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I am a continuationist! I absolutely believe that miracles, healings, gifts of the Spirit, mighty moves of God, etc. are legitimate manifestations for contemporary times.There is a vast chasm, however, in being a continuationist and believing that every report is indeed from God.I do not embrace:1. The wild, weird and wacky manifestations of much of modern charismania.2. A great deal of the healing revivals of the 40's, 50's & 60's (e.g., Branham, et al).3. Much of what airs on Christian television stations (e.g., TBN, DayStar, etc.).4. Every report I hear of healing, miracles, moves of God, etc. If they are genuine they will be substantiated. 5. Columns 1 and 4 of Dake's Annotated Bible.

I am in 100% total agreement with everything you stated “Hell will be filled with people that didn’t cuss, didn’t drink, and may even have been baptized. Why? Because none of those things makes someone a Christian.”

Re: A Vast Chasm between being a Continuationist and believing every report is of God

The problem, OTCP, is not that you (rightly) reject extremes. It is that you also pretty much disbelieve ANY sort of healing or miracle that comes from a WOF ministry.I don't agree with snake-handling. Yet I have NO DOUBT that healings, miracles, salvations, baptisms of the Holy Ghost, and so forth take place in such services.To ME, you seem to think that if it smacks of the kind of Pentecostalism that the Church of God exhibited in the 60s and 70s, it's foolishness. You seem to delight in pointing out how foolish some of these folks appear, even though they may have a great heart toward God (e.g., your regular posting of the Soddy Daisy Prophet in order to either humiliate him or degrade old-fashioned Pentecostals).If you are a continuationist (that's a new word for me), you are of a very specific branch of it called...MAYBE-ISM. That is, God MAY heal you, but probably not. The thing to me is this: If we don't think that God heals significantly more than what would be considered that statistical probability of coincidence, then that's really--no matter what you call it--cessationism.

I've answered within the body of your post in bold text.

[/b]Well, if you go back in Bible history, you find that everyone who came to Jesus seemed to go away healed.Nowadays, if 2 our of 100 receive a clearly divine healing, we'd start a revival.So, either GOD CHANGED...or we did. Or maybe there's only so many miracles He can do at once, but back then, the church being much smaller, miracles were more prevalent?But here's the thing: Instead of you accepting that WE have changed (i.e., we don't have the requisite faith like those saints of old had), you claim that God is not willing to heal (which would seem to point out that God HAS changed, since He seemed so much more willing back in the day).

So you acknowledge there's nothing wrong with asking for evidence, so long as you get to define the conditions under which that's okay.I'm not sure why it would be OK to ask for evidence from a church that claims gold dust/etc, but not one that preaches false doctrine*. I would be much more apt to believe God graciously worked a miracle in the former rather than in the latter.

You know - what I don't get is Aaron saying only 2 out of 100 get healed nowadays compared to the 70s.Yet regularly - folks that would have died in the 70s - go home from heart attacks, strokes, AIDS, Hodgkins, colon cancer, premature babies, etc... and Aaron gives no credit to God for it happening. He says God is only healing 2 out of 100!?!?!?!?!?!COG folk all over the world prayed for these miracles to happen in the 70s - and when God answers those prayers - and they happen all the time - Aaron discounts them as nothing. Just because they don't happen where Aaron think they should take place - he feels they don't occur at all.Very sad.Perhaps he needs to heed Colossians 4:2- that during prayer - look for the miracles that DO happen - and thank God for them. They are all around us.Col 4:2Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving. KJ

Great point, NBF. We tend to be so focused on single cases that we overlook the overwhelming grace that floods over us in this day and age. Historically, the infant mortality rate was 50%. One in two children born alive, but dead before their first birthday. Today in the United States it is 0.6%. You could repeat this exercise for an almost limitless number of statistics concerning health, crime, etc.

NBF, I was talking of Church of God worship and dress styles of the 70s, not healings. For healings, I was comparing it to what was seen in the time of the apostles.There are reasons for being doubtful of things, but hear me out....Strike one is that we almost can’t help doubting those things that are outside of our range of experience. I have never prayed for anyone to have their leg grow out to become equal with the other one. That makes such things suspect for us. Strike two is that some “miracles” seem more akin to a magic trick. That is, it can be virtually duplicated via devious means. But if someone is healed even though it is KNOWN that they have never walked a day in their life, that is the sort of event that goes beyond a gimmick or trick (which is not to say that someone can’t CLAIM they have never walked a day in their life, etc.)Striker three is that we can feel that if we accept miracles from people/churches whose doctrine is dubious, then we are giving weight to their claims. For instance, if a Buddhist were casting out devils, we almost certainly would not accept it (and rightfully so, I believe). The problem is that we don’t want to accept such things even from CHRISTIANS…if they don’t believe it pretty much like we do. Consider if a Mormon claimed such things. Or a Catholic. Or an apostolic (not that any of us would doubt that one, but still…).Strike four: The Holy Spirit. And this is the most important strike of all. There are simply things in this world that, no matter the provenance or pedigree, something isn’t right! THIS is the one that matters the most. And it is the one that I seek to go by most of all. There may be some overlap between this one and the other items, but if we are doubting because something isn’t right in our spirit about it, I have a great deal of respect for that. Even if I think you are wrong, I can respect that you are doing this because you honestly feel that something isn’t right.But if our default is always doubt, we likely wind up missing some good things from the Lord.Consider this: If there were a church in the United States where seemingly HUNDREDS of miracles were supposedly taking place, I hate to admit it, but I think I would be skeptical. But I am afraid that skepticism would arise from me being doubtful that God still works like that. Isn’t that a shame that anyone could feel that way? And yet, we have gotten so accustomed to NOT seeing miracles…that we are suspicious if someone sees too many of them!What a shame (and I speak this to MY shame). No wonder we don’t see the miracles that were once reported in the Church of God! Our default setting it…to find fault. To identify this and that and the other reasons why it is hyperbole or trickery. I have determined for myself that I am going to do my best to believe that God not only CAN heal, but WILL heal. And that if we can truly pray in faith, He will heal every single time. And if not every single them, then every other time. I, I, I take the blame for not praying the prayer of faith. I am not going to act like God is somehow LESS willing to heal than He was in the Bible…or at the beginning of the Pentecostal movement. No, if someone doesn’t get healed, it MIGHT be that they do not have sufficient faith. It is far more likely that I don’t have sufficient faith. But it is NOT AT ALL LIKELY, I contend, that God has changed His mind about healing. If He has changed His mind on such things, then we need, I think, to reevaluate preaching divine healing. Because if what we have to offer is no different (or only a little different) from what would happen randomly anyway, then we need to adjust our faith…or our doctrine.