Jon Mark Ruthven

This book has arrived at a much needed time, especially with the arrival of John McArthur's "Strange Fire" conference and book.

Ruthven shows how the Protestants of the Reformation and afterwards, in their attempts to preserve what they believed were the true apostolic teachings against Roman Catholicism's abuse, went too far in supplanting the reality of God's supernatural works, especially in the area of direct, divine communication, with the intellectual pursuit of the Bible, in the search and experience of authentic salvation.

He shows that the difference between Jesus' message and that of the religious leaders focused on how one hears God, and posits it as the same difference that exists today between cessationist and pentecostal/charismatics. Ruthven acknowledges that even Pentecostal/Charismatics, to some degree, have fallen into the theological view where the experience of God is put behind, if not totally removed, replaced by an intellectual grasp of salvation.

As I understand him, Ruthven charges that traditional theology "avoids the emphasis of Scripture which is to communicate directly and obediently with God" (p.1).

The first section provides introduces the history of how modern Protestant theology developed this slanted view of Christianity that omits the experience of the miraculous.

In the second section Ruthven shows Protestant theology moved away from the Biblical emphasis of having "direct, immediate, prophetic communication with God." The author points out this communication with God is the central theme of the Old Testament.

In the third section, the author moves to show that "the experience of the prophetic Spirit - hearing God's voice," is the emphasis and goal of the New Testament.

The fourth section focuses on the ministry of Jesus specifically as the one who introduced, modelled, ratified, vindicated, bestowed, and became the New Covenant.

Finally, in the fifth section, the author discusses the failure of today's traditional theological education. He concludes that today's theological education "den[ies] the very Scripture it purports to defend, aspecially as the Bible centrally points away from itself too the experience of God in personal revelation and power" (p.310).

I find that this is too much of an important book for any minister of the Gospel to ignore, and one which needs to be placed in the hands of any cessationist pastor or teacher. Ruthven's "What's Wrong With Protestant Theology" convincingly challenges not only today's method of theological and ministerial education, but also summons every professing Christian denomination and institution to seriously test the soundness of what they believe by honest engagement with Biblical revelation as it clearly and plainly reads.

Ruthven, while reminding us that he is not advocating anti-intellectualism, is calling for a reevaluation of our critical core values and beliefs as believers in Messiah Jesus, a second-look into how we approach the Scriptures, and to realize that "there is nothing more crucial for the [C]hurch to 'stand mature and fully assured in the will of God' (Col 4:12) and to be able to proclaim the [G]ospel 'in demonstration of the Spirit and of power' (1 Cor 2:4) than our understanding of the central charismatice mission of Christ and our relation to it."

I cannot make any stronger a recommendation to read this book than to say, in similar words of Mordecai, that this book has been brought into our hands "for such a time as this".… (meer)