John F. MacArthur is a well known fundamentalist
leader in California. He is the pastor of the Grace Community Church and
president of the Master's College, and the author of an extensive and popular
Bible commentary. Apparently, his theology combines Baptism, Calvinism and
Dispensationalism. Perhaps for that reason, his church is independent from the
major denominations.
"Charismatic Chaos" is John MacArthur's classical criticism of the
charismatic movement, published in 1992. It's somewhat dated, since it was
written before the onset of the Toronto Blessing, arguably the most extreme
form of charismatic revival hitherto. Still, the book is often referenced by
other critics of the charismatics, presumably because of its timeless Biblical arguments.
It's also surprisingly well written and easy to read, something unusual for
heavy works of theology and Bible exposition.
MacArthur argues that miracles, signs and wonders were unique to the age of the
apostles and ceased already before the death of the last apostle. God no longer
works through miracles and other supernatural occurrences, save for some
exceptional circumstances. Charismatic claims of healing, raising the dead and
other such miraculous events must therefore be considered bogus. Nor does God
communicate through the speaking of tongues. That too was a unique occurrence
during the apostolic age. Besides, the tongues miraculously spoken by some
early Christians were real languages, not the gibberish typical of charismatic
services. Further, MacArthur argues that the canon is closed, that no new
revelation is possible today, and that the prophecies often made by charismatic
leaders cannot be considered inspired or accurate. He also discusses the role
of subjective experience, the ecumenical tendencies within the charismatic
revival and rules for correct Bible interpretation. The harshest chapter deals
with the Word of Faith movement, which the author believes is cultish,
blasphemous and anti-Christian.
I consider MacArthur's book to be a very competent "traditional"
answer to the charismatics, written from an evangelical/fundamentalist and
somewhat Calvinist perspective (this book deals with Dispensationalism only in
passing). People interested in the controversies sparked by the charismatic
revival should definitely read this book. Indeed, it's probably the only
fundamentalist response to the charismatics you need to read!
Of course, I don't believe a word of it. But then, I
don't believe the charismatics either. As usual in debates of this sort, both
sides frequently score points against each other. MacArthur is right to point
out that the excesses of the charismatic movement were similar to those
criticized by Paul in his first epistle to the Corinthians. He is (probably)
wrong to suggest that "tongues" always referred to actual human
languages. Paul mentions "the language of angels" in his epistle,
something MacArthur unconvincingly attempts to brush aside as irony. He is on
even thinner ice when suggesting that the Bible should never be allegorized or
spiritualized, since Jesus and the apostles themselves did precisely that.
There are no explicit prophecies about Jesus in the "Old Testament",
so the only way to read Jesus into the Jewish Bible is by employing pretty odd
hermeneutics. In Acts, Peter uses Joel to justify Pentecost, while James uses
Amos to defend the decision to preach to the Gentiles. In context, however,
these verses mean something else, so whatever this is, it certainly isn't
"literal" interpretation. (I can hear the fundies gnashing their
teeth.) MacArthur's argument about the Apocrypha not being inspired is even
weaker, since the earliest Christian Bibles included the Septuagint version of
the Old Testament. And why did Jude (supposedly a brother of Jesus) quote the
super-apocryphal Book of Enoch? Here, MacArthur is forced to appeal to the
authority of...Jerome! Was he inspired, I wonder?
On a more theological level, I'm sure charismatics would want to know how
MacArthur explains the ecstatic worship mentioned in the Old Testament, the
frequently bizarre behaviour of the prophets, or the fact that Elisha's bones
had miraculous healing powers. (I think it was Elisha. I haven't read the Bible
for quite some time.)
Of course, the author is quite correct in pointing out the frivolity and
absurdity of charismatic claims to healing, but the village atheist might
object that MacArthur has no problem accepting the Biblical claims about Jesus
raising the dead, despite the fact that this is even more difficult to verify
than contemporary claims of miracles. Not to mention the resurrection...
There is also a tension in the book between the eminently Biblical idea that
people won't believe the Christian message even if they see miracles being
performed (Jesus was crucified, despite his many miracles) and the more
psychologically correct observation that people *will* believe if they see such
- the author himself admits that charismatic churches seem to be growing at an
alarming pace. Indeed, I suspect that the growth and spread of the charismatic
revival may to some extent be a reaction to the narrow, dry, literalist and
"objective" theology of more traditional evangelicals and Calvinists.
Many people apparently want more than fundamentalist law and order!
That being said, I nevertheless recommend "Charismatic Chaos" for the
reasons given above. For those who want to know how traditional-minded
fundamentalists respond to the various charismatic groups, this book is an
indispensable starting point.
