Pentecostal Christian

Biblical Origins
According to the Book of Acts, the Apostles of Jesus gathered for the Jewish feast of Pentecost (occurring 50 days prior to Passover) that occurred closely after his death. Mourning the loss of their leader, they came together to await a sign, which he had directed them to do, that would give them a clue as to how to proceed with the teachings of their new movement. “Suddenly, a sound came from heaven like a rushing wind, filling the entire house where they were sitting. Then, tongues of fire appeared, and one sat upon each one of Apostles. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as directed by the Spirit ” (Acts 2:1-4). This was apparently taken as a sign that they were to disperse to foreign lands separately and evangelize their theology around the world to people of many languages. The subsequent obedience of the apostles, according to many historians, was the strength of the early Christian church, for when the Roman Empire attempted to squelch any of the estimated 75 various cults that existed during it’s height of power, it was the diffuse nature of the Christian sects that made them impossible to eliminate. Therefore, the Christian theology flourished and eventually, became the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Peter said, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38-39). In the spirit of Peter’s proclamation, the theology of the early Christian Church imparts that upon conversion, Christians would be overcome with the “gift of the Holy Spirit” and exhibit the speaking of tongues, or glossolalia. However, by the end of the Dark Ages, which were filled with a more sinister brand of Christianity filled with fear of demons and brimstone, the concept of a joy filled experiential spirituality was gone. Furthermore, by the 17th c., glossolalia was considered a form of possession, and subject to suspicions of witchcraft.

During the Age of Enlightenment in 19th c Europe, a young theologian by the name of Charles Wesley, who had studied at Oxford and been ordained as a Church of England Anglican priest, formed a religious studies group of teachers with his brother. Because of their methodical mode of study, they came to be known as Methodists. Wesley developed a doctrine of entire sanctification, known also as the "second blessing" or "Methodist perfection." He proposed that after justification and a process of sanctification, the believer could receive by faith a sudden second blessing which would completely purge the soul from inbred sin, enabling the fully sanctified to feel nothing but perfect love. He called this experience "a still higher salvation.” Wesley and his preachers urged their hearers to seek this second blessing of perfection with all diligence. They did, and gave proof of it in lives of earnest, and sometimes frantic, piety.

Theological Origins
The Holiness Movement emerged and was propagated by theologians such as the Wesleys and their “Arminian” Theology, which was based on the writings of Jacobus Arminius of 17th c. Holland, and was directly opposed to the teachings of John Calvin. (Arminius, a student of John Calvin’s son in law, was highly persecuted by the Puritans of his day.) In direct contrast to Calvin, whose popular philosophy centered around the idea that salvation was the result of Puritanical restrain, the Arminian Theology of the Holiness Movement taught that salvation was the result of punctuated “crisis” moments in one’s life in which a transformation of the body, mind and soul took place, and was often accompanied by crying, fainting, screaming, and other emotional responses. The Wesleyan view was that a Christian must experience two works of grace. The first being salvation, usually brought on by traditional baptism of water. The second work of grace was sanctification, usually experiential and emotional in nature (sometimes referred to as being “born again.”

Wesley’s theology spread to the Americas, where the ever expanding movement west was sparsely populated. Tent revivals, lasting days and weeks, became popular events that not only provided respite from the rugged life on the frontier and entertainment, but social and spiritual outlets that revived and renewed the attendants. These revivals, or camp meetings, became the center of what is known as the Second Great Awakening in American history.

Basic Theology
Pentecostals believe that all Christians must achieve sanctification through the three acts of grace, which include baptism by water, experience of rebirth (evident through the glossolalia), and baptism by fire, in order for them to reach a state of Christian perfection. Pentecostals deny the old Christian view of the Trinity, asserting that baptism should be performed in the name of Jesus only, and that the concept of the three manifestations of God implies that God exists in different forms, which, they believe, is not in keeping with Judeo-Christian monotheistic tradition. Pentecostals believe in that the gifts of the Spirit will be evident in the material blessings of the Christian.

Evolving Theology
By 1895 an offspring of the Holiness Movement had begun in Iowa by Benjamin Irwin of Lincoln, Nebraska. Irwin preached that a third act of grace was the baptism with Holy Ghost and Fire, which elevated the Christian to the level of Apostle and gave them the power to evangelize. His theology prompted the inception of the “Fire Baptized Holiness Church,” and their tent meetings were attended by seekers from around the country.

It was at one of these tent meetings that a young preacher by the name of Charles Parham, a college student from Kansas, was inspired by the concept of experiential spirituality and the three works of grace. He expanded on these teachings, proposing that subsequent to the baptism by Holy Ghost and Fire, a Christian would be given the “gifts of the Spirit” and would be supernatural in nature, able to exhibit glossolalia or xenolalia (the speaking of modern foreign languages previously unknown to the speaker), healing, and the ability to evangelize to the masses and propagate Christianity to it’s proper place in the world. It was from this expanded view of the Holiness Movement that he manifested what he called “Apostolic Faith Theology.” Parham believed that the Apostles in the book of Acts had experienced an epiphany of the Spirit, or baptism by fire, and were given the gifts of the Holy Spirit which enabled them to establish and spread the Christian faith. In addition, he proposed that glossolalia was an expression of this revived consciousness. He predicted that if he were to go forth and evangelize his theology, that his own attendees would eventually speak in tongues and become apostles themselves.

Followers of the Church of God in the Appalachians, which had been inspired by the Holiness Movement, reported occurrences of glossolalia as early as 1896. However, Parham was the first to preach of it as being evidence of sanctification of the Spirit. At a New Year’s revival in Topeka, KS in 1901 (then considered to be the actual turn of the millennium), Agnes Ozman, an attendee, spoke in tongues. By the end of the revival, 35 attendees had done the same, including Parham himself. News of this spread quickly, and Parham’s revivals became popular across the western portion of the country. However, the local newspapers reported that linguistics experts had spied on the revival meetings, and that the glossolalia was nothing but gibberish. Despite opposition, the movement took hold, particularly among the poor and disenfranchised. Parham opened Bethel Bible College in Texas, where his students went on to establish a variety of denominations, now considered in the Pentecostal Family.

Controversy
Parham was an active member of the KKK and was eventually arrested for Klan related activities. Parham was plagued with doctrinal revisionism. He believed in annihilation of the unsaved and denied the Biblical doctrine of eternal torment. He believed in the unscriptural doctrine of anglo-Israelism. He taught that there were two separate creations, and that Adam and Eve were of a different race than people who allegedly lived outside of the Garden of Eden. The first race of men did not have souls, he claimed, and this race of unsouled people were supposed to have been destroyed in the flood. He believed in a partial rapture (annihilation of the unsanctified upon the return of Christ) composed only of those who were baptized by fire. As the singular race with a soul, only sanctified white people could be spared from rapture. He was pivotal in establishing the Assembly of God church in the southern territories, which was an all white organization.

In 1908 Parham raised funds to travel to the Holy Land on an archaeological expedition to search for the lost ark of the covenant. He claimed to the press that he had information about its location and that his finding the ark would fit into the end times biblical scheme. By December he announced that he had sufficient funds and he traveled to New York allegedly to begin his journey to Jerusalem. He never purchased a ticket to the Middle East and returned home dejectedly in January, claiming he was robbed after arriving in New York.

Criticisms
Criticism of the Pentecostal Faith theology from other Christian traditions are far reaching, the most extreme being directed at “wealth theology,” and the anglo-Isreali interpretation of the divine separation of the races. Christian traditions predating Pentecostal theologies assert that Jesus preached that poverty and open acceptance of all races of people were the key to a true Christian life. Traditional Christian theology teaches that while there is only one true God, there are different manifestations of God, evident in the Father (mind), the Son (the body), and the Holy Ghost (the spirit).

Lasting Legacy
A controversial figure, Parham’s legacy is undeniable in the conservative Christian movements of contemporary American history. By 1993, Pentecostal Protestantism was the largest Christian Faith Family in the world, and continues to grow at a rate of 35,000 p/day worldwide. The specific style of preaching that emphasizes the emotions and experiences of the speaker, as opposed to a focus on a specific Biblical lesson; the contemporary and rhythmic musical styles; and the unstructured style of worship; influenced other Protestant Christian denominations and spawned a style of worship known as charismatic. From the 1970’s, charismatic worship became an important movement in the Catholic and Episcopalian churches.

Although Parham’s theology and social philosophies would likely be rejected in the new millennium, his influence on the conservative charismatic Christian movement is evident. The political power of the “Christian Right” is irrefutable, and the influence of Charles Parham continues to reverberate in the United States today.

References:
UVA Religious Movements Website. as retrieved August 5, 2005 from http:// religious movements.lib.virginia.edu/lectures/Pentecost.html
Wikipedia.org website. as retrieved August 5, 2005 from http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Pentecostalism
The Hartford Institute for Religious Research Website. as retrieved August 5, 2005 from http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/research_pentecostalism.html
The Way of Life.org website. as retrieved August 5, 2005 from http://www.wayoflife.org/ fbns/strange1.htm
BELIEVE Religious Information Source. as retrieved August 5, 2005 from http://mbsoft .com/believe/txc/pentecos.htm



indexed by Perry Threlfall (August 2005)