About This Website
And the Author
About This Website
Originally, the author was going to name this website "ChristianControversies.Com," and so purchased that domain name.
However, not being a very good speller, he discovered that he would often misspell the ending of "Controversies," and
wondered if others might do the same. But he could not use "ChristianControversy.Com" because that domain was not
available. So, he thought about using "ChristianRearch.com;" this was available, but only for a price of about $4,000.
So never mind about that. However, "ChristianResearch.net" was available for the usual price (of around $12 per year);
so he did purchase that.
However, once in a while, as the months rolled by, he would check to see if "ChristianControvery.Com" became available since
the owner was not really using it. It just contained one page, and that was about the author himself and not about any Christian
issues at all, never mind being about any Christian controversies. But, to the author's surprise, that website finally did became
available on May 25, 2015, so he purchased it right away. Thus, the plan is to use "ChristianControversy.Com" as the main address,
and also to retain the "ChristianResearch.Net" domain name for the time being. However, in December of 2023, he finally discovered
that he could combine both website titles, thus preserving both and retaining the best characteristics of both names. Essentially,
the former reflects the nature of the site, and the latter reflects the means.
About The Author
The author of these studies, books, and websites is Gary Hal Graff. (The middle name is used
here because there are three or four other Gary Graffs selling books on Amazon.com.) He has been
studying the Bible for over 50 years and does have a B.S. in Theology from Northwest Christian College,
Eugene, Oregon (later known as Northwest Christian University, and still later as Bushnell University,
which is its name to the present time). He is called to the ministry but has had Chronic Fatique
Syndrome since 1980. Though he can be reasonably active during the day, he has to lay down most of
the time after 6 pm. Therefore, he has arranged his computer so that he could use it while laying down.
He mounted the monitor over the bed, above his head, and made a special mount for the keyboard which
fits over his lap, being angled at about 60 degrees. A double mirror is also required over his head,
close to the wall, so he can see the keyboard while laying down (without two mirrors the keyboard
appears upside down). So, this is how nearly all his writing has been produced.
The author has worked for the Sonoma County Office of Education(Santa Rosa, CA) for 29 years. For 26
of those years he worked as an Adaptive Equipment Technician in the department known as the Adaptive
Technology Center. In that capacity, he made and repaired special education equipment which included
the repair of computers (desktops and laptops), iPads, and many other kinds of equipment. He was also
a fabricator of special education equipment. He retired in 2017 and now concentrates on writing. His
long-time call to the ministry still seems to be in place.
A Personal Story
It was in the middle of the night, but I could not sleep. I decided to go downstairs and lay on the couch for a while.
As I lay there, something began to happen: “truth” began to flow into my mind. Soon the “flow” became a river, and then
the river became a flood; I could hardly keep up with it. It felt as if an angel was standing over me with a large pitcher
from which he was pouring out spiritual truth. It was wonderful. It must have lasted for 20 or 30 minutes.
The setting was Douglas House (on Kincaid St.), an old, two-story residence that was converted into a men’s dormitory (no
longer standing) of Northwest Christian College, Eugene, Oregon, of which I was a second-year student, 1967. Of the
twelve young men living there (when there was really only room for eight, so we had to use bunk-beds), there were two Garys,
two Terrys, and one Jerry. In the course of time, a couple of guys from southern California come up to visit Robin Cross, one
of my friends at the college, and through him I met them: Dean and Lynn (don’t remember their last names). They stayed at
the house for a couple of weeks, sleeping in their sleeping bags in the living room downstairs, and then traveled on. But one
Saturday afternoon before they left, as it happened, I came downstairs and found Lynn reading a newspaper. He had found an
advertisement about a youth meeting at a local church that evening, so the two of them decided to attend; I joined them.
We arrived at the meeting a few minutes late and took our seats in the back of the room. In the front was a man dressed in a
suit speaking to the youth about the Bible, etc. He spoke in a monotone, leaning back in his folding chair, balancing on the
two back legs. I looked around at the teenagers; they were obviously far more interested in each other than in anything he was
saying. But as I sat there, I was amazed at the grace and knowledge that flowed from this man’s lips; he was saying things
I’d never heard before. And they weren’t a lot of “wacky” things; it was a lot of good, spiritual truth, a lot of amazing
Biblical things. I thought to myself, “Wow, where have I been?” Needless to say, I started attending that church right away:
it was Santa Clara Assembly (a Charismatic church). (It has since lost all that it once had with the original leaders, and is
now known as Santa Clara Neighborhood Church, an Assemblies of God church). But who was that man!? It was Judson Cornwall,
one of the nationally recognized leaders of the Charismatic movement. He was the pastor and his sister, Iverna Tompkins, was
the associate pastor; and wow, was she good, too!
At any rate, having been a member of the Christian Churches, or Disciples of Christ, since the time that I had gotten “saved”
a couple of years earlier, I had thought that I was already filled with the Spirit since that is what we were taught. But
then, at the end of one Sunday evening meeting at Santa Clara Assembly, during an “altar call,” the Lord was really
heavy upon me. I thought to myself, perhaps I should go forward and help pray for the others who had responded to the altar
call. So I went forward and tried to pray for others but soon found that I could not since the Lord was too heavy upon me. So,
I just stood there with the others and began to worship the Lord with hands raised, and the flow upon me, and into me, became
heavier; others then began to pray also for me, then moved on to pray for others. After some time had passed and people
began to disburse, I knelt before the platform with my arms outstretched and resting upon it, as the in-flow continued. After
perhaps another 15 or 20 minutes, the flow eased up a bit and now was only flowing into my two hands. Then it was flowing
only into my left hand. I thought to myself, “Why just my left hand; why not my right hand too?” As soon as I thought that,
the flow switched to my right hand, stayed there for a few minutes, and then switched back to my left hand. But looking back
on this experience, I wondered why it was that the Spirit was flowing primarily into my left hand. I am rather ambidextrous:
power things I do with my right hand (like throwing a ball, batting, etc.), but things that require dexterity I do with my
left hand (like writing and eating, etc.). Was this the Lord showing that He was planning to use, not my “power,” but my
writing ability?
At any rate, I did not, at that time, understand what this whole experience was with the Spirit of God, and only later
realized what was happening: it must have been what they called “being filled with the Spirit!” It was similar to what one
feels if he gets his fingers on both prongs of an electrical plug while trying to pull it out of a wall socket: one feels the
“power;” one also feel the “pain.” But when this infilling happened, I felt the “power,” but instead of pain, there was
something like liquid love: pure, unadulterated, powerful love! Wow, it was magnificent. That is what it is like to be filled
with the Spirit!
As a side-note, later, as most people were leaving the church, a friend said to me, "Now the devil is going to attack you,
and try to convince you that this never happened." So, I decided to continue to pray for awhile and just stayed in the church
all night, sleeping on the carpet. In the middle of the night, I woke up and there, sitting right in front of me, was a frog;
yes, that's right, a real frog! I thought to myself, "Well, if that is the best the devil can do, I have nothing to worry
about." I forget if I took the frog in hand and put it outside, which I probably did. It was only years later that I heard that
some teenagers had put frogs in the sanctuary as a joke. But they did not know that frogs do not croak unless they are happy,
and they would not be happy in a dry building. So, they never started croaking during a worship service.
At any rate, as it happened, a few nights later when I could not sleep at the dorm, then came this other experience:
the powerful inflowing of “truth” of Biblical and spiritual insight. This does not refer to replacing the Bible; it means
bringing the truths of the Bible to life, of illuminating Biblical truths. Of course, that flood of truth did not last long,
not longer then perhaps a half hour or so. But then neither has it actually ceased all-together. Though the flow happened
about 50 years ago, and has long since turned into an intermittent “trickle,” yet that channel remains open to this day. It
enables me to see things in Scripture that other people usually overlook; and spiritual truth continues to “dawn on me” from
time to time. And the more I study the Bible, the more truth I find. So, having sat under Judson Cornwall’s ministry for about
three years, having been trained at an excellent Bible college, and having studied the Word of God for over 50 years now (an
hour a day, five days a week), means that I have a lot of "insight" to share.
Someone called to be an evangelist finds that if he applies his calling (gets involved in evangelism), and if he is “anointed,”
he yields fruit; i.e., people respond to his spoken words: they get saved. Likewise, someone called to have a healing ministry
finds that, if he plies his trade, people get healed. By contrast, others struggle to get something going in the evangelistic
or healing ministries, not understanding that they may not be called to those ministries. So, likewise, someone who is called
to be a teacher (as an Eph. 4:11 teacher) finds that, if he studies, he begins to understand Biblical doctrine in ways others
may have missed; he discovers material to teach; he finds teachings, i.e., spiritual truth. His job is to pass it on. So if he
does this, if he teaches, that ministry works through him: people listen, are attentive, and do learn. Of course, no one is
inerrant, and not everything I "get" or "discover" is necessarily from the Lord. But teachings do flow easily to me to and
through me.
So, reader, be prepared to have your thinking and your theology challenged. Oh, this is not talking about cultish or heretical
teachings; its talking about presenting what the Bible really has to say; its talking about challenging some commonly held
misconceptions; its talking about taking on some controversies and landing them in their true, Biblical orientation. However,
be forewarned: the books and articles posted on this website cannot be characterized as being “theology-light,” and are not
recommended for those accustomed to reading novels only. This website is for those who don’t mind getting into the details,
who don’t mind going to lengths to expose false notions. Yes, at the same time, get ready to make some new discoveries in
the horizons of the vast spiritual realm and the incredible Word of God!
