Pentecostalism

Pentecostalism is a spiritual Christian revivalist movement that began within Protestantism and was also accepted by the Roman Catholic Church in the Second Vatican Council. Pentecostalism is generally not regarded as Protestant, however. The movement consists of a focus on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles as described in the Acts of the Apostles and Pentecostals strive to embrace that same spirituality on a weekly or daily basis these days. In sum, Pentecostalism consists of becoming a messenger for the Holy Spirit in modern times. Adherents seek gifts of prophecy and healing, and sometimes speak in different or unrecognized tongues.

Supporters of the movement cite as an obstacle to participation a distrust or diffidence towards the Holy Spirit's ability to achieve today what was accomplished in the first century A.D. Like Methodists, Pentecostals emphasize the necessity of a revival in the church. Their theology is strongly influenced by Arminianism.

The main Pentecostal denomination is the Assemblies of God. Others include the Full Gospel church.

History

Almost all of the world's half billion Pentecostals and charismatics trace their roots to William Seymour (1870-1922), who held electrifying revivals in 1906 at the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles. This revival was marked by great emotional excitement, relatively brief interracial harmony, and an obsession with speaking in tongues and healing. It was touched off by the preaching of Seymour, an African American who had absorbed the teachings of Charles F. Parham in Texas.

However the origins go back further. Baer (2001) explores the significance of ideas of divine healing to the emergence of Pentecostalism from the radical holiness movement in the late 19th century. The careers and ministries of Maria B. Woodworth-Etter, John A. Dowie, and Charles F. Partham all demonstrate a commitment to notions of divine healing, where faith and belief in Christ and his atoning sacrifice on the cross could bring about a complete healing of the body and the soul.

Pentecostalists participated in a broader evangelical culture in which divine healing was a key element in a program that could include ecstatic religiosity and a belief in Christ's imminent return. Newspapers reported the purported healings of these three ministers in revival meetings during the 1880s-1900s.

Aimee Semple McPherson was an important factor in the spread of Pentecostalism in the first half of the 20th century. Although she always identified herself as Canadian, she built her temple in Los Angeles, from which she hoped to evangelize the world. Before settling down in 1923, however, she experienced unnerving success as a faith healer. Never comfortable with the role, not least of all because she was committed to saving souls, not bodies, McPherson attempted during her secluded final decade to devise a theory of faith healing. Although still celebrated by her followers as a prophet and a healer, she expressed discomfort with both these roles. Physically exhausted, she died in 1944 at the age of 54 from a drug overdose.

The Italian Canadian Pentecostal movement began in 1913 among a group of Presbyterian converts in Hamilton, Ontario. From here missionary work spread the movement to other Italian communities in Canada, including Toronto and Montreal. These Italian Pentecostals emphasized biblical fundamentalism, personal conversion, and an independent organizational structure but differed from other Pentecostals in their commitment to Italian identity and tradition. The emphasis on Italian language and community and missionary efforts directed toward other Italians combined with the sometimes unconscious incorporation of Old World traditions set the Italian Canadian Pentecostals apart from both other Italians and the Pentecostal movement in general.

Women played a major role in the Pentecostal revival movement from the 1900s to the 1940s, founding denominations, preaching, and occasionally acting as pastors. As Pentecostalism aligned itself with mainstream evangelicalism after World War II, women's leadership declined.

Further reading

• Baer, Jonathan R. "Redeemed Bodies: The Functions Of Divine Healing In Incipient Pentecostalism." Church History 2001 70(4): 735-771. in JSTOR
• Blumhofer, Edith L. Restoring the Faith: The Assemblies of God, Pentecostalism, and American Culture. U. of Illinois Press, 1993. 281 pp. A major schiolarly study.
• Crowe, Terrence Robert. Pentecostal Unity: Recurring Frustration and Enduring Hopes. Chicago: Loyola U. Press, 1993. 282 pp.
• McGee, Gary B. 'This Gospel . . . Shall Be Preached': A History and Theology of Assemblies of God Foreign Missions since 1959. Springfield, Mo.: Gospel, 1990. 358 pp.
• Poloma, Margaret M. The Assemblies of God at the Crossroads: Charisma and Institutional Dilemmas. U. of Tennessee Pr., 1989. 309 pp. scholarly study
• Stephens, Randall J. "The Convergence of Populism, Religion, and the Holiness-Pentecostal Movements: A Review of the Historical Literature." Fides Et Historia 2000 32(1): 51-64.