What do Pentecostal Churches and the Charismatic Movement believe?

Question:

Hi Sumair,

It’s me from the fellowship, how are you my brother, i just have a quick question about the charismatic movement, do you think that it is a threat to Christianity? One of the denominations affiliated with this movement is Pentecostalism, i have been doing some research on it but there are different views on it so i’m not sure, and i want to know which one is the biblical view. I don’t want to take up your time my man, i understand that you are very busy, so even a reference would help. I hope to see you at the next fellowship. take care and God bless.

Answer:

Hey ,

Good question! It’s nice to hear from you. I myself do not claim to be an expert on this issue although I have pondered it myself. No worries on the question man and about my time.

I have attached several documents that include statements of faith (can be found by searching for official baptist and pentecostal association/convention websites. Click for examples: Baptist Core Values / Pentecostal Core Values) from select governing bodies of Pentecostals and Baptists as many people make statements on the faiths that are just based on hearsay, local tradition or nonsense (e.g. saw someone online that stated Pentecostal churches have a dress code for women to wear dresses… obviously not a valid statement that can be applied to the Pentecostal movement itself).

Below are some of my thoughts:

Principally, the foundations of Baptists and Pentecostals remain the same as you can read yourself (cautionary note: individual churches may …

Is the “Old Testament God” mean and distant? Shouldn’t God fear us?

Question:

Hey Sumo,

So I was sitting on the subway today when Exodus 20:4-5 randomly popped into my head. (I know right? I myself was kind of weirded out.)

Anyway, i was contemplating this verse when it struck me. God in the old testament seems pretty distant and cold yet in the new testament, he seems to warm up when jesus pops up. What does jesus have to do with it?
Also, back in times of the new testament, didn’t everyone subscribe to beliefs in the same god? Did religions even vary at that point in time?
I don’t know what to make of all these questions and how they bear any relevance to faith, but i’m sure it’ll manifest itself in a greater issue so I’m asking them now. I don’t expect pages and pages of answers, in fact i’d probably have a hard time getting through it so something short and concise would be great if you can muster up the will to answer.

Cheers,

-

Oh and a side thought: If we’re the only ones who know God exists, then that means that we justify his existence. He is real because we perceive him to be real, so shouldn’t he be afraid of what we think of him and not vice versa?

Answer:

Hey ,

No worries about sending to that email address. I didn’t even realize when I received it till I read your “oops” message Ok I’ll be concise with my responses and if you want to clarify further then just let me know. I tried to break …

Digital Age = Churches in Shopping Malls?

The other day I was listening to the radio on the way home from work and the “Charles Adler Show” was being broadcast on 640AM. I tuned in at a point in the show where the discussions started about the future of churches in the world. After a few minutes of listening to the dialogue I was trying to figure out what exactly the topic of the show was. After they finished discussing the the future of churches Charles re-introduced the topic, as radio hosts often do to inform people like me just tuning in, and it was clear the topic that was to be discussed was the idea of the “stuff that’s going the way of the dinosaur with the digital age”. Back to the dialogue that I listened to as I tuned in…

The guest was talking about the cost to run churches and maintain them and how churches in the rural areas or the “quaint” churches in the country would probably start closing down. She stated that, of course, the nice cathedral-style churches would stay intact but that most churches would either close or be moved into shopping malls as “boutiques” so you could drop in on Sunday and do your shopping after going to church or vice versa. Although I do find the topic of the show interesting and agree with the thoughts of the newspaper classifieds going the way of the dinosaur (the item discussed after churches), I was deeply saddened and distressed by hearing this treatment of the modern day church.

Now …

Was Satan an Angel?

Question: Was Satan an Angel?

Answer: Satan is often assumed to be an angel, an archangel, and sometimes in combination with that (as the Mormons believe) he is the brother of Jesus (will discuss this false claim in a future post). We can gain some insight into the nature of Satan from Ezekiel 28. Although different scholars present different levels of certainty that this passage relates to Satan, when reading the text and the level of the description this doesn’t seem to be able to describe a physical king nor does the specific reference to being anointed a “guardian cherub” fit. According to Ezekiel 28:14, we can see that Satan is presented as a cherub. This is significant as it shows the level of creature that Satan was. Cherubs are among the highest ranking and most privileged of the angels, since they have extraordinary access to the presence of God. Cherubs are above angels and held a very high position in the heavenly realms. The cherubim (plural of cherub) weren’t merely angels but were in the inner courts in the presence of God and covered the throne of God. Interestingly, cherubim are often depicted as chubby little cupid-like angels and yet this isn’t what they are. How do we know? Ezekiel 1 and 4 provides several passages that allow us to create a visual profile of these creatures.

• Ezekiel 1:4-8 - “I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north  —  an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like

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An Atheist Walking

Question: I found this on youtube, it is entitled “‘atheist walking’ [see below] and discussing the bible, Jesus and god with believers. The atheist challenges the Christians to provide him with evidence of god. The atheist uses scientific data and science as the basis for his beliefs and “faith”. This is a spontaneous continuous video clip (no edits, cuts or scripts). The atheist’s experiences, research and education seems to have prepared him well for this exchange which happened in may 2004. [Can you please comment on this?]”

Answer: When someone first watches a video like this they can be taken aback. The claims seem to have credibility and seem damaging. It is important, as at anytime claims are made, to pause and dissect each point that is made. Below is a concise (by no means comprehensive) summary of the dialogue and points made in the video. I would encourage you to review each one of these arguments/points and examine them one by one by the weight of the evidence and what it says. Below in brackets are some of my thoughts on each point made by the man in the video and can serve as a starting point to understanding the veracity of his statements.

• What evidence that god wrote laws of universe - (research astronomy and physics and you will see signs that the universe is so finely developed and tuned that there IS a sign of a Designer/Creator)
• The Bible is a book translated many times, king James changed it - (wrong, see “Validity of the

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