'Tongues Revisited: A Third Way'
A UNIQUE book with a NEW approach to the question of
Biblical tongues.
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Forward
by
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Dr Peter J Lineham
Senior Lecturer, School of History, Philosophy and
Politics
Massey University, PB 102-904, North Shore, Auckland,
NEW ZEALAND |
DISCLAIMER:
I'm extremely sad that I feel bound to
include this disclaimer.
'Tongues Revisited' was published in 2000. In
2002 Dr Peter Lineham made public that he was a homosexual - albeit a
'non-practising one'. For a professing Christian to identify themselves in this
way I believe is untenable, an unrepentant confession to being a homosexual
being inconsistent with professing commitment to Christ.
Since 2002, Peter has become the chairman of a homosexual 'fellowship', and has
written publicly endorsing homosexual relationships. He has also continued to
this date (May 2006) in leadership roles in four leading evangelical
organisations in New Zealand: Bible College of NZ, Scripture Union, TSCF, and
Tear Fund.
Since March 2005, I have pursued the legitimacy or otherwise of him
retaining his roles with these organisations and have received unacceptable
responses to my letters and questions. By 'unacceptable' I mean
that my concerns have not been addressed in any way at all - repeat AT ALL - by any of the four
organisations,
although a number of opportunites have been given for them to do so. Some have
not even had the courtesy to acknowledge receipt of letters. I confess to being more
concerned with the response (lack of) from the Boards of the four organisations,
the contemptuous manner with which they have treated my very serious
approach to them, and their blatant compromise with sin, than I am with Peter's
disclosure. (See full correspondance)
Though his association with Tongues Revisited is a
significant bother, it is a matter of history now which cannot be changed. I thank
him for his kind words, but want to be very clear I do not endorse his
disclosed position.
Renton Maclachlan
Back
to BOOK.PDF
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Renton
Maclachlan, the writer of this fascinating work, is a man of real passion and great integrity. In an age when
Biblical interpretation has been captured by the academic experts, he presents
in this work a layman's interpretation. For this reason many people may be
inclined to dismiss it.
And that would not be fair. For I have long
known Renton to be someone who combines a passionate desire to spread the gospel
of Jesus Christ, with a fearlessness in his thinking. He will take on recognised
scholars, who are sometimes accorded respect because of their educational
attainments and academic positions rather than the quality of their arguments. This is why so much Christian scholarship today has lost its cutting edge in the
secular world. It plays around with ideas, but rarely presents bold or fresh
theses.
Renton's focus is a pastoral situation in an
ordinary church which is struggling with the common problems of how to
accommodate different cultures in the one assembly. Renton has the temerity to
expect to find help in the words of Scripture. It is the attitude of a person
with a very high view of the authority and value of Scripture. The approach
inevitably has its dangers. He can be accused of eisegesis, of reading his
situation into the text, and finding the answers that satisfy him. In an age
when postmodern scholars have insisted that every interpreter does precisely
this, Renton's approach cannot be dismissed so easily. Readers will soon find
that he grapples with the text seriously, thoughtfully and thoroughly.
And this is sufficient reason for others to read
this work carefully, noting their questions and doubts, but pursuing the debate
through to the end. They will undoubtedly gain an enriched sense of what the
text says and does not say. Renton is obviously unsympathetic to the charismatic
movement, and revives a traditional reading of the text that has been deeply
challenged in recent decades. However
he does so with some interesting twists, precisely because he is always aware of
the force of the charismatic reading of the text, with its strength and
weaknesses.
Renton comes from a family well respected among
the Open Brethren community of New Zealand, and has in a way revived some of
their lost emphases. He has also nurtured his skills as a debater in various
debates over the veracity of Christianity. Tenacious in holding his ground as a
person, he is a 'Mr Valiant for the Truth' in the best tradition of Pilgrims
Progress. I continue to ponder how to interpret 1 Corinthians 12-14. This
book has forced me to keep honest in my arguments. I commend it precisely for
this reason.
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