Date: 08-Feb-1995 12:46pm EST
Subject: RE: RE: More on the Revival
Roger, thanks for your message in response to mine, entitled "More on the Revival." You are right that what is happening now has happened before. It has happened, not only in Pentecostalism, but also in other earlier awakenings and revivals. And, of course, you are right that there are many lamentable excesses in what happens in these situations. As Jonathan Edwards pointed out, revivals of this kind are always a very mixed bag, with many bad things happening along with the good things.
It has been my impression that, while there may be an anti- intellectual emphasis in many circles in which this revival is taking place, it need not be that way (and in fact, it is not that way in every case). When people say, implicitly or explicitly, that one must discard one's intellect to receive from God, I take it with a grain of salt, knowing that intellect is God-given, and that God has a greater intellect than anyone could possibly imagine, and that we are made in the image of God.
Of course, anything God-given can be twisted. For example, anger is a God-given emotion, yet we do, at times, become angry inappropriately. Scripture refers to the wrath of God, and it should not be surprising that if we are made in His image that we, also, should experience anger as an emotion. Yet there are times when anger on our part in certain situations would be inappropriate, due to the fallenness of humanity. It would seem to me that the fall has tainted everything about us, mind, will, and emotions. Therefore, it would not be surprising if there were cases in which people were misguided in their use of God- given intellectual capabilities. One problem is that, very often (although not always) pride is bound up very tightly with the use of the intellect, and of course, pride can certainly be a hindrance in receiving anything from God.
My advice would simply be to try to separate the precious from the vile in these matters. If somebody doesn't bless, but puts a kind of curse on others, then just take it with a grain of salt. It would seem to me that people will only suffer harm from the excesses during these revivals when they fail to use their own God-given common sense and/or discernment about matters of this kind.
Thanks very much for taking the time to interact with me on these matters. Whether or not you participate in the current revival, may God continue to BLESS you abundantly, as I'm sure He already has. It is also may prayer that you not miss anything that God might have for you in the current wave of His blessing.
With warm personal greetings in the Lamb,
Richard M. Riss
RRISS@DREW.EDU