Act 19: 11-12 anmd Protestantism

[Roman_Catholic_1]

And God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. Acts 19: 11-12

Protestantism was an attempt to try to get back to what they believed were the beliefs of 1st century Christianity correct? If this is so how come we don’t see miracles like those seen in Acts 19 in the Protestant churches? Who are the Protestants that have had such faith that thier followers believed divine power flowed through their garments? Or have there been?

I know that a great deal of the threads in this section are created to bait either side but this one is not. If this is believed in the Protestant churches and has been historically I would really like to read the stories of this. If not, could you explain why?

God bless you

 

[Zenas]

There are two things to keep in mind here. First, many Protestants subscribe to what is known as cessationism, which is the belief that the ability to perform miracles and speak in tongues was a unique gift to the apostles. When the last apostle died, these gifts ceased to exist.

Second, it is common practice among Protestants not to dwell on those Bible passages that are out of sync with their theology. They just don’t discuss them, and when they have to discuss them, they will allegorize the passage to mean something entirely unrelatd. Or they will say the passage should not be regarded as didactic. As for Acts 19:11-12, they would say, “Paul never told them to use pieces of cloth or articles of clothing for healing. Nevertheless, God allowed healing to take place using these items, despite the people’s superstition. It was an aberration and not something we are told to practice.”