I have copied this thread from another forum to give a more general group of people from different denominations the opportunity to respond without getting themselves into trouble. I would appreciate if people didn't aim comments at me personally, but to comment on the issues instead. Then we can have a good, even if very spirited discussion for and against what I might be implying. Here is the post I entered in the other forum:
I know that there have been threads on this topic before and there has been quite a range of views, some very supportive, and others fairly harsh and unloving toward him.
The first question to be asked - Is he a born again Christian brother? If he is, then we have to love him as Christ loves us, because if we cannot love him like that, we know really know God at all, because God is pure love.
The next question I have is, does he preach the Lordship of Christ, the need to receive Christ as Saviour, the need to repent, and the necessity of living a holy life before God? If so, he cannot be a false preacher or teacher, because he is teaching the fundamentals of the Christian faith.
The next question is: are the manifestations of falling over in the Spirit and other manifestation associated with his ministry true or false? Well, if he is preaching truth as I have defined above, there is a good indication that the manifestations are true also.
Do we all agree with what he does and how he does it? No, and this is quite normal because we all have different perspectives and callings. We all do things differently, but because there is a diversity of gifts, callings and methods, that doesn't mean that just because we disagree, that it is actually false and not of God.
A false teacher or preacher is not a genuine born again believer in Christ. He is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He does not promote the Lordship of Christ, quite the opposite, he will promote New Age self dependence, and say that Number One is the most important person to be considered (by that I mean self, and self improvement). He will also promote liberalism in that it is not necessary to live a holy life, because Jesus forgave all sin, so it won't matter if we keep sinning. We won't be subject to any consequences if we sleep around, get involved in the occult, consult fortune tellers, because psychics can guide people just as well as the Holy Spirit. This is how the New Testament defines a false prophet, teacher, or preacher.
Just because a Charismatic preacher has unusual manifestations in his meetings and whole groups of people are slain in the Spirit, it doesn't mean that he is a false teacher. Actually, God is not very concerned about manifestations unless they are so out of control that they promote riotous living and lawlessness and a lack of self-control in people's daily living.
I just thought I would chuck that into the pot and see what boils up.
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