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 EXCERPT
Foreword
Weptanomah Davis, MS
Editor, Today’s
Minister’s Wife Magazine
Years of research in the field of psychology has provided answers to
questions that have puzzled scientists for years. There is,
however, one question that research in the field has yet to
answer. Science is not able to definitively answer the question,
‘What makes a person change?’ How is it that one set
of conditions will bring a behavior change for one person and not
another? Why does one student receive a C on a test and study
harder to earn an A, another student makes no changes and earns another
C, and another student will say, ‘why bother,’ and earns a
lower grade? Man’s conscious ability to change has many
ramifications. Imagine being able to change bad eating habits,
prisoners free from recidivism and addicts free from relapse. Science
knows the benefits of saying ‘no’ to that which harms, but
getting the switch to ‘click on’ is the hard part. To
answer this question, researchers have studied physiology, genetics,
nature vs. nurture, behavior modification, punishment vs. reward,
family of origin… the list goes on longer than space
permits. In this book, the author, Dr. Harold Carter, Jr., has
focused on the power of God’s negative directives as the force
for change that is needed today.
In this work, Dr. Carter considers the power of God’s negative
command from different perspectives. His discussion on the effects of
the diminishing no’s in our society is well timed when one
considers the daily reports in the news on violence and corruption at
every level of our culture. The author also examines the historical
aspect of a negative command from God. This is excellent teaching
information. At one time new believers understood that accepting
Christ meant a change in behavior. This was a part of songs and
testimonies. Believers would say, ‘Things I used to do, I
don’t do no more; places I used to go, I don’t go no
more.’ Dr. Carter reminds the reader that salvation
requires being in agreement with God to say ‘no’ to our
sinful nature. He lets us know that the purpose of salvation and our
service is not for God to become a wishing well. What is of particular
insight is the examination by the author that God’s negative
commands are the commands that free one as a Christian. One
should not be in Christ unaware of how and when God calls believers to
say, ‘no.’ Growing up, I remember hearing the phrase
‘working out my soul’s salvation.’ Is it possible
that we have lost the idea that salvation is something we work on,
while we expect God to do all of the work? For many
readers, this may be the first time giving serious thought to the
negative aspect of God’s commandments.
It is true that millions of research dollars have not been spent
documenting the power of God to change lives. Indeed, mainstream
research is just beginning to examine the power of spirituality and
prayer. With this book, Dr. Carter has explored the power of the
negative command in a format that includes his scholarship and personal
reflections. Any reader will conclude that the author has taken
on a weighty subject. Just as he did with volume one of Harold’s Hermeneutics,
treatment of this challenging topic is both highly readable and
insightful. The Power of God’s
Negatives provides a framework to use the power of God’s
negative commands to change a life.
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