Book Review Criticisms and Questions Answered.

A Supplement to The Spirit Universe a Christian View available at this Book Site

Introduction
My book called The Spirit Universe:  A Christian View has been published for over a year now. While the reviews have been, by and large, favorable, questions and criticism have been made that I would like to address in this post. Please bear in mind that criticism, if it is healthy, can only lead to improvement, so I address them by trying to clarify the theology and personal experiences made in the book. In this post, the questions or statements made will be in bold font followed by the answers in normal font.  If anyone who reads this post has additional questions, I encourage them to leave comments here.

Is some of the book extra-Biblical?
Yes, parts of the book are speculative and not readily supported by Scripture. The reason for this extra-Biblical content is that the Bible does not address all the issues that I write about in the book, so speculation based on experience and logical deduction derived from observed facts is all I had to go on. Being extra-Biblical is not wrong, and it does not mean that the conclusions in the book contradict what the Bible does say about some of these subjects. A teaching or conclusion which contradicts Biblical doctrine is called heretical, and I have gone to great lengths to avoid even the slightest suggestion of heresy. One of the reviews of the book states that “As I read this work, I did not sense any violation of Christian doctrine.”, and that statement tells me I did a good job keeping the book within the confines of orthodox Christian doctrine.

The term “Hypersensitive” was overemphasized because other people experience God deeply.
In my book, I define a hypersensitive as someone with a greater than average sensitivity to the spirit universe as a whole. I treat sensitivity to the spirit universe as if it is distributed in the human population like intelligence is distributed. There are those with little or no sensitivity to the spirit universe (hyposensitives), those with average sensitivity (Normal sensitivity) and those with a way above average sensitivity (hypersensitivity). By definition, anyone who experiences God deeply is a hypersensitive because such a relationship and experience, sadly, exceeds the norm.  Sensitivity is not based on denomination, religion or faith but on personal experience. Many hypersensitives are deeply involved with demonic religions. My book is written to reach out to those who are truly hypersensitive and show them the way that a Christian can adapt to their hypersensitivity in a spiritually healthy manner through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and by surrendering their hypersensitivity to the Lord. 

It is incorrect to say that those who have not experienced the Baptism of the Holy Spirit have not experience communion with God.
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not about communion with God. In my book, I illustrate this point by showing the reader that the Holy Spirit is living in everyone who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  What the Holy Spirit Baptism does is empower the Christian to work in the supernatural as an effective way of witnessing about Christ. It is exceedingly important for a hypersensitive to be Baptized in the Holy Spirit so that his sensitivities can be “tuned” to God and his works conform to the supernatural gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12.  Before salvation, he was empowered by demonic spirits in the Kingdom of Darkness, and once saved he must be empowered by the Holy Spirit to serve in the Kingdom of Light as a follower of Christ and that is exactly what the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is all about.

Why does God allow people to become ghosts?
This is a matter of free will. God seems to hold our free will in the highest esteem. He will not do anything to violate our free will because that would make us less than human, and certainly this Is not in his vision for humankind So, where you spend eternity is dependent on the choices you make while alive. If you choose Christ, subsequently your destination is heaven where He lives – it is absolutely true that there are no Christian ghosts.  On the other hand, if you choose to worship the world and immerse yourself in its passions and in doing so reject Christ, then you spend eternity in a place where God is not present in any way. We generally call this place hell.  This is the general rule and way of things, but there seem to be exceptions to the rule. Some folk have become so focused and so driven by the passions of the earth (which are mainly sinful and controlling) that they osculate between their destiny in hell and their existence on earth. This is a ghost and a most pitiful creature at that.  Eventually, all ghosts will end up where they belong as their earthly passions grow weak and they are pulled into hell. Ghosts have no purpose, their future is horrific, and their present is a  torment.

Why do some who are Baptized in the Holy Spirit fail to have all the gifts.
The power of God which is released when a Christian is Baptized in the Holy Spirit is structured by the spiritual gifts mentioned in 1 Cor 12.  These manifestations of God’s power are gifts given for the benefit of the whole body. As gifts, they do not belong to and are not controlled by the people who are administrating them – they are not psychic abilities but expressions of God’s grace and love for the needy and wanting in His Kingdom.  So, not everyone gets the same gifts because the Holy Spirit distributes them according to need and not the desire of the person chosen to administer them.  However, keep in mind that every Christian, who has been Baptized in the Holy Spirit can receive any or all the gifts as the Holy Spirit gives them out during a ministry.  One gift which is universal and the first evidence of the Holy Spirit Baptism (as Biblically demonstrated in the Book of Acts) is speaking in tongues. This post is not the place to get into details about speaking in tongues. Keep in mind that if you have a problem about how the gifts are distributed; you need to talk to the person who givens them out to His people, and that is the Holy Spirit.

Are Pentecostal or Charismatic churches more subject to error than other denominations such as Baptist or Methodist.
No, absolutely not.  While my church is an Assembly of God Church that believes in and encourages its members to get the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, this is in addition to the Fruit of the Spirit. The Fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, etc.) is considered as important as the Gifts of the Spirit for spiritual growth. The point is that a Christian should have available to him both the Fruit and the Gifts. Church dogma which rejects one for the other is out of balance and a major error.  Finally, the basic belief system of a healthy church is based on the foundation of the full Gospel, and not just parts of the Gospel. Spirit filled churches that begin to reject the foundation of the Word get themselves into trouble because they are rejecting the only criteria by which they can judge what is occurring in the Church and whether they are pleasing God.  On the other hand, a church which rejects the Baptism of the Holy Spirit can easily fall into legalism and ritualism.  The key is balance and careful diligence on the part of the leadership of the Church. While a Pastor has a large influence on the nature of a church, if he is listening to God and following the instructions of the Holy Spirit, then positive church growth will take place, if not in numbers, then in the maturity of his sheep.  Each person must choose then, the church and Pastor which will be best for him, and once he makes that choice must submit to the Holy Spirit and to the leadership of the Pastor in order to grow.  This principle is valid regardless of the denomination or fellowship that the church affiliates with.

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