Where Pentecostalism came from (PART 1)

The theology of John Wesley

What are the theological roots of Pentecostalism? In other words, where did it come from?

“Any study of Pentecostalism must pay close attention to the happenings of this period [late seventeenth- and eighteenth- century revivalism in Europe and North America] and particularly to the doctrine of Christian perfection taught by John Wesley...”[1]

Understanding where Pentecostalism came from begins by understanding the distinct doctrine of Wesley regarding sanctification. So to begin with we need to talk about the theology of Wesley.

PART 1 - Eighteenth-century Methodism (Weslyan theology)

The preaching of Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield and others around the 1730s saw a revival movement spread through Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland, and other places, emphasising repentance and purity in the churches and hightening peoples sense of the holiness of God. The movement in England eventually came under the control of John Wesley (1703-1791).

John Wesley was influenced by the Great Awakenings that emphasised sanctification in the Christian life (pietism), by John Calvin's doctrine of justification by “faith alone,” and also by the strong emphasis on holiness in the Catholic Counter-Reformation. He was also inspired by the perfectionist themes of the early saints. He combined some aspects of the Catholic emphasis on perfection with the Protestant emphasis on grace [2], and taught that sanctification involves a second work of grace, distinct from conversion. (The origin of the doctrine of “subsequence.”)

John Wesley saw conversion as an experience with two phases. The first phase is justification, involving the Spirit attributing or imputing to the believer the righteousness of Jesus. The second phase is the new birth, involving the beginning of sanctification, the process of the Spirit imparting righteousness to the believer. Wesley saw justification as being the gateway to sanctification. He understood justification by “faith alone” to mean that justification occurred by faith, in contrast to sanctification which occurred “by the Spirit.” Thus, sanctification became a second work of grace. (“Grace” was almost synonymous with the work of the Spirit). [3]

According to Wesley, justification (imputed righteousness) entitled one to heaven, but sanctification (imparted righteousness) qualified one for heaven. Wesley wanted to remind the church that true salvation is completed by our return to original righteousness; God restoring people in his perfect image in which he originally created man. Sanctification was the Spirit's work in the believer between conversion and death. He believed this involved God returning people to full and perfect obedience in this life through the process of sanctification. God gives his Spirit to those who are justified so that they might overcome sin. This involves them continually yielding to the Spirit's impulses, and it involves the Spirit continually rooting out sinful impulses in their nature.

Wesley insisted that “imputed” righteousness must become “imparted” righteousness. This emphasis on the process of sanctification, known as “fulfilling all righteousness,” (being restored to our original righteousness) became the distinctive of the Wesleyan tradition. [4]

It is here that Wesley had a distinctive teaching about “Christian perfection”. In A Short Account of Christian Perfection (1760) Wesley urged Christians to seek a second work of grace based on his doctrine of “entire sanctification”. This was the beginning of the teaching that sanctification involved a distinct spiritual experience given by God.

Seeing self-love, or pride, as the root of evil, Wesley taught that “perfect love” or “Christian perfection” could replace pride through a moral crisis of faith. By grace, the Christian could experience love filling the heart and excluding sin. He did not see perfection as sinlessness, nor did he understand it to be attained by merit... the believer by faith was brought into an unbroken fellowship with Christ. This was not only an imputed perfection but an actual or imparted relationship of an evangelical perfection of love and intention.[5]

Wesley was not teaching that Christians could attain absolute Christlike sinlessness. He acknowledged that Christians would always suffer from human faults and unintentional transgressions, because he saw sin as involving relationships and intentions, and defined it in terms of the attitude.

Wesley speaks clearly of a process that culminates in a second definite work of grace identified as entire sanctification. Entire sanctification is defined in terms of “pure or disinterested love.” Wesley believed that one could progress in love until love became devoid of self-interest at the moment of entire sanctification. Thus the principles of Scriptural holiness or sanctification are as follows: sanctification is received by faith as a work of the Holy Spirit. It begins at the moment of new birth. It progresses gradually until the instant of entire sanctification. [6]

Wesley's concept was that this second work delivered Christians from the fault in their moral nature that causes sinful behaviour.

The revival movement of England in the 1730s spread Wesley's sanctification theology. It opened the way for thinking of a “second blessing” given to Christians where they experience “instant sanctification.” It was the seed that later germinated the Pentecostal notion of a second blessing in Spirit baptism. But more on that later.

The nineteenth-century saw the emergency of theological distinctives that also played their role in giving birth to Pentecostalism. Next we'll talk about the legacy of Edward Irving and the importance of nineteenth-century premillennialism in understanding the theological roots of Pentecostalism.

More on this topic

(PART 2) Where Pentecostalism came from - The legacy of Edward Irving

(PART 3) Where Pentecostalism came from - The Holiness movement

Why Pentecostalism began

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[1] Gary B. McGee (Ph.D., Professor of Church History, Chair, Bible and Theology Department at Assemblies of God Theological Seminary), Systematic Theology, Chapter 1 “Historical Background,” Logion Press, 1995, p. 11.

[2] R. Larry Shelton (Th.D., Fuller Theological Seminary), “Perfection, Perfectionism,” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd Ed., Paternoster Press, 2001, p. 906.

[3] Robert G. Tuttle Jr. (Ph.D., University of Bristol), “Wesley, John,” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd Ed., Paternoster Press, 2001, p. 1266-7.

[4] Ibid., p. 1269.

[5] R. Larry Shelton (Th.D., Fuller Theological Seminary), “Perfection, Perfectionism,” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd Ed., Paternoster Press, 2001, p. 906.

[6] Robert G. Tuttle Jr. (Ph.D., University of Bristol), “Weslyan Tradition,” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd Ed., Paternoster Press, 2001, p. 1269.

talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.

The history of tongues

Tongues-speaking [1] has occurred since ancient times in both the non-Jewish and non-Christian world.

“In the ancient world, ecstatic utterances, trances, and frenzied behavior were commonly associated with pagan prophets. Eleventh-century B.C. documents record occurrences of ecstatic speech and the like in Egypt. In the Hellenistic world the prophetess of Delphi and the Sibylline priestess spoke in unknown or unintelligible speech. Moreover, the Dionysian rites contained a trancelike state as well as glossolalia. Many of the magicians and sorcerers of the first-century world exhibited similar phenomenon, as is the case of the “spirit of divination” (or possibly ventriloquism) at Philippi in Acts 16:16-18.” [2]

Tongues-speaking has also been reported throughout Church history. In 150 AD, Irenaeus, a Greek father of the early church, wrote “...we hear many of the brethren in the church who have prophetic gifts, and who speak in tongues through the Spirit, and who also bring to light the secret things of men for their benefit...” [3] [4] Tertullian (ca. 155-220) (a Latin father for the early church) also spoke favourably of this gift. [5]

Montanism was a prophetic movement that broke out in Phrigia in Roman Asia Minor (Turkey) around 172AD. It made tongues-speaking a central part of their worship experience. Montanists followed Montanus of Phrygis, who said he was the chosen instrument of the Spirit to prepare the church for the second coming. He taught a strict asceticism, which soon developed into legalism. It was condemned by bishops in Asia and elsewhere. A residual sect persisted in Phrygia for some centuries before it disappeared. [6]

By the middle of the fourth century, the practice seems to have diminished in the West, [7] although Vincent Ferrer and Francis Xavier were missionaries who described their miraculous ability to communicate with various groups as glossolalia, [8] and other examples exist. [9] In addition many believe that in the Eastern church tongues-speaking continued to be practised in Greek Orthodox monasteries throughout the Middle Ages. [10]

At the end of the seventeenth century, widespread tongues-speaking occurred for a little over a decade in southern France among a group of persecuted Huguenots. Similarly, in the 1730s an occurrence of tongues-speaking happened among a group of Catholic pietists, called the Jansenists. [11]

Then in the 1830s until the end of the century, a revival of tongues-speaking occurred in England during the ministry of Edward Irving. After reports that tongues-speaking had occurred in the west of Scotland in the spring of 1830, Irving himself shortly after reported such expressions in his Regent Square Church. Until the end of the century, his followers (Irvingites) made tongues-speaking central to their church life. [12]

The example of the Huguenots and Irvingites then led to similar occurrences in Mother Anne Lee's Shaker movement in England and America, and among the Mormons in America were Joseph Smith's followers in New York, Missouri, and Utah began practising tongues-speaking. [13] Not long after, in the 1850s, a tongues-speaking movement began in Russia that continued throughout the century. [14]

Similarly, beginning around 1860 on the Southern tip of India, through the influence of Plymouth Brethren theology [15] and the leadership of the Indian J.C. Aroolappen a revival of tongues-speaking and prophecy was reported. [16]

In addition to the occurrences of tongues-speaking in 1901 in Topeka and in Los Angeles in 1906-9, it also arose in the Welsh revival in 1904-5. [17]

It seems, then, that tongues-speaking, whether unknown utterances or miraculous gifts of languages have been reported throughout history. However, what makes Pentecostalism unique is that never before has tongues-speaking been given the doctrinal importance that modern Pentecostals gave to it.

“Pentecostals... were the first to give doctrinal primacy to the practice. Though Pentecostals recognize such sporadic instances of tongues-speaking and other charismatic phenomena throughout the Christian era, they stress the special importance of the Azusa Street revival, which occurred in... 1906 to 1909 and launched Pentecostalism as a worldwide movement.” [18]

But to understand why Pentecostals were the first charismatic movement in history to give tongues-speaking theological importance we need to understand the theological roots of Pentecostalism.

That's why in the next article, “Where did Pentecostalism come from?” we'll talk about the theological roots of Pentecostalism.

More on this topic

(PART 1) Where Pentecostalism came from - The theology of John Wesley

How Pentecostalism developed over time

Tongues and Spirit-baptism: What Pentecostals believe

The gift of tongues: What the Scriptures describe

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[1] The Greek word for “tongues” is, glossolalia, meaning “languages.” While the tongues-speaking enabled by the Spirit in Acts 2:4 were identifiable known dialects of countries foreign to the speaker, some think 1 Corinthians 14:2 indicates another type of tongues. This is based upon the view that if “no one understands him” except God, and his words “utter mysteries with his spirit,” then this tongues-speaking is not an actual language, but rather “unknown utterances.” Whether this is a valid reading of this text, this history to tongues-speaking records the reporting of both types of phenomenon (the miraculous gift of languages and speaking unknown utterances).

[2] Grant. R. Osborne (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen), “Tongues, Speaking in,” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd Ed., Paternoster Press, 2001, p. 1206.

[3] Refutation and Overthrow of False Doctrine, p. 174.

[4] Elsewhere Irenaeus said, “When God saw it necessary, and the church prayed and fasted much, they did miraculous things, even of bringing back the spirit to a dead man.”

[5] Grant. R. Osborne (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen), “Tongues, Speaking in,” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd Ed., Paternoster Press, 2001, p. 1207.

[6] David F. Wright (D.D, University of Edinburgh), “Montanism,” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd Ed., Paternoster Press, 2001, p. 790.

[7] Chrysostom (ca. 347-407) was quite negative about it. Augustine (354-430) taught that it had been given only for the New Testament times. However, Luther and Calvin both accepted the continuing validity of tongues, speaking positively of the gift, primarily in terms of missionary preaching. Similarly, John Wesley believed that tongues-speaking was still a valid gift.

[8] Grant. R. Osborne (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen), “Tongues, Speaking in,” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd Ed., Paternoster Press, 2001, p. 1208.

[9] Abbess Hildegard recorded unknown tongues in Lingua Ignota.

[10] Grant. R. Osborne (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen), “Tongues, Speaking in,” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd Ed., Paternoster Press, 2001, p. 1208.

[11] Grant. R. Osborne (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen), “Tongues, Speaking in,” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd Ed., Paternoster Press, 2001, p. 1208.

[12] Ian S. Rennie (Ph.D., University of Toronto), “Irving, Edward,” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd Ed., Paternoster Press, 2001, p. 617-618.

[13] Vinson Synan (Ph.D., University of Georgia), “Pentecostalism”, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd Ed., Paternoster Press, 2001, p. 899.

[14] Grant. R. Osborne (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen), “Tongues, Speaking in,” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd Ed., Paternoster Press, 2001, p. 1208.

[15] They taught a charismatic eschatology which they inherited from Edward Irving. Irving influenced J. N. Darby, a leader in the Brethren movement of the nineteenth-century. Irving taught a charismatic eschatology: that in a period prior to the Second Coming a special “latter-rain” outpouring of the Holy Spirit would occur. Darby became the leader of the exclusive group known as the Plymouth Brethren movement and develop classical dispensationalism, which even more specifically taught that there would be a special time in history for the church in the period just prior to Christ's Second Coming.

[16] Gary B. McGee (Ph.D., Professor of Church History, Chair, Bible and Theology Department at Assemblies of God Theological Seminary), Systematic Theology, Chapter 1 “Historical Background,” Logion Press, 1995, p. 10.

[17] Grant. R. Osborne (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen), “Tongues, Speaking in,” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd Ed., Paternoster Press, 2001, p. 1208.

[18] Vinson Synan (Ph.D., University of Georgia), “Pentecostalism,” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd Ed., Paternoster Press, 2001, p. 899.

talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.

How Pentecostalism began

Pentecostalism traces its conception to a revival at the very beginning of the twentieth-century. In January 1901 Agnes Ozman began to speak in tongues at Bethel Bible School in Topeka, Kansas. Ozman was a student of Charles Fox Parham, a former Methodist preacher and now teacher at Bethel Bible School. Not long after this most of Parham's students – himself included – apparently began speaking in tongues also.

Charles Parham became the origin of Pentecostalism's distinctive teaching. He was the first to insisted on tongues-speaking as the necessary “initial evidence” of Spirit baptism as an experience of the Spirit subsequent to conversion. [1]

Pentecostalism was born with a second much larger revival that followed this five years later. In April 1906, William J. Seymour founded the Apostolic Faith Gospel Mission in Los Angeles and began meetings there. Seymour was a Holiness preacher, and the meetings were held in an abandoned Methodist church at 312 Azusa Street.

Seymour used his platform at Azusa Street to teach that Christians should expect a Spirit baptism accompanied by tongues-speaking as the “initial evidence.” Shortly after tongues-speaking re-occurred at the meetings, and continued for three years until 1909.

News quickly spread overseas and only a year after the opening of the Azusa Street meetings visiting leaders from all over the nation and around the world began returning home with this new teaching, and as a result Pentecostalism began as a worldwide movement.

To understand these events (the origin of Pentecostalism), we need to firstly understand the background to the occurrence of tongues-speaking throughout history.

That's why in the next article we'll talk about “What is the history of tongues?”

More on this topic

Why the origin of Pentecostalism is important

The history of tongues

Why Pentecostalism was successful

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[1] While Pentecostalism now teaches that Spirit baptism is a second work of grace, Parham taught that it was the third (after firstly conversion, and secondly sanctification).

talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Why the origin of Pentecostalism is important

How can we truly understand something as complex as modern Pentecostalism? A complete understanding of Pentecostalism must involve an understanding of its history. And the crucial element within the history of Pentecostalism is its origin. The key to understanding Pentecostalism is understanding the origin of Pentecostalism.

Looking at the origin of Pentecostalism shows us, as well as where it came from, how it originated and why. How did Pentecostalism begin? What is the history of tongues? Where did Pentecostalism come from? Why did Pentecostalism begin?

Answering these questions will enable us to to begin to truly understand both the general characteristics of Pentecostalism and its specific distinctives. Talking Pentecostalism begins by answering not only these questions, but also the questions that spring from them, such as what did early Pentecostals think about themselves and their movement, why was Pentecostalism successful, and how was Pentecostalism shaped.

Here is a brief overview of the topics covered in my articles on the origin of Pentecostalism:

• Pentecostalism began as a worldwide movement when a revival of tongues speaking at the beginning of the twentieth-century attracted international attention. Visitors to the revival carried Pentecostalism’s distinctive theology around the world within just a few years.

• Tongues speaking, whether unknown utterances or miraculous gifts of languages, have been reported throughout history. However, what makes Pentecostalism unique is that never before has tongues speaking been given the doctrinal importance that modern Pentecostals have given to it.

• Pentecostalism has its roots in the eighteenth-century Wesleyan doctrine of 'entire sanctification', which taught that sanctification involves a 'second blessing' as an experience of the Spirit distinct from conversion. Then, in the nineteenth-century, the Irvingites spread a charismatic eschatology which taught that the period prior to the second coming of Christ would see an end-time outpouring of the Spirit, accompanied by a restoration to the Church of the 'sign gifts' such as tongues and healing. Also at this time, Wesleyan doctrine spread to America where it inspired the Holiness movement, which reformed Wesleyan theology on the 'second blessing' by teaching that Spirit-baptism was the second experience to empower Christians for miraculous evangelisation.

• The historical situation at the turn of the nineteenth-century that encouraged the appearance of Pentecostalism was a widespread desire for the gift of tongues for world evangelisation, the desire for a restoration of the 'full gospel', involving Spirit-baptism as a post-conversion experience and the miraculous gifts such as healing, the emphasis on spiritual experiences which involved 'crisis' events, and the theological necessity of an evidence to distinguish those who had received subsequent works of the Spirit from those who had not.

• The origin of Pentecostalism can be understood against the backdrop of a revival of tongues-speaking in Topeka, 1901, after which Charles Parham formulated the doctrine of 'initial evidence': that tongues-speaking is the initial evidence of Spirit baptism, which he understood to be a separate work of the Spirit to conversion and sanctification. Then, when the re-occurrence of tongues speaking at the Azusa Street meetings from 1906-1909 gained a worldwide audience, William Seymour, a former student of Parham, used the revival as a platform to teach this new doctrine of Spirit-baptism. Visitors witnessed first-hand 'evidence' and carried abroad this new teaching.

• Pentecostal thinkers themselves understand their doctrine of tongues-speaking to be unique in church history, and interpret the events surrounding the beginning of the twentieth-century as the end-time restoration of the 'Apostolic faith' in preparation for Christ's return. The practice of tongues-speaking is given doctrinal priority because it distinguishes between those who have received the unique work of Spirit-baptism from those Christians who have not.

• The early decades of the twentieth-century were defining years for Pentecostalism. Dividing controversies arose over the nature of tongues, the nature and number of subsequent works of the Spirit, and the practice of water-baptism. The resolution of these issues accelerated the formation of different Pentecostal denominations, each of which took different doctrinal stances.

The Bible's context and ours

Only an understanding of the message of the Bible itself will enable Christians to evaluate Pentecostalism for themselves. However, just as any one-directional focus leaves us unaware of our blind-spots, so too a unifocus on the Bible, even in its context, without proper consideration to one's own context and the way that inevitably influences our perceptions of the Bible's message, runs the same risk as a swimmer who fails to notice the influence of the current upon his direction: he is bound to end up along way off course.

Nobody can remove the impact our own environment and historical context has upon the way we each interpret the Bible. We comprehend the meaning of any story according to a variety of factors, including the words and phrases used, but also according to our presuppositions, such as where we think the story is heading, for example.

The point is, Christians are readers. We are readers of God's Word, but we must also be readers of ourselves. The most any diligent reader can do is be aware of our influences, and seek to critically assess their effect upon our reading, and by subjecting our ideas and presuppositions to the Scriptures themselves as we read them, undergo a process of continual review and modification of our beliefs, according to how we perceive them to bear up under the evidence regarding the meaning of Scripture, and so increasingly align ourselves with the Scriptures themselves.

For Pentecostals and those influenced by the Charismatic movement, undertanding the origin of Pentecostalism is a part of this process. It will enable you to begin to see the extent to which your reading of the Bible, and of Church history, and of your own life, has been informed by the beliefs of your own Christian culture. Understanding the origin of Pentecostalism will better enable you to distinguish within your own Christianity the way in which your understanding of the Scriptures has been determined by Pentecostalism itself rather than by their Author.

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More on this topic

Defining Pentecostalism

Why talk about Pentecostalism

How Pentecostalism began

talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Pentecostalism's famous five

Pentecostalism is known for its focus on the work of the Holy Spirit. Pentecostals have characteristic beliefs about the Spirit's work that are unique. A distinct view of 'baptism in the Spirit,' including the necessity of 'speaking in tongues,' gave birth to Pentecostalism. Also, an emphasis on the 'gifts of the Spirit' has been an important characteristic of the movement since its origin. In addition, Pentecostalism has developed specific beliefs about the Holy Spirit and 'divine healing' (including 'prosperity'), 'praise and worship' and 'guidance' (or 'revelation').

I call them the famous five:
1 – Baptism in the Spirit (including speaking in tongues)
2 – Gifts of the Spirit (also including speaking in tongues)
3 – Divine Healing and Prosperity
4 – Praise and Worship
5 – Guidance and Revelation

One of the aims of Talking Pentecostalism is to discuss each of these areas in turn in order to understand Pentecostalism better. At each stage we'll also look at the Scriptures themselves in order to understand them better. But the place to begin is by getting Pentecostalism in context. This means understanding its history and particularly its origin.

More on this topic

Defining Pentecostalism
Why the origin of Pentecostalism is important
How Pentecostalism began

talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Defining Pentecostalism: What is a Pentecostal?

A Pentecostal is somebody who is a part of Pentecostalism. So what is 'Pentecostalism'?

A Definition of 'Pentecostalism'

A movement

Pentecostalism is a movement; it is a trend within Christianity of a growing group that share characteristic beliefs and goals. The Charismatic movement is the influence of Pentecostalism among mainline church denominations. Though there are thousands of Pentecostal denominations worldwide, such as the Assemblies of God, the Apostolic Church and the Full Gospel Church, the Charismatic movement has shown that Pentecostalism transcends denominations.

A modern movement

Pentecostalism is also a modern movement because it emerged only recently in modern history. Its definite origin and unique theology distinguishes it from other movements in history, such as Montanism (a prophetic movement of the second century), that although similar, did not possess the doctrinal distinctives of Pentecostalism. Pentecostalism has a characteristic doctrinal teaching concerning “baptism with the Spirit”1 (or “Spirit baptism” for short) which is unique from any other past movement in history.

A reformation movement

Pentecostalism is also a reformation movement because it seeks to reform certain doctrines and practices of the past by its influence in the present. Pentecostalism not only began by reforming various doctrines of the past, but still today one of the goals of this movement is the continuing reformation of the church in these areas.

“It bears strong commonalities with evangelical doctrines while testifying to long-neglected truths about the work of the Holy Spirit...”2

A restoration movement

Pentecostalism is a restoration movement. It began with a belief that in its origin God was restoring New Testament Christianity to the church today by bringing a discovery and recovery of certain truths and experiences of the Spirit. And now by virtue of its rapid growth and huge worldwide influence, Pentecostalism today is increasingly bringing such a 'restoration' to the church because of the way it is “reshaping Christianity in the twenty-first century.”3

"Thus far the twentieth-century Pentecostal movement has succeeded in restoring the experiential dimension of the Spirit's dynamic presence to a significant segment of the church. Pentecostals believe that recovery of the doctrine and experience of being baptized in the Holy Spirit is comparable to the Reformation's recovery of the doctrine of justification by faith."4

A charismatic movement

Pentecostalism is also a charismatic movement because it characteristically emphasises the working and gifts of the Spirit,5 with a special focus on baptism with the Spirit, the gift of tongues and the other spiritual gifts of 1 Corinthians 12:8-10.

A unique charismatic movement

Pentecostalism is a movement with a distinctive doctrine of Pentecost that makes it unique among other charismatic movements in history. What makes Pentecostalism unique from other charismatic movements is its distinctive doctrine of Spirit baptism, and the priority this gives to the gifts of the Spirit, particularly the gift of tongues. This comes from a particular reading of the Pentecost events: Acts 2 when baptism with the Spirit was first given to Jews, and Acts 8, 10 and 19 when it was repeated among Samaritans, Gentiles and some of John's disciples. Pentecostalism teaches that baptism with the Spirit is a post-conversion experience of empowerment for supernatural Christian living, with “speaking in tongues”6 as the initial physical evidence.

Putting it all together

Pentecostalism may be defined as a modern charismatic reformation movement with a distinctive theology of Spirit baptism that gives doctrinal priority to the gift of tongues.

However this definition does not include the fact that Pentecostalism also refers at times to a separate theological system with its own distinctive method, doctrines and practices.7

More on this topic

Why talk about Pentecostalism

The famous five

Why the origin of Pentecostalism is important

Baptism in the Spirit: What Pentecostals believe

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1 Baptism “in” or “with” the Spirit are synonymous terms. However baptism “by” or “of” the Spirit are misleading translations, because the Scriptures repeatedly indicate that this baptism was given by Jesus, not by the Spirit; that is, it is the baptism of Jesus, as opposed to the baptism of John – it was a baptism with the Spirit, or in the Spirit, as opposed to John's baptism that was with water, or in water. However, since Acts 2 and the OT Scriptures refer to this baptism as being a “pouring out” of the Spirit by Jesus, as opposed to an “immersion in” the Spirit, the translation “baptism with the Spirit” is the most appropriate.
2 Gary B. McGee (Ph.D., Professor of Church History, Chair, Bible and Theology Department at Assemblies of God Theological Seminary), Systematic Theology, Chapter 1 “Historical Background”, Logion Press, 1995, p. 9.
3 Harvey Cox, Harvard University.
4 John W. Wyckoff (Ph.D., Professor of Bible and Theology, Chair, Church Ministries Division at Southwestern Assemblies of God College), Systematic Theology, Chapter 13 “The Baptism in the Holy Spirit”, Logion Press, 1995, p. 454.
5 “Charismatic” comes from the Greek word, charismata, meaning “gifts.”
6 While the Greek word for “tongues” (glossolalia) is literally “languages”, Pentecostals base their practice of tongues-speaking on ideas in 1 Corinthians 14, where the practice may not be associated with known languages. The use of this word in Pentecostalism is almost synonymous for “unknown utterances.”
7 Examples of different theological systems are Calvinism and Arminianism, or Protestantism and Catholicism.

talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Reasons for talking Pentecostalism

Why talk about Pentecostalism? Because Pentecostalism will 'reshape Christianity in the twenty-first century.' So says Harvey Cox of Harvard University.1 Vinson Synan of the University of Georgia has said, “The Pentecostal and charismatic movements have become the most vigorous and fastest-growing family of Christians in the world”. Since 1980 Pentecostals have been the largest family of Protestants in the world, not including the charismatic Pentecostals in the traditional mainline churches. Since 1995 the global number of Pentecostals and Charismatics have made them the second largest family of Christians in the world, after the Roman Catholicism. More recent figures have indicated that today there would be over half a billion Pentecostals and Charismatics worldwide.

The sheer size and the enormous growth rate of the Pentecostal movement alone means that Pentecostalism will affect everybody in one way or another, whether direcly or indirectly. But not only are numbers up, Pentecostal thinking is also increasingly widespread. This is a movement, not primarily interested in record statistics, but seeking a radical transformation of Christian thinking. Today's leading Pentecostals have acknowledged the goal of the Pentecostal movement as a universal transformation of the church, both theologically and practically. John W. Wyckoff has articulated this motive clearly:

"Thus far the twentieth-century Pentecostal movement has succeeded in restoring the experiential dimension of the Spirit's dynamic presence to a significant segment of the church. Pentecostals believe that recovery of the doctrine and experience of being baptized in the Holy Spirit is comparable to the Reformation's recovery of the doctrine of justification by faith."2

Therefore, Christians need to understand Pentecostalism, not only because of an increasing number of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians in our midst, but also because the stated goal of the movement is an intentional change to traditional Christian thought. (See Defining Pentecostalism.)

People need to understand Pentecostalism in order to be aware of its affect on their own Christianity, or to their view of Christianity. Coupled with understanding the Scriptures themselves, understanding Pentecostalism is the best way to ensure you are responding rightly to this new influence in Christian history.

More on this topic

Welcome to Talking Pentecostalism

Defining Pentecostalism

The Famous Five

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1 Vinson Synan (Ph.D., University of Georgia), “Pentecostalism”, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd Ed., Paternoster Press, 2001, p. 902.
2 John W. Wyckoff (Ph.D., Professor of Bible and Theology, Chair, Church Ministries Division at Southwestern Assemblies of God College), Systematic Theology, Chapter 13 “The Baptism in the Holy Spirit”, Logion Press, 1995, p. 454.

talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Welcome to the discussion

Today Pentecostalism is arguably the most influencial movement in 21st-century Christianity. As the fastest growing movement in the world, it's not surprising that widespread understanding of Pentecostalism has not kept up. Few Christians themselves really understand Pentecost, much less society at large. In fact, most charismatic Christians as well as Pentecostals show a very limited understanding of their own movement. Few understand its history; its origin and development. Few understand its doctrines; the distinctive emphases that make Pentecostalism unique as a Christian movement. And that's the reason for Talking Pentecostalism.

Talking Pentecostalism should be helpful reading for anybody. Christian or not, this site will help you to gain a better understanding of not just Pentecostalism itself, but Christian spirituality in particular. Most of my readers come via Google, with questions raised by Pentecostalism, or questions about Pentecost and the charismatic movement. You may be a Pentecostal Christian, or not. You may be a friend or a relative of a charismatic Christian. Whatever your relationship to Pentecostalism, this blog is for you.

Having said this, my articles are written with a Christian audience specifically in mind. Talking Pentecostalism encourages all Christians to think and talk about one of the most significant changes that has occurred in the Church in recent history. I believe in the importance of reading and thinking and talking to one another through the Scriptures as they bare on the developments in the Christian culture of our time, as well as the changes that have preceded us and look to continue into the future. Of critical importance, I want Pentecostals themselves to understand their own movement in light of the Scriptures.

But I'd love this blog to do even more than that. I pray that as we talk about Pentecostalism and history, Christianity and culture, the Bible and Jesus Christ, we will grow in our knowledge of God as he reveals himself through the pages of the Bible. I believe that the Bible is the Word of God. I also believe that the message of the Bible points the spot light, not on the Holy Spirit and his gifts and work in Christians, but centre stage belongs to God himself as glorified by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ for God and for his people. "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever!" (Romans 11:36).

I encourage you, begin the dialogue towards understanding as we talk Pentecostalism.

Welcome to my blog. Hope you enjoy.

Joe Towns (July 2008)

More on this topic

Why talk about Pentecostalism

Defining Pentecostalism

The famous five

talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.