I did not realize there were so many branches of the Presbyterian church.
I guess Doctrine truly does divide and rightly so. I guess some of these denominations need to split especially when they decide to stray from the narrow way and embrace every kind of false teaching and liberal mindset out there.
I came from a church called the Brooklyn Tabernacle. My ex-pastor Jim Cymbala preaches a very stong Doctrinal Position. That position is: "You Do Not Need Doctrine, You Just Need The Holy Spirit". He preaches on the Authority of Story and not on the Authority of Scripture. To the unlearned he sounds great but once you begin to really study the Bible and see the truth in light of Reformed Thought you see that he is preaching an expereinced based faith and not a biblically based faith. Typical in Arminian circles.
Becase he boasts that he had not seminary training he constantly tells the congregation from the pulpit. "You do not need Doctrine, You do not need seminary, Just say yes to God, the Holy Spirit is all you need".
His whole ministry is based on an event when he was on a fishing boat in Florida and the Holy Spirit spoke to him and said "If you would just teach the people to call upon my name you will never have a building big enough to fit all the people I will send and you will never be in want for a sermon again.
(paraphrased but something of that sort.)
How Dangerous is that!
I know I was under it for 20 years. I was hoodwinked into believing that my position was true Christianity and that Reformed Calvinistic Tehology was basically evil and mean spirited. The only book that he ever gave me was "What Love is This" by Dave Hunt. It was because of that Book and my desire to know truth that I came to embrace Reformed Theology.
It is kind of funny but Cymbala loves to tell stories of Historical Revivals and he constantly tells of Whitefield and the First Great Awakening, Evan Roberts and the Welsh Revival, Jeremiah Lamphier and the New York City Prayer Revival and loves to quote from Andrew Bonar. And from what I understand they are were all Reformed in their Doctrine. Yet he condemns Reformed Doctrine.
In those circles they seem to ordain peolpe as pastors who have no seminary training. As long as they are a dynamic speaker and can draw a huge altar call that is the litmus test for the ministry. As long as your doctrine is "I love Jesus" that is pretty much all you need.
DANGEROUS!!!
I cannot beleive I was under that for 20 years. God have mercy!!
-----Added 5/21/2009 at 04:14:44 EST----- Quote:
Originally Posted by CharlieJ  I find it hilarious that the Forum view of this thread looks like this:
Karl Barth
The Author of My Faith |
That is my Screen Name... Don't be a wise Guy!!!
