This is interesting and I hope some of the brighter lights in Newfrontiers will take up the challenge that John MacArthur lays down here as he articulates a cessationist view of scripture and church history.

Now I know that what is called the charismatic movement in the UK is not entirely the same as in the US. We (mostly) have an equal distaste for the prosperity movement although we’re still too prone to fall like a teenager in love for any hint of revival (or at least revival where English is spoken, decent hotels and flight connections and no persecution).

Anyway here are some of the charges that MacArthur lays at our door:

“In virtually every area where church life is unbiblical, you can attribute it to the charismatic movement. In virtually every area — bad theology, superficial worship, ego, prosperity gospel, personality elevation — all of that comes out of the charismatic movement.”

“It’s theology is bad, it is unbiblical, it is aberrant, it is destructive to people because it promises them what it can’t deliver, and then God gets blamed when it doesn’t come. It is a very destructive movement. It has always been.”

“…the movement in itself, with all its components, is a disaster to the reputation of Christianity and a severe corruption of biblical teaching.”

Come on John, don’t be timid tell us what you really think!

There are few weak arguments to back his view up but even then they’re spicy.

“Apostolic gifts ceased. You can go to the end of book of Acts: you see healings disappear completely, people get sick and there’s no one around to make them well.”

“Do you think God would give Benny Hinn the power to do miracles to authenticate really bad theology? . . . I mean, that is ludicrous. . . . If those gifts existed, they would belong to the purest, most faithful, sound teachers of the Word of God to authenticate their teaching, not to hair-brained people who are just spinning out whatever comes into their head and are prompted by Satan, not the Holy Spirit.”

“You don’t read, for example, if you read the Anabaptists, read the Reformers, read the Puritans, they’re not debating tongues, because they didn’t exist.”

MacArthur did make some slight begrudging concessions towards the likes of Piper, Grudem and Mahaney but it just shows that in the reformed world there remains some significant bridges to cross and why conferences like this one last summer are invaluable.