For a while now, I have been wanting to do some research into the history of the church. Not the two millennia of history but the history of the church in the United States. We developed quite free from state and nationalistic regulations which lead to a very individualistic outlook regarding church practice and autonomy. If you are interested, for a more in-depth study of the development of Evangelicalism in the U.S., Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey is a fascinating read-Part 3 of her book deals expressly with “American” Christianity.
During my next set of blogs, I will be searching the roots of our American Experience to discover the practices and doctrines of the Pentecostal and later Charismatic movements. Many of our churches-especially those in the United States- have been influenced to some degree with some form of the Charismatic movement. I am interested particularly in the Charismatic “Revivals” which began in the early 20th century. I am not doing blogs to debate the validity of Cessationism v. Countinuationism (the continuation of spiritual gifts). That is another topic for another time. What I am interested in doing is investigating the history and doctrines of the Charismatic Movement. I am concerned with some of the doctrines into which I have run, particularly the emphasis on emotionalism and experience. I am also intrigued by the use of psychological manipulation which occurs during some meetings. For those reading these blogs, remember that all truth is God’s truth and therefore many religions have good fruit (Deut. 13:1-4). However, many deceptive ideas are hidden beneath the surface of religious movements. I myself can say that I once believed in a form of gnosticism (will be defined in a future blog). Be careful to investigate fully any movement/revival/denomination before committing yourself to it (Eph. 4:14). My intention is to talk about ideas that people believe. I am not interested in judging or condemning any Christian or any person of another faith. Yes, I have opinions but I am interested in defining and refining my opinions based upon scripture and reasonable argumentation. Please remember that this is a critique of the doctrines (ideas) of a particular movement not the people themselves. Will I list leaders who are proclaiming unscriptural ideas, yes, but it’s the ideas that the people are espousing that are dangerous. I will be backing up any opinion that I have with scripture and actual citations.
At the beginning of my research I had initially wished to understand one particular Christian movement which has become more prevalent within the last decade. However, while endeavoring to study this movement, I quickly realized the depth and breadth of the material which I needed to research. A historical analysis of the 20th century church became necessary in order to fully understand the doctrines and practices of my formerly stated movement. I had not realized the theological connections that lay beneath the surface. This is my journey into the Pentecostal Church and the separate non-denominational Charismatic movement.
For my first entry, I will discuss a brief history of the Pentecostal Church and its split with the Charismatic movement. In the next few blogs, I will be turning my attention to the Charismatic movement and specific developments during the previous century.
“There have been many restoration movements over the centuries…The Evangelical Revivals which swept the UK and America over the last 300 years produced a growth in independent Evangelical churches – the free-church movement, now known as Evangelicalism. Pioneer Christians in America, now free of a state imposed orthodoxy began the quest for a return to New Testament practice and faith. The outgrowth of this took a number of diverse directions. In the UK and later in America there became an interest in the “gifts of the spirit”, along with various groups of general and independent Baptists, and began hybrid theologies with Pentecostal influences[1] ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fivefold_ministry ).” (Again for a full history, check out Total Truth)
In the latter half of the 19th Century, the Methodist Church split into various factions. From these splits, the Church of God, Pentecostal Assemblies, and Assemblies of God all formed a branch under the Methodist and referred to themselves as the Pentecostal Church. They, like the Methodist Church, were Wesleyan Churches focused on the “holiness movement” brought out of the Anglican Church. The major doctrinal difference between the Methodist and Pentecostal Churches was the addition of the 5-fold ministry doctrine to the Pentecostal Churches as well as tongues. This five-fold doctrine is based in the Biblical Scriptures in the Christian book of Ephesians Chapter 4 Verse 11. This verse is a reference to the gifts of the Holy Spirit which was not emphasized in the Anglican or Methodist Churches. These were the gifts of Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher and were intended to restore the original character of the first century church (thus the term restoration movement). ( For evidence of the 5 gifts during the early church click on this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fivefold_ministry.)
The origins for the beginnings of the Pentecostal Church can be found in what is called the “Azusa Street Revival.” It was there in Texas, 1901, that a young preacher called Charles Parham began to teach that the end-time restoration of tongues, the ability to speak other languages, would help missionaries preach all over the globe. The publicity that he obtained attracted people from all over the U.S. However, it would take the antics of a few other Pentecostals to create a break within the Assemblies of God denomination and begin the modern Charismatic Movement.
The Healing Ministries of three people, A.A. Allen, William Barnham, and Jack Coe, forced the Assemblies of God to withdraw their support of these three ministers. According to Hanegraaff, “Allen was arrested for drunk driving and later died of cirrhosis of the liver, Barnham denied the Trinity, and Coe was found exaggerating his “powers”.”[2] These healing ministries and “super” prophets and apostles drove the stake in deeper for the Assemblies of God Churches and all Pentecostal Churches. In 1963, a Christian publication referred to these ministries as the second wave of The New Pentecostalism (the first being tongues). Not only did the Pentecostal Churches dismiss the connection, two people wrote a rebuttal to the article and referred to the second wave as a “charismatic renewal”.[3] Basically, the issue of tongues was differentiated during these two waves of the Spirit. The first wave (the beginnings of the Pentecostals) considered tongues as the evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit but the second wave (beginnings of the Charismatics) considered the use of tongues as an evidence along with other gifts. Furthermore the Pentecostals encouraged people to become denominational Pentecostals while those belonging to the Charismatic Movement encouraged people to stay within their own denominations to infiltrate and spread the Spirit.[4] It was the spread of the healing ministries and prophecy that furthered the Movement and lead to the development of other specific revivals in the United States and over the globe. In the next few blogs, I will be covering the Latter Rain Ministry, Laughing Revival, Toronto Vineyard, and the Kansas City Prophets.
It should also be mentioned that “many Pentecostal Churches today have moved away from the speaking in tongues as a foreign language as many studies have shown that the speakers were uttering syllables in their own language” (Faupel).[5] They are now using tongues as an intercessory device in prayer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentecostalism).
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fivefold_ministry accessed 3/21/10
[2] Hanegraaff, H. (2001) Counterfeit Revival. W Publishing Group pp. 147-155.
[3] Ibid. p. 159
[4] Ibid. p. 159
[5] Faupel D. William. (1996) “Glossolalia as Foreign Language: Investigation of Early Twentieth Century Pentecostal Claim” Wesleyan Theological Journal (31)1.
Look, although you are “trying” to be non-partial, your entries are already decided against pentecostalism/charismatic christians.
I think that it does boil down to beliefs of “Cessationism v. Countinuationism” whether you like it or not. And your studying only the US history from 20th Century on is pretty limited. Christians around the world, not just in the US, are praying in tongues and receiving God’s healing power. I’ve personally heard testimonies from others living in other countries who are experiencing God working in their lives in this way.
Is God so limited that He can not move the same way as He did in the Bible? Is He not the same God? Of Course! God does not change.
This was simply a blog about the history and roots of the movement. The Charismatic movement did have its beginnings here in the United States. It spread around the world from this point. I was not trying to give an entire history just the beginnings (my title of the blog was Where did it come from). I also stated that this blog is not about the validity of spiritual gifts. I was giving an account of what a particular church has as their belief system. There was no mention of whether those things are true or not- in fact I included a link about the validity of spiritual gifts. I am not focusing on the denomination of Pentecostalism which practices many of the same beliefs that spawned the Charismatic movement. The Charismatic movement is a separate branch of Christianity. Even though Charismatics deny denominations, I would argue that it has become its own denomination. I also did not connect tongues to emotionalism or psychological manipulation.
I mainly want to focus on other doctrines which have been propogated by the Charismatic movement in the later half of the 20th Century. These doctrines are new and have only been around for 50 or 60 years. Not everything that is new is wrong-the Protestant Reformation was new at one time. However, I really want to understand the doctrines beneath the surface. Things that aren’t being talked about. We hear about prophecy, tongues, healings…but what about the other doctrines? Here are a few (I’ll be researching them later): Joel’s Army, Davidic Tabernacle, Manifest Sons of God, Harp and Bowl… These are all a strong part of Charismatic beliefs and they haven’t been around for very long. These are things I’m interested in researching. I also do have concerns about emotionalism and psychological manipulation. I have researched documents about leaders in these movements which are very concerning. I’m mostly interested in the manipulation which involves the music. (Again entire blog will be devoted to this-I’m just getting started) I’m constantly learning about my own doctrinal beliefs and I no longer adhere to a few of them because I now believe they are wrong. If you consider yourself a charismatic, don’t be afraid to dig into the other doctrines as well. I always research any church to which I consider going even if I consider it well within my theology. There is always something to learn.
Truly, you have a dizzying intellect….. I think I need to know what your definition of Pentecostal and Charismatic is. What are you talking about? Are you referring to a specific church founded by a particular individual or group? Or are you referring to ideas that are present in Pentecostal / Charismatic churches (such as the gifts of the Holy Spirit)? If you are referring to healing, prophecy, or tongues, you are fighting an uphill battle and it’s obvious that you haven’t done much digging. Those ideas have been in church groups long before America was a nation. If you are referring to something else you need to make it clear.
Bovinebloviations wrote:
“I am not doing blogs to debate the validity of Cessationism v. Countinuationism (the continuation of spiritual gifts).”
I think this blog was very specific about the fact that healing, prophecy, and tongues were not the areas of concern. As a cessationist myself, I have no problem with Christians who advocate these things (as healing, prophecy, and tongues are all in the New Testament) even though I disagree with the idea that they continue past the Apostolic age.
The doctrines being questioned are fairly explicitly laid out: Joel’s Army, Davidic Tabernacle, Manifest Sons of God, Harp and Bowl, etc. The question being raised is whether individuals in *certain* revival situations are aware of all of the doctrines being advocated by *particular* preachers. The turf battle over tongues or healing is unhelpful and needlessly devisive, and it is clearly stated that this is not what the concern is over.
” I honestly, at this point, have not delineated entirely between Charismatics and Restorationists. I would like to separate the two and say that some Charismatics are Restorationists but I am not entirely certain if you can separate the two. …However, I will qualify my arguments from this point onwards and refer to the groups I am discussing as “Restoration Charismatics.” ” – Blog on Restorationism
BigBlock,
I have deleted your most recent comment. I had already warned you once about personal attacks. This blog is for discussing ideas. Criticism or comments should be directed at fairly discussing or questioning specific ideas presented and not be personal.
[…] 9, 2010 by bovinebloviations In my first entry, I briefly wrote on the history of Pentecostalism. I have since explained some troublesome […]