Pentecostalism in America

Author(s):  
Roger G. Robins

American Pentecostalism is a Christian movement that takes its name from the ecstatic empowerment of early Christians on the Jewish feast of Pentecost, described in Acts 2:1–4 of the New Testament. Known for its enthusiastic worship, the movement holds that the supernatural gifts and manifestations described in the Bible are still available to Christians who have been “filled with the Spirit” through an experience known as “baptism in (or with) the Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost).” These gifts and manifestations include divine healing, prophecy, and—most notably—glossolalia, also known as “speaking in tongues,” a form of ecstatic vocalization that Pentecostals equate with the spiritual phenomenon of that description found in the New Testament. The origins of Pentecostalism trace to the Wesleyan-inspired Holiness movement of the 19th century, which pursued Christian perfection through “entire sanctification,” an experience subsequent to salvation said to enable Christians to live a sinless life. Most adherents equated sanctification with baptism in the Holy Ghost. By the late 19th century, Holiness had broadened into an ecumenical, multiracial movement whose most zealous advocates sought to recover the power and practices of 1st-century “Apostolic” Christianity, expected the imminent Second Coming of Christ, and embraced uninhibited worship. In 1901, Holiness evangelist and Bible school teacher Charles Fox Parham identified glossolalia as the telltale sign of Holy Ghost baptism in the New Testament, and a revival featuring that manifestation erupted at his school in Topeka, Kansas. Parham promoted the new teaching throughout the lower Midwest, founding a string of “Apostolic Faith” missions. In 1906, an African American Holiness preacher who had briefly affiliated with Parham, William Joseph Seymour, carried the Apostolic Faith message to Los Angeles, where he founded a mission on Azusa Street and led an epochal revival that drew many into the new “Pentecostal” movement. Early Pentecostalism had no hierarchy or authoritative structures and quickly succumbed to doctrinal controversies. First, a dispute over entire sanctification separated “Holiness Pentecostals,” who adhered to the original Wesleyan teaching, from “Reformed” adherents who viewed sanctification as a process realized progressively over a lifetime. Shortly thereafter, a “Oneness” or “Jesus Name” branch emerged among Pentecostals who rejected the doctrine of the Trinity. Formal denominations developed within each of these three branches, although many Pentecostals remained independent of formal affiliation. The middle decades of the 20th century witnessed rapid growth and institutional proliferation within Pentecostalism amid two parallel trends: professionalization and bureaucratization on the one side, and revitalization currents like the divine healing or “Deliverance” movement on the other. Meanwhile, Pentecostal beliefs and practices spread through mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox churches, giving rise to the Charismatic Movement. These various strains overlapped and converged in a variety of “neo-Pentecostal” forms over succeeding decades, inspiring creative and controversial expressions such as the Prosperity Gospel, entrepreneurial networks of apostles, and new denominations like Vineyard USA. Pentecostalism in the 21st century reflects the entirety of this historical legacy and thus forms a manifold tapestry of extraordinary range and complexity.

Author(s):  
Grant Macaskill

This book examines how the New Testament scriptures might form and foster intellectual humility within Christian communities. It is informed by recent interdisciplinary interest in intellectual humility, and concerned to appreciate the distinctive representations of the virtue offered by the New Testament writers on their own terms. It argues that the intellectual virtue is cast as a particular expression of the broader Christian virtue of humility, which proceeds from the believer’s union with Christ, through which personal identity is reconstituted by the operation of the Holy Spirit. Hence, we speak of ‘virtue’ in ways determined by the acting presence of Jesus Christ, overcoming sin and evil in human lives and in the world. The Christian account of the virtue is framed by this conflict, as believers within the Christian community struggle with natural arrogance and selfishness, and come to share in the mind of Christ. The new identity that emerges creates a fresh openness to truth, as the capacity of the sinful mind to distort truth is exposed and challenged. This affects knowledge and perception, but also volition: for these ancient writers, a humble mind makes good decisions that reflect judgments decisively shaped by the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. By presenting ‘humility of mind’ as a characteristic of the One who is worshipped—Jesus Christ—the New Testament writers insist that we acknowledge the virtue not just as an admission of human deficiency or limitation, but as a positive affirmation of our rightful place within the divine economy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-463
Author(s):  
David W. Priddy

In this essay, I pose the question, “How might local congregations participate in food reform and agricultural renewal?” Given the problems of industrial agriculture and the wider ecological concern, this question is pressing. Instead of advocating a specific program, I focus on how the Church might address this question while keeping its commitment to being a repentant Church. First, I discuss the significance of attention and particularly the habit of attending to the Word and Sacrament. This posture, I argue, maintains the Church’s integrity, preventing it from merely branding itself or relying on its own resources. Second, I briefly explore the association of eating with the mission of the Church in the New Testament, highlighting the repeated theme of judgment and call to humility in the context of eating. Third, I draw out the importance of continual remorse over sin. This attitude is essential to the Church’s vocation and rightly appears in many historic liturgies. I argue that this posture should extend to the question of eating responsibly. Penitence demonstrates the Church’s relationship to the wider world and testifies to the source of the Church’s own life, the Holy Spirit, who does the work of renewal.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Leonardo Nunes

The present dissertation examines the function and nature of the heavenly sanctuary/temple and its relationship to the earthly counterparts in the major passages of the New Testament (NT) Gospels, Acts, Pauline and General Epistles where the sanctuary/temple motif is found (a total of twenty-two passages). After the introductory chapter, chapters 2, 3, and 4 are devoted to the exegetical analysis of these major passages following canonical order and divisions of the NT. This exegetical analysis has detected the relevance of the heavenly sanctuary/temple motif for NT studies, i.e., how its function, nature, and relationship to the earthly counterparts influence the understanding of important themes of the NT such as salvation, intercession, spiritual gifts, love, holiness, eradication of evil, among others. This investigation has identified that the heavenly sanctuary/temple in the NT function as God’s dwelling place. It is a place for reunion, reconciliation, and sending of the Holy Spirit, from where every spiritual blessing is bestowed upon the believers. In the heavenly sanctuary/temple Jesus is enthroned to exercise authority, power, sovereignty, and rulership; it is where judgment and vindication are made, the new covenant is ratified. It is a place to present praise and worship to God, celebrating Christ's victory over evil. The heavenly sanctuary/temple is where Christ presents His once-for-all sacrifice, "obtains eternal redemption," and intercedes in our behalf, giving assurance that God's salvific purpose and the heirs' hope will be fulfilled. The heavenly sanctuary/temple also functions as the motivation and ground for holy living, the driving force for sacrificial service and endurance of suffering for Christ. The heavenly sanctuary/temple is also the final destination of the Christian journey where all believers will gather together with the godhead and the angels in a festal assembly. Regarding the nature of the heavenly sanctuary/temple in the NT, the passages surveyed show that architecture is not the main concern of the NT writers. However, in tune with the Old Testament (OT), they describe the heavenly sanctuary/temple in terms of a spatiotemporal reality where the corporeal resurrected Jesus is at work and the bodily resurrected believers will live. This NT ontological perspective safeguards the actuality of the heavenly sanctuary/temple many functions. The spatiotemporal nature of the heavenly sanctuary/temple is strengthened when one looks at its relationship to the earthly counterparts. The NT passages examined demonstrate that there is structural and functional correspondence between OT and NT heavenly and earthly counterparts within a typological framework, as well as dynamic interaction among them. Chapter 5 offers a theological synthesis of the heavenly sanctuary/temple motif presented in the previous chapters. A summary of the findings is first provided followed by inferences of theological implications in the three main areas of this dissertation (function, nature, and relationship). After these concluding remarks, an appendix is provided with a brief treatment of twenty-five NT passages not dealt with in the main text (including thirteen passages in the book of Revelation) in order to give the reader a more comprehensive perspective of the pervasiveness of the heavenly sanctuary/temple motif in the NT. In conclusion, the study of the heavenly sanctuary/temple motif in the NT seems to be needed in order to have a sound and balanced understanding of NT theology.


2010 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Dariusz Kasprzak

Neither the Apostles nor any Christian minister is admitted to use the priest’s title in the text of the New Testament. Nevertheless, in the New Testament we can perceive the development of the doctrine of the priest ministry in the early Church. Albert Vanhoye maintains that the lack of the term “priest” in the New Testament suggests the way of understanding of the Christian ministry, different from this in the Old Testament. It can’t be considered as a continuation of Jewish priesthood, which was concentrated mainly on ritual action and ceremonies. In the first century the Church developed the Christology of priesthood (Hbr) and ecclesiology of priesthood (1 P). Early Christians focused first on the redemptive event of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and Jesus as the mediator of a new covenant. Only then the religious communities adopted the priest’s title for their ministry.In the early years of the Church, all the ministries were regarded as a charismatic service among the Christian communities. In their services the early Christians followed Jesus Christ sent by God to serve. The Holy Spirit sent by God in the name of Jesus bestowed the spiritual gifts upon the Church (1 Kor 12–13). Consequently the disciples of Jesus and their successors could continue his mission. The Twelve Apostles’ ministry was the very first and most important Christian ministry. It was closely connected to the service of Jesus Christ himself. The Apostles were sent by the authority of Jesus Christ to continue his mission upon earth and they preached the Good News of the risen Christ. The Apostolicity was the fundamental base for every Church ministry established in different Christian communities. Successive ministries were established in order to transmit the teaching of Jesus Christ and to lead the community. For the early Christians the priesthood was not an individual privilege. It had rather the community character.


2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-144
Author(s):  
Martin Harun

Bertepatan waktu dengan Seminar Sola Scriptura bulan Maret 2015, dengan topik Miracles: The Credibility Of The New Testament Accounts, yang dibawakan oleh Prof. Craig Keener, oleh Perkantas diterbitkan terjemahan bukunya yang berjudul Gift and Giver: The Holy Spirit for Today (2001). Apakah eksemplar yang dihadiahkan kepada saya, akan bernasib sama seperti yang selalu saya kira terjadi dengan buku yang tidak dibayar, yakni tidak dibaca? Penampilan Keener yang sederhana, berbobot dan spiritual dalam seminar tersebut, menantang saya untuk membuka dan membaca buku hadiah ini. Keener mau membantu kita untuk lebih memahami bagaimana Roh Kudus menolong kita menjalani kehidupan dan perutusan kristiani. Buku dimulai dari belajar mengenali suara Roh Kudus dan oleh Roh itu belajar mendengar Allah (bab 1-2). Selalu dengan bantuan Alkitab, Keener menguraikan bagaimana Roh Kudus memberdayakan kita untuk penginjilan (bab 3) dan mengerjakan peruba-han dalam pola hidup kita (bab 4).   Sesudah itu Keener membicarakan aspek-aspek yang lebih kontroversial dalam karismatik, pertama-tama karunia-karunia Roh (bab 56), juga baptisan dalam Roh Kudus dan kapannya (bab 7-8), dan lebih khusus bahasa lidah (bab 9). Dalam beberapa bab ini Keener, sendiri seorang “karismatik” dalam arti mempraktikkan karunia-karunia Roh (hlm. 14), mempertahankannya terhadap orang-orang yang mengira tak perlu lagi mempraktikkannya setelah zaman rasul-rasul. Keener yakin bahwa karunia-karunia biblis dimaksud untuk terus dijalankan dalam masa sekarang di mana diberi. Ia juga membahas perbedaanperbedaan pemahaman antara pelbagai kelompok karismatik dan pentekostal tentang karunia-karunia tertentu, juga tentang momen pembaptisan dalam Roh, dan menjelaskan apa yang menurutnya dimaksudkan dalam Alkitab. Keener memang seorang pakar Perjanjian Baru yang disegani. Dalam bab terakhir, Mengapa menguji Roh (bab 10), Keener menjawab beberapa pra-sangka yang tidak benar terhadap gerakan karismatik, tetapi di lain pihak tidak menyembunyikan bahwa dalam jemaat karismatik dan pentekostal juga muncul ekses-ekses yang menurutnya menyimpang dari paham Alkitab dan bisa membahayakan iman pelaku dan kehidupan jemaat. Maka diberinya klarifikasi.   ................................   Tekanan Keener pada Roh yang memberdayakan untuk penginjilan dalam arti berprakarsa memberitakan dan mengajarkan injil kepada semua orang, mungkin tak menimbulkan masalah di Amerika Serikat yang dominan Kristen, tetapi menjadi pertanyaan pelik bagi Gerejagereja di Asia. Orang kristen Asia yang didorong oleh Roh untuk hadir di tengah orang-orang beragama lain hanya dengan kesaksian hidup dan bekerja sama, dan —baru bila muncul kesempatan—berdialog dalam arti sharing iman dan bukan perdebatan, tidak menemukan pengarahan untuk itu dalam buku ini. Isu Yesus sebagai satu-satunya jalan keselamatan, prinsip yang Keener percaya sebagai inti injil (267), isu yang ia takut dapat menjadi hal utama yang menimbulkan perpecahan di antara orang kristiani sekarang ini, memang rela ia agendakan di tempat kedua demi misi bersama yang mempersatukan kita sebagai Kristen. Apakah itu berarti bahwa ia juga mau berbuat demikian demi misi bersama seluruh umat manusia, semua agama? Eksklusivisme keselamatan dalam agama-agama tetap mengakibatkan perpecahan yang kini merupakan ancaman yang lebih besar lagi bagi dunia daripada perpecahan-perpecahan di dalam agama Kristen. Apakah sikap dialogal antar kristiani yang sangat mewarnai sikap Keener dalam buku ini, juga diperluas kepada semua orang beragama?   Beberapa catatan ini tidak mengurangi penghargaan tinggi saya akan penjelasan Keener tentang pemberian-pemberian Roh Kudus dari dalam pemahamannya yang mendalam akan Alkitab, dan sharingnya. yang tulus, berbobot dan personal tentang pengalamannya sendiri akan  karunia Roh Kudus itu dalam hidup dan penginjilannya sendiri. Suatu buku penting untuk setiap orang karismatik untuk memahami yang paling pokok, dan bagi orang non karismatik untuk lebih mengenal yang terbaik di dalam gerakan karismatik. (Martin Harun, Guru Besar Ilmu Teologi Emeritus, Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat Driyarkara, Jakarta).


2018 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-76
Author(s):  
Peter John McGregor

Some especially insightful and challenging passages in Evangelii Gaudium are those on the importance of a personal encounter with Jesus, the evangelizing power of popular piety, person to person witness, and the need for the power of the Holy Spirit. However, in order to do full justice to the mission of the Church, the document requires more on the priestly aspect of this mission. This element is substantially absent, in part, because of Francis’s veneration of Evangelii Nuntiandi. However, this absent element can be obtained from the missiology of Lumen Gentium, John Paul II, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Based on an analysis of the meaning of leitourgia in the New Testament, this article concludes that this missing element can serve as a link between Pope Francis’s kerygma and diakonia, enabling a harmony which has been missing, to greater or lesser degrees, from the Church’s mission in the 20th and 21st centuries.


2001 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-143
Author(s):  
Frans Josef van Beeck

This essay offers an interpretation of the traditional catholic teaching that “Jesus Christ, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, was born of the Virgin Mary”. The author reviews recent exegesis and theology, then revisits the tradition of the church, then discusses the contrast between the physiological “facts” involved in human conception as they were understood in the classical periods — and thus at the place and time of the composition of the infancy narratives — and the accepted modern, scientific account of the same “facts”. He argues that neither the New Testament nor the Church teaches that Jesus' virginal conception is a cosmological miracle: rather this is a conclusion of the data of the faith, not an article of faith in and of itself. This should guide our speech in ministry.


Author(s):  
Larry Hurtado

In distinction from magical rituals, which are typically intended to ward off malevolent beings or to coerce spirits to do the will of the person or persons performing the rituals, in worship devotees express a more positive stance of thanksgiving and adoration, subordination to, and dependence on the object of worship. Although worship can be offered by individuals privately, early Christian worship was more typically sited in the gathered ekklēsia (congregation/church). Historians of liturgy probe early Christian texts for origins of subsequent liturgical practices and forms but with limited results. The earliest Christian texts (e.g., the New Testament) presuppose early Christian worship, however, and do not reflect any common order of worship. The earliest examples of any set liturgical order come from the 3rd century ce and later. New Testament scholars have tended to focus on various matters other than worship (e.g., early Christian beliefs, social setting, and questions about specific texts), but in recent decades there has been a small renewal of interest in worship as an important topic. Some recent studies explore the relationship of early Christian worship practices to the Roman-era context and especially the Jewish religious matrix in which Christian faith emerged. However, similarities granted, several features distinguish early Christian worship. Along with ancient Judaism, early Christians also were to worship solely the one God of biblical tradition and to refuse to worship the various other deities of the Roman world. At an astonishingly early point, however, believers also treated the risen/ascended Jesus as rightful recipient of corporate and private devotion with God, thereby also distinguishing themselves from the Jewish tradition. In addition, Sunday (the first day of the week) became the particular and distinguishing day for corporate worship. Moreover, whereas animal sacrifice was a typical component of worship in pagan circles and also in Jewish religion (prior to the destruction of the Jerusalem temple), it was not a feature of early Christian worship. The specific phenomena of early Christian worship also form a scholarly focus. Practices likely varied among churches of the time, but verbal expressions of praise, thanksgiving, and adoration including hymnic ones were apparently common. Spiritual gifts (e.g., prophecy, tongues speaking), phenomena ascribed to the Holy Spirit, are also featured. Corporate worship was to be regarded as an occasion of transcendent significance and character; angels were thought to be present as the earthly worship joined with that of heaven.


2009 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Helberg

The source of joy of living according to Psalm 1 and what it implies for reformed preaching The article explores the strong emphasis on joy of living and on the dominating meaning of the Torah, the written Word of God, in Psalm 1 and what it means for the proclamation of the Word in public worship today. For that purpose the relation of Psalm 1 to the rest of the psalms, to the Old Testament as a whole and the New Testament is explored. The finding is that the fulfilment of the New Testament implies Word-driven, Christ-driven and Holy Spirit-driven preaching, i.e. kingdom and covenant preach- ing. Public worship is God’s meeting with his covenant people. The preacher’s role is fully one of service and he must confine himself to the interpretation and application of Scripture.


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