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The Insurgency Began and You Missed It
Monday, June 4, 2018
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Friday, July 3, 2015
Don't Believe All That You Read or Hear
Several years ago, Michael Hyatt (former CEO of Thomas Nelson) responded to a rumor on his blog. In the post, Michael wrote,
“According to the most recent rumor—which I’ve now heard twice—we [Thomas Nelson] are planning a layoff for June 19th … We are scheduled to close the transaction on June 12th, so, supposedly, this will happen the week following. I want to assure you that this is indeed a baseless rumor. There is absolutely no truth to it … If you hear this rumor, I would be grateful if you would help me short-circuit it. You can tell ’em it’s not true, and you heard it directly from me.”
I recall when this rumor was circulating and was saddened (and surprised) at how many Christians believed it without going straight to Michael to see if it was true or false.
Another example that’s much more national.
Late last year, I came across a website alleging a sex scandal involving President Obama. The “story” first came out in 2008 just before the primary. It was shown to be baseless and quickly faded away. Then it resurfaced again in 2010. (The original story was removed by the source after staying online for 4 years.)
Another site purports alleged “proof” that Obama is a Muslim terrorist in disguise. Again, a baseless rumor.
And another alleges that Obama is gay, has sexually harassed males, and abuses drugs. Again, baseless.
Note: I don’t agree with many of Obama’s policies. But these accusations are scurrilous, vicious, outrageous, and just plain slimy. There’s no good evidence to support any of them. That’s why they’ve never gained traction.
Friday, March 13, 2015
The Day I Met Jesus
Frank Viola, author, releases "The Day I Met Jesus."
Visit the official book site at TheDayIMetJesus.com.
Visit the official book site at TheDayIMetJesus.com.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Sunday, June 8, 2014
The Charismatic Conversational Style
Those who use the Charismatic SCS tend to be associated
with the Charismatic/Pentecostal subculture of the Christian world. In
conversation, the Charismatic SCS appeals to personal revelation of the Bible
as the authority for interpretation and application. They often despise biblical
scholarship, paying little attention to the principles of hermeneutics and
sound exegesis, deeming them “human” and “man-made.” Statements like “the Lord
showed me” or “God revealed this to me” or “the Spirit told me” are peppered
throughout their conversations.
Those who do not use this particular SCS usually feel quite
uncomfortable with such phrases. While they may experience spiritual
illumination from the Holy Spirit, they believe it’s unbefitting to wield it as
a basis of authority.
They also find such claims to divine authority difficult to
analyze and inadequate to settle disputes. Not to mention that they believe
these declarations often convey the clear impression of “boasting in the flesh.”
In short, those who do not employ the Charismatic SCS feel that the mere appeal
to personal revelation makes the playing field unlevel in the arena of
theological discussion.
Here’s an example. Suppose that Bill and Chris are discussing a
theological issue. Chris uses the Charismatic SCS, while Bill doesn’t. After
Bill shares an interpretation of a biblical passage with Chris, Chris responds,
“The passage does not mean what you say. God showed me that it means thus and
so.”
In Bill’s mind, any attempt at biblical discourse now becomes inadequate, for “God has shown” Chris otherwise. When Bill challenges Chris’s position using the principles of exegesis (appealing to historical context, the original meaning of Greek words, etc.), Chris accuses Bill of being “unspiritual,” unable to comprehend the language of the Holy Spirit.
In Bill’s mind, any attempt at biblical discourse now becomes inadequate, for “God has shown” Chris otherwise. When Bill challenges Chris’s position using the principles of exegesis (appealing to historical context, the original meaning of Greek words, etc.), Chris accuses Bill of being “unspiritual,” unable to comprehend the language of the Holy Spirit.
In Bill’s mind, Chris cannot explain or defend his position
academically. He can only appeal to personal revelation. Therefore, Bill feels
that Chris has fallen into the subjective soup of mysticism and is lost in the
sauce.
From Bill’s vantage point, there’s no common ground for
communication. The source of authority is neither equal nor mutual. While Chris
verbally affirms that Scripture is the measure of all truth and may even push
the envelope of biblical authority, in Bill’s mind, Chris’s appeal to personal
revelation demonstrates otherwise.
To Chris, Bill is not a spiritual person because he cannot understand or accept the divine inspiration that he (Chris) has received.
To Chris, Bill is not a spiritual person because he cannot understand or accept the divine inspiration that he (Chris) has received.
In addition, because Bill does not use the mystical jargon that
fills Chris’s vocabulary, Chris concludes that Bill’s relationship with the
Holy Spirit is subnormal. Worse still, Chris may judge Bill to not have the
Holy Spirit at all, for if he did (he muses to himself), Bill would agree with
him.
In effect, Chris is frustrated because he fails to convince Bill
of his revelatory encounters (and he may even go so far as to accuse Bill of
having a “religious spirit”). Chris does not understand why Bill would question
his experience, because he is convinced that God speaks to him.
Bill is equally frustrated. He feels that he can’t communicate on
the same level as Chris. To Bill, Chris’s subjective appeals cloud the issue
and make the source of authority ambiguous. For Bill, Chris’s revelations by no
means secure the theological terrain. Chris’s discourse, which is cluttered
with verbal cues of mystical experiences (“God showed me”), is both
unimpressive and unconvincing to Bill.
Chris, on the other hand, is troubled with Bill’s “un-spirituality” simply because he doesn’t share these explicit verbal signals.
In the end, the person using the Charismatic SCS ends up feeling
frustrated and hurt because of his failure to convince those who embrace a
different SCS. Likewise, those who disagree with the Charismatic SCS find
themselves up against similar frustrations.
There’s also a subset of the Charismatic SCS, employed by those
who are more familiar with the Bible and the rules of logic. It’s marked by the
use of a double standard. Such ones invoke both logic and mysticism in their
theological communications.
When they attack someone else’s interpretation of Scripture, they
appeal to the rules of Aristotelian logic. When on the offensive, they say
things like, “This interpretation is inconsistent and does not follow. It doesn’t
mesh well with other scriptural passages.” Yet, when they are on the defensive
and their conversation partner uses logic to refute their claims, they shift
the argument, saying, “I cannot explain this to you … it transcends logic … you
must have a revelation … I cannot put the truth into words … only the Holy
Spirit can show this to you,” etc.
And the stalemate persists.
From Revise Us Again by Frank Viola, author
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Author Frank Viola - New Online Discipleship Courses
Author Frank Viola has recently released a new online discipleship course.
TheDeeperJourney.com has a 10 audio program with workbook.
Viola has written about online discipleship courses before and his new course is different than typical Christian courses online.
TheDeeperJourney.com has a 10 audio program with workbook.
Viola has written about online discipleship courses before and his new course is different than typical Christian courses online.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Frank Viola's New Book Page
Frank Viola's book page has just been updated. Click here to look at the new page.
Here's an excerpt:
Here's an excerpt:
Welcome to My Library
Each volume below seeks to draw you deeper into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Every book presents a fresh look at your Lord, a greater insight into the Scriptures, and a clearer understanding of God’s grand mission and eternal purpose.
My purpose in writing is to absolutely steal your heart for the Lord Jesus Christ and blow your mind to the heavenlies, bringing you into those intangible things of Christ and the deeper things of God.
This page offers a description for each title along with ordering information at the best prices. If you scroll down to the very bottom, you can order my Entire Library at a big discount and also see The Table of Contents link for each title.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
There's Nothing New Under the Sun
There’s
nothing new under the sun. These words were uttered by the
person whom the Bible esteems as the wisest man who ever lived (that is, before
Jesus of Nazareth came along). En. Ecclesiastes 1:9; 1 Kings 3:12; 4:30; Luke
11:31.
I’m not sure about you, but I descend into
silent grunts whenever I hear someone make the outlandish statement that what
they have to say is brand new, completely original, and hasn’t been said
before.
I’ve yet to find this statement to be
true. And I’ve yet to meet a human being who could make such a statement
without lying through his or her teeth (whether with calculated deliberation or
in conceited ignorance). Such over-the-top rhetoric is not only profoundly
arrogant, but it has few points of contact with reality.
Being a student of church history, I have
never personally met a true spiritual or theological trailblazer. Most of the
people I know who are turning the sod on various aspects of the Christian faith
are exploring pathways that have been populated by others in the past. None of
it is brand new or completely original. As Dr. Laurence Peter once put it, “Originality
is the fine art of remembering what you hear, but forgetting where you heard
it.” Anyone who doesn’t admit to that is bluffing.
Consequently, what you will read in this
book has undoubtedly been said by someone else in some other place at some
other time or in some other era. I have often made the following statement when
invited to speak somewhere: “If you’re looking for new revelation, you’ve got
the wrong guy.”
I have no new revelation. In fact, I have
never met a person who had new revelation. Nor do I possess any “heavy revy” to
dish out (that’s cute shorthand for “deep and heavy revelation from God.”)
I am a person who firmly believes what
Solomon said, “There’s nothing new under the sun.” In fact, all of what we have
in the New Testament is found in the Old Testament—in types, images,
allegories, and shadows. There is one exception, however. “The mystery” that
Paul of Tarsus so passionately spoke about in his letters. That was a genuine
case of “new revelation.” Unquestionably so.
To put a finer point on it, there’s only
one revelation, and there’s only one Revelator. The revelation is Jesus Christ.
The Revelator is the Holy Spirit. And we stand on the shoulders of those who
have gone before us. It is only by God’s marvelous grace that we can (perhaps)
see further than they did.
While I’m banging this particular drum,
let me add that I don’t believe that there are any elite Christians. And I
certainly don’t believe that there are any elite Christian workers or
ministers. I believe that the simplest saint who has met the Lord Jesus Christ
is as holy, as valued, and as cherished in the sight of God as the apostle
Paul, Martin Luther, John Wesley, Watchman Nee, C.S. Lewis, Billy Graham or any
other name that you wish to insert into that sentence.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Sunday, August 4, 2013
The Experience of the Body of Christ
The Experience of the Body of Christ.
Every genuine Christian is a member of the Body of Christ. If Christ dwells in
you, then you are membered to His Body. But there is something that I
call the experience of the Body of Christ.
The experience of the Body of Christ is
the experience of Christian community. By “community,” I do not have in mind a
commune or communal living. I’m rather speaking of a group of Christians who
see themselves as genuine family, who are intensely involved with one another’s
lives, and who are pursuing their Lord together all throughout the week. I’m
speaking of a face-to-face, shared-life community.
Ray Stedman called this experience “Body
life.” Watchman Nee called it “church life.” I often refer to it as the experience
of the Body of Christ, where a believer encounters in living color the
interdependence, the mutual participation, the diverse-but-unified giftings,
the oneness, and the shared life of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ on this
earth.
For more see Frank Viola Author
Monday, July 29, 2013
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Heaven's Race Card
The Zimmerman trial and the tragedy that surrounds it has captured the world’s attention. Including that of the body of Christ.
Media coverage has heightened passions on both ends. Conversations about race, law, injustice, prejudice, guns, etc. are all being argued and inflamed.
In this article, we don’t want to weigh in on the public debate. Instead, our passion is to encourage God’s people everywhere to transcend the debate that the world is holding on its own terms by seeing ethnicity through the eyes of our Lord. There is only one race, the human race, which is comprised of different ethnic groups (Acts 17:26).
We want you, dear Christian, to take your cue from the New Testament believers, for they can teach us a great deal about this subject.
Monday, July 15, 2013
God's Eternal Purpose
Do you think that someone could agree with you completely about
what the church is and could be but disagree about the form a local church
should take (i.e. traditional, denominational church vs. house or organic
church)?
Absolutely. In fact, Christians from a
wide variety of church forms and expressions have endorsed the book: Ed Stetzer
(Baptist), Alan Hirsh and Dan Kimball (Missional), Shane Claiborne (New
Monastic), Myles Munroe and James Goll (Charismatic), Brian McLaren (Emergent),
Greg Boyd (traditional evangelical church form), Leonard Sweet
(Methodist, and who knows what else!), Michael Spencer (New Covenant-Reformation),
Ralph Neighbor (Cell Church) are just some of them. In addition, I‘ve received
a fair share of enthusiastic mail from Anglicans on the one hand and Reformed
folks on the other, both of whom have resonated strongly with the message of
the book.
All told, From Eternity to Here is a book
written for all of God‘s people irrespective of which church forms and
structures they might embrace.
Read the rest at Frank Viola From Eternity to Here
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