GOD'S HOLY FIRE: A BOOK BASED ON FAULTY ASSUMPTIONS

Abilene Christian University Press has recently issued "God's Holy Fire," written by three ACU professors, Cukrowski, Hamilton and Thompson.  It is highly endorse by Royce Money, ACU president.

This book is built on the faulty premises that we who are members of the churches of Christ do not accept the Old Testament as part of our canon of Holy Scripture and that we do not study it.  I have often heard this false charge from denomination people, unacquainted with us.  They were most likely poisoned by their preachers. These scholars from ACU, who claim membership in the Church of Christ, should really know better. Consider the following quotes:

	"Eliminating the Old Testament from our canon severely curtails our understanding of the character and activities of God..." (p. 49).
	"Recovering the Old Testament conversely could transform us more fully into what we have always sought to be–Churches of Christ" (ibid.).
	"Recognizing that the Old Testament functions just as fully as the New in the canon of the church...." (p. 63).
	"Too often, we in churches of Christ have made a mistake in removing the Old Testament, for practical purposes, from our canon. The hole in Scripture has produced a hole in the practice of our faith" (p. 66).

Both of their assumptions about the acceptance of and study of the Old Testament in our churches are patently false and force us to one of the following conclusions:

	Either the authors are totally isolated from the congregations of our brotherhood, beyond the campus of their university;
	Or they are speaking of their own preaching and teaching;
	Or they are deliberately setting up an impotent straw man which they can beat and batter in order to convince those who are unlearned and ignorant of the facts that they are doing the church some great service. The announced plan and purpose of ACU's "Heart of the Restoration Series" gives some credence to this last assumption. "This series will help stimulate discussion and make a meaningful contribution to the fellowship of the churches of Christ and beyond" (Preface).

It seems to this author that in order to successfully introduce the innovations which these men wish to impose on the church, they must seduce our people away from the conviction that Christ alone is head over all things to the church (Eph. 1:22); that His Word will judge us in the last day (John 12:48); that the church is founded upon the teaching of Christ and his apostles (Eph. 2:19-20); that God has instructed us to honor Christ above key representatives of the Old Covenant, Moses and Elijah (Matt. 17:1-8).

If they can persuade folks that we are amenable to the Old Testament, the same as the New, then:

	They can have Scripture for instrumental music in worship (Ps. 150).
	They can have approval for hand clapping and dancing in worship (Ps. 47:1; 149:3).
	They can have women leaders of God's people, like Deborah and Huldah the Prophetess.
	They can have holy days, fasts and festivals like Christmas, Easter and Ash Wednesday.

These things are all on the agenda of the "change agents." Thus it makes perfectly good sense for them to write, publish and promote such a book as this. Note carefully the following lines, "A major task facing our churches is the reintegration of the Old Testament into the regular teaching, thinking and practice (emp. mine JW)  of the church" (p. 49). By the way, would these learned scholars please point out one congregation or one preacher among us that does not accept, study, honor and teach  the Old Testament as part of God's canon of Scripture?  Shame, Shame!  

Dr. Rick Marrs of Pepperdine writes that this book,  "promises to challenge and enrich current study of the Bible in our churches." Having read this book, this scribe is impressed with several things it will not do for its readers.

I.   It will not increase ones confidence in God's Word for its authors believe we cannot know for certain the intent of Scripture writers. In this regard they assert, "Thus, it makes sense to avoid claims of absolute certainty. Although it is impossible to know with certainty what an ancient author intended..." (p. 169).

II.     It will not help one be more submissive to the will of Christ because it teaches that we are responsible to Moses Law as well as that of Christ. "The question for the apostolic church was not whether the Old Testament exercised authority over them, they had no doubt it did..." (p. 57 and all of chapter 3). When Peter sought to equally honor Jesus, Moses and Elijah, God said, "This is my beloved Son...hear ye him" (Matt. 17:1-6).

III.   It will not make one a better Bible student for the book's major premise is faulty: i.e., that there is no distinction between the Old and the New Covenants (chapter 3). Thus a novice might spend months or years searching through his Old Testament trying to find how to be saved.  Or some new Christian in a distant mission field might be searching in Leviticus to learn how to worship God acceptably.

IV.   It will not teach one to respect the Bible as the sure and certain message of God that will lead you safely to Him. The authors accept the possibility that the Bible has its mistakes, flaws and contradictions. "In numerous instances in the Bible, one finds apparent inconsistencies in the narratives. "Sometimes the narrative does not correspond to the historical record" (p. 40. See also their thoughts on pages 39-45).

V.   It will not help one get to heaven for if you believe its message and follow the authors' advice you will be following a perverted gospel, different from that preached by the Apostles of Christ.  Consequently you will find yourself alienated from the Christ and under a divine anathema (Gal. 1:6-7).

The book entitled God's Holy Fire is like a bowl of soup filled with chicken, noodles and vegetables and just a little of deadly poison.  It should bear the warning, "Reader Beware!"