Open Letter to Bruce Wilkinson #1.004a
Chapter 1: A New Way to See the World – You were born to expect a miracle today
Page 4 – Part 1
? “Why do we remember such events so clearly? I think it’s because we feel that we have been touched by Heaven. It’s as if God Himself stepped through the curtain that separates the seen from the unseen to make something happen for us, something only He could do.”
Clarification would go a long way toward making this portion of your text understandable. Are you now writing about coincidences or miracles, as referred to on page 3?
“I think it’s because we feel that” – Loaded with conjecture, this is. Why use your thoughts about our feelings – definitely not the most reliable source for truth there ever was – when you could simply use a short study on the biblical history to show (with unwavering support) that God is and always been the God of miracles?
If this is a Christian book (which your publisher says it is) and you are a Christian author (which I’m not debating one iota), then shouldn’t you use the foundation of the Christian faith – God’s Word – as support for your claim? How else can we, as Christian readers, come to the conclusion that your claim is biblical?
You could replace the phrase “It’s as if God Himself” with “God Himself” to clear up any ambiguity here, too. When we Christians read of or witness something so clearly supernatural that must be classified as a miracle, we should have no doubt whatsoever – so long as it in keeping with the rest of what we know about the truth about God from His Word – that God did it.
(One more note: I would ask your editor to do a sweep on the term “Heaven” whenever you mean to speak of God. We wouldn’t think of using the place called Saddleback Church and the person known as Pastor Rick Warren interchangeably, so please don’t do it with Heaven and God. Doing so takes away from God’s unique personality and will.)
- “But here’s the best part. In the experience we hear a personal and unforgettable message from God. Something like, I’m here. I care about you. I can do for you what you cannot do for yourself.”
Interesting, but terribly dangerous. In the previous passage, you write too vaguely to be considered biblical. Here, you take an idea farther than you should, and the result is the same: one fuzzy message.
When I hear “a personal and unforgettable message” from my wife, for example, actual words are audibly transmitted from her vocal cords to my ear canal and into my brain. Now, those words may or may not be in total agreement with everything else that she has ever said to me, but they are from her nonetheless, and (if the message is personal and unforgettable) I ought to take notice of what she’s saying to me.
When people believe they have heard audible messages from the spiritual realm, they cannot automatically assume that they were from God. (Pastor Bob DeWaay of Twin City Fellowship puts it much better, so I’ll simply refer people to his excellent article regarding God, His Word, and “voices from beyond.”)
Why the apprehension? Why not just assume that a supernatural whisper must have come from God? Because He’s not the only spiritual being with that capability!
If we are to carefully guard our minds and lives against the wiles of Satan, then we must test whatever we believe we hear against the truth of God’s Revealed Word to us, the Bible. God has spoken to us, and we read what He’s spoken to us every time we read from our bibles. To say that we need to rely on more than that is to tell God, “What you’ve supplied is simply not enough for me.”
“Something like,” though, sounds more like some kind of impression or thought we’re left with rather than “a personal and unforgettable message from God.” How something can be opaque and crystal-clear at the same time is beyond me, I’m afraid.
- “This book asks a few simple but intriguing questions:
o Why are these experiences of the miraculous so rare for most people?
o What if Heaven actually wanted you to experience them on a regular basis?
o What if ordinary people like you and me are invited to partner with God to deliver miracles to others?”
I’ve already addressed the first of these in an earlier post, so I’ll address the other two together.
If God wants me to experience miracles – moments where God suspends the laws of nature to show His greatness – I don’t believe there’s anything that I could do about it. As I pointed last week, we can safely assume that there’s nothing we can to stop God’s schedule for miracles.
One more question: When you speak of “ordinary people,” are you speaking of born-again Christians, or are you talking about all people in general? You have yet to identify who exactly you are writing to…which makes this book even more suspect.
Last observation: When you speak of us partnering “with God to deliver miracles to others,” it’s pretty clear that you’ve completely abandoned the biblical description of what constitutes a miracle. Looking forward to reading how you redefine the term for our unbelieving age…
