look at the charismatic fraudsters. Everyone who thinks it through understands that you give to give. Giving to get is a barter or a bargain, not a gift. Giving to get not only molests the meaning of the words themselves, it makes no sense in light of scripture. God loves a cheerful giver, yes, but does he bless everyone he loves with riches?
The widow who gave only a tiny coin, which was all she had, was accounted more generous than anyone, but we have no indication that she ever became wealthy.
(See also Rom. 11:34-35)
False prophets deserve stoning to death (but don't do that)
We have a better covenant, and need not (and doubtless should not) carry out every sentence of the Mosaic law, but look it up. Offering a false prophecy as the truth earns the death penalty. That is an indication of how seriously God takes the matter. Charismatics should at least rise to address false prophets and false teachers with a bit of ridicule.
Christians need to call rotten or poisonous fruit what it is
Jesus said, of false prophets, that we would recognize them by their fruit, that is, the results of their ministries. To pretend that we do not recognize the falseness going on contradicts what Jesus said. I'd rather contradict the bozo on TV than pretend the Lord of creation is wrong.
People who use God's name to exploit others shall not go unpunished
I speak now of a very great evil. This evil is to use feigned justification by the authority of God to manipulate and use other people. I heard of a case where a pastor told a young woman that God wanted them...together. She, being enamored of him and supposing they would marry by and by, began having sex with him, and continued until he jilted her. She was heartbroken. Her confidence in God and Christianity were also damaged, and understandably so.
God shall not hold guiltless those who take his name in vain (Ex 20:7). It is a shame that the idea of what that means has been diluted by people using those words, "the Lord's name in vain," to fret about people cussing. It means so much more and describes much worse things. It is using the authority of God's name as if it pertained to your own pronouncements, as in swearing a false oath or lying in your marriage vows, or to suggest that you are speaking God's truth in any matter when you are speaking for yourself. It is something akin to false prophecy, but a bit more cowardly and sneaky. God shall not hold them guiltless!
Since God has pronounced his wrath upon those who do such things, shouldn't charismatic Christians say more to distance themselves from those who do them? The abuses need not be terrible ones, like the sex exploitation I described, to create problems for the church and for the victims. It could be extorting gifts or rides around town or even just planting a dumb idea that makes people do things God had never intended. "God wants you to clean my house for me..." There are a hundred ways this trick is done and God notes every one of them.
Many of the people taken in are low in biblical literacy and literacy in general
If you demand fidelity to scripture you must learn what scripture says.
Everything needed for a well run charismatic fellowship is detailed in scripture, particularly Paul's letters to churches and preachers in the first century. But many people have unclear or distorted ideas of what the Bible says on the matter. This is a biblical literacy problem and in many cases, it stems from a problem with basic literacy. Many of the people hearing, and sometimes the people preaching, are none too literate in the Bible or in any other book.
Contributing to the problem is the use of archaic language. The King James Bible was a stunning masterpiece four hundred years ago, but people no longer speak that form of English. It is easy to be misled by its phrasing and vocabulary. Worse, it is easy to mislead others. I use the KJV in private devotions, for I love the beauty of it. I have a little bit of background in archaic forms of English, so I can usually spot where things are being said in ways that can be misunderstood today. But for public readings and for teaching I use modern translations.
I have been present when charismatic preachers made basic errors of substance in explaining things out of the KJV. I am sure there are many more instances that I have not witnessed, where preachers have similarly bent what the scripture says, the better to fit the point they were trying to make. They would have a harder time doing that with an NIV, ESV or other translation that uses the English of our era.
The exercise of gifts is described and given norms and limits by scripture
Barking like a dog is not a spiritual gift; neither is laughing like a loon. Let us use some common sense. The best argument legitimate Pentecostalism has against its critics is "Well, it's in the Bible!" The simplicity and power of that argument is noteworthy. No such defense can be raised of antic behavior, or of syncretic additions to Christian belief drawn from the superstitions of this world, or for giving to get, or for faith as some sort of magical energy whereby your word, not God's word, defines reality.
Not an exhaustive list...
I haven't mentioned every last bit of fraud and folly abroad in the charismatic world, but I have hit the high points. You can see a longer list here. If charismatics wish to take their rightful place within the church world, and I think it would be an honored place, they must first put their house in order. If you are a charismatic Christian I hope you will take this to heart: Get tough. Tough on falsehood, tough on shams and frauds and exploiters. Get rid of anything unbiblical. Contend for the faith. (Jude 1:3-4) It is time for the charismatics to take up spiritual warfare against those who make them, us, look like fools.
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