Wretched: Denying the Power Thereof

Straight from the lips of Todd Friel, Podcast, July 19th, 2017;

Denying the miraculous and asserting that God has been powerless and unwilling to help us out in any kind of supernatural way, for the past 2000 years, is heresy. That is one bush I cannot beat around. At all. Who is anybody to say that there has not been a miracle in 2000 years? To assert such a notion is blasphemy. Again, I cannot beat around this bush. There are no nice words. No excuses. No defence. Even the average run of the mill cessationist would feel uncomfortable with old Todd on this occasion.

There is of course, providence. That is to say, prayers getting answered, good things happening unexpectedly, but as for the blind seeing, the crippled walking - the whole issue of the laying on of hands, well, according to Todd, forget about it. Todd and his ilk are evangelizing this notion because they will tell you that the power of God was strictly reserved for Christ and his apostles. Only.

Klaus Schmiegel

Where they truly miss the point is the miraculous is far more subtle than cripples jumping out of wheelchairs or the blind suddenly being able to see. God can work through the hands of a scientist. For example, what we regarded 200 years ago as an inexplicable, crippling melancholy is today called clinical depression. The miracle ( and this isn't providence - this is miraculous combined with ingenuity ) is that in 1988, an organic chemist called Klaus Schmiegel, in collaboration with another scientist called Brian Molloy, developed the very first selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Otherwise known as Prozac. This one drug changed the lives of MILLIONS. People who simply could not function in society could suddenly leave the house. Hold down a job. Have a normal conversation .... experience joy. Love. Life. All those things that many of us take for granted. And this is but ONE example of the miraculous - the power and glory of God working through the minds and hands of simple, humble human beings.

The annoying part is that I actually quite liked Todd Friel and his podcasts. In spite of his relationship with John MacArthur ( sermons to slash your wrists by, especially if you're his pet hate, that is to say, charismatic holy rollers such as myself ). Moreover, after finding the aforementioned video, not only was I disappointed, I was also righteously infuriated. So much so that the following verse came to mind; 2 Timothy 3.5 "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." However, I thought I'd better check the context of this verse. Just as well I did;

2 Timothy 3: 3 - 6 "3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,"

Well, I can hardly see old Todd creeping into houses and chasing silly women around - nor would I suggest that he is incontinent, after all, his bowel problems are not really our concern ( sorry, I could NOT resist ha ha ). Yet ... I cannot get this notion of such a blasphemous assertion out of my head. It's like chewing on tin foil.

On the other hand, Todd has spent much of his life preaching the gospel on campuses around the U.S. Sure, he's obeying the great commission, doing his job, as we Christians are commanded to. I will give him THAT much. He has his routine, an act in which he tries, rather unsuccessfully, to be funny ... maybe one has to be an American to appreciate such humor. However, to me, Todd is now officially fair game. Sure, he has a radio show, a YouTube channel, a podcast, a studio, a blog - but who doesn't? Even Westboro Baptist Church can match him on that one. They ALSO preach the Gospel and their routine includes pretty multi-colored placards that have really nice things to say about people ...

Am I throwing the baby out with the bath water? No - and this is because his podcasts, more and more, simply reflect the kind of cultural Christianity ( see previous post ) that has nothing better to do than rail on this or that group of people. Usually it's about those evil social justice types and how they are creeping into the church, corrupting it with new ideas about how we can actually help each other and do good things ...

William Barclay

Please understand that I am the first to admit that some tubs of dirty bathwater actually come with healthy babies. For example, I have learned MUCH from William Barclay, whose daily devotionals pack more intellectual, educational, historic and spiritual punch than a thousand Friel's & MacArthur's ever could. He was one man who could walk you through the new testament, chapter by chapter, and actually teach you something. The dirty bathwater is that he had his own, controversial quirks which I will not go into in this post. ( I do promise, however, that as I construct this blog, I will provide reference to his devotional material ). I also have a lot of time for David Wilkerson - a name that would no doubt trigger John MacArthur's charis-phobic tendencies to the point of heart murmurs and hot flushes.

As for Todd, however, he doesn't even come close. The journey was alright, but as I got to know him, well, the video I provided today was the straw that broke the camel's back. He does have a form of Godliness - but he has denied the power thereof. Yes there is providence. But there are also miracles and who do we think we are to limit God by refusing to acknowledge the miraculous? There ARE miracles. They DO happen.

Finally, a shout-out and blessing to my friend Suzanne, who prayed me all the way back home, and, taught me that I can approach the throne of God WITHOUT having to apologise all the time.