Christians are Naturally Supernatural (Response to Cursillo talk April 9)

We have all heard of things happening in peoples lives which can not be explained by nature - what happens naturally, or at least most of the time. Miracles and statistically unlikely events lead to questions about God.

• Some people dismiss miracles as luck
• Others assume God may have acted but are confused about their faith
• Serious Christians are drawn deeper into their faith

1. Personal experience deepens our faith

Personal experience of the supernatural, particularly in response to urgent prayer, seems to be a critical step in developing a serious Christian spiritual life. I am working on my own spiritual biography and very aware of the long process of going from  being a Baptized, with the Baptism of John as Paul would say, to being baptized and gradually transformed by the Holy Spirit.

• First step of course was to read the whole Bible
• Learned about how much God loves us and desires relationship
• Learned about the supernatural world view of the Bible
• Learned about the Holy Spirit in Bible, Catherine Marshall, John Sanford
• Experienced HS at Conferences, Healing Workshops, in Worship
• Experience led to belief at a deeper level

 

2. Experience changes our faith

My recently published blog and Sower Article "Baptism, Experience and Faith" was a comment on the difference between two previous Sower Articles, that personal experience in the supernatural, could explain the difference. One article was about a Revival Conference where the speakers assumed the Biblical supernatural worldviews - including the supernatural understanding of Satan and evil. The other article questioned the Church’s understanding of Baptism, and particularly the focus on sin and the need for forgiveness. The articles contrasted what many Anglicans really believe with Biblical Theology as handed down by the Apostles. This difference is having a devastating effect on the Anglican Church as members leave and whole parishes have left to affiliate with other part of the Anglican Communion.

• Confirms my worst fear that at some point what we can describe as liberal theology is outside of and the opposite of historic Christianity
• Problem is this new liberal theology is not documented - see Machen / Christianity and Liberalism (free on www) or my blog Bible Teachings For Spiritual Life: Same-Sex Marriage and the Challenge and Opportunity of Liberal Theology
• Point is we have two different groups of Christians in the Anglican Church of Canada
• One group has experience of the supernatural and believes in this worldview
• Other group has not had personal experience of the supernatural and is being confused by more liberal teaching into a 'deficient' (as our Roman Catholic brothers would graciously say) theology

 

Bottom line is those who know need to tell those who don't know. This is the reason Cursillo with its emphasis on teaching and experience is so important. We all need to share the good news that Christianity is naturally supernatural!