The Binary Choice Deception - Cessationism Vs. Charismania, Both are Equally Wrong - By Anthony Wade

 Found here. Our comments in bold.
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It's been nearly three months since we've critiqued a Rev. Wade article. It's been a welcome respite from his typical flaming-throwing offerings.

But unfortunately we're back today, hoping that he's finally going to explain something. Here he's supposed to set us straight about what's wrong with each side of the cessation/charismatic debate. But he uses over 2100 words to tell us nothing about the Bible regarding these two sides. Nothing.

Rev. Wade posted this as a devotional. But he doesn't quote or even reference a single Scripture, except for the irrelevant opening Scripture. He doesn't tell us about any Bible precept, holy principle, or anything about the faith. Nothing. Yet it's a devotional. Hmm.
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Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. - 1Peter 2:11-12 (ESV)

The recent devotional (emphasis added) regarding Dr. Michael Brown and Brandon Kimber from American Gospel (How about a link?)

brought up an interesting problem we never seem to tackle head on. There is an ideological disease in this country fueled by our corrupt and broken body politic. This disease teaches us there are only two streams of coherent thought. Two ideological camps. We must choose from this binary offering to whom we belong and subsequently blame everything on the other camp. The reality that escapes the people of God way too often is we actually belong in neither camp. As the key verse reminds us, we are but pilgrims and exiles travelling through this world. The problem is the apostate church loves this world and the excess of sin it allows so it is constantly seeking relevance to it and identification for the church in it. This devotional (emphasis added) however is not about the shady NAR theology of dominionism and how the powers that be, have sold their collective soul to the Republican Party. This devotional (emphasis added)is examining the same false forced binary choice that is presented to believers regarding the gifts of the spirit.

On one side of this debate are the cessationists. These folks are generally followers of Calvinism and are often driven to cessationism because they see the rampant abuses of the gifts within Charismania. These people generally believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit ceased at the end of the Apostolic Age, or when the Apostle John died around 100AD. The other side of the debate is often framed as continuationist beliefs because those folks believe the gifts of the spirit have continued to this day. Where Calvinist beliefs are the core problem back the Cessationist side, rabid, out of control Charismania is the core problem on the continuationist side. Both sides contain some truth and a fair deal of error. The world and church continue to present this as a binary choice. Whenever you dispute Calvinism, the reflex response is that the critic must be Arminian. I do not respond well to being placed in a box I did not choose. I think both sides are wrong, and I present a third option to the binary fallacy here today. You can believe that the bible clearly supports the gifts of the spirit continuing to this day and in the same breath admit that Charismania is probably doing them all wrong. You can agree with Cessationists that the Charismaniacal abuses are wrong and not embrace Calvinism and the cessation of the gifts. There is a logical middle ground that remains true to the bible, (A Bible that remains closed on Rev. Wade's desk.

So this third way, this middle ground, what are those beliefs? What Bible verses would illustrate these things? Do they solve the false binary equation? In what way? How would a charismatic or a cessationist be attracted to this, and on what basis?

Rev. Wade could write about all these questions, but instead he superficially describes each camp and makes a few noises about both being wrong while he is right.)

but it has to start with the humility to admit that finite human beings just might not be able to fully define an infinite God. Only our human arrogance thinks otherwise.

So let us start with the Cessationist crowd. I have yet to find any Cessationist able to respond lucidly to my central argument that Cessationism does not pass the smell test. (Is that "central argument" an argument based on the Bible?)

Let us remember a few undisputed facts first:

* Cessationism believes the gifts ended around 100 AD, as previously outlined

* It is generally accepted that the books of the bible outlining the gifts, their usage, and how they are to be applied to Christian church services were written around 50 AD, give or take a decade

* The canon of scripture that we now call the bible was agreed upon around 400 AD

* The first printed bible did not appear until 15th Century

So, follow the Cessationist argument now remembering we serve an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God who divinely inspired the actual texts and certainly would ensure which books became considered His holy word. So, God had Paul, Peter, and Timothy write extensively regarding the gifts of the Holy Spirit, even outlining how they should be used in church services, which would become the blueprint for Christian churches for centuries up until today, even though He knew full well they would cease in operation just 50 years later, 350 years before the canon would be agreed upon, and 1400 years before the first bible would be printed? That is an absurdity in logic. Why would God go into that level of detail for fledgling churches for only a half century? (For the very first time in our experience, Rev. Wade actually puts together a coherent argument. It's not a biblical argument, but it is an argument.)

Before some start with the argument that they were only needed for the start of the church, then why did they make it into the final canon of scripture 350 years later? Is God the author of confusion? Was He incapable of properly influencing which books would become the bible, used throughout the world today as the final authoritative word of God? Are we now to believe there are portions of the bible we can effectively ignore as they only applied to first century Christians? The answer to all of these is a resounding no and lead one to must conclude that the inherent premise of Cessationism is wrong. (What are the Bible verses cessationists use to establish this premise? How are cessationists wrong? Please, Rev. Wade, tell us something.)

Which brings us to the Charismatic crowd. Now in full disclosure, I was born again in a Charismatic church and became credentialed as an Assemblies of God minister. The more I read the bible however, the more I realized that a lot of what I was taught was extra-biblical, or as the kids like to say today, wrong. (What, specifically? What were you taught that was wrong?)

This was never clearer than in the arena of the gifts of the spirit. These are the reasons that drive people into the arms of Cessationism. When we see the bogus words of knowledge scams from Peter Popoff in the 1980s to the cell phone words of knowledge of professional hustler Shawn Bolz today and we have good reason to be skeptical. That said, I know people who have spoken a true word of knowledge to me, and I have born (sic) witness to it as well. It is not a psychic parlor trick or gleaning information from social media. We see the clairvoyance scams today that are passed off a prophecy and have every reason to doubt. The wannabe apostate church false prophets were all exposed in 2020 when they all claimed a direct word from God regarding the election that was wildly inaccurate. Then we see silly, stupid prophecies such as David Taylor saying God told him the Denver Broncos would win the Super Bowl one year only to watch them lose 43-8, which was the largest winning margin for an underdog in NFL history. Or we see Pat Robertson prophesy that God told him the following summer would see multiple devastating hurricanes hit the eastern shore of the United States. There was not one hurricane that even reached the eastern US the following summer. That does not mean however that God cannot give someone the ability to speak prophetically into a church setting or someone's life once we understand that prophecy is simply reemphasizing God's word, which is the final revealed will of the Lord anyway. God did not provide us with the bible and the forget to say something that He now is conveying to us through Benny Hinn, please. (Ok, so it was the hucksters who taught you a bunch of extra-biblical things? What exactly did they teach you, why are they wrong, and what are the correct beliefs?)

We also see the massive abuse in the realm of healing. We see the aforementioned Hinn waving his magic suit coat as swaths of people collapse in supposed healing. Or Todd Bentley punching a man with stage four stomach cancer in the gut to "impart healing." Or we see fools like Bill Johnson, who wears corrective eyeglasses, teach that God always MUST heal us, robbing the Lord of His sovereignty. The bible however teaches us to pray to a God who can heal within His sovereignty. (Where in the Bible?)

It does instruct us to seek the elders of the church for healing prayer. (Where in the Bible?)

God can choose to use a yielded human vessel to convey His healing. I know I have witnessed it personally, but it is not the senseless leg growing trick of Todd White. It is not the idiotic healing outings we see on the various Holy Ghost farcical movies. Remember, just because there are charlatans who fake a gift, that does not mean the gift is not in operation. (This is another coherent argument, but again, it's not a biblical one.)

The final example is of course, speaking in tongues. With no apologies to my charismatic friends, baby babble is not a heavenly language. (This statement is not an argument, it's a summary denial.)

You should know it is fake when you see apostate churches try and teach people how to speak in tongues. (Why?)

Yes, we could get to a breaking point in prayer, private prayer, where we no longer know what to even say and the bible assures us that the Holy Spirit will intercede for us. (Where in the Bible?)

THAT is the heavenly language. (It may be, but this is not an argument either, it is a summary assertion.)

Tongues in scripture referred to known earthly language. (Where in the Bible?)

Saying shabba in the middle of English is not the gift of tongues. (Another summary denial.)

That being said, early 20th century missionaries expressed that they were supernaturally granted the ability to speak in the tongue of the natives they were trying to witness to. (Undocumented claim.)

I am sure when we get beyond the walls of the corrupt American church that this gift is more readily spoken of correctly. (Why? What is the correct way? Please, explain something, anything.)

One of the greatest problems that prevents us from finding any compromise is that we have been conditioned to believe in the binary choice fallacy. Cessationists will go their graves defending their guys. Have you ever tried to be critical of John MacArthur? His acolytes will attack immediately. Listen, I have quoted Paul Washer a fair amount in my life. I find his explanation for Joel Osteen being God's wrath for those willing to sit through his sermons both accurate and hysterical. I do not worship Paul Washer and I like to think he would be the first to say he is just a man. You can like or agree with anyone - Spurgeon, Piper, MacArthur, whoever. They are all men who can just as easily not see their own errors. (What are those errors?)

Again, it is not a matter of maliciousness. (This is the first time Rev. Wade has mentioned not being malicious. But he uses the word "again" as if he's discussed it earlier in his article. And if cessationists are not being malicious, are charismatics?)

(Here comes an irrelevant tangent...) I believe John MacArthur thought he was right for sticking his thumb in the eye of the Californian government and reopening his church in the middle of a plague, but he was not. Who knows how many people he potentially led to their deaths by feeding them into the COVID woodchipper for vanity. Mac himself caught COVID as a result and reports say he was close to death from it.

The same is true for the other side (What is the same?)

and one need to look no further than Dr. Michael Brown, who never met a heretic he didn't like. (This sounds like Dr. Brown is being malicious.)

This is a man with decades of service but still stands by the obvious demonic outpouring in Brownsville. (Undocumented claim.)

He has defended Benny Hinn and Joseph Prince as good brothers in the Lord. He seems to worship Bill Johnson and even provided cover for one of the dumbest prophecies ever - Jennifer LeClaire's "sneaky squid spirit." It is not just Brown, however. Have you tried to have a rational conversation with an adherent or (sic) Joseph Prince? How about sane conversations about music from Elevation, Bethel or Hillsong? Everyone is on board with discernment ministries until they speak about their favorite preachers. I have lost many seemingly grounded believers off my devotional (emphasis added) list because I suddenly became divisive after writing about their idol and make no mistake that is what we are dealing with - idolatry. (Rev. Wade is unable to see past his blinders. He thinks that he's doing the work of the Lord. So anyone who leaves does so because they've been offended by Rev. Wade's truth-telling.

However, Rev. Wade writes article after article blasting charismatics but rarely criticizes any cessationist. Plus, he goes on and on about the NAR and Republicans, but never has a bad word for Democrats. And as we previously mentioned, there is nothing "devotional" about his devotionals. 

And lastly, Rev. Wade is simply not a good writer. Nor is he a thoughtful rhetorician. The reader may wish to peruse our critiques of some of his other articles. He's written some pretty egregious things.

So if people are leaving his devotional list, they probably aren't doing so because the righteous Rev. Wade is skewering their idols.)

So, the Cessationists all decry the massive false teachings and abuses of the gifts in Charismania while the Charismatics all decry the lack of spiritual power and the false teaching of Calvinism within the Cessationist crowd. No one listens to the other side because all we want to hear is the pleasant assurance of our own confirmation bias found within the recesses of our own echo.

So, what is the middle ground? (How about the biblical position? If both camps are wrong, well, tell us what is correct. From the Bible, please.)

Clearly the arguments of Cessationism and Charismania are deeply flawed and inaccurate. (What are those arguments? Is Rev. Wade going to explain anything?)

I would like to suggest a better path. A path that sticks to the bible. (Yes, yes, the Bible. Where in the Bible?)

A path that acknowledges the gifts must clearly be also meant for today while refusing to accept the abuses of them. It is a lonely path because one of the benefits of the forced binary choice is a sense of belonging to a particular tribe. We were not meant to conform to a side though beloved. We were meant to be set apart. The bible says that narrow is the path that leads to eternal life and few are those who find it. (Where in the Bible?)

I am just suggesting today that the narrow path is the better path and the bricks are laid by the difficult choices we must make in this world. Do not ascribe to the tribal mentality because the true sadness of the binary choice fallacy is both tribes fancy themselves apart but they are all walking together on the same broad path, screaming at each other that they are right. (We would like to remind the reader that Rev. Wade thinks he's right as well, and has employed a most distasteful rhetoric as he excoriates his theological opponents. The reader will find many of Rev. Wade's articles tagged under our label "scorched earth discernment."

The fact of the matter is Rev. Wade has never demonstrated a desire or the ability to explain Scripture. This may be one of the reason he so rarely quotes it. Here in this article he had a substantial opportunity to explain his beliefs by quoting and expounding upon relevant Bible verses, but he simply punts.)