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Copyright 1993 by the Christian Research Institute.
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COPYRIGHT/REPRODUCTION LIMITATIONS:
This data file is the sole property of the Christian Research
Institute. It may not be altered or edited in any way. It may
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exceed more than 500 words.
If you desire to reproduce less than 500 words of this data file
for resale or the enhancement of any other product for resale,
please give the following source credit: Copyright 1993 by the
Christian Research Institute, P.O. Box 500-TC, San Juan Capistrano,
CA 92693.
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"Book Reviews" and "Recent Releases" (columns from the Christian
Research Journal, Summer 1987, page 30)
The Editor-in-Chief of the Christian Research Journal is Elliot
Miller.
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Review of the book: "That the World May Know," by Earl Paulk, (K.
Dimension Publishers, 1987.) Reviewed by Craig S. Hawkins.
_That the World May Know_ is a response to the allegations made
in Dave Hunt's _The Seduction of Christianity_ that false teaching,
even heresy and sorcery, are entering the church under the guise of
practical and profound biblical truths. Believing that Hunt
maligned and misrepresented many ministries by being inaccurate,
excessive, and unscriptural in his approach, Paulk attempts a
balanced and biblical assessment of many of the issues and people
discussed by Hunt. Among those defended are Kenneth Copeland, Oral
Roberts, Paul Cho, Robert Schuller, and Jim and Tammy Bakker.
Although Paulk does not concur with everything these people say and
do, he is nonetheless in substantial agreement with them.
Unfortunately, Paulk's answer to Hunt is neither balanced nor
biblical. _That the World May Know_ is literally filled with
glaring theological and logical mistakes. Half-truths,
oversimplifications, failure to understand issues (Paulk beats up
many a "strawman"), "loaded" or inflammatory language, false
analogies, etc., abound in a work which bills itself as the
corrective to excesses in Hunt's book. Furthermore, he misquotes
and consistently gives confused and distorted interpretations of
Scripture.
A central theme of the book is a supposed scriptural mandate
for unity of the church universal _through_ submission to the
"fivefold ministry" -- a concept based upon Paulk's
(mis)understanding of Ephesians 4:11. This unity of "covenant
brothers" can only be achieved as the church submits to the above
authority structure. As the church complies, it will experience not
only unity, but also new insights and revelations from the Bible,
while at the same time being protected from false teaching and
counterfeit gifts of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, only through this
hierarchy can and should doctrines and ministries be judged,
because only those of the fivefold ministry possess the right and
ability to correctly interpret Scripture, let alone identify false
doctrine. The point then is made that Hunt, not being in the
fivefold ministry, has no business passing judgment on the
teachings of those who are.
Another major doctrinal issue is Paulk's stand on the
deification of man (specifically of the church). Claiming that
people have misunderstood and taken out of context such statements
as "Just as dogs have puppies and cats have kittens, God has little
gods," Paulk tries to clarify and justify this view. In short, he
makes a distinction between unbelievers trying to be "like God,"
that is, being autonomous and rebellious against God, versus
believers as little gods who are in complete subjection to the
sovereign God (pp.132-40). The former is sinful, he argues, but the
latter is scriptural. He fails to comprehend that _both_ of the
above views are heretical according to historic orthodox
Christianity. (See Robert Bowman's article "Ye Are Gods?" in the
previous issue of this journal.)
This book can best be characterized by the word "irony." It
purports to be a sound and biblical response, yet it is filled with
mangled theology and logic. It accuses Hunt and others of maligning
godly ministries, yet Paulk slanders those who disagree with him,
even stooping to insinuate that Hunt wrote his book for money
and/or other ungodly motives (pp.108-109). It states that Paulk's
own views and those of others were misunderstood, yet Paulk
misunderstands issue after issue (e.g., he falsely accuses Hunt of
denying the perpetuity of spiritual gifts). To the point:
everything Paulk accuses Hunt of, he is guilty of himself.
Finally, while the reader may recall that we have some
disagreements with Hunt's analysis of certain issues in his
previous two books, it needs to be clearly understood that we are
in complete agreement with him when he says that the beliefs of
Paulk (and those of similar persuasion) are dangerous. The problems
with _Hunt's_ books pale by comparison! Paulk's book is an
insidious work of sophistry, an atrocious treatise. _That the World
May Know_ does not vindicate Paulk's theology, but sadly only
confirms our suspicions: he is teaching rank heresy and leading his
followers into the quicksands of deception.
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*Recent Releases on Jehovah's Witnesses*
*"Point/Counterpoint: A refutation of the Jehovah's Witness Book:
Reasoning from the Scriptures, Volume 1: False Prophets"* by Duane
Magnani (Witness, Inc., 1987.) Reviewed by Robert M. Bowman Jr.
This is the first volume in a series of refuting the JW book
_Reasoning from the Scriptures,_ a handbook used by the JWs to
defend their beliefs. This volume focuses on refuting pages 132-37
of that book in which the JWs attempt to rebut the charge that they
are false prophets. With nearly 30 large pages of analysis and over
60 pages of photo-documentation, Magnani's book is as thorough as
it is easy to read. This is one of the very best of Magnani's many
excellent manuals for witnessing to JWs.
Duane Magnani is the head of Witness, Inc., a ministry
emphasizing the use of accurate and thoroughly documented
literature to reach JWs for Jesus. For further information, please
contact Witness, Inc., P.O. Box 597, Clayton, CA 94517.
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*"Jehovah's Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse"* By David A. Reed
(Baker Book House, 1986.) Reviewed by Robert M. Bowman, Jr.
Following short chapters on what JWs believe and their Bible
translation, in the main part of this book Reed provides helpful
discussions of key Bible verses misinterpreted by the JWs. These
are presented in the order the verses appear in the Bible, from
Genesis 1:1-2 to Revelation 19:1. The book concludes with a brief
chronology of the JWs, suggestions for witnessing, and Reed's
personal testimony. This is an excellent introductory book on the
JWs, as well as a helpful resource for experienced apologists.
David Reed (a Contributing Editor to the JOURNAL) is the head
of Comments from the Friends, a ministry to JWs which publishes a
very enlightening newsletter and provides a variety of other
services. For further information, please write to Comments from
the Friends, P.O. Box 840, Stoughton, MA 02072.
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*"Defending the Faith and Refuting Jehovah's Witnesses"* By Randall
Watters (Bethel Ministries, 1987.) Reviewed by Robert M. Bowman,
Jr.
This is a two-volume set, with each book treating a variety of
subjects of concern to JWs in alphabetical order, from Apostasy to
War. _Refuting_ focuses on giving arguments against the JWs'
teachings, with extensive quotations from JW literature, while
_Defending_ presents a positive discussion of the same doctrinal
issues and avoids references to the JWs or their literature. The
books are well-written on a simple, layman's level, yet avoid
superficiality.
Randall Watters, a former JW worker at the international
Watchtower headquarters (called "Bethel") in Brooklyn, is the head
of Bethel Ministries. This ministry distributes a wide variety of
materials, and fosters fellowship among ex-JWs with an emphasis on
evangelism. For further information, please contact Bethel
Ministries, CP-258, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266.
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End of document, CRJ0013A.TXT (original CRI file name),
"Book Reviews" and "Recent Releases"
release A, February 7, 1994
R. Poll, CRI
(A special note of thanks to Bob and Pat Hunter for their help
in the preparation of this ASCII file for BBS circulation.)
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End of file.