Eoghan
Puritan Board Senior
As you know I am fascinated by classical Greece and their successors the Romans. Reading Victor Davis Hanson and his book "Who Killed Homer" I came across a reference to E R Dodds. He explained that "the Greeks were rational not because they were ignorant of the irrational but more often they were rational and empirical because they knew the inexplicable so well." (p268)
When discussing the modern day "signs and wonders" movement I hear that there are amazing things happening "on the mission field" and that we in the West have become "too rational" in our thinking to expect such things. The logic of this (Oh the irony) is that, were we less rational and embraced the mystical we would experience more. The premise is correct, by embracing experience and holding reason at arms length we would indeed enter the world of the metaphysical. That however is to descend into the realm of mysticism.
When the Reformers insist that scripture is the final revelation of God (sola scriptura) they do so, not because they are unaware of the mystical but precisely because they are aware of it.
Luther had to contend with the Roman Catholic "signs and wonders" and the mysticism of the Anabaptists, when the Westminster Confession/London Confession were being written it was against the backdrop of the Quaker "inner light" theology. To suggest that the Western Church has become "too rational" to expect the inexplicable is to misunderstand the origins of reformed theology. It was the very experience of mysticism and the inexplicable in the Roman Catholics, Anabaptists and Quakers to name but a few which drove the reformers to exalt the canon of scripture over subjective experience.
When Dale Ralph Davis is expounding Luke five where Christ instructs Simon Peter to let down his nets in daylight against reason and experience, he feels it necessary to add that God does not always work against reason and experience. Thus when a man says God has called him to be a missionary in Paraguay, quits his job, uproots his family, to start a faith mission and tells you he would covet your prayers and financial contributions - No it is probably not Jesus telling him that, it is more likely to be his ego telling him that. [https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=42218193170]
To embrace the irrational and inexplicable of today and call it "signs and wonders" of necessity requires us to reject reason and the sober light of scripture. That was never necessary in the age of the Apostles. God was more than capable of overriding reason when required - He still is! What modern day charismatics want is the miraculous to be every-day. To achieve that objective they are more than willing to "lower the bar" and embrace mysticism; the mysticism of the Roman Catholics, the Anabaptists and the Quakers. It is an achievable objective - but at the cost of sola scriptura!
When discussing the modern day "signs and wonders" movement I hear that there are amazing things happening "on the mission field" and that we in the West have become "too rational" in our thinking to expect such things. The logic of this (Oh the irony) is that, were we less rational and embraced the mystical we would experience more. The premise is correct, by embracing experience and holding reason at arms length we would indeed enter the world of the metaphysical. That however is to descend into the realm of mysticism.
When the Reformers insist that scripture is the final revelation of God (sola scriptura) they do so, not because they are unaware of the mystical but precisely because they are aware of it.
Luther had to contend with the Roman Catholic "signs and wonders" and the mysticism of the Anabaptists, when the Westminster Confession/London Confession were being written it was against the backdrop of the Quaker "inner light" theology. To suggest that the Western Church has become "too rational" to expect the inexplicable is to misunderstand the origins of reformed theology. It was the very experience of mysticism and the inexplicable in the Roman Catholics, Anabaptists and Quakers to name but a few which drove the reformers to exalt the canon of scripture over subjective experience.
When Dale Ralph Davis is expounding Luke five where Christ instructs Simon Peter to let down his nets in daylight against reason and experience, he feels it necessary to add that God does not always work against reason and experience. Thus when a man says God has called him to be a missionary in Paraguay, quits his job, uproots his family, to start a faith mission and tells you he would covet your prayers and financial contributions - No it is probably not Jesus telling him that, it is more likely to be his ego telling him that. [https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=42218193170]
To embrace the irrational and inexplicable of today and call it "signs and wonders" of necessity requires us to reject reason and the sober light of scripture. That was never necessary in the age of the Apostles. God was more than capable of overriding reason when required - He still is! What modern day charismatics want is the miraculous to be every-day. To achieve that objective they are more than willing to "lower the bar" and embrace mysticism; the mysticism of the Roman Catholics, the Anabaptists and the Quakers. It is an achievable objective - but at the cost of sola scriptura!