Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] More on Pascal's wager [was: Famous atheistchanges his mind]

[Stephen Montgomery-Smith <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

Mike Miller wrote:
> On Wed, 12 Jan 2005, Stephen Montgomery-Smith wrote:
> 
>> Rick Buford wrote:
>>
>>> As I went back thru that thread, there was never a really good answer 
>>> as to how a "modern day Christian" would respond to someone that 
>>> stated some ethereal being told them to write a book...
>>
>>
>> Sounds interesting, but what does "ethereal" mean?  Is it some 
>> misprint, or is it a word I don't know?
> 

Yes, I read the word in my head incorrectly.  I as reading it as 
"ether-reel", where now I see it was "eeth-thear-ree-al".  I have heard 
the word many times, but perhaps never seen it in print.


Actually, your question is not hypothetical.  There are large numbers of 
people today who claim to hear from God.  Indeed even I will often pray 
before making some decision, and hope to get a sense of where God is 
leading me.

Personally I think that some of these people's claims are true, and 
probably more of them are false.  The Bible commands us to "test the 
spirits" and indeed this is what the French church authorities did with 
Joan of Arc.

If you want some first hand experiences of people who make these claims, 
the easiest way is to switch your cable TV to TBN (Trinity Broadcasting 
Network) - channel 230 on Columbia Mediacom.  It is definitely not my 
thing, and I suspect a lot of it is erroneous, but I also suspect that 
perhaps some of it is genuine.  Also, the next time you visit Kansas 
City, go visit the Kansas City Prophets.  Another example is the famous 
Hal Lindsey, author of such famous books as "88 reasons why the rapture 
will take place in '88" - presumably this book found its way to the 
recycle bins in 1989.

If you do a google search on these things, you will find many hits, and 
also many diverse opinions as to their validity.

If you want to hear a Christian opinion that strongly disputes their 
claims, listen to 93.9 FM (Bott Radio Network) at about 5pm each weekday 
to "The Bible Answer Man."  I personally think he is a little too hard 
on these people, but I really like most of what he says.

It is definitely the case that many Christians do NOT "test the spirits" 
and it is true that many of them can be very gullible.  (For example, 
how many of them sent huge sums of money to Jim Baker?)  (I can 
certainly predict your responses here.)

Indeed I myself am not entirely 100% sure about Joan of Arc.  Certainly 
her theology does not agree with modern protestantism (like speaking to 
saints, etc).  But somehow I feel that God is not so concerned with 
theological purity as most Christians think he does.  I mean, maybe Joan 
was right and I am wrong - certainly she achieved far more than I did. 
A big difference between Joan and Hal Lindsey is that Joan was able to 
deliver true prophecies.

Another example: I strongly disagree with a lot of the theology 
expressed on TBN - nevertheless I suspect that God thinks highly of at 
least some of them.

Stephen
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