Quote:
Originally Posted by Dedicated Mind
ok, I read the comments, but I'm just starting to look at this issue. My understanding is that the apostles started many churches and wrote the New testament letters to these churches. So the early church survived long enough to establish a form of the canon. I assume this early church practiced baptism in Jesus name and spirit baptism with tongues. My question is how did these two practices fade away? were they persecuted underground? were there a growing majority of christians who didn't practice those two doctrines and they eventually outnumbered the apostolics?
|
Same way it is today. Intellectualism replaces being led by the Spirit. People are more interested in learning something new, they are awed by philosophical arguments, they rely more and more on education and les and less than on the Spirit of God.
I'm not against that though, but we need to have a balance of both.
Today you see two kinds of churches. Those who allow the Spirit to flow but don't do much solid teaching and those that are the reverse
People also get scared away from the gifts by false prophets. They had their own share back then too with Montanism. The knee jerk reactionaries want to eliminate any supernatural workings when they witness the abuses.
Threaded Mode
