William Dembski talks about taking his autistic son to one of Todd Bentley’s meetings in this Baptist Press article.
There is so much to say about this article, and some of them can be shared, and some can’t. First, it is a good thing to believe that miracles still happen, regardless of the stories that have been told about this particular “Lakeland revival.” It’s pretty clear that Bentley’s work is farther out than most of the nonsense “revivals” of the last few years, but I thought it was good for somebody to step up and say that, even though there are charlatans and fools out there, God still works wonders, and is still capable of doing so.
Second… well, I can’t imagine how hard it is to raise a son who is seven years old and still has trouble communicating (or being toilet-trained). I have to confess that my hackles raised a bit when I saw that he was looking for “healing” from autism for his son, though. But I haven’t lived in his life or walked in his shoes. Still, a lot of autistics would be unhappy about this attitude. I hope to say more about this at some point, but not just yet.
Third, it certainly isn’t surprising to me that Bentley’s ushers only allowed the high-profile cases forward, the ones who would make the most impression. That’s par for the course with all the big “healing ministries.” Sad but true.
Finally, I was glad that Dembski pointed out the total lack of Biblical exposition in this meeting. I have sat through years of hearing somebody congratulate himself repeatedly on past successes and miracles that happened in his ministry, and that’s a pretty far cry from the kinds of things that Jesus and the apostles did.
Who must increase, and who must decrease? Anyway, thanks to Challies for the link.
