jepta 2005 25 - European Pentecostal Theological Association

Transcription

Editorial
1
Contents Page
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Editorial......................................................................................................... 1
Power and Empowerment in the political context of South Africa ...... 3
Apostolic Networks in the UK: the dynamics of growth ..................... 22
Charismatic experience and psychological type: an empirical enquiry
.............................................................................................................. 36
‘
The
r
ei
sPowe
ri
nt
heBl
ood’–................................................................ 53
The Role of the Blood of Jesus in the Spirituality of Early British
Pentecostalism. .................................................................................. 53
The Spirit and Creation: Possibilities and Challenges for a Dialogue
between Pentecostal Theology and the Sciences........................... 81
Editorial
Welcome to the 2005 edition of JEPTA. This is a new start for us, as we
will explain. First, however, thanks are due to Dr Keith Warrington for ably
steering the Journal through the 1990s. He took it on in 1993 and has
consistently edited it since then. Before him Jean-Daniel Plüss was the editor
and before him we were indebted to Don Smeeton whose pioneering work
began the whole enterprise. In those days and until 1996, the Journal existed
as the EPTA Bulletin but, from 1997 we became, with a conscious move
towards solidity and permanence, the Journal of the European Pentecostal
Theological Association.
Although we function as the Journal of a European association, our scope
is much wider and embraces global issues and global Pentecostalism.
Contributors in the current issue include Nico Horn who writes about
Pentecostal churches in South Africa and Amos Yong from the USA who
writes about the connections that might exist between pneumatology and
scientific methods. We want to continue to be loyal to both our European
origins and our wider intuitions. Book reviews will take into account texts
published in any part of the world if we feel they have a bearing on
Pentecostalism as a whole.
But this is a new beginning in another way since we have now agreed to
work with Paternoster, an important British publisher, to give us a much
greater professionalism in the production and distribution of the Journal.
We have agreed to move from one issue a year to two issues per year from
the start of 2006, and this gives us a better chance of covering topical subjects
as well as of carrying longer articles as the need arises. You will have
JEPTA 25 2005
2
noticed that there are adjustments to the price and the subscription system
as a consequence of these changes. We are convinced that, like other
Pentecostal journals (Pneuma, the Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies, and the
Journal of Pentecostal Theology) we need to demonstrate academic competence
and professionalism in the service of burgeoning Pentecostal and
charismatic studies.
Our intention is that articles will be routinely peer-reviewed and because
of this standards will continue to rise. Over the coming year we plan to put
in place an international editorial panel of reviewers to guarantee quality
and therefore value for money.
We plan to retain our orientation to theological training within Europe
and we intend that the Journal should be of benefit to all kinds of
institutions offering this sort of training. In this connection we plan to
review books associated with Pentecostal history and education, to include
papers on these subjects and also to include news items where timescales
permit this. For instance, we are glad to draw attention to the European
Re
s
e
ar
c
hNe
t
wor
kongl
obalPe
nt
e
c
os
t
al
i
s
m’
sc
onf
e
r
e
nc
eduet
ot
akepl
ac
eat
the University of Birmingham, England, January 19-21, 2006.
Yet our primar
yc
onc
e
r
ni
st
opubl
i
s
h good pape
r
s
,and by‘
good’we
mean scholarly, relevant, innovative, incisive, thoughtful, thoughtprovoking, research-based and useful. Broadly speaking, we are happy to
engage with theory (whether this is theological, historical or
methodological) and practice (whether this is ecclesiastical, educational or
social). In keeping with current developments in the academic world we
wi
l
lac
c
e
pti
nt
e
r
di
s
c
i
pl
i
nar
yar
t
i
c
l
e
saswe
l
lasar
t
i
c
l
e
st
hatar
e‘
pur
e
’hi
s
t
or
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or‘
pur
e
’t
he
ol
ogy.
William K Kay
University of Wales, Bangor
THE JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN PENTECOSTAL THEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION 26/2005 2
N. Horn, Power and Empowerment in South Africa
3
Power and Empowerment in the
political context of South Africa
Nico Horn
Paper presented at the joint EPTA/EPCRA Conference, Bueggen Castle,
Rheinfelden, Germany, 1 April 2005
Iwant
e
dt
ounde
r
s
t
andHanna’
sc
r
ime and to condemn it. But it was
too terrible for that. When I tried to understand it, I had the feeling that
I was failing to condemn it as it must be con-demned. When I
condemned it as it must be condemned, there was no room for
understanding. But even as I wanted to understand Hanna, failing to
understand her meant betraying her all over again. I could not resolve
this. I wanted to pose myself both tasks –understanding and condemnation. But it was impossible to do both.
Michael in The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
1. Politics and Empowerment: The Early Years
The Pentecostal movement in South Africa started out as extremely
exclusivist. There was a clear distinction between the church and the world.
Someone who backslid, became worldly, so did a church member who wore
make-up, curled her hair or played hockey. Watching football or rugby or
going to the movies, were all worldly acts,1 not to mention drinking a beer or
a glass of wine, or smoking a cigarette2.
Politics was initially part of the taboo. Light and darkness had nothing in
common. Empowerment of the Holy Spirit had nothing to do with society.
Thi
swor
l
dwasunde
rGod’
swr
at
hanywayandde
s
t
i
ne
df
orde
s
t
r
uc
t
i
on,
together with all other evil. So, why try to reform or transform it?
Pentecostals saw political change as irrelevant at best or even contrary to
God’
s pl
ans and t
hus c
ount
e
r
-productive. The eschatological Darbyist
expectation of an immanent rapture, demanded chaos and evil to take over
before Christ will return.
1
As late as 1984, when I pastored a church in the industrial town of Uitenhage in the
eastern Cape, most of these taboos were still theoretically adhered to, although many
2
The Constitution of the Apostolic FaithMi
s
s
i
onoft
he1
99
0’
spr
ohi
bi
t
e
danyonewhous
e
s
alcohol or tobacco to serve on a church board.
JEPTA 25 2005
4
Consequently the power of the Holy Spirit and the empowerment of the
believer operated in a restrictive personal domain of gifts, holiness and
witnessing to the world.
Mervin van der Spuy is of the opinion that these taboos had, among other
things, a specific social purpose. Since the early Pentecostals were poor and
lived on the edges of society, they could not afford the worldly pleasures
anyway and like most destitute people, had no faith in the socio-political
structures of society. By placing these structures and activit
i
e
si
nt
hede
vi
l
’
s
domain, Pentecostals felt superior rather than deprived for not being part of
it.
The Pentecostal lifestyle soon brought unexpected results. Their work
ethic, sober customs and determination to prove themselves, soon resulted
in second and third generation Pentecostals going to university3, getting
involved and excelling in worldly activities such as organised sport4, drama
and debate societies and even the entertainment industry5.
2. The Unwritten Agenda: Early Pentecostals and Human
Rights Issues
The “c
o
meo
uta
mo
ngs
tt
he
m”- theology was nevertheless totally different
from the conservative middle class bourgeois mainline churches of its time.
The early Pentecostal movement was a movement of the people. It cared
for the poor, it denied the extreme claims nationalism laid on citizens –
especially the right of the State to engage Christians in war, and it knew no
racial barriers.
The Pentecostal Movement took root in South Africa in a black church in
Doornfontein, Johannesburg.6 There, despite British colonial and Boer
segregation practices, white and black worshipped together.
3
The AFM established a scholarship fund in the fifties to enable poor Pentecostal children
to go to university. The fund was controversial, since many of the graduates eventually left
the church under societal pressure. The study fund was one of the reasons that lead to a
spit in the AFM.
4
In 1953 a young Pentecostal, Daantjie Roussouw, played two tests for the South African
rugby team, the Springboks, before his leaders in the Latter Rain Movement (a group that
s
pl
i
t
t
e
df
r
om t
heAFM i
n19
2
5)c
onvi
nc
e
dhi
mt
o“c
omeoutf
r
om a
mongs
tt
he
m”.
5
The controversial evangelist, Jimmy Swaggart told the story of Pentecostals entertainers
who either left the flock to join the rock an roll revival, or resisted the temptation (like
hi
ms
e
l
f
)
,onmanyofhi
swi
de
l
ydi
s
t
r
i
but
e
dt
ape
sandvi
nylr
e
c
or
dsoft
he1
9
70
’
s
.
Swaggart, J. Date not mentioned (1975?) No Crown without a Cross, Baton Rouge, Jim
Records.
6
Burger, I. 1988 Geloofsgeskiedenis van die Apostoliese Geloofsending van Suid-Afrika
1908 –1958. Johannesburg, Evangelie Uitgewers.
5
A similar pattern was experienced in Los Angeles two years earlier. One
of the early eye witnesses of the movement commented that the color line was
washed away in the blood.7
Even more miraculous, the whites came to be prayed for by Seymour and
his black co-workers. No wonder that Walter Hollenweger, retired
missiologist, and lifelong researcher of Pentecostal history and practice, calls
the non-racialism of the initial period the real miracle and most significant
development in spirituality rather than the phenomenon of speaking in
tongues.8
In the same radical way, the early South African Pentecostals were
pacifists. And their pacifism was not of the other worldly, highly spiritual
type. It was deeply grounded in their understanding of the gospel.9
This radical pacifism, grounded deeply in the rights of the ordinary
people, was the most prominent theological position on war until the end of
World War II. For the first forty years the leaders and church government
constantly objected to the injustice of war, the abuse of the little people and
the senselessness of violence and wars to settle disputes.10
The vision and radical stance of the young movement is even more
impressive if one bears in mind that it pre-dated the human rights
movement with almost fifty years. They recognised the ugly face of war and
r
ac
i
s
ml
ong be
f
or
et
hede
vas
t
at
i
ng e
f
f
e
c
t
sofHi
t
l
e
r
’
sThi
r
d Re
i
c
h hi
tt
he
international community with the horrors of the holocaust and World War
II.
While the early Pentecostals in South Africa did not think of the
empowerment of the Spirit in the social sphere, and their spontaneous
crossing of racial borders convinced missiologist Christo de Wet that it was
7
Bartleman, F, Azusa Street. The Roots of Modern Day Pentecost, (Logos International,
Plainfield, 1980).
8
‘
Pr
i
or
i
t
i
e
si
nPe
nt
e
c
os
t
alRe
s
e
ar
c
h’
,
or
alpr
e
s
e
nt
at
i
onatt
heConf
e
r
e
nc
eonPe
nt
e
c
os
t
aland
Charismatic Research in Europe, in Utrecht, June 1989.
9
Le Roux, P L., Vragen en Antwoorden, in De Trooster/ The Comforter,
Johannesburg , March , 19 2 1 , 2 .
10
See for example Oorlog en Militere diens. Ons houding en sienswyse volgens Skrif,
(author unknown), Comforter, August. /Sept. 1939, 5 -7. The author was either the
president, P L Le Roux , or the general secretary, David du Plessis, who had the
authority from the executive to act and write articles on behalf of the church. Since Du
Plessis was the editor of the Comforter, and in the light of the fact that the name of Le Roux
was explicitly mentioned in other contributions, Du Plessis is the more possible candidate,
Du Plessis (Mr. Pentecost) later became well-known for his ecumenical contact with the
Roman Catholic Church and the World Council o f Churches. On the other hand, the
content sounds much like the early articles of Le Roux.
JEPTA 25 2005
nothing short of a miraculous intervention of the Holy Spirit.
can be said about their strong stance against war.
6
11
The same
3. Power and Empowerment to change society
After World War II white Pentecostals in South Africa were no longer people
living on the fringes of society. They had the numbers and the influential
members to make a difference, if only they were allowed to do so.
In white South Africa the Dutch Reformed Church did not only dictate
political development by convincing the government to implement the
apartheid policies, it also guarded the Calvinist foundations of society by
vigorously opposing pornography, Sunday sport and commercial activities
on Sundays, and heretical religious movements like the Roman danger
(Roomse gevaar) and the Pentecostal movement.
The fifties throughout to the eighties were marked by an endeavour by
the Pentecostal movement to gain the acceptance of society. As the members
climbed the social ladder, more dramatic changes entered the movement.
In the period immediately after the war the AFM underwent several
drastic changes, its attitude towards war and politics being two of the
most important. The changes were spearheaded by an unofficial group
of young pastors, commonly called the New Order12, who wanted to
improve the image of the AFM in society. The new order was
personified by two prominent pastors, G R Wessels, who became vicepresident of the AFM in 1943 at the young age of thirty , and JT Du
Plessis who became pastor of Krugersdorp in 1946 and member of the
executive in 1949.
An important breakthrough came for the New Order when the Workers
Council of 1947 accepted a motion that Dingaans Day (the Day of the
Covenant) will in future be celebrated as a day of thanksgiving and a
Sabbath, together with Christmas and Good Friday .13 The Day of the
11
De Wet, C. The Apostolic Faith Mission in Africa: 1908-1980. A Case Study in Church
Growth in a Segregated Society, (Unpublished PH.D. dissertation, University of Cape
Town, Cape Town, 1989).
12
There might have been political significance in the name. During World War II Oswald
Pirow, a former minister of justice in the Hertzog cabinet, turned his back on the
democratic institutions and formed a neo-Nazi movement called the New Order. However,
the written sources make no mention of any link whatsoever between the two New Orders
and all the people that I have consulted, see the similarity as a coincidence. It must be
noted the while the New Order of Pirow was a organized movement, the New Order
within the AFM had no constitution, held no formal meetings, had no office bearers, etc.
13
Minutes of the Workers Council of the AFM of SA, April, 1 1947, AFM Archives,
Lyndhurst
7
Covenant celebrates the victory of the Voortrekkers, against the Zulu nation
in 1838. The Voortrekkers were Boer rebels who explored the northern and
eastern parts of southern Africa to escape British rule in the Cape colony.
The New Order quickly gained momentum under the leadership of vicepresident G R Wessels , general secretary, A J Schoeman and JT Du
Plessis In a letter to Prime Minister J G Strydom in 1956 asking him to
appoint G R Wessel as a senator, Pastor Du Plessis states that the AFM
has not been the bearer of Afrikaner culture. He adds that GR Wessels,
his brother David du Plessis14 and others have done important work to
incorporate the AFM into the national life of the Afrikaner and concludes:
Today, thank God, the AFM is a pure Afrikaner church.15
In a personal letter to a reformed theological student in 1951 JT du
Plessis raises the issues again. He condemns the earlier apolitical stance
of the AFM, the general lack of an attachment to the "volk" (nation)
and the ideal o f liberal bilingualism.16
The influence of the New Order can be seen very clearly in the drastic
changes that took place in both the attitudes and the practices of the church
since 1946. Burger, president and does not subscribe the changes to the
influence of the New Order. He nevertheless calls it times of many changes. 17
The old sect image of the AFM was a great embarrassment for the New
Order. They worked hard to gain the right for the pastors of the church to
preach on the Afrikaans language station state-controlled radio, a privilege
that was reserved for the three reformed churches, the so-called sister
churches. To attain this goal, it was important for the church to rid itself of
the anti-church attitudes of the Pentecostal movement.18
Fort
heSout
hAf
r
i
c
anPe
nt
e
c
os
t
al
soft
he1950’
sempowerment meant state
recognition, the right of pastors to broadcast worship services and devotions
on national radio and the right to have full time pastors appointed as
chaplains in the South African Defence Force to serve the spiritual needs of
14
This reference to David du Plessis (later known as Mr. Pentecost) as one of the
sympathizers of the ideals of the New Order is unclear. Du Plessis resigned as general
secretary of the AFM and left the country immediately after the war - at least five years
before the New Order and their ideals was known. There is no evidence in the minutes of
the executive council, in the articles written by Du Plessis or the editions of the Comforter
that he edited, that David du Plessis supported the rise of Afrikaner nationalism.
15
Du Plessis, JT, Letter to Prime Minister JG Strydom, date unclear, possibly 1956.
Handwritten copy in the AFM Archives, Lyndhurst, Johannesburg.
16
Du Plessis, JT, Letter to JJ van der Linde, 27 Sept., 1957, AFM Archives, Lyndhurst.
17
Burger, op.cit., 130
18
ibid. 297 ff.
JEPTA 25 2005
8
the Pentecostal drafters and conscripts. By then there were no conscientious
objectors left in the South African Pentecostal movement.
The traditional Pentecostal liturgy with its informality, loud clapping and
even dancing, was another source of embarrassment for the New Order and
their followers in the AFM. The New Order wanted to maintain the
charismatic gifts like healing, prophecy and even speaking in tongues, but
they wanted to conduct their religious services in an orderly fashion.19 In
practice it meant that the assemblies pastored by the New Order moved
closely to the liturgy of the reformed churches. In a personal letter to one
Abeline Schoeman, a young Pentecostal lady studying at an Afrikaans
university, Justus du Plessis compared the liturgy and theology of the older
Pentecostals with good medicine packaged in a container used for poison.
In other words, the message is good, but the presentation needs to change.20
It was, however, in the attitude of the church towards the government
that the biggest changes took place. While the AFM has never been a
reactionary church, unlike the other Afrikaans-speaking churches, it
overwhelmingly supported the old liberal, multi-cultural United Party and
not the reactionary National Party of the Afrikaners.
According to GR Wessels, later vice-president of the AFM and National
Party senator, in 1937 he was the only supporter of the National Party on the
executive.21 The support was nevertheless limited to voting and moral
support since the Pentecostals of that era did not believe in active political
participation.
Consequently, the church was able to keep a critical distance and an own
opinion on important matters like military service and insemination.22
Burger correctly links the acceptance of combatant service with this new
attitude towards government.23
It is clear that the New Order did not stay clear of party politics. On the
contrary, it soon became clear that they had a definite political agenda. They
soon involved the church very deep in the political ideology of the National
Party. As early as 1952 Pastor GR Wessels joined forces with the government
in their then popular fight against communism. He preached advertised
sermons against communism in hall all over the country. These meetings
drew big crowds and Wessels became a well-known figure. 24
19
See Burger, op. cit., 316 ff.
Letter to Abeline Schoeman, date unreadable. Handwritten letter in the AFM Archives.
21
Quoted in Burger, op. cit., 325.
22
ibid.
23
ibid. 310.
24
ibid. 326.
20
9
The new image that the New Order brought did no go unchallenged. In
July 1953 (the first time that the National Party fought an election since it
became the governing party in 1948 by promising the white electorate that it
will implement apartheid) a member complained in the Trooster (Comforter)
that Pastor Wessels is using the communist thread to make propaganda for
the National Party from the pulpit. 25
Although Pastor Wessels rejected the allegations that he had political
motives, he remained a controversial figure. In 1955 Prime Minister JG
Strydom appointed him as senator in the extended senate. 26 The politics of
Pastor Wessels and the New Order, together with their liturgical reforms
and their attitudes towards the mainline churches and the government,
eventually resulted in the breakaway of a section of the church to start the
Pentecostal Protestant Church in 1958.
The new relationship between the AFM and the government had to result
in the end of the official pacifist position of the AFM. However, it is just fair
to point out that the question of combatant service was never an issue
between the Old and New Order. At least one of the prominent pastors of the
Pentecostal Protestant Church, Pieter Snyman, was a veteran of World War
II. Like the AFM, the new Pentecostal movement from the outset allowed its
members to participate in combatant military service.
But the fact that the AFM aligned itself especially with the National
Par
t
y’
sf
i
ghtagai
ns
t"
c
ommuni
s
m"- which meant almost any anti-apartheid
s
t
andi
nt
he1950’
s- made it extremely difficult, if not impossible to remain
pacifist. A church who sees communism as a major threat to its future
existence, will find it very difficult not to be willing to defend the future of
the church with the sword.
4. The Pentecostals and Reform
It is generally accepted that the Afrikaans-speaking churches in South Africa
only changed their racial attitudes after the National Party had decided to
25
Letter in Trooster (Comforter), July, 1953, 20.
2
Strydom extended the senate to enable the National Party to get a /3 majority in both
houses of Parliament. The Nationalists needed the majority to change the Constitution by
removing the so-c
al
l
e
dc
ol
our
e
dsf
r
om t
hec
ommonvot
e
r
’
sr
ol
l
.Bya
l
l
owi
ngpas
t
.
We
s
s
e
l
s
to remain a pastor and vice president in the church, the AFM became an active partner in
the implementation of apartheid by robbing so-called coloureds (many of them AFM
members) from their constitutional right to vote.
26
JEPTA 25 2005
10
follow the path of reform. Reform in the AFM started in 1974 when the AFM
office bearers met the executive council of the so-called coloured church in
Bloemfontein. At that historical meeting both parties decided that a united
27
church is the only option for the future. The Erica Theron Commission that
was appointed by the government to investigate the social and political
future of the so-called coloured people started its work at more or less the
same time. The commission brought out its report in the second half of 1976,
while the white workers council of the AFM decided in March 1976 in
28
principle to become one with the so-called coloured church.
In the following years there was always a close link between the reform of
the government and the reform agenda of the AFM. When Prime Minister
Vorster decided to include the Indians in his reform program, the AFM did
not hesitate to follow. Between 1977 and 1985 the white section and several
joint commissions made several unity proposals closely related to the
29
tricameral ideas of government, which were constantly rejected by the so30
called coloured workers council.
One of the positive aspects of the years of reform was that the AFM white
section officially recognized blacks, coloureds and Indians as members of the
31
church. The full implications of this decision was never tested, but it
possibly means that all the sections should have an equal share in the legal
personality, which were administered by the white section until the
27
Louw, J. Personal Notes, Nov. 14-15, 1977 (now in possession of the author, Windhoek,
p.1)
28
Du Plessis, J. Letter to the Secretary, AFM, Coloured Section, undated, possibly
March/April, 1976. (Copy in possession of author.)
29
The Tricameral Parliament of South Africa consists of three separate houses for whites,
so-called coloureds and Indians, each being represented proportionally. However, the
majority party in the white house remains intact since the different houses votes
separately, even during joint sessions. No provisions are made for black (African)
participation.
30
Se
eJ
.
Louw,‘
Ve
r
houdi
ngeBl
anke
nkl
e
ur
l
i
nge
:nOor
s
i
g’
,unpubl
i
s
he
dr
e
por
tpr
e
s
e
nt
e
d
to the AFM Coloured Section Workers Council, date not mentioned, possibly early in the
19
8
0’
sf
ors
omeoft
he
s
epr
opos
al
s
.
Copyi
npos
s
e
s
s
i
on of author.
31
Circulated Minutes of the Workers Council of the AFM of S.A., 7-11 of April 1981, p.10.
Anderson is wrong when he asserts that the blacks only became members of the church in
t
he19
9
0’
s
.Se
eAnde
r
s
on,
A.
‘
Pe
nt
e
c
os
t
al
sandApar
t
he
i
di
nSout
hAfrica during Ninety
Years 1908 –19
9
8’
,
i
nHunt
e
rH (
e
d)
.Cyberjournal for Pentecostal-Charismatic Research,
http//wwww.pctii.org/cyber/cyberj9/Anderson.html, accessed on 21 March 2005.
11
implementation of the new constitution of 1991.32 In 1983 the white section
also decided to open its membership to all races.33
The first meaningful movement towards structural unity took place in
1986 when all the sections of the AFM accepted a Declaration of Intent in
which the church clearly rejected apartheid:
The AFM of S.A. affirms its acceptance of the Biblical
principles of unity;
The AFM of S.A. rejects a system of apartheid based on racial
discrimination as a principle in the Kingdom of God and the
structures of the church;
The AFM of S.A. accepts the principle that the church should
function as a single structure, based on the mentioned principles;
The AFM of S.A. agrees that worship and membership of the
church should be based on spontaneous grouping of believers.34
In Sept. 1990 the three black sections (coloured, African and Indian) gave
expression to the declaration by merging. The unity is still very artificial
since all the former sections of the composite section still function, though
with limited powers, while a Presbiterium consisting of the office bearers of
each church, is responsible for the joint administration of the composite
section. In April 1991 the workers council of the white or single section
accepted a new constitution, allowing corporate administration of the legal
personality by the single and composite sections. It also reaffirmed its
intention to create a single structure for the whole church.
5. The AFM and Apartheid
Throughout the years of reform, the white AFM in principle supported the
idea that God must first change the hearts of people before political
structures can be changed. The president of the church also made it clear
that the church had no problem living out its mission under a National Party
government, or even a Conservative Party government, should the extreme
right wing party win a future election.35 Cabinet ministers and even
32
G. Visagie and A. Visser, Ex Parte Joint Unity Commission. Legal opinion on Private Act
no. 4 of 1961 as amended by Act no. 4 of 1970, (Copy in possession of author).
33
Se
emyar
t
i
c
l
e‘
He
tdi
eAGSi
n1
9
83di
es
t
e
m va
nGodge
hoor
?
’
,i
nN.
Hor
nandJ
.
Louw,
op. cit., pp. 35-52 for an emotional description of this workers council.
34
Circulated Minutes of the Seventy-Seventh Workers Council of the AFM of S.A, at
Lyndhurst, March 1986, pp. 6-7.
35
Address of Dr. Isak Burger at the opening of the 1991 Workers Council. Quote comes
from the personal notes of the author.
JEPTA 25 2005
12
President PW Botha were frequent visitors to the AFM conferences between
t
he19
70’
sand1
99
0’
s
.
While GR Wessels helped the AFM to gain the access to radio and
television and to register as a church rather than a company, he resigned as a
pastor in 1969. Thereafter the white church went back to the old position that
pastors were not allowed to actively participate in politics. Frank Chikane,
the anti-apartheid activist was suspended as pastor by the black church (colead by white missionaries) for participating in so-called political activities.36
The white AFM never criticised the policy of apartheid. The church was
indeed empowered. It was allowed to broadcast services over national radio
and television, its pastors served as chaplains in the police, army and prisons
and AFM members were not discriminated against in the education system.
FP Möller, president of the AFM at the time, was known for his support
of the basic principles of apartheid.37 Even his more moderate successor and
historian of the AFM, Isak Burger, made no attempt to address the injustices
of apartheid in the history of the AFM. He either ignores the issue or gives
some justification for it.38 He explains the introduction of separate baptismal
services for black and white from a social perspective:
... during the first few months White and non-White (sic) were even
baptised together. At the end of 1908 some Afrikaans speaking
brothers came on the executive council. The fact that they understood
the history and the nature of the racial feelings in South Africa better,
39
possibly contributed to the gradual separation of the races.
(Translation JNH)
Burger quotes a crude racist decision of the AFM of 1944, The Mission
stands for segregation. The fact that an Indian, native of coloured is saved does not
render him European, and then stats that there were nevertheless good
relationships between the different racial groups!40
The black, Indian and especially coloured sections of the AFM were
somewhat of a mixed bag. The missionaries still played a prominent role in
36
See Chikane, F., No Life of My Own, (New York, Maryknoll, Oribis, 1989).
See for example his book Church and Politics: A Pentecostal View of the South African
Situation, Johannesburg, Gospel Publishers. See also Holleneweger, W. Pentecostalism:
Origins and Development Worldwide, (Peabody, MA, Hendricksen 1997), p. 48 ff.
38
Burger, op. cit. p. 422 ff.
39
Ibid. p. 172.
40
I
bi
d.
p.
42
3.
Se
eal
s
oE.St
ude
r
,
‘
WasNi
e
ti
nde
rPr
e
s
s
eSt
e
ht
:
St
ar
keGe
i
s
t
l
i
c
he
s
Wac
hs
t
um’i
nSudafrika. Ein Beispiel: Die Pfingstbewegung, in Wort und Geist, No. 10, Oct.
1989, pp. 4-5 for an interview of a European Pentecostal with Burger.
37
13
the decision-making of the church and the older black leaders opposed
political involvement of pastors or even church members. 41 But the up and
coming young Pentecostal leaders, under the influence of mainline church
leaders like Bishop Desmond Tutu of the Anglican Church and Reformed
theologian and church leader, Allan Boesak, realised that there was a direct
ink between apartheid and the misery of their people. Consequently, many
followed the example of Frank Chikane in opposing apartheid.
Two documents, written in the language reminiscent of the confessions of
the Confessing Church during the Nazi era, The Evangelical Witness in
South Africa, and the Relevant Pentecostal Witness, played an important
role to empower black Pentecostals. In a sense the black Pentecostals, like
t
hewhi
t
e
si
nt
he1940’
s
,r
e
al
i
s
e
dt
hatpol
i
t
i
c
aland e
c
onomi
cpowe
rwe
r
e
necessary to save them from their misery. But they also realised that
apartheid was not a neutral political system, but an inhumane political
system and in the church, a heresy.
6. After Apartheid: -the Change of a Pentecostal mind
After 1994, the white AFM moved dramatically fast towards unification with
the black churches, but not before they devolved power to the local churches
to control church property. The church realized that apartheid was indeed a
sin and Isak Burger confessed to it at several occasions. Within two years all
the AFM churches were united in one non-racial unity church.
The unification of the AFM was nothing short of a miracle. The Dutch
Reformed Church is still far from unification with the Unifying Reformed
Church, the unified black and coloured sister churches of the DRC.42 The
dramatic unification service in which Isak Burger embraced Frank Chikane
gained the AFM the respect of both political and religious leaders in South
Africa. Since 1996, the AFM has moved on to become a respected church and
member of the South African Council of Churches. Frank Chikane, now a
high profile member of the staff of President Thabo Mbeki, was even vicepresident of the church for one term.
However, some questions remain unanswered: How was it possible for a
Pentecostal church to be part of a system that human rights activists
41
See Anderson, op. cit. p. 4 for some examples.
The main stumbling block lies in the fact that the Unifying Reformed Church has
accepted a confession against apartheid, the Belhar Confession as a fourth confession with
the Heidelberg Catechisms, the Cannons of Dordt Confessions and the Belgian
Confession. For more information on the Belhar Confession see my MA thesis: ‘
n
Vergelykende Studie van die Barmenverklaring en die Konsepbelydenis van die NG
Se
ndi
ngke
r
k’
,(
Uni
ve
r
s
i
t
yofPor
tEl
i
zabe
t
h,
19
8
4)
.
42
JEPTA 25 2005
14
described as a crime against humanity? And why did the church become
aware of the pains of apartheid and the sinful nature of the system only
when a new non-racial government came to power? And why were the
Pentecostals unable to break the power of racism despite changing the hearts
of thousands of people, while the so-called Mandela magic changed the soul
of the Afrikaners, including Pentecostals, without the power of the Spirit?
The easy answer will be to revert to a theology where the Spirit has
nothing to say about the present world. The Holy Spirit works only in the
realm of personal holiness and not in the social or political domain.
However, it does not explain why the Spirit did not convict of sins against
others while apartheid was the official policy of the country.
Or one can try to explain the inability of the white South African
Pentecostals to see the wrongs of apartheid from a national sociological
context. In other words, one should look at the Afrikaners as a nation
deceived by something like mass hysteria that hypnotised the nation for
mor
et
hanf
or
t
yye
ar
s
,al
mos
tl
i
keNazi
s
mi
nGe
r
manydur
i
ngt
he1930’
sand
40’
s
.Butt
ha
tdoe
snotde
s
c
r
i
be t
he s
uppor
tt
hatt
he whi
t
e Pe
nt
e
c
os
t
al
movement received from the international Pentecostal movement.
The role of American Pentecostals and charismatics like Jimmy Swaggart,
Pat Robertson and Kenneth Copeland in supporting apartheid and the white
Pentecostals is well-documented.43
But the international Pentecostal
movement either supported the white South African movement, or kept
quiet.44 It is noteworthy that unlike the Reformed churches, who were
disciplined by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches for their support of
apartheid, the South African Pentecostal movement remained a member of
the World Pentecostal Conference.
The AFM explained the inexplicable in his presentation before the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission. The church acknowledges that winds of
43
Se
emyar
t
i
c
l
e
,
‘
Cr
os
s
i
ngBor
de
r
si
nSout
he
r
nAf
r
i
c
a.ALe
s
s
onf
r
om Hi
s
t
or
y’
,
publ
i
s
he
d
in Hunter H (Ed). Cyberjournal for Pentecostal-Charismatic Research,
http//wwww.pctii.org/cyber/cyberj9/Horn.html, See also Anderson, op.cit. p. 2f.
44
See Re
i
c
he
nbac
h,A,‘
Sudaf
r
i
ka- Ei
nSt
r
at
e
gi
s
hWi
c
ht
i
ge
sLa
nd’
,i
nWort und Geist, No.
10, Oct. 1989, pp. 4-5andE.
St
ude
r
,‘
WasNi
e
ti
nde
rPr
e
s
s
eSt
e
ht
:St
a
r
keGeistliches
Wac
hs
t
um i
nSudaf
r
i
ka.Ei
nBe
i
s
pi
e
l
:Di
ePf
i
ngs
t
be
we
gung’
,i
nWort und Geist, No. 10, Oct.
1989, pp. 4 -5.
45
Written presentation of the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa to the Chairperson of
the Human Rights Violations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, dated 7 August
1997. Printed on the website of the University of Cape Town,
http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/ricsa/commiss/trc/afm_sub.htm, accessed on 31 March 2005,
p. 1.
15
ideological issues led to the sorry state of the church performance, splitting up, into
Coloured, Black, White and Indian factions.45
Thepr
e
s
e
nt
at
i
ont
he
ngoe
sont
obl
amet
heAf
r
i
kane
rc
ul
t
ur
eoft
he19
60’
s
onwards that taught children not to question authority, the role of the radio
and the press, which made it almost impossible not to believe the ideology
of the day. The analysis is an oversimplification of the apartheid era, almost
as if the so-called Boetman-generation46 was forced into accepting apartheid.
7. The Boetman Debate
The Boetman debate was extremely interesting. Chris Louw, a political
activist in the apartheid era, found himself at odds with the black
bureaucracy at the national broadcaster where he worked. At the same time
the old National Party ministers and ideologues of apartheid (the uncles as
Louw calls them), took up important positions in the New South Africa.
Leon Wessels, former minister of police, became a human rights
commissioner, Pik Botha, minister of foreign affairs in the old dispensation
and Piet Koornhoff, at one stage an acting president, joined the ANC and
Hernus Kriel became premier of the Western Cape. The other former
ministers retired with huge pensions.
Louw’
sr
e
ac
t
i
onwasanope
nl
e
t
t
e
rt
oWi
l
l
e
m deKl
e
r
k,oneoft
hebi
g
ideologues of apartheid in the sixties and seventies and later a protagonist of
change. The uncles, Louw asserts, found it easy to change their loyalties
after the ANC has totally overpowered them at the negotiations in Kempton
Park.
They were the only Afrikaners who never fought a war, too young for
WW I, too pro-Nazi for WW II and when the bush war in the defence of
apar
t
he
i
ds
t
ar
t
e
d,t
he
ys
e
ntt
he
i
rs
ons
.Andt
hatwasLouw’
smai
nt
he
s
i
s
.
The young generation of the sixties, seventies and eighties performed the
dirty work of the old Calvinist pat
r
i
ar
c
hs (
Louw’
sf
at
he
r was al
s
oa
Reformed pastor). They were brought up to be submissive, they had to do
the Afrikaner thing, be tough, play rugby and be racist. When the National
46
Literally Little Brother or Young Man. The term came from a letter in an Afrikaans
newspaper Louw, C. Boetman is die Bliksem in (Little Brother is Furious), in Beeld, 20 May
20
0
0.
Louw bl
ame
dt
hege
ne
r
a
t
i
onoft
he19
4
0’
sand5
0’
sofi
nve
nt
i
ng apartheid and then
sent their sons to war to fight for it. It leads to a massive reaction by Afrikaner men in their
forties and early fifties against their fathers, blaming them for apartheid and the fact that
the Boetman-generation is now paying their debt.
It leads to a massive reaction by Afrikaner men in their forties and early fifties against their
fathers, blaming them for apartheid and the fact that the Boetman-generation is now
paying their debt.
JEPTA 25 2005
16
Party surrendered power, they only cared for their pensions. The foot
soldiers of apartheid, the Boetmans, were gladly sacrificed.
The uncles denied knowledge of the atrocities of the police and the
military. The Boetmans are the culprits. They abused their power.
Throughout the eighties and the nineties the cabinet and the State Security
Council never knew about the killing squads, the covert actions and the
destabilisation of the neighbouring countries, and brutal killings in the north
of South West Africa. So, the Afrikaner men in their forties and fifties were
made to carry the weight of a system that they did not develop, but were
forced by their fathers to defend it with their blood. And now that apartheid
is over, the uncles live in prosperous retirement while the Boetmans are
loosing their jobs by transformation and affirmative action.
The open letter Boetman is die bliksem in caused a huge stir in the Afrikaner
community. The Afrikaans newspapers were flooded by letters, almost all
af
f
i
r
mi
ng Louw’
sange
rand r
e
s
e
nt
me
ntoft
he ol
de
rge
ne
r
at
i
on.Louw
became the ear for the men who hated him and called him a communist in
the apartheid era –the policemen and trained assassins. Gone was the
arrogance of apartheid era. Louw met pathetic, suicidal alcoholics who
could no longer function in society, men who believed they were killing for
God and the freedom. And at the negotiations at Kempton Park and
thereafter the politicians and generals who gave the instructions, deserted
them.
The s
t
or
i
e
s oft
he
s
e me
n ar
ee
xt
r
e
me
l
y gr
ue
s
ome
.One ofLouw’
s
confessors, ex-security police officer Eugene Fourie, tells the story of a
soldier who amputated the leg and head of a killed guerrilla fighter in
Namibia. He wanted to cut the scull through and mount it on the knee for an
astray.
When one of the suspects did not want to confess (because he did not
know anything), Willie Nortje, who is still working for National Security hit
him unconscious with an Uzzi sub-machine gun, before Eugene de Kock
killed him with a shovel. To make sure that he is dead, Nortje pushed his
hand in the crack in his head and pulled his brains out. Eugene de Kock is
the only policeman who is presently in prison for covert actions, serving a
200 year sentence. One of the newspapers called him Prime Evil.
But, as De Kock pointed out to Louw, there were only 3 000 security
police officers. How can the leaders now say they did not know of the
killings and the violence and human rights abuses? It was totally impossible
for 3 000 men to keep forty million people without political power
submissive with normal means.
17
DeKoc
k’
sassertion affects every white South Africa. Can we really say
like the Germans “Wi
rha
b
e
nni
c
htge
wi
s
c
he
n?
”How is it possible not to have
known? Apart from the rumours, the mere number issue makes the claim
somewhat ridiculous.
8. The Submission of the AFM to the truth and
reconciliation Commission
In a subtle way the AFM in its presentation places its pastors and members
on the side of Boetman.
Many of us had sought answers during those dark days. But bear in
mind that many a time we asked for an explanation, that explanation
was given to us by fellow Christians, even members of the AFM. And,
accepted those answers (sic.).
A plethora of laws made it impossible for the ordinary man to delve
any deeper. We are today deeply hurt as we become aware of the
injustices of the past as they are being brought to light by your own
Commission, by our courts and the media.47
What the presentation says is that people like Möller and Justus du
Plessis, like the uncles i
nLouw’
sar
t
i
c
l
e
,mi
s
l
e
adage
ne
r
a
t
i
onofpas
t
or
sand
church members. And only now do they really know what happened.
Isak Burger, present president of the AFM, became president in 1985
when FP Möller retired. By then Justus du Plessis was already retired for
several years, the then principal of the college lost his position of vicepresident to a junior colleague and several executive council posts were
occupied by a new generation in their thirties and forties, One can speak of
a take-over by the Boetman-generation in 1985. At least for the years
between 1985 and 2004 he and his generation of young leaders cannot hide
behind the intimidation of the uncles. Al
s
o,i
nt
he1980’
svoc
alyoungbl
ac
k
leaders such as present vice-president Japie Lappoorta and former vicepresident Frank Chikane appeared on the scene and made their theological
reasons for rejecting apartheid very clear, both inside and outside the
c
hur
c
h.The1980’
swast
hede
c
adeofr
e
s
i
s
t
anc
ei
nSout
hAf
r
i
c
a.Fort
hos
e
who wanted to know what apartheid was all about, there were ample
opportunity to do so.
47
Op. cit. p. 4.
JEPTA 25 2005
18
Whi
l
et
he
r
ei
sane
l
e
me
ntoft
r
ut
hi
nt
heAFM’
sde
f
e
nc
eoft
heBoe
t
mangeneration, it is also true that there were dissenting voices in the Pentecostal
churches, the Evangelical Witness and the Relevant Pentecostal Witness
being two very accessible confessions of the real state of the South African
situation and its applicability to Pentecostals.48
The United Democratic Front, a front organisation for the banned African
National Congress became organised and made the aspirations of the black
people known. Church leaders like Bishop Tutu, Dr. Alan Boesak, President
of the Reformed World Alliances of Churches at the time, and disciplined
AFM pastor Frank Chikane, made it clear that black Christians are no longer
willing to accept apartheid in the church or society.
It also saw the rise of the independents in white politics. Under the
leadership of former National Party verligte49 politicians Wynand Malan and
Dennis Worrall and Stellenbosch businesswoman Esther Lategan they
challenged the National Party in the 1984 elections. The End Conscription
Campaign was lead by young Afrikaners like Andre de Villiers. In 1987 the
first group of Afrikaners went to Dakar to meet the ANC. The group
included several pastors and academics who conducted information
meetings all over South African when they returned.
Even the young artists broke loose from the apartheid fetters in 1989 with
the so-called Voëlvry50 concerts. While these artists were not big political
philosophers, and even somewhat conservative, they made it clear that they
will no longer accept the apartheid structures and ideology unreserved.
In short: Is it really fair to blame only the older generation? Sure, history
will look at Wessels, Möller, Justus du Plessis and others of their generation
as the people who implemented apartheid in the Pentecostal church. But do
the present leadership of the AFM Burger look like people who are unable to
confront powers when they feel compelled to do so?
Several Pentecostals wrote articles in widely circulated journals that could have helped a
s
e
ar
c
he
rf
ort
r
ut
h.Se
ef
ore
xampl
emypape
r‘
ThePai
nsofApar
t
he
i
d’
,Unpubl
i
s
he
dpape
r
,
delivered at the International Missionary Conference of the AFM, Lyndhurst, Oct. 1985.
The paper was dis
t
r
i
but
e
dwi
t
h‘
ARe
f
ut
a
t
i
onoft
heThe
ol
ogyofApa
r
t
he
i
d’unde
rt
het
i
t
l
e
‘
A Ti
mef
orRe
pe
nt
anc
e
’
,buti
twa
sne
ve
rof
f
i
c
i
al
l
ypr
i
nt
e
d.Se
eal
s
oar
t
i
c
l
e
sofJ
ona
t
ha
n
Leach, Anthony Balcomb and others in Maharah, P (ed) Azuza, official magazine of the
Society for Relevant Pentecostal Studies, Durban, 1990 –1992.
49
The words verlig and verkramp came from journalist Willem de Klerk, brother of FW de
Klerk. Verligtes were reformed-minded Nationalists, still accepting separate development,
but rejecting small apartheid. The verkramptes wanted to maintain total separateness in
society, including separate sections in shops, whites only hotels and restaurants, etc.
50
The word can mean as free as a bird, or it can mean xxxxx
48
19
After 1994 Isak Burger was never afraid to challenge the new black
government whenever he felt that they did not acknowledge the rights of
the Christians or even the white minority. He challenged education minister
Kader Asmal for removing religious education51 and even Nelson Mandela
for what he called one-sided criticism of white farmers.52 He also criticised
the new dispensation for practising reverse reserve racism.53
Whi
l
es
omanyot
he
r
sc
amet
oar
e
al
i
s
at
i
oni
nt
he1
98
0’
st
hatapar
t
he
i
d
was wrong, why did it take a Pentecostal church until 1996 to come to same
conclusion? And why were the same leaders who were taught not to
question authority suddenly after 1994 become bold and fearless?
There are also other disturbing factors in the AFM declaration. It is no
Mea maxima culpa declaration, but rather an exculpatory statement of the
white section. Not only the whites but also I
ndi
a
n,….Co
l
o
ur
e
dsa
ndBl
a
c
k
s
.
.
committed excesses. 54 While this is true, the violence of the blacks cannot be
placed on the same level as the perpetrators of apartheid. To do that is to
ignore the fact that the National Party introduced the system, and
maintained it with the support of the vast majority of its white followers.
The final unequivocal statement of the AFM is not that it helped to built
and maintain the system, even providing its vice-president to become a
senator to remove coloureds from the voters roll. Or that the New Order
took the church right into the heart of the system, or that its pastors even
spied against activist leaders like Frank Chikane. No, they opted for the
neutral statement….
.t
ha
tt
heAFM f
a
i
l
e
di
ni
t
sdut
yt
oq
ue
s
t
i
o
nt
hes
ys
t
e
m
mo
r
e
… 55
Just imagine for one moment the dilemma of Eugene Fourie, the security
officer who testified against his commander Eugene de Kock, who is now
serving a 200 year sentence. People like Fourie were admired in the white
community. Their pictures were placed in the entrance hall of Pentecostal
51
See his Open Letter to Kader Asmal, Ons leer nie ons kinders volgens die boek van
Asmal nie, reported in Rapport. See also Jackson, N. 2001. AGS sal hof toe oor Asmal se
godsdiensplan, in Beeld, 22 November 2001.
52
Se
eGunni
ng,
E.1
9
88
.
‘
Mande
l
amoe
tge
bal
a
ns
e
e
r
ds
i
mpat
i
ebe
t
ui
g’
,i
nRapport 19 April
1998, accessed on internet
http://152.111.1.251/argief/berigte/rapport/1998/04/19/4/6.html on 21 March 2005 and
Potgieter, DW. 1998 AGS-verklaring kos man sy pos, in Rapport 25 January 1998, accessed
on internet http://152.111.1.251/argief/berigte/rapport/1998/01/25/32/2.html on 21
March 2005.
7‘
Godsdiens-Akt
ue
e
l
:
‘
Pol
i
t
i
e
kkor
r
e
k’i
sbe
pal
e
ndebe
gr
i
p’
,i
nBeeld 19 December 2004.
8
supra, p. 5.
55
Ibid. p. 5
JEPTA 25 2005
20
churches under the banner Pray for our boys on the border. When they
returned from Oshakati with blood on their hand, the church assured them
they were doing it for democracy and even the survival of the church and
the gospel. Than same churches now confess that they should have
questioned the system more.
The blame does not really lie with the present white leadership or the
white congregants. It is on the shoulders of the uncles, the Möllers and Du
Pl
e
s
s
i
s
’
,al
le
i
t
he
ri
nt
he
i
rgr
a
ve
sorr
e
t
i
r
e
d,andofc
our
s
eont
hos
et
agge
dby
the newspapers as Prime Evil, the Eugene de Kocks and the likes of Eugene
Fourie and Willie Nortje who viciously killed the opponents of apartheid.
The respected Afrikaners made sure that they did not know the detail. Now
they wash their hand in the Pilate bowl, ministers of the old dispensation,
advantaged business people and the church.
How will the South African Pentecostals ever fulfil its heavy
responsibility to the likes of Eugene Fourie if they not only refuse to take
corporate responsibility for their actions, but blamed them alone for the
atrocities? The only sin of the church was not to question the system more!
How can you ever serve someone who you yourself have made the
comfortable scapegoat?
Until the white Pentecostals acknowledge their role in the formation and
maintenance of apartheid, their confessions will remain hollow. Here the
confession of the Renish Mission in Namibia can act as an example. They not
only admitted that they supported the occupational forces responsible for
the genocide on the Herreros in 1904, but took full responsibility for their
role in instigating the Kaiser to colonise Deutsch Züd West Afrika and their
recommendation that the German forces open concentration camps for the
wondering Herreros, and act that caused the deaths of thousands.
9. Final Observation
While the reconciliatory actions of the AFM after 1994, is commendable and
as Burger put it, a sign of God, the grand architect of His Church, finally let his
will prevail, the question of the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit is
still unanswered. How did a church that produced spiritual giants like
David du Plessis and his brother, Justus, and theologians of the calibre of FP
Möller fail to see that apartheid was wrong and lead to actions today
perceived to have been crimes against humanity?
I shall leave the theological questions to the scholars of
Pentecostal/charismatic dogmatics and doctrine. As an ethicist the old
doctrine of the corruptio totalis, that I only took serious notice of while
working for a PhD on the theology of Karl Barth, gives at least one angle to
21
appr
oac
ht
hepr
obl
e
m.Nomat
t
e
rhow “f
ul
loft
heHol
ySpi
r
i
t
”aChr
i
s
t
i
an
or a church claim to be, the deep scars caused by the fall, can never be wiped
out.
And while my Pentecostal and charismatic mentors, vigorously denied
the doctrine, it is the only explanation for the blindness of born-again, Spiritfilled Christians in South Africa.
Kyrie elyson!
JEPTA 26 2005
22
Apostolic Networks in the UK: the
dynamics of growth
William K Kay and Anne E Dyer
Abstract
Apostolic or New Churches came into existence in the UK as a result of a
complicated set of historical and theological factors in the 1960s. By the mid1970s these new churches, with their restorationist doctrines, were
beginning to set trends within the wider evangelical scene and by the 1980s
they had formed apostolic networks which functioned in some respects like
conventional Pentecostal denominations and, in other respects, quite
differently from them. In respect of the dynamics of church growth, as this
empirical study shows, they appear to be similar.
Introduction
During the 1950s Arthur Wallis, an independent bible teacher, began to
think and pray about the structure of a renewed church that could instigate
and perpetuate a revival of Christianity (Wallis, 1956; 1961). Wallis, with
Cecil Cousen who had come out of the Pentecostal movement in Canada and
David Lillie who had been in the Brethren, put on a series of small but
influential conferences at which neo-Brethren patterns of church life and
government were developed (Walker, 1998: 53; Wallis, 1991). All three men
were Pentecostal by experience –they had experienced a post-conversion
spiritual empowerment. As a result, by the 1960s Wallis and others began to
see the outlines of an ecclesiological vision that combined simplified church
structures and anti-denominationalism with a Pentecostal understanding of
the operation of the Holy Spirit within the body of the church.
In 1964 the Fountain Trust was set up by Michael Harper, then the curate
at the prestigious Anglican evangelical church of All Souls, Langham Place,
London. Harper was a Cambridge theology graduate and his own
experience of the baptism of the Spirit with glossolalia led him into conflict
with John Stott, the senior minister of the church where he served. Stott
(1964) took what came to be a standard evangelical line against the
Pentecostal baptism, namely that everything the Christian required from
God was already received at conversion and wrapped up in this experience.
There was no subsequent empowerment for service.
Harper disagreed and used the Fountain Trust to disseminate
Pentecostal/charismatic doctrine and life across numerous denominations.
Harper, like Wallis, wanted revival and hoped that the Pentecostal baptism
would help to bring this about. The Fountain Trust arranged a large number
JEPTA 26 2005
23
of inter-denominational conferences in the decade up to about 1975 so that,
during the 1970s, analysts began to see three streams running in parallel.
The first stream comprised the classical Pentecostal churches that
continued more or less unchanged from the period after 1915 (Elim) and
1924 (Assemblies of God) when they were founded. Partly because of early
ostracism, they had largely retreated from interchange with other
evangelical churches and were theologically isolated and potentially
sectarian in their outlook.
The second stream was the charismatic
movement that resulted in large numbers of Christians from a range of
Protestant traditions, but also from Roman Catholicism, enjoying the
essential Pentecostal experience. Every large denomination was touched to
a greater or lesser extent by the charismatic movement so that, even those
that resisted the doctrines connected with speaking in tongues, began to
accept a more relaxed and participatory form of worship. If there was one
tenet that was implicit within the charismatic movement, it was that
denominational loyalty should be maintained and that Spirit-baptised
Christians should remain within the denominational structures where they
found themselves. This was a movement of renewal rather than of
radicalism. The third stream was to bef
oundwi
t
hi
nt
he‘
hous
ec
hur
c
he
s
’
,as
they were originally called. These were new fellowships that sprang up
with a strong commitment to Pentecostal and charismatic doctrine. They
met in the first instance in small groups in homes or hired school halls and
they were inclined to radicalism. These were newcomers on the scene, and
many of their preachers attacked what they saw to be the deadness of
denominationalism, whether it was renewed or not, and the legalism of
what they saw to be Pentecostalism.
Almost flaunting their new-found freedom the new churches would
deliberately meet in pubs, play football on Sundays and drive fashionable
cars.1 In the 1970s the preacher who turned up in the most fashionable
clothes and with a well coiffured wife would almost certainly belonged to
the restorationist movement, and this lifestyle choice was not simply
reached by copying American prosperity teaching. It was a reaction against
the drabness of evangelicalism in Britain and the legalism, or perceived
legalism, of its congregations. Restorationism also stressed the role of the
man within the family and the church and, as a result, male preoccupations
with football and sport became perfectly acceptable in the ethos of the new
churches. In some strands of restorationism, most notably New Frontiers
and Salt and Light, the ministry of women was restricted but, in others like
1
Personal observation!
Kay & Dyer Apostolic Networks in the UK
24
Ichthus, it was welcomed. In any event, restorationism was counter-cultural
in its embrace of supernaturalism but cultural in its affinity with sport and
fashion. Christians who joined the new churches found the experience
liberating. Non-Christians who joined them were not subject to quite the
disjunction in lifestyle that would have been the case had they joined
Pentecostal congregations.
By the mid-1970st
he
s
e‘
hous
ec
hur
c
he
s
’hadbe
gunt
oac
qui
r
epr
ope
r
t
y.
Ichthus was formed in 1974 in south London. Pioneer probably began in
about 1970. House groups in the Romsey area began to constellate around
emerging leadership in the early 1970s while, in the northern part of
Engl
and,t
heHar
ve
s
tTi
memi
ni
s
t
r
i
e
sbe
gan.Atf
i
r
s
tt
he
s
e‘
ne
wc
hur
c
he
s
’
,
as they were eventually called, were most notable because of the large Bible
weeks they hosted in the summer months from about 1975 onwards. These
summer camps gave a platform to new church preachers who began to
speak of the scandal of denominationalism2,i
n ge
ne
r
alt
e
r
msabout‘
t
he
ki
ngdom’and t
hepowe
r
,pol
i
t
i
c
alaswe
l
lass
pi
r
i
t
ual
,oft
hewor
l
d-wide
c
hur
c
hi
n pr
e
par
at
i
on f
orChr
i
s
t
’
sr
e
t
ur
n. Mos
tparticularly, these new
groups offered a restorationist theology, a theology that presumed the
reacquisition of the life, power, operation and structure of the church of the
New Testament, and they took much of their doctrine from the preparatory
work of Wallis, Lillie and Cousen two decades earlier. This meant that not
only did they hold to a belief in charismatic gifts, as the Pentecostals did, but
they also held to a belief in the gift-ministries including especially the
ministry of the apostle.
By the mid-1980s the new churches began to cluster themselves around
various powerful ministers who, with minimal infrastructural links,
transformed sets of congregations into apostolic networks. Each network
would vary in size and operation but, in essence, the pattern was similar.
Local congregations governed by elders would be subdivided into home
groups that could come together in various permutations of size and
frequency. The local elders were submissive to the apostolic figure who,
himself, functioned within an apostolic team although always as a first
among equals. The emphasis upon the authority of apostles as well as the
authority of other ministry gifts stood in stark contrast to the more
constitutional mind-set that permeated many Pentecostal denominations.
This ministerial authority was also in contrast to the typically more
ineffective and liturgical ministerial role to be found within non-Pentecostal
2
J
ohnNobl
e
’
s(
1
9
71)bookl
e
tForgive us our Denominations (no publisher) captures the mood
here. The date is estimated by Andrew Walker (1998).
JEPTA 26 2005
25
churches. Consequently, the apostolic networks began to offer attractive
certainties and confident direction that made them, at first, envied by
ministers in more conventional settings. As a result the networks had an
impact on the rest of the church within Great Britain out of proportion to
their numbers.
The exact relationship between the new restorationist churches
functioning within apostolic networks and the Toronto blessing of the 1990s
is hard to pin down in the sense that it is unclear whether the Toronto
movement should be seen as a species of restorationism. The apostolic
networks largely welcomed the Toronto blessing and accepted its benefits
for refreshment and rejuvenation. Their relational style of ministry and their
informal meetings could cope with unusual spiritual phenomena and,
because of the apostolic form of government, they were able to make
decisions quickly about accompanying developments on the Christian scene
in Britain. The Kansas City Prophets in conjunction with John Wimber were
influential in the 1990s but, once the Kansas City Prophets appeared to be
over-claiming in their predictions of end-time revival, the apostolic
networks could distance themselves quite quickly and minimise damage to
their own credibility.
By the end of the 1990s apostolic networks had themselves passed
through several phases. The Harvest Time group in the north of England
had grown very rapidly and with an authoritarian reputation in the mid1980s but then, after internal disagreements, split into a number of mininetworks by the end of that decade.3 Coastlands in the south of England,
became New Frontiers, and had grown steadily and unspectacularly
through the 1970s and 1980s. But by the 1990s it stood head and shoulders
above the others and could be seen to be the largest of all the networks. It
had benefited from the accession of significant numbers of Baptist churches
and had avoided scandals and other negative events so that by the end of
the century, it could count on about 180 congregations in the UK and many
more overseas (Millward, 2003).
Through growth, fragmentation and affiliation the networks proliferated
in the 1990s and, counting ones with more than a dozen churches, there are
at least twelve. Andrew Walker in the preface to the fourth edition of his
excellent book Restoring the Kingdom (1998) wr
ot
e‘
Re
s
t
or
at
i
oni
s
m has
become engulfed in a whole stream of new events of such plurality and
3
Personal observation. There were meetings between classical Pentecostals and
restorationists because the latter feared they would, and in fact did, lose churches to the
restorationist movement.
26
complexity that I doubt whether I could have controlled the material in a
s
at
i
s
f
ac
t
or
yway’
.
The pneumatology of the apostolic churches was largely Pentecostal
while their eschatology was amillennial. The question addressed in this
paper concerns the spiritual power of apostolic churches and the
relationship between this power and their growth. We have taken the model
developed by Margaret Poloma (1989) in Assemblies of God at the Crossroads
and tested by Kay (2000) in the Pentecostals in Britain and applied it to these
new congregations. In essence the model is constructed on the premise that
charismatic experience leads to evangelistic activity so that those churches
which are most charismatically active will also be most evangelistically
active and, as a result of this, will grow. That is, the charismatic activity of
church is essential to its health and expansion. If charismatic churches only
pursue evangelistic activity, they may grow to some extent, but will
eventually relapse. What this also means is that Pentecostal and charismatic
churches should be true to themselves and not allow the allure of
respectability to seduce them away from their characteristic path. They
would be deeply mistaken if they assume that, by dropping the potential
embarrassment associated with charismatic gifts, they will secure their
future and the continued upward graph of membership. Nothing could be
further from the truth.
Method
This research project focused on ne
t
wor
ke
d‘
ne
wc
hur
c
he
s
’onl
y,t
hati
s
,
congregations that are part of an apostolic network rather than
congregations that are free-standing and independent. The standard
statistical texts enumerating church groups in the UK are published by
Christian Research and authored by Peter Brierley (e.g. 2001). In these he
indicates that there are approximately 2094 New Churches in the UK with
2385 ministers. Closer inspection and emailed correspondence both with
him and with church leaders suggest that these figures are either
overestimated or else include churches that stand outside the apostolic
sphere and are therefore not relevant to this project.4 There are various
websites available by which fuller information can be gathered but these
also do not give accurate or complete pictures5. A more detailed analysis
indicates that there are some 12 relevant networks with 675 congregations.
4
5
52
0c
hur
c
he
sr
e
s
ul
t
e
df
r
om agoogl
es
e
ar
c
hf
or‘
c
ommuni
t
yc
hur
c
h’bas
e
dont
he
http://www.findachurch.co.uk/ site (28/01/2005). There is no way of knowing if they are
network churches, denominational or independent without detailed closer inspection.
5
E.
g.
Evange
l
i
c
alAl
l
i
anc
e
’
sWe
bs
i
t
e
,
JEPTA 26 2005
27
Once the main groups had been identified we set about asking the main
administrative officers of each network for their permission to write to their
c
hur
c
he
s
’l
e
ade
r
swi
t
haque
s
t
i
onnai
r
e
.Whi
l
enotal
lwe
r
ewi
l
l
i
ngt
os
e
ndus
their address list, some volunteered to send questionnaires out in their own
general mailings and we thank Ichthus, Groundlevel and C.net for doing
that. We are also thankful that others at least asked their members to fill the
questionnaire in, and made the research known. Table 1 indicates
distribution and response rate.
The 18 page questionnaire was made up of 6 sections. The first asked
questions about age, gender, training, church size, annual rates of births,
baptism, deaths, marriages, church structure, growth, decline and
congregational charismata. The second section dealt with the frequency of
ministerial charismatic and evangelistic activities. A third section gave 150
statements on doctrinal issues and offered respondents five options from
agree strongly to disagree strongly on each issue; these varied from
Chr
i
s
t
ol
ogyt
oe
c
c
l
e
s
i
ol
ogy,f
r
om c
e
l
lc
hur
c
ht
obe
l
i
e
fi
n‘
apos
t
ol
i
cmi
ni
s
t
r
y’
.
Three other sections not relevant to this paper were also included. The
questionnaire as a whole was designed to allow comparison between the
leaders of apostolic network and the Pentecostal leaders surveyed by Kay
(2000).
Table 1 gives details of distribution and returns and of the overall
response rate of 35.5%. However, these quantitative data have been
supplemented by more than a fifteen formal interviews which are not
reported in this paper.
Questionnaire results were analysed by SPSS 8.0 (SPSS, 1998)
Results
Although the sample is drawn from 12 different apostolic networks, the
analysis here presents findings for all 237 respondents in one group. This is
because in many crucial respects they were very similar and because, on the
defining issue, more t
hant
wot
hi
r
ds(
66.
1%)be
l
i
e
vet
hat‘
apos
t
ol
i
cne
t
wor
ks
ar
e mor
ei
mpor
t
antt
han de
nomi
nat
i
onals
t
r
uc
t
ur
e
s
’
,a hugepr
opor
t
i
on
(
84.
5%)be
l
i
e
vet
hat‘
apos
t
ol
i
cl
e
ade
r
s
hi
pi
svi
t
alt
ot
he21s
t
-c
e
nt
ur
y’andan
even larger number (88.8%) agreed with the stateme
nt‘
Ibe
l
i
e
vei
nt
he
aut
hor
i
t
yofapos
t
l
e
st
oday’
.Ne
ar
l
yal
lr
e
s
ponde
nt
s(
95%)we
r
eabl
et
os
ay‘
I
be
l
i
e
vei
nt
hemi
ni
s
t
r
yofapos
t
l
e
s
’
.Thes
ampl
e
,t
he
n,c
l
e
ar
l
yc
ohe
r
e
sar
ound
the notion of apostolic ministry.
http://www.upmystreet.com http://www.churchesuk.co.uk,
http://www.findachurch.co.uk/
28
Of the 237 respondents who completed the questionnaire, 92.8% were
male. Their mean age was 48 years and the mean length of time in the
ministry was 14 years. As many as 22% of respondents were unpaid by their
congregations and 51% were in paid secular employment. Only 8.5% were
in sole charge of a congregation although 40.9% were in charge as senior
ministers and 27.4% as part of a team. The median annual number of
baptisms conducted by each respondent was three, the median number of
marriages one and the median number of funerals one. As many as 63.2% of
these ministers looked after a congregation of less than 100 adults but 9%
looked after a congregation of more than 200 adults; 8.5% cared for church
congregations of less than 25. Just 17% were cell churches of one type or
another, but a third of the churches were definitely not cell churches (32.2%).
A further 46.1 % were churches with cells without being cell churches. Just
over half (52.3%) of the churches functioned with house groups as opposed
to cell groups.
As many as 95.3% of theser
e
s
ponde
nt
sbe
l
i
e
ve
dt
hat‘
t
hebapt
i
s
mi
nt
he
Spi
r
i
ti
s a di
s
t
i
nc
te
xpe
r
i
e
nc
e
’t
hough onl
y 17% be
l
i
e
ve t
hatt
ongue
s
(
gl
os
s
ol
al
i
a)ar
et
he‘
i
ni
t
i
ale
vi
de
nc
e
’f
orSpi
r
i
t
-baptism. About a third (36%)
were creationists and believed the world was made in six 24 hour days.
Over half these respondents (51%) believe that women should have the same
opportunities as men for ministry. 100% of respondents believe that Jesus
died for their sins and 99.9% believe that he rose again physically from the
dead.
Table 2 provides percentages of the lifestyle judgements of respondents
and shows a generally liberal orientation.
Table 3 gives figures for the percentage of the congregation exercising
spiritual gifts, for congregational growth and decline. It shows, for instance,
that more than half of ministers (54.5%) thought that 30% of their
congregation exercised spiritual gifts. Estimated growth rates are also good
because over a fifth (22.3%) of ministers thought their congregations had
increased by more that 30% in the previous year. Decline is correspondingly
rarer as only about 10% of ministers estimated that their congregations had
decreased by more than 6%.
Table 4 shows the frequency with which ministers exercised spiritual gifts
and engaged in evangelistic activities. It indicates that the most frequently
used spiritual gift is prophecy and the most frequently engaged in
evangelistic activity is to talk with friends and neighbours about the church.
These two sets of items were converted into scales by coding responses (1 for
none and 5 for 19+ times in three months) and adding them together. The
properties of the scales were then tested by using an alpha coefficient
JEPTA 26 2005
29
(Cronbach 1951). The result was highly satisfactory for both the charismatic
activity scale (alpha .7179) and the evangelistic activity scale (alpha .7824).
Both these scales were similar to those used by Poloma (1989) and Kay
(2000)6.
Table 5 shows the relationship between the activity of the minister and
the life of the congregation. Ministerial evangelistic activities correlate
significantly with congregational growth. Ministerial charismatic activities
also correlate significantly with congregational growth and with the
prevalence of spiritual gifts within the congregation.
A further computation showed that the prevalence of spiritual gifts
within a congregation correlated significantly with congregational growth (r
= .183, p > .005) but not with congregational decline (r = .032, NS). Lastly,
one way analysis of variance wase carried out to see whether growth rates in
congregations could be attributed to the presence or absence of cell
structures but there was no significant relationship between these variables
(F = 0.274, NS). Cells neither encouraged nor inhibited growth or the
prevalence of spiritual gifts.
Discussion
This is the first piece of quantitative research into apostolic networks in
Britain. The importance of apostolic ministry to the respondents is
satisfyingly in line with expectations. Although it might be argued that
apostolic ministry would of necessity be foundational to apostolic networks,
this is by no means inevitable. In the same way that Pentecostal distinctives
or Baptist distinctives are not always to be found within the ministerial
cohorts belonging to those groups, it would be possible to suggest that
apostolic ministry had become something of a fad or fashion that might now
fail to inspire the commitment of its members. The findings show that this is
not so. These ministers believe in the importance of apostolic ministry not
only for themselves but for the church at large. They think that apostolic
networks are more important than denominational structures and vital to
the 21st century.
The mean age of these ministers is about the same as that found in
Pentecostal denominations (Kay, 2000:207). Although the number in
positions paid by the churches is slightly higher than that to be found within
Pentecostal groups (Kay 2000:206), the number of ministers in paid secular
6
Each scale was one item shorter than those used by Kay (2000), though the alpha
coefficients remained almost the same. The item dropped from the charismatic activity
scale related to singing in glossolalia and the item dropped from the evangelistic activity
scale related to talking with friends and neighours about Christ.
30
employment is also higher than that found in the main Pentecostal
denominations. In terms of congregational size the profile of apostolic
churches is rather different from that of classical Pentecostals. Apostolic
network churches have emphasised quality rather than quantity and New
Frontiers, for instance, will not recognise small groups of people as
‘
c
hur
c
he
s
’
.The
s
epr
i
nc
i
pl
e
sar
ebor
neoutbyt
hef
i
gur
e
s
:whe
r
e
as8.
5% of
ministers within apostolic networks look after churches of fewer than 25
people, the comparable figure for Assemblies of God is 19.8% and for the
Church of God is 28.1% (Kay, 2000: 210).
Theologically the apostolic networks are clearly Pentecostal or
charismatic. They overwhelmingly believe in a distinct experience of the
baptism of Holy Spirit and nearly a fifth accepts the hard line taken by
Assemblies of God that directly links glossolalia with Spirit baptism as
initial evidence.
About a third of apostolic network ministers are
creationists which, again, suggest a counter-cultural orientation. We are
correct to locate the apostolic networks within the Pentecostal and
charismatic sphere. These are not liberal churches in doctrine even if, in
other ways, the may be close to the surrounding culture.
Table 2 shows how the restorationist preachers are, on many matters,
aligned with British urban culture. For instance, only a very small number
would believe that the drinking of alcohol is wrong for Christians.
Similarly, social dancing is also perfectly acceptable to nearly all these
ministers, a finding that would completely contradict the evangelical culture
of the 1950s (Manwaring 1985; Barclay 1997). Surprisingly given the known
dangers of cigarettes, there is a relatively low response against smoking: less
t
han at
hi
r
d oft
he
s
emi
ni
s
t
e
r
sagr
e
et
hat‘
Chr
i
s
t
i
anss
houl
d nots
moke
’
.
Equally sport on Sundays is also widely accepted but perhaps the most
telling lifestyle statistic relates to the acceptability of Christian rock music
whe
r
eove
rhal
foft
he
s
emi
ni
s
t
e
r
sagr
e
et
hati
t‘
he
l
psyoung pe
opl
et
o
wor
s
hi
p’
,a f
i
ndi
ng t
hatis indicative of the low average age of these
congregations and of their orientation to the subculture of British youth.
The findings presented in table 3 show healthy growth rates for these
churches since more than a fifth have grown by 30% in the last 12 months
and only 5.6% have stagnated. Conversely, although decline is to be found
in about 10% of the churches, it is clear that the balance between growth and
decline favours the former. Similarly, spiritual gifts are prevalent within
these congregations. In more than half of these congregations more than
30% of the congregation exercise spiritual gifts, a figure that shows how
actively charismatic they are. There is a great deal of prayer for the sick, of
JEPTA 26 2005
31
the giving of prophecies, of words of knowledge and wisdom, of glossolalia,
in these congregations.
Table 4 shows how charismatically active most of these ministers are.
Nearly all of them have prophesied within the last three months and most
have prophesied frequently. Many of them have given a word of wisdom or
knowledge, many have danced in the Spirit, interpreted tongues or given a
public utterance in tongues. These are ministers who are exemplars of
charismatic activity. They are modelling charismatic Christianity to their
congregations and clearly believe that they are moving in supernatural
power. It is part of their lifestyle and their expectation in worship. Equally
many of these ministers are active evangelistically; they and are happy to
talk about their churches to friends and neighbours. Surprisingly, it is
witnessing to friends and neighbours about their church rather than about
Christ which is commonplace. Nearly all these ministers have also prayed
to the salvation of specific people or invited a new person to an activity and
their church. We may say that these are ministers who are living their
Christianity in the public domain and want the people they meet to attend
public worship with them.
Table 5 supports the contention that it is the evangelistic activity of the
minister that drives forward congregational growth. Where ministers are
evangelistic, congregations grow. Yet, even more than the ministerial
evangelistic activity, the ministerial charismatic activity is important. The
highest correlation within table 4 is between the growth of the congregation
and the charismatic activity of the minister. And ministerial charismatic also
correlates with the prevalence of spiritual gifts within the congregations so
that, congregations which see or hear their ministers prophesying, praying
to the sick, dancing in the spirit, speaking in tongues, and so on, are
themselves more likely to find freedom to engage in these activities for
themselves. We can build up a picture of charismatically productive and
evangelistically active ministers who create congregations in their own
likeness. Moreover, it is clear that evangelistic and charismatic activities do
not scare newcomers away from church since there is no significant
correlation between evangelism or charismatic activity and congregational
decline, and, in any case, the correlation is negative.
These findings show the dynamics of congregational growth are similar
to those suggested by Poloma in relation to American Assemblies of God in
the late 1980s and replicated by Kay (2000) among four different Pentecostal
groups at the end of the millennium. What allows the churches to grow is
not, in the first instance, the apostolic authority under which they sit but
rather the lively charismatic and evangelistic activity that the ministers
32
inspire. We may say that spiritual power is here linked with congregational
growth and is not exercised in a vacuum or for its own sake but harnessed to
purposes that lead to the numerical increase of networks and networked
churches.
References
Barclay, O. (1997), Evangelicalism in Britain 1935-1995, (Leicester; IVP)
Brierley, P. (ed) (2001), Religious Trends 3, (London; Christian Research).
Cronbach, L.J. (1951), Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests,
Psychometrika, 16, 297-334.
Kay, W.K. (2000), Pentecostals in Britain, (Carlisle, Paternoster).
Manwaring, R. (1985), From Controversy to Co-Existence: evangelicals in the
Church of England 1914-1980, (Cambridge; Cambridge University Press.
Millward, C.M. (2003), Chalk and Cheese: an account of the impact of
restorationist ecclesiology on the Baptist Union, (unpublished doctoral
dissertation, University of Brunel).
Poloma, M.M. (1989), Assemblies of God at the Crossroads, (Knoxville; Tenn,
University of Tennessee Press).
SPSS Base 8.0. User
’
sGui
de(1998), (Chicago, SPSS Inc).
Stott, J. (1975, orig. 1964), Baptism and Fullness: The work of the Holy Spirit
today, (London; IVP).
Wallis, A. (1956), In the Day of Thy Power: structural principles of revival,
(Arlesford; Christian Literature Crusade).
Wallis, A. (1961), The divine idea of the local church, in A. Wallis (ed), The
Divine Purpose of the Church: an enquiry, (privately printed).
Wallis, J. (1991), Arthur Wallis: radical Christian, (Eastbourne; Kingsway).
Walker, A. (1998), Restoring the Kingdom, (4th edn, Guildford; Eagle).
Table 1: Network returns of Questionnaire
Network
Sent
Returns
Returned
%
Cornerstone
50
16
32
Groundlevel
77
29
38
JEPTA 26 2005
33
Ichthus
45
13
29
53
11
21
Kensington Temple
54
10
19
Kingdom Faith
13
9
69
6
3
50
200
82
41
New Covenant Ministries
12
2
17
Spirit Connect /Pioneer
12
8
67
Salt and Light
50
21
42
Vineyard
75
26
35
647
230
36
Jesus Fellowship
7
Lifelink
New Frontiers
TOTAL
Table 2: Lifestyle items
Item
Christians should not drink alcoholic
beverages
Christians should not attend the
cinema
Christians should not buy or sell on
Sundays unless absolutely
necessary
Christians should not take part in
social dancing
Christians should not smoke
Christians should not engage in
sporting activities on Sundays
I believe Christian rock music helps
young people to worship
AS
%
.8
A
%
.8
NC
%
3.0
D
%
58.5
D
%
36.9
1.3
2.5
43.9
51.9
2.5
18.1
11.8
49.8
17.7
.4
3.8
4.2
40.9
50.6
15.0
2.1
46.6
7.6
10.7
15.2
22.2
58.2
5.6
16.9
9.3
49.2
31.4
7.6
2.5
Table 3: Prevalence of spiritual gifts, congregational growth and decline
7
Also called, Multiply Network
Item
What percentage of people
in your ministerial care
publicly exercises spiritual
gifts (charismata)?
By what percentage would
you judge the number of
people in your ministerial
care has grown in the past
12 months?
By what percentage would
you judge the number of
people in your ministerial
care has declined in the past
12 months?
34
none
15%
610%
1120%
2130%
.4
6.8
5.5
17.0
15.7
More
than
30%
54.5
5.6
27.0
21.9
12.4
10.7
22.3
63.4
25.4
9.3
1.0
.5
.5
Table 5: Ministerial activities correlated with congregational indicators
Scales
Scale of
ministerial
evangelistic
activities
Scale of
ministerial
charismatic
activities
Baptisms
.125
.062
Marriages
.067
.112
Fun- Cong Spiritual
erals
Gifts
.093
.073
Growth
Decline
.216**
-.017
-.078
.335**
-.046
.244**
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
JEPTA 26 2005
35
Table 4: Frequency of ministerial activities in the last three months
Activity
Charismatic
Given public
utterance in tongues
Interpreted tongues
Prophesied
Danced in the Spirit
Gi
ve
na‘
wor
dof
wi
s
dom/
knowl
e
dge
’
Evangelistic
Talked with friends
or neighbours about
your church
Invited a new
person to an activity
at your church
Invited a backslider
to return to your
church
Offered to drive a
new person to
church
Invited children of
new people to
c
hi
l
dr
e
n’
sme
e
t
i
ngs
Prayed for the
salvation of specific
people
None
%
1-6
%
7-12
%
13-18
%
19+
%
46.8
42.6
4.3
1.3
5.1
44.6
7.2
56.5
15.0
48.8
53.2
27.8
60.5
3.9
21.3
7.2
13.3
.9
6.8
1.3
5.2
1.7
11.5
2.5
6.0
None
3.8
1-6
58.1
7-12
21.6
13-18
6.8
19+
9.7
19.7
60.3
12.0
4.3
3.8
40.3
51.1
5.2
2.1
1.3
71.1
26.4
1.7
.4
.4
60.9
32.2
5.2
.9
.9
16.4
46.6
17.1
5.2
14.2
JEPTA 26 2005
36
Charismatic experience and
psychological type: an empirical
enquiry
The Revd Dr Susan H Jones, Research Associate, Welsh
National Centre for Religious Education, University of
Wales, Bangor, UK
The Revd Professor Leslie J Francis Director, Welsh
Wales, Bangor, UK and
Dr Charlotte L Craig, Research Assistant, Welsh
Wales, Bangor, UK
Abstract
A sample of 925 Christian adults attending workshops on personality and
spirituality completed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) together
with a question concerning influence by the charismatic movement. Type
tables are constructed to compare charismatics with non-charismatics. The
data demonstrate that, compared with the non-charismatics, the charismatic
sample contains significantly higher proportions of extraverts, thinkers, and
perceivers.
Compared with the non-charismatic sample there is a
significantly higher proportion of dominant thinkers among the charismatic
sample. Among the charismatics there is a significant over-representation of
ESTJ and a significant under-representation of ISFJ.
Introduction
During the latter part of the twentieth century the charismatic experience
spread well beyond the classic Pentecostal churches (see Kay, 1990) to bring
renewal and transformation throughout many of the longer-established
denominations, including both the Catholic Church and the Anglican
Church (see Bax, 1986). Such clear and publicly visible developments in the
life of the Church raise questions of considerable importance to all parts of
the theological academy, including not only biblical studies, systematics,
church history, and missiology, but also to the more recently established
discipline of empirical theology (Van der Ven, 1993, 1998; Cartledge, 1999).
JEPTA 26 2005
37
Empirical theology draws on the scientific methodologies refined by the
social sciences in order to investigate and to illuminate problems of a proper
theological nature.
Working within the discipline of empirical theology, the present study
draws on perspectives of personality psychology in general and the Jungian
theory of psychological type in particular in order to investigate the
psychological characteristics of those individuals more likely and less likely
to be drawn to the charismatic experience. Such an enquiry is rooted in both
a theological and a psychological approach to individual differences. The
theological approach to individual differences is grounded in both a
doctrine of Creation and in a theology of the Body of Christ. Drawing on the
insights of Genesis 2 a theology of individual differences celebrates the
creator God who creates both male and female in the image of God.
Drawing on the insights of Romans 12 a theology of individual differences
celebrates the Pauline insight into the rich diversity within the Body of
Christ. The psychological approach to individual differences is grounded in
an empirical appreciation of the patterns that help to generate insights into
human behaviour and human nature. These are the kinds of individual
differences which Jesus seemed to recognise so powerfully in his interaction
with the two sisters in Luke (Mary the introvert and Martha the extravert) or
in his characterisation of the two sons in Luke (the younger son who
preferred to act on intuition and the older son who preferred to act on a
sensing approach to life).
There is already a well-established research tradition located both within
empirical theology and within the psychology of religion concerned with
examining the relationship between personality and individual differences
in religious preferences and experiences. Different personality theories may
have the capability of explaining different aspects of individual differences
in religiosity. The Jungian model of psychological type (Jung, 1971), as
operationalised through instruments like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
(MBTI: Myers and McCaulley, 1985)1 and the Keirsey Temperament Sorter
(Keirsey and Bates, 1978), provides an interesting example of such research
potential. This model of personality distinguishes between two perceiving
functions, two judging functions, two orientations, and two attitudes toward
the outer world. These instruments categorize individuals within discrete
personality types rather than locate individuals along dimensions of
personality.
The two orientations proposed by psychological type theory are
extraversion and introversion. Extraverts prefer to draw their energy from
the outer world of people and things, while introverts prefer to draw their
38
energy from the inner world of ideas. In order to re-energise, extraverts go
out to meet people, while introverts turn inwards away from people. The
two perceiving functions proposed by psychological type theory are sensing
and intuition. Sensers prefer facts, while intuitives prefer possibilities and
theories. Sensers allow the eye to inform the mind, while intuitives allow
the mind to inform the eye. The two judging functions proposed by
psychological type theory are thinking and feeling. Thinkers prefer to make
decisions or judgements on the basis of impersonal and objective logic, while
feelers prefer to make decisions or judgements on the basis of interpersonal
and subjective appreciation of human values. Both judging functions are
rational processes. The two attitudes toward the outer world proposed by
psychological type theory are judging and perceiving. Judgers prefer their
outer world to be closed, disciplined and organised, while perceivers prefer
their outer world to be open, spontaneous and flexible. Judgers extravert
their thinking or feeling process, while perceivers extravert their sensing or
intuitive process.
These four dichotomous preferences combine to produce 16 discrete
personality types from which it is possible to define an i
ndi
vi
dual
’
s
dominant and auxiliary functions and whether their functions are
introverted or extraverted.
In recent years several studies have employed the MBTI or the KTS to
examine the relationship between the notion of psychological type and
individual differences in religiosity. For example, studies have been
conducted to examine the relationship between psychological type and
preference for different styles of Christian spirituality (Francis and Ross,
1997), conservative of Christian belief (Francis and Jones, 1998), tolerance for
religious uncertainty (Francis and Jones, 1999a), the quest orientation of
religiosity (Francis and Ross, 2000), mystical orientation (Francis and
Louden, 2000; Francis, 2002), and attitude toward Christianity (Jones and
Francis, 1999; Fearn, Francis and Wilcox, 2001; Francis, Robbins, Boxer,
Lewis, McGuckin and McDaid, 2003; Francis, Jones and Craig, 2004).
The relationship between psychological type and preference for different
styles of Christian spirituality was investigated by Francis and Ross (1997)
who reported on a sample of 379 participants attending courses on
spirituality. Alongside the MBTI participants completed a six-item index of
traditional Christian spirituality and a six-item index concerned with
experiential spirituality. The data demonstrated that sensers gave higher
value than intuitives to traditional aspects of Christian spirituality, like
church attendance and personal prayer, while intuitives gave higher value
JEPTA 26 2005
39
than sensers to experiential aspects of spirituality, like a fine sunset and a
star filled sky.
The relationship between psychological type and conservative of
Christian belief was investigated by Francis and Jones (1998), who reported
on a sample of 315 participants, derived from persons who attended 21
courses on the topic of personality and spirituality. Participants completed
the MBTI and the Christian Belief Inventory, a scale intended to assess
strength of conservative Christian beliefs. Correlations between the two
scales indicated that sensing types and thinking types achieved higher
scores on the scale of conservative Christian belief.
The relationship between psychological type and tolerance for religious
uncertainty was investigated by Francis and Jones (1999a), who reported on
a sample of 315 participants, derived from persons who attended courses on
the topic of personality and spirituality. Participants completed the MBTI
and a ten-item scale of Christian agnosticism. It was found that intuitive
types achieved higher scores on the scale of Christian agnosticism.
The relationship between psychological type and the quest orientation of
religiosity was investigated by Francis and Ross (2000), who reported on a
sample of 64 active Catholic churchgoers. Participants completed the MBTI
together with the 6-item quest scale proposed by Barton and Ventis (1982).
The data provided no support for the theory that preference for the quest
orientation of religiosity is related to personality type.
The relationship between psychological type and mystical orientation was
investigated by Francis and Louden (2000), who reported on a sample of 100
student and adult churchgoers. Participants completed the KTS together
with the Index of Mystical Orientation. Francis and Louden (2000) found
that intuition types and feeling types achieved significantly higher scores on
the Index of Mystical Orientation. In a further study, Francis (2002) reported
on a sample of 543 participants attending workshops on personality and
spirituality. Participants completed the MBTI together with the Index of
Mystical Orientation. It was found that feeling types achieved higher scores
on the Index of Mystical Orientation. In addition, it was found that
dominant thinking types achieved lower scores on the Index of Mystical
Orientation.
The relationship between psychological type and attitude toward
Christianity was investigated in a first study by Jones and Francis (1999),
who reported on a sample of 82 student churchgoers. Participants
completed the KTS together with the Francis Scale of Attitude toward
Christianity. It was found that feeling types achieved higher scores on the
scale of attitude toward Christianity. In a second study, Fearn, Francis and
40
Wilcox (2001) reported on a sample of 367 religious studies students.
Participants completed the KTS together with the Francis Scale of Attitude
toward Christianity. It was found that sensing types and judging types
achieved higher scores on the scale of attitude toward Christianity. In a
third study, Francis, Robbins, Boxer, Lewis, McGuckin and McDaid (2003)
reported on a sample of 149 university students. Participants completed the
Francis Psychological Type Scales (Francis, 2005) together with the Francis
Scale of Attitude toward Christianity. It was found that feeling types
achieved higher scores on the scale of attitude toward Christianity,
supporting the earlier study by Jones and Francis (1999). In a fourth study,
Francis, Jones and Craig (2004) reported on a sample of 552 university
students. Participants completed the MBTI together with the Francis Scale
of Attitude toward Christianity. It was found that judging types achieved
higher scores on the scale of attitude toward Christianity.
Against this wider background of recognising the value of psychological
type theory to predict some key individual differences in religiosity,
questions regarding the psychological type correlates of attraction to the
charismatic movement within the Christian tradition may be of particular
interest both within the psychology of religion and within practical and
empirical theology. Although little research has as yet examined the
relationship between charismatic experience and psychological type, greater
interest has been shown in examining the relationship between charismatic
e
xpe
r
i
e
nc
eandEys
e
nc
k’
st
hr
e
edi
me
ns
i
onalmode
lofpe
r
s
onal
i
t
y(
Eys
e
nc
k
and Eysenck, 1975). For example, four recent studies have begun to map
this relationship among Anglican, Catholic and Evangelical clergy. In the
first study, Francis and Thomas (1997) administered the short-form Revised
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (Eysenck, Eysenck and Barrett, 1985) to
222 clergymen within the Church in Wales. In the second study, Robbins,
Hair and Francis (1999) administered the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire
(Eysenck and Eysenck, 1975) to 172 clergymen in the Church of England. In
the third study, Louden and Francis (2001) administered the Eysenck
Personality Questionnaire to 1,468 Roman Catholic priests. All three studies
also included a 14- or 15-item index of charismatic experience. In the fourth
study Francis and Robbins (2003) administered the Short-form Revised
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (Eysenck, Eysenck and Barrett, 1985) to
991 male clergy affiliated with the Evangelical Alliance in the United
Kingdom together with a question regarding the practice of glossolalia.
Two studies in this series, by Francis and Thomas (1997) and by Francis
and Robbins (2003) found that charismatic experience was positively
correlated with extraversion and negatively correlated with neuroticism, but
JEPTA 26 2005
41
unrelated to psychoticism. These findings were thought to be of theoretical
importance for two reasons. First, the data helped to adjudicate between
two conflicting theoretical positions regarding the relationship between
extraversion and charismatic experience. On the one hand, one theoretical
position suggests that extraverts are more likely to display charismatic
phenomena. This position is argued, for example, by Kelsey (1964) from a
Jungian perspective and supported by a small study by Lovekin and Malony
(1977). On the other hand, a second theoretical position links charismatic
experience with introversion, arguing that Pentecostal services provide an
acceptable outlet for inhibited impulses (Gritzmacher, Bolton and Dana,
1988). Second, the data helped to adjudicate between two conflicting
theoretical positions regarding the relationship between neuroticism and
charismatic experience. On the one hand, there is a considerable body of
research and theory to promote the hypothesis that charismatics should
score higher on the neuroticism scale, including early theories advanced by
Mackie (1921) and Cutten (1927), and more recent work by Vivier (1960),
Lapsley and Simpson (1964), Pattison (1968), and Kildahl (1972, 1975). On
the other hand, a contradictory stand of research suggests that charismatic
experience may function as a tension-reducing device which may promote
psychological stability (Castelein, 1984; Coulson and Johnson, 1977; Neisz
and Kronenberger, 1978; Ness and Wintrob, 1980; Smith and Fleck, 1981;
Tappeiner, 1974; Williams, 1981).
The other two studies in the series, however, by Robbins, Hair and
Francis (1999) and by Louden and Francis (2001), failed to replicate these
findings in full.
They confirmed the positive association between
charismatic experience and extraversion, but failed to find any significant
correlation between charismatic experience and neuroticism scores either
positively or negatively.
So far just one study has examined the relationship between charismatic
phenomena and psychological type. Francis and Jones (1997) administered
an index of charismatic experience together with Form G (Anglicised) of the
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Myers and McCaulley, 1985) to a sample of
368 committed Christian adults. Their data demonstrated that Christians
who prefer thinking were more likely to record charismatic experience than
Christians who prefer feeling.
The aim of the present paper is to build on the study reported by Francis
and Jones (1997) to examine the relationship between psychological type and
charismatic experience among a larger sample and by analysing the data in
greater depth. The original study compared the mean scores of charismatic
experience by dichotomous type preference. The longer data set enables the
42
more detailed comparison of the type tables constructed among charismatics
and among non-charismatics.
METHOD
Sample
Data were provided by 925 participants who attended 58 workshops on
personality and spirituality which were held between 1993 and 2001.
Measures
Psychological type was assessed by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Myers
and McCaulley, 1985), which uses a forced-choice questionnaire format to
indicate preferences between extraversion or introversion, sensing or
intuition, thinking or feeling, and judging or perceiving. The 126-item Form
G (Anglicised) was used in this research. In a recent study among 429 adult
churchgoers, Francis and Jones (1999b) reported the following alpha
coefficient of internal consistency: extraversion, 0.80; introversion, 0.79;
sensing, 0.87; intuition, 0.82; thinking, 0.79; feeling, 0.72; judging, 0.85;
perceiving, 0.86.
Charismatic experience wasas
s
e
s
s
e
d by t
hei
t
e
m,‘
Woul
d you de
s
c
r
i
be
yourself as being influenced by the Charismat
i
cmove
me
nt
?
’Thr
e
er
e
s
pons
e
opt
i
onswe
r
epr
ovi
de
d:ye
s
,don’
tknow,andno.
Data analysis
In response to the question regarding charismatic experience, 366 of the
respondents were clear that they had not been influenced by the charismatic
movement, 450 were clear that they had been influenced by the charismatic
movement, and the remaining 109 were uncertain. The analysis compares
the 366 who had not been influenced by the Charismatic movement with the
450 who had.
Of those who had not been influenced by the charismatic movement, 61%
were male and 39% were female; 8% were under the age of 20, 17% were in
their twenties, 14% in their thirties, 21% in their forties, 26% in their fifties,
and 13% were aged 60 or over; 87% were weekly churchgoers and most of
the others attended quite often; 81% were Anglicans, and the remaining 19%
included a number of other denominations.
Of those who had been influenced by the charismatic movement, 60%
were male and 40% were female; 4% were under the age of 20, 34% were in
their twenties, 21% were in their thirties, 19% were in their forties, 18% were
in their fifties, and 4% were aged 60 or over; 97% were weekly churchgoers;
48% were Anglicans, 41% were Pentecostals, and the remaining 11%
included a number of other denominations.
JEPTA 26 2005
43
RESULTS
Table 1 presents the type distribution for the 366 respondents who
claimed not to have been influenced by the charismatic movement.
Table 1. Type Distribution for Non-Charismatic Churchgoers
N = 366 + = 1% of N
ISTJ
n = 45
(12.3%)
+++++
+++++
++
ISFJ
n = 74
(20.2%)
+++++
+++++
+++++
+++++
The Sixteen Complete Types
Dichotomous Preferences
INFJ
INTJ
E n = 142 (38.8%)
n = 35
n = 16
I n = 224 (61.2%)
(9.6%)
(4.4%)
+++++
++++
S n = 217 (59.3%)
+++++
N n = 149 (40.7%)
T n = 113 (30.9%)
F n = 253 (69.1%)
J n = 264 (72.1%)
P n = 102 (27.9%)
ISTP
n=5
(1.4%)
+
ESTP
n=6
(1.6%)
++
ISFP
n = 12
(3.3%)
+++
ESFP
n=9
(2.5%)
+++
INFP
n = 26
(7.1%)
+++++
ENFP
n = 30
(8.2%)
+++++
INTP
n = 11
(3.0%)
+++
++
ENTP
n=3
(0.8%)
+
+++
Pairs and Temperaments
IJ
n = 170 (46.4%)
IP
n = 54 (14.8%)
EP
n = 48 (13.1%)
EJ
n = 94 (25.7%)
ST
SF
NF
NT
n = 75
n = 142
n = 111
n = 38
(20.5%)
(38.8%)
(30.3%)
(10.4%)
SJ
SP
NP
NJ
n = 185
n = 32
n = 70
n = 79
(50.5%)
( 8.7%)
(19.1%)
(21.6%)
ESTJ
n = 19
(5.2%)
+++++
ESFJ
n = 47
(12.8%)
+++++
+++++
+++
ENFJ
n = 20
(5.5%)
+++++
+
ENTJ
n=8
(2.2%)
++
44
TJ
TP
FP
FJ
n = 88
n = 25
n = 77
n = 176
(24.0%)
( 6.8%)
(21.0%)
(48.1%)
IN
EN
IS
ES
n = 88
n = 61
n = 136
n = 81
(24.0%)
(16.7%)
(37.2%)
(22.1%)
ET
n = 36 ( 9.8%)
EF
n = 106 (29.0%)
IF
n = 147 (40.2%)
IT
n = 77 (21.0%)
___________________________________________________________________
Jungian Types (E)
Jungian Types (I)
Dominant Types
n%
n%
n%
E-TJ 27
7.4
I-TP
16
4.4
Dt. T
43
11.7
E-FJ 67
18.3
I-FP
38
10.4
Dt. F 105
28.7
ES-P 15
4.1
IS-J
119
32.5
Dt. S 134
36.6
EN-P 33
9.0
IN-J
51
13.9
Dt. N
84
23.0
___________________________________________________________________
Susan H Jones, Leslie J Francis and Charlotte Craig: Psychological types of noncharismatic churchgoers
JEPTA 26 2005
45
Table 2. Type Distribution
of Charismatic Churchgoers
and SRTT Comparison with Non-Charismatic Churchgoers
N = 450 + = 1% of N I = Selection Ratio Index *p<.05 **p<.01 ***p<.001
The Sixteen Complete Types
ISTJ
n = 44
(9.8%)
I = 0.80
+++++
+++++
ISFJ
n = 60
(13.3%)
I = 0.66**
+++++
+++++
+++
INFJ
n = 21
(4.7%)
I = 0.49**
+++++
ISTP
n = 11
(2.4%)
I = 1.79
++
ISFP
n = 21
(4.7%)
I = 1.42
+++++
INFP
n = 31
(6.9%)
I = 0.97
+++++
ESTP
n = 10
(2.2%)
I = 1.36
++
ESFP
n = 21
(4.7%)
I = 1.90
++++
INTJ
n = 23
(5.1%)
I = 1.17
+++++
Dichotomous Preferences
E n = 223 (49.6%) **I = 0.28
I n = 227 (50.4%) **I = 0.82
S n = 260(57.8%) I = 0.97
Nn = 190 (42.2%) I = 1.04
T n = 175 (38.9%)
Fn = 275 (61.1%)
J n = 292 (64.9%)
Pn = 158 (35.1%)
ENFP
n = 39
(8.7%)
I = 1.06
+++++
++++
INTP
n = 16
(3.6%)
I = 1.18
++++
++
ENTP
n=9
(2.0%)
I = 2.44
++
*I = 1.26
*I = 0.88
*I = 0.90
*I = 1.26
Pairs and Temperaments
IJn = 148 (32.9%)***I = 0.71
IP n = 79 (17.6%) I = 1.19
EPn = 79 (17.6%) I = 1.34
EJn = 144 (32.0%) *I = 1.25
STn = 106 (23.6%) I = 1.15
SFn = 154 (34.2%) I = 0.88
NFn = 121 (26.9%) I = 0.89
NT n = 69 (15.3%) *I = 1.48
SJ n = 197 (43.8%) I = 0.87
SPn = 63 (14.0%) *I = 1.60
NPn = 95 (21.1%) I = 1.10
NJn = 95 (21.1%) I = 0.98
TJ n = 129 (28.7%) I = 1.19
TPn = 46 (10.2%) I = 1.50
FPn = 112 (24.9%) I = 1.18
FJn = 163 (36.2%)***I =0.75
ESTJ
n = 41
(9.1%)
I = 1.76*
+++++
++++
ESFJ
ENFJ
ENTJ
n = 52
n = 30
n = 21
(11.6%)
(6.7%)
(4.7%)
I = 0.90
I = 1.22
I = 2.14
+++++
+++++
+++++
+++++
++
++
46
INn = 91 (20.2%) I= 0.84
ENn = 99 (22.0%) I = 1.32
IS n = 136 (30.2%) *I = 0.81
ES n = 124 (27.6%) I = 1.25
Etn = 81 (18.0%) ***I = 1.83
EFn = 142 (31.6%) I = 1.09
IFn = 133 (29.6%) **I= 0.74
ITn = 94 (20.9%) I = 0.99
Jungian Types (E)
n
% index
E-TJ 62 13.7 1.87**
E-FJ 82 18.2 1.00
ES-P 31
6.9 1.68
EN-P 48 10.7 1.18
Jungian Types (I)
n %
index
I-TP
27 6.0 1.37
I-FP
52 11.6 1.11
IS-J 104 23.1 0.71**
IN-J
44 9.8 0.70
Dominant Types
n
%
index
Dt. T 89 19.8 1.68**
Dt. F 134 29.8 1.04
Dt. S 135 30.0 0.82*
Dt. N 92 20.4 0.89
Susan H Jones, Leslie J Francis and Charlotte Craig: Psychological types of
charismatic churchgoers
Table 2 presents the type distribution for the 450 respondents who claimed
to have been influenced by the charismatic movement. Table 2 also employs
the self selection ratio and the chi square test of statistical significance to
compare the type distribution of those influenced by the charismatic
movement with the type distribution of those not influenced by the
charismatic movement. Six main aspects of these data are of particular
interest.
First, the charismatic sample contains a significantly higher proportion of
extraverts, compared with the non-charismatic sample. Thus, 49.6% of the
charismatics express a preference for extraversion, in comparison with 38.8%
of the non-charismatics.
Second, there is no significant difference in the proportions of sensers and
intuitives in the two samples. Thus, 57.8% of the charismatics express a
preference for sensing and so do 59.3% of the non-charismatics.
Third, the charismatic sample contains a significantly higher proportion
of thinkers compared with the non-charismatic sample. Thus, 38.9% of the
JEPTA 26 2005
47
charismatics express a preference for thinking, compared with 30.9% of the
non-charismatics.
Fourth, the charismatic sample contains a significantly higher proportion
of perceivers compared with the non-charismatic sample. Thus, 35.1% of the
charismatics express a preference for perceiving, compared with 27.9% of
the non-charismatics.
Fifth, there is a significantly higher proportion of dominant thinkers
among the charismatic sample (19.8%), compared with the non-charismatic
sample (11.7%).
Sixth, when the type distributions of the two samples are compared,
among the charismatic sample, there is a significant over-representation of
ESTJ and a significant under-representation of ISFJ.
CONCLUSION
These new data help towards building a coherent picture of ways in which
personality theories help to account for individual differences in religiosity.
Five main contributions are made by the present data.
First, the finding that charismatic experience is associated with
e
xt
r
ave
r
s
i
oni
sc
ons
i
s
t
e
ntwi
t
ht
hef
ours
t
udi
e
sus
i
ngEys
e
nc
k’
sdi
me
ns
i
onal
model of personality reported by Francis and Thomas (1997), Robbins, Hair
and Francis (1999), Louden and Francis (2001), and Francis and Robbins
(2003). Although conceptually the Jungian and Eysenckian understandings
of extraversion are somewhat different, empirically the two measures are
generally found to be highly correlated (Francis and Jones, 2000; Francis,
Craig and Robbins, 2003). Extraverts who are more at home in the outer
world may well be more comfortable with the outward manifestations of the
Holy Spirit which so visibly characterise the charismatic movement.
Second, the finding that the charismatic experience is unrelated to the
perceiving process in terms of preference for sensing or preference for
intuition is consistent with the previous study using the MBTI among
committed Christian adults reported by Francis and Jones (1997). This
consistent finding suggests that preference for the charismatic movement
may be underpinned from very different psychological dynamics than is the
case in respect of several other individual differences in religiosity. Francis
and Ross (1997) argued that the perceiving process was fundamental to
individual differences in respect of key aspects of Christian spirituality, and
this theory has been supported by several empirical studies. For example,
Ross, Weiss and Jackson (1996) found intuitives contrasted to sensers in
terms of greater comfort with regard to complexity of religious belief, while
sensers tended to be more definite in regard to what counted as religious to
48
them. Sensers evidenced firmer boundaries between what was secular and
what was sacred. Intuitives showed a more welcoming attitude toward
religious change, viewing new insights as essential for a healthy religious
l
i
f
eand‘
nar
r
ow mi
nde
dr
e
l
i
gi
on’asas
i
gni
f
i
c
antpr
obl
e
m.Se
ns
i
ngt
ype
sby
contrast saw religious change as a problem, and change in personal faith as
an indication of weakness. Ross and Jackson (1993) concluded in their study
of Catholics that the pattern of responses to individual items suggested that
religion functioned in different ways for sensing and for intuitive types.
According to this study religion tended to function as a guide to right living
for sensers, and as a source of insight for intuitives. More recent studies of
college students by Burris and Ross (1996) confirm the relevance of the
perceiving preference of sensing or intuition for orientation to religion, even
among less religiously committed groups.
Francis and Ross (1997)
demonstrate that sensers give higher value than intuitives to the traditional
aspects of Christian spirituality, like church attendance and personal prayer,
while intuitives give higher value than sensers to the experiential aspects of
spirituality, like a fine sunset and a star filled sky. Charismatic experience,
however, remains unrelated to the perceiving process.
Third, the finding that the charismatic experience is related to the judging
process is consistent with the findings of Francis and Jones (1997). Both
studies reported that individuals with a preference for thinking were more
likely than individuals with a preference for feeling to be attracted to the
charismatic movement.
The psychological dynamics underpinning
attraction to the charismatic movement are clearly more associated with the
judging process than with the perceiving process.
Fourth, the finding that the charismatic experience is related to a
preference for extraverting a perceiving process is consistent with the view
that perceivers may be more ready than judgers to accommodate the
spontaneous and unpredictable manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the outer
world. The fact, however, that the earlier study by Francis and Jones (1997)
failed to find any correlation between charismatic experience and attitude
toward the outer world suggests that this finding may need further
replication before it can be treated with confidence.
Fifth, perhaps the most interesting finding of all concerns the way in
which there is a higher proportion of dominant thinkers among the
charismatics than among the non-charismatics. This finding is of interest for
two reasons. On the one hand, several studies have drawn attention to the
general absence of dominant thinkers for the churches (see Francis, Payne
and Jones, 2001). On the other hand, studies like Francis (2002) demonstrate
that it is dominant thinkers who are least likely to respond to certain forms
JEPTA 26 2005
49
of religious experience, like mystical orientation. The present data suggest
that charismatic experience may be able to bring in to churches the very
dominant personality type which other forms of spirituality fail to attract.
The present study has been based on samples of Christian men and women
attracted to workshops on personality and spirituality. The findings now
need to be tested on more general samples recruited from charismatic and
non-charismatic congregations.
Note
1
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and MBTI are registered trademarks of
Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc.
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h
ol
og
i
c
a
lt
y
pet
or
e
l
i
gi
ousa
t
t
i
t
u
de
sa
n
dpr
a
c
t
i
c
e
s
’
,International
Journal for the Psychology of Religion 6: 263-279.
Smi
t
h
,D.
S.a
n
dFl
e
c
k
,J
.
R.
,(
1981)
,
‘
Personality correlates of conventional and
u
n
c
on
v
e
n
t
i
on
a
lg
l
os
s
ol
a
l
i
a
’
,Journal of Social Psychology, 114, 209-217.
Ta
p
pe
i
n
e
r
,D.
A.
,(
1974
)
,‘
The function of tongue-speaking for the individual: a
psycho-t
h
e
ol
og
i
c
a
lmode
l
’
,Journal of American Scientific Affiliation 26: 2932.
Van der Van, J.A., (1993), Practical Theology: an empirical approach
(Kampen, Netherlands: Kok Pharos).
(1998), Education for Reflective Ministry (Louvain, Belgium: Peeters).
Vivier, L.M, (1960), Glossolalia (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Department
of Psychiatry, University of Witwatersrand).
Williams, C.G., Tongues of the Spirit: a study of Pentecostal glossolalia and
related phenomena (Cardiff, UK: University of Wales Press).
JEPTA 26 2005
53
‘
Ther
ei
sPowe
ri
nt
heBl
ood’–
The Role of the Blood of Jesus in the
Spirituality of Early British
Pentecostalism.
Benjamin Pugh
Abstract
Faith in the blood of Jesus appears to have been part of the woof and warp
of the spirituality of the very earliest days of Pentecostalism. Taking
Sunderland in 1908-9 as a case study, it seems that some more or less vocal
andof
t
e
nhi
ghl
ydr
amat
i
cde
mos
t
r
at
i
onoff
ai
t
hi
n‘
t
hepr
e
c
i
ousBl
ood’was
an essential part of the whole baptism in the Spirit experience. Tracing the
prehistory and rather short-l
i
ve
d hi
s
t
or
y of e
ar
l
y Pe
nt
e
c
os
t
al‘
Bl
oodMys
t
i
c
i
s
m’Iwi
l
lhe
r
ee
xami
nei
ns
omede
t
ai
lhow i
twor
ke
dt
he
n and
suggest that some components of it may also be of use today.
Introduction.
In this paper, I am aiming to make a contribution to the study of
Pentecostal spirituality. In studying Pentecostalism as a form of spirituality
r
at
he
rt
han a t
he
ol
ogy,Ia
m r
e
c
ogni
s
i
ng Pe
nt
e
c
os
t
al
i
s
m’
snon-academic
origins and assuming Pentecostalism to be a set of essentially pragmatic
be
l
i
e
f
s and pr
ac
t
i
c
e
st
hatf
os
t
e
ra ‘
c
l
os
e
rwal
k wi
t
h God.
’Pe
nt
e
c
os
t
al
spirituality is a way of relating to God that, at its best, confronts the rest of
the Church with the question, How real is your relationship with God?
By‘
s
pi
r
i
t
ual
i
t
y’
,Imean all that is involved with and springs from an
i
ndi
vi
dual
’
sc
ommuni
on wi
t
h God.1 Pentecostalism has always been a
spirituality of encounter. Things are expected to happen during a
Pentecostal meeting. One is expected to meet God in some tangible way. In
1
Jones, Wainwright and Yarnold, conscious of the vagueness of the word, restrict their
de
f
i
ni
t
i
onofs
pi
r
i
t
ual
i
t
yt
o“…i
ndi
vi
dualpr
aye
ra
ndc
ommuni
onwi
t
hGod,
”al
s
o
r
e
c
ogni
s
i
ng“…t
heout
e
rl
i
f
ewhi
c
hs
uppor
t
sandf
l
owsf
r
om t
hi
sde
vot
i
on,
”s
ummi
ngal
l
t
hi
supas
,
“…mys
t
i
c
alt
he
ol
ogy…”J
one
s
,
C.
,
G.
Wai
nwr
i
ght& E.
Ya
r
nol
d(
e
ds
)
,The Study
of Spirituality, (
London:
SPCK,
1
98
6,
1
99
2)
,
xxi
i
.Wake
f
i
e
l
di
smor
ee
t
hi
c
al
:
“…t
hewayi
n
which prayer influences conduct, our behaviour and manner of life, our attitudes to other
pe
opl
e
.
”Wake
f
i
e
l
d,G.
,
A Dictionary of Christian Spirituality, (London: SCM, 1983), v.
Pugh, Power in the blood
54
this paper I am aiming to take that concept of encounter and explore its
ramifications.
I will do this by analysing and reflecting, in particular, on the data
available from the very earliest days of British Pentecostalism. In the words
2
of Margaret Pol
oma,t
hi
si
st
he‘
e
f
f
e
r
ve
s
c
e
nc
e
’phas
eoft
hemove
me
nt
.
This
particular phase of British Pentecostalism is distinctive in seeing faith in the
bl
ood ofJ
e
s
usasan e
s
s
e
nt
i
alc
ompone
nti
n an i
ndi
vi
dual
’
smome
ntof
encounter with the Godhead. Issuing from this encounter comes the Baptism
in the Holy Spirit with the sign of tongues. This is in marked contrast to later
Pentecostal and Charismatic concepts of Baptism in the Spirit, which see the
experience as little more than the act of speaking in tongues for the first
time. At Sunderland, people were preparing themselves, night after night, to
meet with God. To that end, a doctrine emerges within the pages of
Confidence knownas‘
pl
e
adi
ngt
hebl
ood.
’I
nt
e
s
t
i
monyaf
t
e
rt
e
s
t
i
mony,t
hi
s
practice is referred to as being part and parcel of the Spirit baptism
experience. My task, in this paper, will be to analyse early British Pentecostal
beliefs about putting faith in the power of the blood of Jesus as an apparent
doorway into an experience of divine encounter.
By ‘
e
ar
l
y Br
i
t
i
s
h’
,Ime
an 190
7-1926, the period dating from when
Sunderland was the centre of all things Pentecostal in Britain until the birth
of the most recent of the native classical Pentecostal denominations, the
United Apostolic Faith Church. During this period also is the total run of
publications of Confidence magazi
ne
,Br
i
t
ai
n’
sf
i
r
s
tPe
nt
e
c
os
t
alpe
r
i
odi
c
al
,
published from 1908 to 1926, edited by Rev Alexander Boddy. This is my
main primary source.
1. The Historical Roots of Pentecostal Blood-Mysticism.
There are four influences that have contributed to the formation of early
British Pentecostal Blood-Mysticism that can be cited with a fair degree of
confidence, the first indirect, the last three, direct. These are, Pietism,
Keswick, Azusa Street and Kilsyth
1. Pietism.
The drive towards the early Pentecostal emphasis on the blood began
with much earlier convictions that the Church at large was backslidden and
that a new level of holiness was to be aimed at. Despite the various revivals,
nominal Christianity was creeping across the face of the British Church until,
2
Se
ehe
re
xc
e
l
l
e
ntar
t
i
c
l
e
,
“Tor
ont
oBl
e
s
s
i
ng”,i
nBur
ge
s
s
,S.M.&E.
M.VanDe
rMaas(
e
ds
)
The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2002), 1149-1152.
JEPTA 26 2005
55
by the Edwardian period, church going itself was largely the occupation of
women and children and was an activity restricted to a mere 25% of the
population (this compares to figures of around 40% in Victorian society).3
The growing secularism and religious doubt that had begun during the
Victorian period meant that all Christians faced a choice. Either they could
accommodate themselves to the prevailing cultural and intellectual mood,
which the majority did, or they could radicalise their Christianity.4 The
Victorian Holiness and Higher Life movements, widely acknowledged to be
the true roots of Pentecostalism, drew their inspiration from the radical
Pietism of a century earlier that produced Zinzendorf and the Moravians,
and who in turn influenced the Wesleys. 5 One of the most notable
characteristics of Moravian spirituality was the almost obsessive emphasis
on the blood and wounds of Jesus as a stimulus to greater devotion. 6 The
Wesleys, influenced by Zinzendorf, and by another Moravian, Peter Bohler,
appear to have shared this delight in the blood of Jesus. Wesley, however,
understood the blood to have a sanctifying power, bringing what he
de
s
c
r
i
be
dasa‘
Cl
e
anHe
ar
t
,
’
aswe
l
lasi
t
sc
e
l
ebrated justifying power. Sadly,
this fact caused Wesley and Zinzendorf to part company in 1741, Zinzendorf
choosing to retain a strictly forensic view of the blood. 7 This Wesleyan view
of the blood as a sanctifying as well as justifying agent was passed on to the
Wesleyan Holiness movement.
1.2. Keswick.
3
Thompson, P., The Edwardians: The Remaking of British Society, (London: Routledge, 1975,
1992), 173-4.
4
See Gilbert, A. D., Religion and Society in Industrial England: Church, Chapel and Social
Change 1740-1914, (London: Longman, 1976), 176-187.
5
John and Charles Wesl
e
y’
sf
i
r
s
tc
ont
a
c
twi
t
ht
heMor
avi
answasi
n1
73
7onavoyage
across the Atlantic. This encounter was to lead to John Wesley becoming aware of his own
lack of faith: J
o
hnWe
s
l
e
y
’
sJ
o
ur
na
lVol.1, p142. John Wesley was later to become enamoured
with the spir
i
t
ual
i
t
yofanot
he
rMor
avi
an,
Pe
t
e
rBohl
e
r
,whodi
s
pl
aye
d,
“…domi
ni
onove
r
s
i
nandac
ons
t
antpe
ac
ef
r
om as
e
ns
eoff
or
gi
ve
ne
s
s
,
”whi
c
hWe
s
l
e
ys
aw as
,
“
…ane
w
gos
pe
l
.
”We
akl
e
y,
C.
G.(
e
d)The Nature of Revival (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987),
28,citing Wesley, J., A Letter to the Right Reverend the Bishop of London (London: W.Strahan,
1747.)
6
Lewis records that this reached extremes during the 1740s but on balance had a beneficial
effect on the personal assurance of the Moravian brethren: A.J.Lewis, Zinzendorf: The
Ecumenical Pioneer, (London: SCM, 1962), 69-74. cf. Stott, J.R.W., The Cross of Christ,
(Leicester:IVP, 1986),293-294.
7
Zi
nze
ndor
f
’
svi
e
w oft
hebl
oodi
se
xpr
e
s
s
e
di
nt
he
s
ewor
dsaddr
e
s
s
e
dt
oJ
ohnWe
s
l
e
y:
“Al
lChr
i
s
t
i
anPe
r
f
e
c
t
i
oni
s
,Faith in the blood of Christ. Our whole Christian Perfection is
i
mput
e
d,noti
nhe
r
e
nt
.
”Thef
ul
lc
onve
r
s
a
t
i
oni
savai
l
abl
ei
nEngl
i
s
handLat
i
ni
n
Moltmann, J., The Spirit of Life, (London: SCM, 1992). Cf. Wesley, J., A Plain Account of
Christian Perfection, (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Bookroom, nd),23-27.
56
By the time of the Keswick Conventions, dating from 1875 onwards, it is
evident that the Holiness adherents that were part of the Keswick tradition
were keen to distance themselves from Wesleyan Perfectionism. 8 Yet the
Calvinistic leanings of the Keswickers made them well disposed to any talk
oft
heat
one
me
nt
.The
i
rs
l
oganwas“Hol
i
ne
s
sbyf
ai
t
hi
nJ
e
s
us
,Notbye
f
f
or
t
ofmyown.
”9 Theirs was a holiness performed by God Himself within the
heart in respons
et
ot
hebe
l
i
e
ve
r
’
sf
ul
ls
ur
r
e
nde
rand i
de
nt
i
f
i
c
at
i
on wi
t
h
Christ in death and resurrection. The emphasis among most speakers at
Keswick, therefore, was not so much the blood of Jesus as the cross of Jesus,
and,i
n par
t
i
c
ul
ar
,t
hebe
l
i
e
ve
r
’
sc
r
uc
i
f
i
xi
on with Christ. Andrew Murray
was an exception. In spite of being a Calvinist, he held to a strong belief in
the ongoing sanctifying power of the blood of Jesus that was altogether more
Wesleyan in flavour. He was also a great pneumatologist, the result being a
fascinating union of Blood and Spirit in his writings, both concepts being
s
us
c
e
pt
i
bl
eoft
he‘
l
i
qui
d’t
e
r
mi
nol
ogyofwas
hi
ng,f
l
owi
ngand f
l
oodi
ng.
The Blood was understood to be alive - still fresh, still flowing, still
efficacious before the throne of God in heaven.10 This union involved
interdependence. The Blood could bring the Spirit, as it prepares the way,
c
l
e
ans
i
ngt
hehe
ar
tt
or
e
c
e
i
vet
heSpi
r
i
t
’
si
ndwe
l
l
i
ng.But
,l
i
ke
wi
s
e
,t
heSpi
r
i
t
could bring the Blood, as He illuminates the heart and commends the things
of Christ to the believer.11 Of all the spiritualities that predate Sunderland, it
is that of Andrew Murray that shows the greatest affinities to what we are
about to look at in Confidence magazine.
1.3. Azusa Street.
Another possible influence on Sunderland is Azusa Street. While T.B.
Barratt was in New York in 1906, he sought and experienced the Baptism in
the Spirit with the help of the advice he obtained by corresponding with the
8
Se
ee
s
pe
c
i
al
l
yEl
de
rCummi
ng,J
.
,
“WhatWeTe
ac
h”
,i
nSt
e
ve
ns
on,
H.
F.
(
e
d)
,
Ke
s
wi
c
k
’
s
Triumphant Voice, (London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1963), 19-20. Having said this,
Keswick was never dogmatic about its theologies and Bebbington sees Keswick as a
synthesis of the Calvisitic and Wesleyan approaches: Bebbington, Holiness, 73.
9
Aldis, W.H., The Message of Keswick and its Meaning, (London:Marshall, Morgan & Scott,
nd), 39.
10
“
I
ti
sast
heHol
ySpi
r
i
tr
e
veals this to the soul, the heavenly power of the blood, as
ministered by our Melchizedek, the minister of the heavenly sanctuary, that we see what
power that blood must have, as so sprinkled on us from heaven, in the power of the Holy
Spi
r
i
t
.
”Mur
r
ay,A.
,
The Holiest of All, (London: Oliphants, 1960), 297.
11
“Wemus
tonc
eagai
nnot
i
c
et
het
wos
i
de
soft
hi
st
r
ut
h:
t
hebl
oode
xe
r
c
i
s
e
si
t
sf
ul
lpowe
r
t
hr
ought
heSpi
r
i
t
,andt
heSpi
r
i
tmani
f
e
s
t
sHi
sf
ul
lpowe
rt
hr
ought
hebl
ood.
”Mur
r
ay,
The
Blood, 16.
JEPTA 26 2005
57
Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles. 12 The replies he received during that
t
i
mer
e
pe
at
e
dl
yus
et
hephr
as
e‘
unde
rt
hebl
ood.
’Mr
sI
.MayThr
oop,f
or
e
xampl
e
,wr
i
t
e
st
ohi
m as
s
ur
i
nghi
mt
hat
,“…nomat
t
e
rwhatwor
ki
ngsgo
on in your body, continually let, and ask, God to have his own way with
13
you. You need have no fe
arwhi
l
eyouke
e
punde
rt
hebl
ood”.
An emphasis on the blood at Azusa Street is indicated by what has
be
c
omet
hemos
tf
amousquot
ef
r
om t
hemi
ni
s
t
r
yoft
hatc
hur
c
h:“Thec
ol
or
l
i
nehasbe
e
nwas
he
dawayi
nt
hebl
ood.
”14 Frank Bartleman relates how
15
“…t
he‘
bl
ood’s
ongs
”we
r
eve
r
ypopul
ar
”i
nt
heme
e
t
i
ngs
and reflects that,
“TheHol
y Spi
r
i
tal
wayse
xal
t
sJ
e
s
us
,and Hi
spr
e
c
i
ousbl
ood.AsHei
s
e
xal
t
e
dandf
ai
t
hf
ul
l
ypr
e
ac
he
d,Godi
sr
e
s
t
or
i
ngt
heol
dt
i
mepowe
r
.
”16 A.S.
Wor
r
e
l
lc
oul
dwr
i
t
e
,“Thebl
oodof Jesus is exalted in these meetings as I
haver
ar
e
l
yknowne
l
s
e
whe
r
e
.
”17
1.4. Kilsyth.
A third stream of direct influence that flowed into the Blood-Mysticism of
Sunderland, besides those flowing from Keswick and Azusa Street was one
that began On the 31st of January 1908 in Kilsyth, Scotland. On this day, a
manbyt
henameofJ
ohnRe
i
d,awor
s
hi
ppe
ratAndr
e
w Mur
doc
h’
sc
hur
c
h
i
n We
s
t
por
tHal
l
,“r
ai
s
e
d hi
s hand and c
r
i
e
d‘
Bl
ood!Bl
ood!Bl
ood!
”
Immediately following this, 13 young people received the Baptism in the
Spirit and spoke in tongues. 18 From this point onwards, this repetition of the
wor
d‘
bl
ood’
,whi
c
h be
c
ame known as‘
pl
e
adi
ng t
he bl
ood’
,be
c
ame a
common practice at Kilsyth as people sought the Baptism in the Holy
Spirit.19 In March 1908, Alexander Boddy visited Kilsyth and witnessed the
pleading of the Blood. Whilst there he experienced an intensity of power in
12
Bundy,
D.
,
“Spi
r
i
t
ualAdvi
c
et
oaSe
e
ke
r
:Le
t
t
e
r
st
oT.
B.
Bar
r
a
t
tf
r
om Azus
aSt
r
e
e
t
,
1
90
6
”,
Pneuma 1:14 (Fall 1992),160.
13
Bundy,
“Spi
r
i
t
ualAdvi
c
e
”,
1
6
2.
14
Bartleman, F., Azusa Street: the Roots of Modern-day Pentecost, (Plainfield: Bridge
Publishing, 1980), xviii; Cox, H., Fire From Heaven, (London: Cassell, 1996), 58.
15
Bartleman, Azusa, 57.
16
Baertleman, Azusa, 156.
17
Bartleman, Azusa, 86; Weeks, G., Chapter Thirty-Two –Part Of, (Barnsley: Gordon Weeks,
2003), 23.
18
Weeks, Chapter Thirty-Two, 19.
19
Worsfold credits the John Reid incident with being the start of the pleading the blood
doctrine: Worsfold, J., The Origins of the Apostolic Church in Great Britain, (Wellington: Julian
Literature Trust, 1991), 45. He bases his information on White, K., The Word of God Coming
Again, (Apostolic Faith Church: Bournemouth, 1919), 83-134.
58
the meetings that he described as greater that anything he had seen under
T.B. Barratt in Norway. 20
2. The Data.
We now come to analyse the data so far gathered from Confidence. The very
first issue of Confidence, published in April 1908, carries an article, written by
Mar
yBoddy,whi
c
hi
sde
vot
e
dt
ot
hes
ubj
e
c
toft
heBl
ood.I
ti
sc
al
l
e
d,“Hi
s
OwnBl
ood”andope
nswi
t
ht
hel
audat
i
on:
“Wepr
ai
s
eourGodt
hatHei
st
e
ac
hi
ngusi
nt
he
s
edayst
hewonde
r
f
ul
de
pt
h,e
f
f
i
c
ac
y,andpowe
roft
heBl
ood.
”21
From this issue until the March of the following year, Confidence
magazi
nec
an boas
tofno f
e
we
rt
han 31
8us
e
soft
hewor
d “bl
ood” i
n
relation to Jesus in its pages (1.4 per page). This is far in excess of all the
ot
he
rwaysofr
e
f
e
r
r
i
ngt
ot
heat
one
me
ntwi
t
hwor
dss
uc
has
,“Cr
os
s
”(
80x)
,
“Cal
var
y”(
4
7x)
,“c
r
uc
i
f
i
e
d”(
30x)
,“at
oni
ng”(
6
x)
,and“at
one
me
nt
”(
4x)
,af
ac
t
which, to a lesser degree, is also true of the New Testament itself. 22 This
hi
ghr
at
i
ngoft
hewor
d‘
bl
ood’al
s
oc
ompar
e
squi
t
ec
ompe
t
i
t
i
ve
l
ywi
t
ht
he
pneumatological emphasis of Confidence, which has 657 references to the
wor
d “Spi
r
i
t
,
”421r
e
f
e
r
e
nc
e
st
o“t
ongue
s
”,325us
e
soft
hephr
as
e“Hol
y
Ghos
t
”,and21us
e
sof“Anoi
nt
i
ng”ove
rt
hes
ameye
arl
ongpe
r
i
od.
Theus
e
st
owhi
c
ht
hewor
d‘
bl
ood’i
sputove
rt
hi
spe
r
i
od di
s
pl
ayan
excessive Christus Victor theme when compared to the New Testament. It is
of note, judging from data so far gathered, that 38% of all references to the
blood of Jesus in the first year of Confidence fall within a victory theme,
whether that be victory over sin, satan, sickness or some unspecified enemy.
Atonement-related themes, including cleansing, forgiveness, justification,
redemption and sanctification account for a mere 16%. By contrast, in the
Ne
w Te
s
t
ame
nt
,onl
y1outoft
he30us
e
soft
hewor
d‘
bl
ood’wi
t
hr
e
f
e
r
e
nc
e
to the death of Jesus actually speaks of victory (Rev.12:11). The remainder all
carry an atonement-related subject matter.
As time went on, especially after 1916,23 references to the Blood of Jesus in
Confidence magazine fall into gradual decline. This is illustrated below:
20
White, K., The Word of God Coming Again, (Bournemouth: Apostolic Faith Church, 1919),
83-85.
21
Confidence 1:1 (Apr 08), 4.
22
Se
eSt
i
bbe
s
’c
l
as
s
i
cwor
k:St
i
bbe
s
,
A.
,The Meaning o
ft
heWo
r
d‘
Bl
o
o
d’i
nSc
r
i
pt
ur
e
,
(London: Tyndale Press, 1947), 3-4.
23
1916 actually shows a peak due to the re-issue of an article from August 1908. In 1924
and 1926, Boddy himself , who died in 1926, seems to be trying to recapture something of
JEPTA 26 2005
59
Frequency of 'Blood' References by Calendar Year
Average No. Per Page
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
One possible factor in the decline is the breaking away of the Welsh from
the Apostolic Faith Church in 1916 to form what would later be named the
Welsh Apostolic Church. This split may have had the effect of highlighting
the extremes of William Oliver Hutchinson, the leader of the Apostolic Faith
Church. He was an ardent and vocal champion of the extreme, Kilsyth
version of pleading the blood, that is, he believed in rapidly repeating the
wor
d‘
bl
ood’unt
i
lt
ongue
sc
ame
.Hehadhi
ms
e
l
fbe
e
nbapt
i
ze
di
nt
heSpi
r
i
t
following two hours of this incessant repetition.24 The Welsh were reacting
against this, as well as a number of other extreme doctrines. Hutchinson
would appeal to the Old Testament story of Solomon offering repeated
blood sacrifices at the dedication of the temple in order to support his
doctrine.25 In Confidence magazine, Barratt had already issued a warning as
e
ar
l
yasAugus
t1
90
9agai
ns
tt
heme
c
hani
c
alus
eoft
hewor
d‘
bl
ood’asat
ool
to aid talking in tongues.26 As a result, from the August 1909 issue onwards,
t
hewor
d‘
pl
e
ad’andi
t
sc
ognat
e
s
,whe
nus
e
di
nc
onj
unc
t
i
onwi
t
h‘
bl
ood’
his earlier days in what, in comparison with then, had now become little more than a
personal newsletter.
24
Hat
haway,M.
,
“TheRol
eofWi
l
l
i
am Ol
i
ve
rHut
c
hi
ns
onandt
heApos
t
ol
i
cFai
t
hChur
c
h
i
nt
heFor
mat
i
onofBr
i
t
i
s
hPe
nt
e
c
os
t
alChur
c
he
s
,
”JEPTA 16 (1996), 46-51. Hutchinson
presents a thorough defence of the doctrine in issues 5 and 6 of Showers of Blessing (Summer
1910), having already included it among his four cardinal truths as early as 1908. The other
t
hr
e
ewe
r
ewat
e
rbapt
i
s
m,
t
heLor
d’
sSuppe
randpayi
ngtithes. See Worsfold, Origins, 34,
47, 49.
25
Hat
haway,
“Hut
c
hi
ns
on”,
4
4.
26
Bar
r
a
t
t
,
T.
B.
,
“Pas
t
orBar
r
at
t
”,
Confidence 2:8 (Aug 1909), 186-187.
60
almost completely disappears, never to rise again.27 This rejection of the
lunatic element in Pentecostal spirituality represents the beginnings of an
eclipse of the whole blood-orientated approach. This is despite the
continued insistences, of both Boddy and Barratt, that the Holy Spirit only
ever works in conjunction with the Blood.28
Another factor in the demise of Blood-Mysticism may be the loss of
sanctification from the Pentecostal schema. As will be seen from the
testimonies of Spirit baptism shortly to be examined, the ideas of cleansing,
consecration and sanctification dominated the minds of those seeking the
experience. Holiness by faith, the Keswick concept, maintained a firm grip
on British Pentecostal spirituality during its early years.
In a similar way, in America, after the first 10 years of Pentecostalism,
sanctification was no longer seen as an essential preliminary to being filled
with the Spirit and speaking in tongues.29 In America this difference of
belief created a rift between the Holiness Pentecostals who retained three
bl
e
s
s
i
ngs
,and t
he‘
Fi
ni
s
he
d Wor
k’Pe
nt
e
c
os
t
al
swhohe
l
dt
oonl
yt
wo.I
n
Britain, where the Wesleyan Perfectionist influence was weaker, this
transition had effectively already begun at Keswick, so there was no such
r
i
f
t
.I
ne
f
f
e
c
t
, al
l Br
i
t
i
s
h Pe
nt
e
c
os
t
al
s we
r
e al
r
e
ady ‘
Fi
ni
s
he
d Wor
k’
Pentecostals. Yet the influence of Keswick also meant that there would be a
strong holiness ethos to early Pentecostalism in Britain, even though it
27
The
r
ear
eana
ve
r
ageof4.
2us
e
spe
ri
s
s
ueof‘
pl
e
adi
ng’andi
t
sc
ogna
t
e
swi
t
h‘
bl
ood’f
r
om
April 08 until July 09. From August 09 onwards there are an average of 0.3 per issue.
Bar
r
at
t
’
swar
ni
ngi
nAugus
twaspr
e
c
e
de
di
nJ
ul
y0
9byamor
ei
nc
i
de
nt
alc
aut
i
onar
ynot
e
:
“He[
Ant
onRe
us
sofFl
or
e
nc
e
]ha
dl
e
ar
ne
dt
opl
e
adt
heBl
ood–not by repetition of the
wor
d“Bl
ood,
”butbypr
e
s
e
nt
i
ngt
heAt
one
me
ntt
ot
heFa
t
he
ri
nt
hepowe
roft
heHol
y
Ghos
t
.
”Confidence 2: 4 (July 09), 159. Polman may have been referring to the practice in
1911 when he spoke against using special methods to help people into the baptism of the
Spi
r
i
t
:“ThePl
a
c
eofTongue
si
nt
hePe
nt
e
c
os
t
alMove
me
nt
”i
nConfidence 4:8 (Aug 11), 177.
28
In a way that anticipates the Trinitarian urgencies of Tom Smail some 80 years later,
Boddy, writing in Confidence 2:5(Aug 09), 180-1
8
1,i
ns
i
s
t
s
:“
ThePe
nt
e
c
os
t
alBl
e
s
s
i
ng…i
s
claimed and received only because of the Cross. The Oil follows the Blood (Lev.xiv.,17).
Absolute trust in the Atoning work, and the Substitutionary work of the Son of God at
Calvary, is one of the HALL-MARKSoft
hi
sBl
e
s
s
i
ng.
”Cf
.
Bar
r
a
t
tonp1
87
:
“TheHol
y
Spirit never works outside of the Blood, but always in connection and in unison with
i
t
.
”(
c
api
t
al
i
s
at
i
ona
ndi
t
al
i
c
sor
i
gi
nal
,s
ot
hr
oughout
)
29
Chani
de
nt
i
f
i
e
st
hef
i
r
s
t1
0ye
ar
sa
s“t
hehe
ar
tofPe
nt
e
c
os
t
al
i
s
m.
”,
Chan,
S.
,
Pentecostal
Theology and the Christian Spiritual Tradition, (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000, 67,
cf.7. Chan follows Land, S.J., Pentecostal Spirituality: A Passion for the Kingdom, (Sheffield:
Sheffield Academic Press, 1993, 1997, 2001), 13, who, agreeing with Walter Hollenweger,
as
s
e
r
t
st
ha
t“…t
hef
i
r
s
tt
e
nye
ar
soft
hePe
nt
e
c
os
t
almove
me
ntf
or
mt
hehe
ar
tnott
he
i
nf
anc
yoft
hes
pi
r
i
t
ual
i
t
y.
”
JEPTA 26 2005
61
t
e
nde
dnott
obear
t
i
c
ul
at
e
di
nt
hef
or
m ofadi
s
t
i
nc
t‘
bl
e
s
s
i
ng’
.Bute
ve
nt
hi
s
holiness ethos faded over time
By the time the Pentecostals had all formed themselves into
denominations in the 1920s, belief in the power of the blood was becoming a
poorly understood and relatively obsolete appendage to Pentecostal
spirituality. The Spirit by Himself, without reference to the blood, was seen
increasingly as the sole sanctifying agent.30 A new generation had emerged
that never knew that sanctification was part of the original package. The
f
oc
usonChr
i
s
twasr
e
t
ai
ne
dbyme
anst
he‘
Four
s
quar
eGos
pe
l
’advoc
at
e
d
by George Jeffreys,31 but soon, with the birth of post-War NeoPentecostalism, even this christological framework would be eroded. By
1976, it wasope
nl
yde
c
l
ar
e
damongBr
i
t
i
s
hPe
nt
e
c
os
t
al
s
:“Hol
i
ne
s
si
snota
c
ondi
t
i
onoft
hebapt
i
s
mi
nt
heSpi
r
i
t
.
”32
3. Experiences of Pentecost.
Over the course of Confidence magazi
ne
’
sf
i
r
s
tye
arofi
s
s
ue
:Apr
i
l1908March 1909, a total of 25 personal testimonies were published. These were
from people who, at various times and places, received the baptism in the
Holy Spirit. These testimonies fall broadly into a fourfold pattern:
Aspiration, Consecration, Encounter and Results.
3.1. Aspiration.
This is the stage at which the seeker first becomes aware that he or she lacks
33
s
ome
t
hi
ng.Thi
si
sde
s
c
r
i
be
d as“hunge
r
i
ngand t
hi
r
s
t
i
ng”,
as
, “…s
oul
34
35
hunge
r
…” oras
,“…ade
e
pl
ongi
ngaf
t
e
rHi
ms
e
l
f
.
”
This hunger was often generated by a sense of failure in some area of sin.
MsBe
r
ul
ds
e
n ofEdi
nbur
gh mour
nst
hat
:“Many s
e
e
me
dt
o ge
tagr
e
a
t
bl
e
s
s
i
ngandwe
r
eabl
et
os
ay,‘
Hehasbr
oke
nmyf
e
t
t
e
r
s
,
’butIc
oul
dnot
30
Hudson, N., Roots and History of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements: The British
Background to the Pentecostal Movement (Notes from a lecture given June 2004, Regents
Theological College), 4.
31
J
e
f
f
r
e
ysr
e
t
ai
ne
danaf
f
e
c
t
i
onf
orphr
as
e
sl
i
ke
,“…t
hec
l
e
ans
i
nge
f
f
i
c
a
c
yoft
hepr
e
c
i
ous
bl
ood”butt
heor
i
e
nt
at
i
onbe
c
amemor
ee
vange
l
i
s
t
i
c
;
wear
e‘
s
ave
d’byt
hebl
ood:
“For
giveness, pardon, cleansing are the words that certainly belong to the vernacular of
t
hos
ewhohavebe
e
ns
a
ve
dt
hr
ought
hebl
oodoft
heLamb.
”J
e
f
f
r
e
ys
,G.
,
Healing Rays 4th
Ed., (Worthing: Henry E. Walter, 1985),24.
32
Hudson, Roots and History, 4, citing Lancaster, J., The Spirit Filled Church, (Cheltenham:
Greenhurst Press, 1976), 28.
33
Mrs Elvin,Confidence 1:6 (Sep 08), 12.
34
Mr W.H.S,Confidence 1:5 (Aug 08), 9.
35
Ms A.S. Kenyon, Confidence 1:5 (Aug 08).
62
36
s
i
ng t
he
s
e wor
ds
,If
e
l
tIwasbound.
” It was then fed by news of
Pentecostal revival breaking out elsewhere. One man records an inner
wi
t
ne
s
swhe
n he“…he
ar
d oft
heout
pour
i
ng oft
heHol
y Spi
r
i
tatLos
Ange
l
e
s
.
.
.
” whi
c
h l
e
d t
o what he de
s
c
r
i
be
s as “…a hol
y, de
vout
e
xpe
c
t
at
i
on…”37
The expectations that seekers had of what long term benefits the
experience would give them may be summed up under the twin Keswick
i
de
al
sof
,‘
mai
nt
ai
ne
dc
ommuni
onwi
t
ht
heLor
dandvi
c
t
or
yove
ral
lknown
s
i
n.
”38 John Miller of Glasgow, for example, gave his testimony in the hope
39
t
hat
,“…ot
he
r
smaybehe
l
pe
di
nt
oaf
ul
l
e
rLi
f
eofVi
c
t
or
yandPowe
r
…”
Si
gnor
aMal
anf
r
om Tur
i
nde
s
c
r
i
be
sas
i
mi
l
arl
ongi
ng:“Ihave
,ye
araf
t
e
r
year, had an increasing desire for complete deliverance from sin and self.40
But in addition to these aspirations towards personal victory, there was a
more compelling,mor
e dange
r
ous
,e
xpe
c
t
at
i
on.The
y we
r
e af
t
e
r
,“THE
REALPENTECOST”41 “…t
hemani
f
e
s
tbapt
i
s
m oft
heHol
yGhos
t
.
”42 They
had c
ome t
o Sunde
r
l
and,“…t
o wai
tupon God f
orf
ul
lPe
nt
e
c
os
twi
t
h
Si
gns
.
”43 Thi
s‘
wi
t
hs
i
gns
’e
l
e
me
nt was what di
s
t
i
ngui
s
he
dt
he ne
w
Pentecostals sharply from their Holiness contemporaries such as Reader
Harris and Jessie Penn-Lewis.
3.2. Consecration.
The baptism in the Spirit was not seen as something that could be lightly
given by God. It was seen as holy and precious. The experience was seen as
a meeting with God Himself. To prepare for this, it was necessary to confess
al
lknown s
i
n and t
os
ur
r
e
nde
rone
’
swhol
es
e
l
ft
o God.One s
e
e
ke
r
r
e
c
ol
l
e
c
t
s“Al
lknownhi
ndr
anc
e
si
nt
hepas
twe
r
et
obemut
ual
l
yowne
di
n
44
the presence of the searcher ofal
lhe
ar
t
s
.
”
Anot
he
rs
t
at
e
s
,“Wee
nt
e
r
e
di
n
t
hr
ought
hepr
e
c
i
ousBl
ood,t
heonl
ywayofpe
r
f
e
c
tc
l
e
ans
i
ng.
”45
Working alongside this process of confession and cleansing there was the
need for total surrender. This appears to have been a salient feature of the
36
Ms Beruldsen, Confidence 1:1 (Apr 08),11.
Mr W.H.S., Confidence 1:5 (Aug 08), 8).
38
Barabas, S., So Great Salvation: The History and Message of the Keswick Convention,
(London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1952), 20.
39
Confidence 1:2 (May 08), 11.
40
Confidence 1:4 (July 08), 6.
41
Reverend C.W.D: Confidence 1:2 (May 08),7,
42
J.W., Confidence 1:9 (Dec 08), 10.
43
Ms Williams, Confidence 1:1 (Apr 08), 14.
44
Reverend C.W.D., Confidence 1:2 (May 08), 7.
45
Margaret Howell and Mabel Scott, Confidence 1:1 (Apr 08), 5.
37
JEPTA 26 2005
63
‘
t
ar
r
yi
ng’e
xpe
r
i
e
nc
e
.Smi
t
hWi
ggl
e
s
wor
t
hwr
i
t
e
s
,“Ast
hebl
oodi
sappl
i
e
d
t
hr
oughs
e
par
at
i
onand hol
ys
ur
r
e
nde
r
,t
hef
i
r
ef
al
l
s
,t
heSpi
r
i
t
’
sc
l
ot
hi
ng
c
ome
sont
oapur
es
pi
r
i
t
.
”46
3.3. Encounter.
It was anticipated that the encounter would not only be an encounter
with God, but also with the opposition of Satan. It was necessary, not to try
t
of
i
ghtt
hede
vi
lonone
’
sownme
r
i
t
s
,butt
opl
e
adt
hebl
oodofJ
e
s
us
.Onl
y
the invocation of the blood could make the devil flee. John Martin was flat
on hi
sbac
ki
n Andr
e
w Mur
doc
h’
ski
t
c
he
ns
e
e
ki
ng t
heBapt
i
m whe
n he
reports:
“If
ound Ihad s
pi
r
i
t
uale
ne
mi
e
shi
nde
r
i
ng my ge
t
t
i
ng t
hr
ough.If
e
l
t
them. They were like an atmosphere in front of me. I BEGAN TO PLEAD
THE BLOOD. I assured myself and Satan that it was the all-atoning Blood,
andt
hatJ
e
s
uswasbot
hLor
dandChr
i
s
t
.
”Mome
nt
sl
at
e
r
,her
e
por
t
st
hathe
wass
we
pt“…i
nt
ot
hes
e
aofPe
nt
e
c
os
t
alFul
l
ne
s
swi
t
hi
t
sunmi
s
t
akabl
e
47
s
e
al
.
”
The mechanics of pleading the blood were rooted in the description of
Satan in Revelation 12:10 as the accuser of the brethren, hence the legal
metaphor of pleading before a prosecution. When a seeker approaches God
in a tarrying meeting, it was believed that he or she could expect to be
buffeted by the accuser with reference to his or her lack of personal
holiness.48 This was designed to turn the believer away from God shamefaced and empty-handed. The implication seems to be that the blood has
justified the believer. He or she simply needs to realise this and proclaim it. 49
The role of the blood in the encounter stage, therefore, serves as a confidence
booster as the seeker finds him or herself standing before the manifest
presence of both God and Satan.
3.4. Results.
Without exception, where long-term results are described, every
e
xpe
c
t
at
i
onhasbe
e
nme
t
.Be
s
i
de
st
hes
i
gnsof‘
Ful
lPe
nt
e
c
os
t
’–the tongues,
prostrations and other signs - there is reportedly, a much greater victory
46
S. Wigglesworth, Confidence 1:9 (Dec 08), 9.
John Martin, Confidence 1:1 (Apr 08), 12-13.
48
“Sat
anwi
l
lc
omet
oac
c
us
e
,buts
t
e
adf
as
t
l
ypoi
nthi
mt
ot
hebl
oodoft
ha
tvi
c
t
or
i
ousl
i
f
e
onhi
gh.
”A.Boddy,
“TheWayt
oYour‘
Pe
nt
e
c
os
t
’
”,
Confidence 1:5 (Aug 08), 24.
49
“Wear
eaptt
ol
ookatt
hematter critically, forgetting that, even when we stand at
He
a
ve
n’
sgat
e
,wes
hal
lhavenoot
he
rpl
e
af
ore
nt
r
anc
ebutt
hePr
e
c
i
ousBl
ood.
”Vi
c
t
or
Wi
l
s
on,“
A Le
t
t
e
rf
r
om Mot
he
r
we
l
l
”,Confidence 1:6 (Sep 08), 13
47
64
over sin and a much closer relationship with God. Alexander and Mary
Boddy’
sdaught
e
r
,J
ane
,f
orexample, was clearly enamoured with Jesus as a
r
e
s
ul
tofhe
re
xpe
r
i
e
nc
e
:“Si
nc
et
he
nChr
i
s
ti
smyoneai
m,l
i
f
ei
snotwor
t
h
50
l
i
vi
ngwi
t
houtHi
m,Hei
ss
uc
hawonde
r
f
ulr
e
al
i
t
y.
”
What is of note is that this victory over sin and closer communion is seen
as being maintained, not only by the Spirit, but also by the blood. One
wr
i
t
e
s
,“The
r
ei
svi
c
t
or
ywhe
r
et
he
r
ewasde
f
e
at
,t
he
r
ei
sl
i
be
r
t
ywhe
r
eIwas
bound…Hehasgi
ve
n mes
uc
hf
ai
t
hi
nt
hepowe
roft
heBl
ood.
”51 The
br
ot
he
rf
r
om Pr
e
t
or
i
awr
i
t
e
s
,“Hehasovercome, and so do we by the power
oft
hebl
ood.If
i
ndt
hatIha
vebe
gunane
wl
i
f
eofpowe
r
.
”52
Conclusion.
The spirituality displayed on the pages of Confidence, was a spirituality of
encounter. Pleading the Blood, in its radical form, that is, the mere repetition
oft
hewor
d‘
bl
ood’
,wasas
upe
r
s
t
i
t
i
ousands
oondi
s
c
r
e
di
t
e
de
xt
e
ns
i
onof
this spirituality. Yet a firm faith in the blood of Jesus, in a more general
sense, seems to have been of some genuine value, especially during the
moment of encounter. The seekers were coming face to face with the
holiness of God and with the finger-pointing malice of Satan. There was no
use in invoking their own track record at living a good Christian life. There
was hope only in the sanctifying and justifying blood of Jesus. His blood
alone could make it possible for a sinner to be baptized in the holy power of
the Holy Spirit. The blood was code for the promise of deliverance from a
life of failure and of the absence of true fellowship with God, into one of
continual victory and communion. The blood prepared the way for it; the
Spirit brought the reality of it; the blood and the Spirit sustained it.
A crucial difference exists between the spirituality of Keswick and the
spirituality of Sunderland. Keswick had been offering an alternative to
worldly compromise in the form of an authentic Christian life. It held out the
promise of a self-vindicating authenticity in the midst of a world that no
longer found the claims of Christianity credible. By simple faith, a Christlike life was possible –a life of personal purity and power for service. Such a
lifestyle was deemed sufficient to show that the message of Christianity was
true and worked. Sunderland developed a spirituality, not of authenticity
only, but also of direct divine authentication. Now, the expectation was that
t
hes
e
e
ke
r
’
sf
ai
t
hc
oul
d bel
e
gi
t
i
mat
e
d byapowe
r
f
ulpe
r
s
onale
nc
ount
e
r
50
Jane Boddy, Confidence 1:2 (May 08), 7.
J.W.,Confidence 1:9 (Dec 08), 10.
52
Thos. J. Armstrong, Confidence 1:9 (Dec 08), 20-21.
51
JEPTA 26 2005
65
with God, evidenced by the gift of tongues. This goes beyond the quietism of
Keswick, shy as it was of any dramatic manifestations. This transition from
‘
aut
he
nt
i
c
’t
o‘
aut
he
nt
i
c
a
t
e
d’r
e
pr
e
s
e
nt
st
hepos
s
i
bi
l
i
t
yofat
r
ans
i
t
i
onf
r
om
holiness to power, from ethical vindication to miraculous intervention. As
such, this transition already contains within it the seeds of the destruction of
the blood-centred approach. In time, power could take over from holiness,
and an obsession with the miraculous, could overshadow a concern for how
a sinner can come before God. But for the time being, the happy seekers of
Sunderland were at a crossover pointbe
t
we
e
nKe
s
wi
c
k’
sHi
ghe
rLi
f
eand
l
at
e
rPe
nt
e
c
os
t
al
i
s
m’
spowe
r
-filled life.
As a way of drawing fresh sap from our roots, the early years of
Sunderland have much to offer those who will recognise the value of those
ye
ar
sasa mome
nti
n God’
spr
ovi
de
nc
eand an important stage in the
c
hur
c
h’
si
nt
e
r
pr
e
t
at
i
onofi
t
.Todr
aw f
r
om t
hos
er
oot
si
nourt
e
ac
hi
ng,our
praying, our singing, may bring a deepening and a revitalising of the
Pentecostal experience among many today. Sunderland points the way, not
to the resurrection of a holiness code or the re-adoption of any other kind of
precondition to the experience. Rather, Sunderland points the way to a
redefinition of Baptism in the Spirit as an empowering encounter with God
through the blood of Jesus. Such a redefinition may well bring a new
confidence among the guilt stricken, those afflicted with low self-esteem or
those tired of materialism, to put faith in the soul-cleansing blood and
courageously meet God face to face.
A Yong: The Spirit and Creation
66
Pentecostal Migrant Churches in the
Netherlands
Cornelis van der Laan
Paper presented to the Joint EPTA/EPCRA
Conference, Beuggen Castle, Rheinfelden, March
29-April 2, 2005
Introduction
This paper presents a survey of the migrant churches in the Netherlands, in
particular the Pentecostal migrant churches coming from Africa, Asia and
Latin America.1 We will give attention to their relationship with the Dutch
churches and society and to some of the missiological questions they raise.
At first we will look to migration figures and patterns in the Netherlands,
after which we will investigate the various migrants churches that
developed, followed by a consideration of the relation between the migrant
churches with the Dutch churches and society.
Migration figures
In 2003 the Netherlands population of 16,2 million included 3 million
mi
gr
ant
s
,ofwhi
c
h 1,
6 mi
l
l
i
on ‘
non-we
s
t
e
r
n mi
gr
ant
s
’and 1,
4 mi
l
l
i
on
2
‘
we
s
t
e
r
nmi
gr
ant
s
’
. This means that one out of ten inhabitants is a nonwestern migrant and a little less than one out of ten a western migrant. In
particular the non-western migrants are growing in number. Over thirty
years the number of migrants has nearly tripled, but the number of nonwestern migrants in the same period has grown ten times. The total growth
of the population over these 30 years has been 3 million, the half of which is
3
to be attributed to the non-western migrants. Between 1995 and 2003 non1
Se
eal
s
omy‘
Knoc
ki
ngonHe
ave
n’
sDoor
’pr
e
s
e
nt
e
dt
ot
heConf
e
r
e
nc
e‘
Mi
gr
at
i
onund
Identität. Pfingstlich-charismatische Gemeinden fremder Sprache unde Herkunft in
De
ut
s
c
hl
and’
,
University of Heidelberg, 11-12 June 2004.
2
Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS), Internet 2004-05-05. Under the category nonwestern migrant the CBS places people from Turkey, Africa, Latin America and Asia.
People from Japan and Indonesia, however, are counted with the western migrants, on the
basis of their socio-economic and socio-cultural position. It mainly deals with people born
in formarly Dutch Indies and employees of Japanese bussinesses with their families.
[www.cbs.nl/nl/publicaties/artikelen/maatschappij/bevolking/b52j03011-017.pdf]
3
CBS, Ibid.
JEPTA 26 2005
67
western migrants were responsible for two-third of the population growth.
Many migrants live in the larger cities. One third of the Amsterdam
population belong to the migrants.
The Dutch Central Statistic Office (CBS) counts all people of whom at
l
e
as
tonepar
e
nti
sbor
nabr
oad as‘
al
l
oc
ht
honous
’
,me
ani
ngf
or
e
i
gn-born.
One might possess the Dutch nationality and still be allochthone in these
statistics. In this paper we use the more general term migrants, also when
we use the statistical numbers of allochthonous. The CBS also distinguishes
between western and non-western migrants. Because of the presupposition
that western migrants look more aliket
heDut
c
hnat
i
ve(
‘
aut
oc
ht
honous
’
)
,
the CBS decided that people from Japan and Indonesia are counted as
western migrants.
Among the western migrants the Germans and people from former the
Dutch Indies or Indonesia are the largest groups.
Among the non-we
s
t
e
r
n mi
gr
ant
st
he‘
c
l
as
s
i
c
al
’or‘
ol
d al
l
oc
ht
honous
’
groups are: Turks, Moroccans, Surinamese and Antillians. Recently other
gr
oupss
how as
t
r
onggr
owt
hr
at
e
.The
s
e‘
ne
w al
l
oc
ht
honous
’c
omef
r
om
countries like: Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, China and Somalia. Non-western
migrants from a young age group, four out of ten are younger than 20 years.
Until World War II migration to the Netherlands was very limited. The
first groups of migrants since World War II mainly came from the former
Dutch colonies in the East: Moluccans (or Ambonese), East-Indies Dutch,
East-Indies Chinese and (after 1962) Papuans.
Dur
i
ng t
he 1960’
s many wor
ke
r
sf
r
om Sout
he
r
n Eur
ope ar
r
i
ve
d:
Spaniards, Italians and Yugoslavs (labour-migration). Most of them returned
home at some point. Labourers recruited somewhat later from Turkey and
Morocco often settled and had their family members come over (familyreunion migration). Many of the second generation Turks and Moroccans
still choose their wedding partner from the country of origin (familyforming migration).
People from the Surinam and the Antilles at first used to come on a
temporary basis to study, but more and more decided to stay. Around the
time Surinam gained independence (1975) a major stream of Surinamese
took up permanent residence in the Netherlands.
Unt
i
le
ar
l
y1970’
si
twasnott
houghtne
c
e
s
s
ar
yt
or
e
f
l
e
c
tont
hemul
t
i
4
cultural aspects of society . The majority of migrants coming from former
colonies were familiar with the Dutch language and culture, while the "guest
4
Sj
a
akva
n‘
tKr
ui
s
,Ge
bor
e
ni
nSi
on.Der
e
l
at
i
et
us
s
e
ndeSame
nopWe
g-kerken, de
migrantenkerken en organisaties van christelijke migranten (Utrecht: LDC, 2001), 27.
68
workers" were regarded to be here on a temporary basis. This orderly
pi
c
t
ur
ec
hange
di
nt
he1970’
s
.I
naddi
t
i
ont
ot
heal
r
e
adyme
nt
i
one
dgr
oups
,
numerous refugees arrived from Latin America, Asia and Africa (asylum
migration), giving rise to a discussion about the new multi-cultural society.
Many ‘
aut
oc
ht
honous
’s
e
et
he‘
al
l
oc
ht
honous
’asa t
hr
e
atf
ort
he
i
rown
position on the labour and housing market. The spectacular growth of
as
yl
um s
e
e
ke
r
si
n199
0’
st
oge
t
he
rwi
t
hde
ve
l
opme
nt
si
nt
heEur
ope
anUni
on
(Schengen-Accord) has led to a more and more restrictive government
policy. Distinction is made between political and economical refugees. Only
pol
i
t
i
c
alr
e
f
uge
e
sar
er
e
gar
de
d‘
r
e
alr
e
f
uge
e
s
’
.The gove
r
nme
nts
t
r
e
s
s
e
s
integration of the migrants and continues to sharpen the rules for migration.
Several databases with personal information are connected enabling the
tracking down of the so-c
al
l
e
d‘
i
l
l
e
gal
s
’
.Fr
audul
e
nc
ewi
t
hdoc
ume
nt
shas
become a serious crime. By these policies the government is in fact
supporting the upcoming nationalism and the growing xenophobia.5
Migrant churches
The Dutch Central Statistic Office does not keep records of the religious
background of migrants. Nevertheless ample attention was given to large
number of Muslims. It was scarcely noticed that the newer migrants also
included many Christians. Kathleen Ferrier in 2002 estimated a number of
6
800.000 migrant Christians, three third being Roman Catholic. This
estimation seems to be rather high.
Atze van den Broek in 2003 kept records of 343 migrant churches, of
which 182 are African. A large number of these churches consist of more
congregations or parishes. If these congregations and parishes are included
the total number is 624, including 105 Roman Catholic meeting places. Van
de
nBr
oe
k’
sf
i
gur
e
s do not include the Dutch speaking migrant churches,
like many of the Suriname, Antillian and Indonesian churches. Van den
Broek counted 75 languages spoken in the migrant churches.
Roman Catholic migrants form a special group as they do not form
migrant churches. From the viewpoint of only one universal Roman Catholic
Church, migrants automatically belong to a local parish. The Roman
Catholic Church aims at integration of all catholic migrants into the Dutch
church. In a number of cities special parishes have been established for
5
J.A.B. Jongeneel, R. Budiman, J.J. Visser, Gemeenschapsvorming van Aziatische,
Afrikaanse en Midden- en Zuidamerikaanse christenen in Nederland. Een geschiedenis in
wording (Zoetermeer: Boekencentrum, 1996), 38.
6
Kathleen Ferrier, Migrantenkerken. Om vertrouwen en aanvaarding. Serie Wegwijs
(Kampen: Kok, 2002), 30.
JEPTA 26 2005
69
7
migrants, but this is seen as a temporary measure. In the large cities there
are Surinamese and Antillian parishes. In Rotterdam there is a large
Portuguese speaking Cape Verdes parish (5.000 members). There are ethnic
parishes (Vietnamese, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Sri Lankan, Polish,
Croatian, and Italian), but also language parishes were various ethnic
groups assemble together (English, French, Portuguese and Spanish).8 A
foreign priest or a former missionary who speak the language often leads
these parishes. In the 105 Catholic meeting places Van den Broek identified,
27 different languages are spoken.9
Some categorisation can help in identifying the different migrant
churches, not including the Roman Catholic migrant parishes. For the
German situation Claudia Währisch-Oblau suggested four different types:
1. Established/denominational congregations
2. Traditional missionary/denominational congregations
3. Reverse missionary/denominational congregations
10
4. Independent missionary/non-denominational congregations
For the Dutch situation the migrant churches can best first be divided in
historic migrant churches and the newer migrant churches.
Historic Migrant Churches
The‘
hi
s
t
or
i
c
’mi
gr
antc
hur
c
he
shaveamaj
or
i
t
yme
mbe
r
s
hi
pcoming from
countries having a historic relation with the Netherlands, mostly former
colonies. These are the churches from Indonesia, Moluccans, Suriname and
the Dutch Antillian. The members of these churches are familiar with the
Dutch language and culture.
Some of the historic migrant churches declare solidarity with the newer
mi
gr
antc
hur
c
he
s
.TheL’
Egl
i
s
eWal
l
one(
Wal
l
oonChur
c
h)e
xi
s
t
smor
et
han
400 years in the Netherlands, but maintained their language and culture as
the Walloon section of the Netherlands Reformed Church. Today they feel
11
they might be of significance for the French speaking migrant churches.
7
Kruis, 29. Ferrier, Migrantenkerken, 30-31. Judith Maaskant, Afrikaan en Katholiek in
Rotterdam: waar kerk je dan? Nijmegen: Katholieke Universiteit, 1999.
8
Jongeneel, 44-49.
9
At
zevande
nBr
oe
k,
‘
Ani
nt
roduction to the historical and new migrant churches in the
Ne
t
he
r
l
ands
’(
Fe
br
uar
y20
0
3)
.Unpubl
i
s
he
dhandoutdur
i
ngt
heSympos
i
um Non-Western
Pentecostalism in the Netherlands, Amsterdam, February 2003.
10
Claudia Währisch-Obl
au,‘
Fr
om Re
ve
r
s
et
oCommonMi
s
s
i
on.
.
.
WeHope
’
, International
Review of Mission 89/354 (2000):467-83. The article refers to Protestant migrant churches in
the Rhein-Rhur area.
11
Ferrier, Migrantenkerken, 36.
70
Indonesian and Moluccan churches
Between 1946-1958 about 290.000 migrants came from the Dutch East Indies.
They were of Dutch origin, of mixed Dutch-Indonesian origin, Chinese or
Moluccan and after 1962 also Papuan. Except for the Moluccans, integration
went rather smoothly. Many were Protestant and became member of the
Dutch Reformed Church, others joined the Roman Catholic Church or
Pentecostal churches. The already existing Indonesian Christian Association
PERKI (Persekutuan Kristen Indonesia di Nederland) developed into an
ecumenical fellowship that cherishes the Indonesian heritage. Although not
a church, it does organise bilingual church services in five cities. The Gereja
Kristen Indonesia Nederland (GKIN), the Indonesia Dutch Christian
Church, was established in 1985. Initially a Chinese church, GKIN
developed into a multiracial church. The church belongs to the reformed
tradition. Regular church services are held at eight places. The GKIN counts
600 registered members.
The Moluccan community comprised of 4.000 military men and their
families. Their stay in the Netherlands was supposed to be temporarily.
Integration into Dutch society was not stimulated. Other than the
Indonesian Christians, the Moluccan Christians (90% were Protestant) did
not join the Dutch Reformed Church. The Geredja Indjili Maluku (GIM, the
Moluccan Evangelical Church, was founded in 1952, after the request to be
an overseas branch of the Moluccan Protestant Church was turned down by
12
the mother church. Only after violent actions like the train hi-jacking in the
197
0’
sbyyoungMol
uc
c
an r
adi
c
al
s
,Dut
c
h Pr
ot
e
s
t
antc
hur
c
he
ss
t
ar
t
e
dt
o
di
al
oguewi
t
ht
heGI
M.I
nt
he19
90’
sthe GIM has established an official
relation with the mother church. The GIM has 65 congregations and 25.000
members. There are at least 17 other groups of Moluccan churches. All
together Moluccan Protestant churches have 35.000 members. Since 1999
there have been outbreaks of violence between Muslims and Christians on
Ambon. Organisations for humanitarian aid have been founded by
Moluccans in the Netherlands in which Islamic, Roman Catholic and
Protestant communities work together.
Pentecostal Indonesians
12
The Mollucans in the Netherlands supported the South Mollucan Republic, while the
Mollucan Protestant Church supported the Indonesian Republic. The separation with the
mother church was a bitter experience. Ferrier, Migrantenkerken, 55.
JEPTA 26 2005
71
Among the migrants from the Dutch Indies were also Pentecostal believers.
Rather than joining the existing Pentecostal assemblies, these believers often
preferred to form their own congregations. Five national bodies developed
1. Christelijke Gemeenschap De Pinksterbeweging (Christian Fellowship
The Pentecostal Movement), related to the mother church in Indonesia:
Gereja Gerakan Pentekosta.
2. Bethel Pentecostal Temple Fellowship Netherlands, affiliated to the
mother church Bethel Pentecostal Temple in Seattle (USA) and in contacts
with the Gereja Pentekosta di Indonesia.
3. Bethel Pentecostal Church Netherlands, has branches in Ghana,
Nigeria, Zambia and the Philippines.
4. Bethel Fellowship Netherlands.
5. Volle Evangelie Bethel Kerk (Full Gospel Bethel Church). Following the
example of the mother-church in Indonesia (Gereja Bethel Indonesia), the
church affiliated with the Church of God, Cleveland (USA).
Next to these five national bodies with services in Dutch a number of
independent Pentecostal churches with bilingual services were founded. An
example of the latter is Gereja Kristen Perjanjian Baru Air Hidup (Christian
Church of the New Covenant Living Water) founded by John Tan in 1991
with congregations in Zwolle, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. All together there
are about 50 Pentecostal Indonesian congregations with 6.000 members.
Surinamese and Antillian churches
Of the 320.000 Surinamese in the Netherlands (compared with 450.000 in
Surinam!), one might expect on basis of statistics in Suriname, 80.000 to be
protestant and another 74.000 to be Roman Catholic. The number that
attends the reformed or catholic churches is much smaller. Hesdie Zamuël,
Sur
i
namet
he
ol
ogi
an,e
xpl
ai
ns‘
t
hi
sc
ount
r
ydoe
snots
t
i
mul
at
eyout
ogot
oa
13
c
hur
c
h’
. The Surinamese do not l
i
ke‘
bor
i
ng’s
e
r
vi
c
e
s
,t
he
r
e
f
or
et
he
yr
at
he
r
join the singing Evangelische Broedergemeente (Moravian Church) or the
Pentecostal churches. The Moravian Church used to be a very small church
in the Netherlands, but was the largest protestant church in Suriname. With
the immigration of Surinamese the church has seen a spectacular growth
and a transformation from a white church to a predominately non-white
church. Most of the 15.000 registered members in seven congregations are
13
He
s
di
eZamuë
l
,
‘
Di
tl
ands
t
i
mul
e
e
r
tj
eni
e
tom na
ardeke
r
kt
ega
an’Wereld en Zending
22/2 (1993):28.
72
from Suriname. This church became one of the initiators to form a platform
for the migrant churches.
Many other Surinamese joined existing Pentecostal churches or formed
new Pentecostal churches. The largest Pentecostal Church in the country,
Maranatha Ministries in Amsterdam, consists mainly of Surinamese and
Antillians. However the pastor, Stanley Hofwijks, does not want his church
to be labelled as a migrant church.
Newer Migrant Churches
Themany‘
ne
w’mi
gr
antc
hur
c
he
sl
ar
ge
l
ye
s
t
abl
i
s
he
ddur
i
ngt
hel
as
tt
wo
decades, come from all over the world. They grow spectacular. The
members of these churches usually are not (yet) familiar with the Dutch
language and culture.
We follow the categorisation of Ferrier of three types14 added with a
fourth type, which resemble the earlier categorisation of Währisch-Oblau:
1. Ecumenical mainstream migrant churches
Migrant churches belonging to one of the mainstreams of the ecumenical
churches. The churches in the orthodox tradition: Russian-, Serbian-, Greek-,
Syrian- and Ethiopian Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic and churches in the
protestant tradition, like the Scots International Church. Part of these
churches has been founded in co-operation or in consent with the Dutch
churches and aim at a specific group. Like the Norwegian and Finish
‘
s
e
ame
n’c
hur
c
he
s at Rotterdam.
Members of these churches usually have a legal status. The pastors have
an academic training, are fully accepted by their Dutch colleges, and have no
problem in acquiring a work permit.
2. Reverse Mission migrant churches
Migrant churches related to a mother church in the country of origin. These
churches are part of a mission from the country of origin to the West, with
their own international network. They usually have no ties with ecumenical
networks in the Netherlands and are therefore little known here. African
examples are the Kimbanguist Church, The Church of Pentecost,
Resurrection Power and Living Bead Ministries, but also some Korean
14
Ferrier, Migrantenkerken, 37-39. Afe Adogame comes to three types of African religious
groups in Europe: 1. Branches of mother churches with headquarters in Africa; 2. Churches
with headquarters in Europe, but with intension to open branches in Africa and elsewhere;
3. Inter-denominational groups or para-c
hur
c
hor
gani
z
at
i
ons
.
Af
eAdoga
me
,
‘
TheQue
s
t
f
orSpac
ei
nt
heGl
obalSpi
r
i
t
ualMar
ke
t
pl
ac
e
.Af
r
i
c
anRe
l
i
gi
onsi
nEur
ope
’International
Review of Mission 89 (2000):400.
JEPTA 26 2005
73
churches are the result of missionary activities from Korea, as well as the
Japanese Christian Fellowship Church. The members of these churches vary
from middle class workers to labourers and asylum seekers. The pastors
often do not speak Dutch and may have problems with work permits.
3. Independent migrant churches
Migrant churches founded by migrants as an independent church, usually
started by a charismatic figure. These churches have little financial stability.
The pastors generally lack formal theological education. Many have
experienced a calling from God and some attended a Bible College for a few
months. Obtaining a working permit is difficult. Examples of these churches
are: The Everlasting Salvation Ministries, The House of Fellowship
International, The Acts Revival Church International, The True Teachings of
15
Chr
i
s
t
’
sTe
mpl
ee
t
c
. These churches often have an international network of
their own. If they grow they start daughter churches in other cities as well as
in neighbouring countries and sometimes even in the country of origin. In
this phase they often expand their name with signifiers like International,
World-wide or Global. From this point on they might also be considered a
denominational migrant church.
The independent migrant churches often split, but this not always seen as
negative. For African Christians a split can also be seen as a sign of power
and growth.16 Independent churches vary strongly in membership. Many
find it important to be registered at the Chamber of Commerce, which
provides them a certain status.
4. Denominational migrant churches
Independent migrant churches that have developed into a denomination of
their own, but also migrant churches that from the start are member of a
denomination akin to the one in the country of origin. A good example is the
Assemblies of God. A number of migrants from Africa and Latin American
belonged to the Assemblies of God. In the Netherlands they founded an
Assemblies of God migrant church. They are member of the Dutch sisterdenomination and often keep ties with the Assemblies of God in the country
of origin as well as with the Assemblies of God in the USA. Examples are El
Elcuentro Con Dios, Covenant World International Ministries, Glad Tidings
Assemblies of God. The Dutch Verenigde Pinkster- en Evangeliegemeenten
(United Pentecostal and Gospel Assemblies) affiliated with the Assemblies
15
16
Ferrier, Migrantenkerken, 39-41.
74
of God, formed a special international district to facilitate all the migrant
churches.
Except for the first type, probably all these churches are non-western. The
African churches form an important category among the non-western
churches. Most of the churches of the second type and nearly all of the third
and fourth type are Pentecostal, charismatic or spiritual churches. These
churches have a strong missionary zeal to evangelise also outside the own
language or culture. Although they try to be missionaries to the Dutch
people, the Dutch do not respond to their evangelistic efforts. Many of the
members are asylum seekers, refugees without a status or economic
migrants. If they are employed they have the so-called Three-D-Jobs: Dirty,
Difficult and Dangerous.17
Missionary activities of migrant churches
In an article on the mission of migrant churches in Europe, missiologist
Jan Jongeneel points out that not all migrant churches are missionary
active.18 At least two groups give no priority to missionary activities. Firstly
the migrant churches originating from Muslim or communist countries with
no religious freedom. Primary they want to continue the church life of their
mother country. Sometimes these believers are afraid that missionary
activities in Europe might have repercussions for family members at home.
They know that the secret services of their mother country are also present
in Europe. The second group is formed by Christians from strongly
secularised non-western countries like Uruguay and Singapore. Just as the
mainline European churches they accept secularisation as a fact. Therefore
they rather develop a strategy for survival than a missionary program.
The majority of the migrant churches are however missionary active. For
a number of them the missionary activity is limited to the own language or
culture group, while others consciously try to convert the secularised west.
In this so-called reversed mission the African Christians take the lead.19
Migrant churches in relation to Dutch churches and society
Initially no attention was paid to the newer migrant Christians by the
established churches. Migrant Christians were simply expected to join the
existing churches. As already mentioned, the Roman Catholic Church in
20
some cases allowed for special parishes for migrants. Only in the last
17
J
anA.
B.
J
onge
ne
e
l
,‘
Demi
s
s
i
eva
nmi
gr
ant
e
nke
r
ke
ni
nEur
opa
’Wereld en Zending 33/4
(2004):63-69.
19
Jongeneel, 69.
20
Kruis, 29.
18
JEPTA 26 2005
75
decade the Dutch churches gradually became aware of the migrant
churches.
Upon the initiative of the Hendrik Kraemer Institute the first conference
with representatives of non-western migrant churches was held in
November 1992 at Oegstgeest. This meant the foundation of a platform of
non-indigenous churches. It also led to the publication of an extensive
survey of the migrant churches edited by J.A.B. Jongeneel, R. Budiman and
21
J.J. Visser. In 2002 an updated survey of migrant churches appeared by
22
Kathleen Ferrier, then co-ordinator of SKIN.
SKIN
The name of the platform of non-indigenous churches in 1997 officially
changed into SKIN: Samen Kerk in Nederland (Together Church in the
Netherlands). The English word skin was felt relevant since the colour of our
skin still for a part determinates our position in society. The mission of SKIN
is to co-operate as migrant churches to fully be a church in your own fashion
in the Dutch society. The migrant churches in particular looked for practical
help in finding locations to worship, in obtaining registration and in getting
to know the rules and laws of Dutch society. SKIN is sponsored by the
United Protestant Churches and has become the most visible representative
of the migrant churches and organisations. At present the 54 member
churches and organisations represent 65.000 members.
Other bodies of newer migrant churches are GATE (Gift from Africa to
Europe), which is associated with the Alliance of Evangelical Churches in
Africa and the Council of Pentecostal Churches, situated in Amsterdam.
Church involvement in the newer migrant churches
Since 1989 the Dutch pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Atze van
den Broek, is pastor for refugees on behalf of Council of Churches of
Amsterdam. He keeps record of places of worship, languages and numbers
of the migrant churches.
The Cura Migratorum co-ordinates the migrant parishes in the Roman
Catholic Church. The foundation SOFAK (Stichting Ondersteunendsfonds
Allochtone Kerken) on a small scare sponsors migrant pastors and churches.
21
J.A.B. Jongeneel, R. Budiman, J.J. Visser, Gemeenschapsvorming van Aziatische,
Afrikaanse en Midden- en Zuidamerikaanse christenen in Nederland. Een geschiedenis in
wording (Zoetermeer: Boekencentrum, 1996).
22
Kathleen Ferrier, Migrantenkerken. Om vertrouwen en aanvaarding. Serie Wegwijs. Kampen:
Kok, 2002.
76
The foundation Gave (Gift) links migrants shortly after arrival in the country
with the Dutch churches.
Sjaak van der Kruis is appointed co-ordinator for the migrant churches of
the National Service Centre of the United Protestant Church.
The Centre for Education and Faith, De Schinkel, of the United Protestant
Church works together with migrant churches in Amsterdam. They help
with Dutch language classes, in finding housing for church meetings and
they organise excursions to migrant churches. In Amsterdam there are 170
migrant churches, about half of them in the Bijlmer. Housing is a big
problem. An inventory resulted in a list of 130 migrant churches looking for
a place and only 34 available places23. When the Bijlmer was designed 40
years ago there were no church buildings foreseen. The two existing
buildings are fully booked. Parking garages charge high rents. In May 2004 a
project has been launched to collect 7 million euro for three buildings to
accommodate 45 migrant churches in the Bijlmer.24
Dutch society and the newer migrant churches
In a study of the relationship between the protestant churches and the
mi
gr
antc
hur
c
he
sSj
aakvan‘
tKr
ui
si
soft
heopi
ni
ont
hatt
hemul
t
i
c
ul
t
ur
a
l
society does not exists. He views the Dutch society as a multi-ethnic society,
whe
r
et
hevar
i
ousgr
oupsl
i
vei
nc
ompar
t
me
nt
s
.Van‘
tKr
ui
spoi
nt
st
ot
he
immigrants themselves, who out of survival in this society remain within
one
’
sowngr
oup,butheal
s
opoi
nt
st
oac
har
ac
t
e
r
i
s
t
ic of Dutch society, that
l
e
adst
oc
ompar
t
me
nt
al
i
s
at
i
on.Van‘
tKr
ui
sc
onc
l
ude
st
hat"
upt
i
l
lnow t
he
wor
d‘
mul
t
i
c
ul
t
ur
al
’hasonl
yr
e
f
e
r
r
e
dt
ot
hepr
e
s
e
nc
eofavar
i
e
t
yofc
ul
t
ur
e
s
25
without there being any trace of togetherness". According to Jos de Beus,
professor of social science, the so-called tolerance of Dutch society is in fact
indifference, which is shown in remarks like: "I approve of all life styles
26
pr
ovi
de
dt
he
ydon’
tc
aus
emeanyt
r
oubl
e
"
. Gerrie ter Haar, professor of
Social Studies, once said i
ti
snoc
oi
nc
i
de
nc
et
hat‘
Apar
t
he
i
d’i
saDut
c
h
27
word. Kathleen Ferrier, former co-ordinator of SKIN, regards this lack of
interest in the other as a major problem. She refers to the shadow side of
secularisation. Holland is one of the most secularised states of Western
Europe. Religion has disappeared from the public life. For migrants religion
i
s of
t
e
n ofgr
e
ati
mpor
t
anc
ef
ordai
l
yl
i
f
e
.Fe
r
r
i
e
rs
t
at
e
dt
hat‘
by not
23
Er
i
kaFe
e
ns
t
r
a
,‘
Ke
r
ke
n(
z)
onde
rdak’Kerkinformatie (september 2003).
‘
Bi
j
l
me
r
ke
r
k:ge
e
fzeder
ui
mt
e
’
’
,
St
i
c
ht
i
ngDeBi
j
l
me
r
ke
r
k,www.
bi
j
l
me
r
ke
r
k.
nl
.
25
Kruis, 27.
26
Kruis, 27
27
Kat
he
e
nFe
r
r
i
e
r
,‘
Re
l
i
gi
ei
nont
wi
kke
l
i
ng’
,Le
c
t
ur
ef
orCor
dai
d,
16January 2002.
[www.kathleenferrier.nl/docs/lezing3-religie_in_ontwikkeling.htm]
24
JEPTA 26 2005
77
acknowledging the social significance of religion, the government falls short,
hinders integration, we remain living alongside one another, and the
28
s
us
pi
c
i
onamongusgr
ows
’
According to Patrick Kalilombe migrants often come with unrealistic
29
expectations. Africans assume that the hospitality they know is a universal
custom. When they come to Europe they expect a warm reception and
special attention, just as the whites received when they visited Africa. Soon
they learn they are seen as impostors, against whom all precursors are
acceptable. The rich West is a hard world for outsiders. It is a fight for the
survival of the fittest.
Young Africans view Europe as the country of milk and honey. They say
t
ot
he
ms
e
l
ve
s
:‘
ye
ar
sagot
hewhi
t
emanc
ameasane
c
onomi
cmi
gr
antt
o
30
Af
r
i
c
aandot
he
rpl
ac
e
s
,andnow i
ti
sourt
ur
nt
ogot
ot
he
i
rc
ount
r
y’
.
They
sell all they have to buy an air-ticket. Their dream soon breaks up when the
immigration officers on the Western airports interrogate them. In the prison
at Al
kmaar many ‘
i
l
l
e
gal i
mmi
gr
ant
s
’s
pe
nt t
he
i
rl
as
t day i
n t
he
Netherlands. On the prison wall i
ti
swr
i
t
t
e
n:‘
TheBoul
e
var
d ofBr
oke
n
Dr
e
ams
’
.How t
heundoc
ume
nt
e
dl
i
vei
nf
e
arandunc
e
r
t
ai
nt
yi
si
l
l
us
t
r
at
e
d
by the following quote:
If we go into town, we have nothing that betrays our identity. We have
become a walking encyclopaedia of telephone numbers, addresses and other
personal data of ourselves and of others. Because that is what the police is
31
looking for when they stop us.
Social function of migrant churches
Migrant churches have an important social function. People in need expect
help from the church, even if they do not go to church. Daily the pastor is
confronted with the problems of the migrants: suicide, mental problems, no
residence permit, no working permit, and no money to buy food. Churches
are the most important place for hope. For migrants the church is their
home. Many of the homeless sleep there. It also their restaurant, where the
poorr
e
c
e
i
vet
he
i
rdai
l
ybr
e
ad.Manyme
mbe
r
sar
e‘
undoc
ume
nt
e
d’
.Pas
t
or
Tom Mar
f
or
e
f
us
e
st
ous
et
het
e
r
m‘
i
l
l
e
gal
’
,f
ornoc
r
e
at
ur
eofGodc
anbe
28
Fe
r
r
i
e
r
,‘
Re
l
i
gi
ei
nont
wi
kke
l
i
ng’
.
Pat
r
i
c
kKal
i
l
ombe
,
‘
DeAf
r
i
kaans
edi
as
por
ai
nEur
opa:
e
e
npe
r
s
oonl
i
j
kebe
s
c
houwi
ng’
Wereld en Zending 21/3 (1992):71-79.
30
J. Amoako-Adue
s
e
i
,‘
Dr
oombr
e
uk.Ee
nr
appor
t
ageove
rAf
r
i
kane
ni
nAms
t
e
r
dam’Wereld
en Zending 22/2 (1993):13-2
0.
‘
Wor
ki
ngi
nt
heBoul
e
var
dofBr
oke
nDr
e
ams
’i
st
het
i
t
l
eofa
report Father J. Amoaka-Aduesei wrote about the activities of the Catholic pastorate for
Africans in Amsterdam.
31
Amoako-Adusei, 17.
29
78
illegal. The term illegal dehumanizes and stigmatizes the undocumented as
c
r
i
mi
nal
s
.‘
I
ti
snotac
r
i
met
obei
l
l
e
gal
’
.Manywi
t
houtj
obsar
ehe
l
pe
dby
the church to find work, sometimes so-called black jobs because they lack
proper permits. When someone finds aj
ob,t
heme
mbe
r
sr
e
j
oi
c
e
;‘
webe
att
he
32
dr
ums
’
,s
aysMar
f
o,al
s
owhe
ns
ome
onef
i
ndsanunus
e
dbust
i
c
ke
t
.
The church provides computer and language classes, which are
sponsored by some official institutions. The church takes obvious pleasure in
the fact that the government without knowing sponsors the education of the
undocumented!
In 1993 Tom Marfo came from Ghana to the Netherlands and was
shocked by what he saw:
I saw girls from Africa on the streets selling their body. I started to
investigate. They all appeared to be here as sex-slaves. As property of
criminals they were sold to others. They were treated worse than animals.
They did not dare to go to the police, because they had no papers. Therefore
33
I started a campaign against this modern form of slavery.
Two years later he established the church The House of Fellowship and
started the Christian Aid & Resources Foundation to rescue African women
forced into prostitution. Together with the church the foundation runs 8
apartments in the Bijlmer where these women receive housing. Over the
past years 350 women were rescued and given help to find a respectable
34
place in society. For his achievements Marfo received the Marga Klompe
Awar
di
n2002andt
he‘
He
r
oofAms
t
e
r
dam 200
3’awar
dgi
ve
nbyt
hec
i
t
yof
Amsterdam.
Marfo is board member of SKIN, a platform of migrant churches, and also
founder of the Pentecostal Council of Churches (PCC) Amsterdam
Southeast. About 20 churches participate, the majority being Africans. In
2000 the PCC supported by lawyers called attention to the felt unjust policies
by the government to verify Ghanaian identity papers. A government
c
i
r
c
ul
ari
n1996on‘
bl
ac
kl
i
s
t
e
df
i
vec
ount
r
i
e
sashavi
nganot
or
i
ousr
e
c
or
d
concerning the production of fraudulent identity documents. At the top of
this list was Ghana, followed by Nigeria, India, Pakistan and the Dominican
32
NykeDi
j
ks
t
r
aandWoutvanLa
ar
,‘
Ve
r
s
l
agvane
e
nke
nni
s
maki
ngme
tTheHous
eof
Fe
l
l
ows
hi
p,Ams
t
e
r
dam Zui
doos
t
’(
Nove
mbe
r20
0
2)
.
[www.zendingsraad.nl/verslag%20house%20felloship.htm]
33
Re
i
neWi
s
ke
r
ke
,‘
Voor
gange
ri
ndeBi
j
l
me
r
’
,Nederlands Dagblad (12 March 2004).
[www.nd.nl/newsite/artikelen/20040312/dinp0720121.xml]
34
Ma
ar
t
e
nVe
r
me
ul
e
n,
‘
J
ongeas
i
e
l
z
oe
ke
r
spr
ooivoorl
ove
r
boys
’
,
Nederlands Dagblad (14
January 2004). [www.nd.nd./newsite/artikelen/20040114/dinp0140126.xml]
JEPTA 26 2005
79
35
Re
publ
i
c
.
’
I
tme
anst
hatt
hepe
r
s
on’
si
de
nt
i
t
y hast
o beve
r
i
f
i
e
d by an
investigation in the country of origin. These measures are felt as insulting
andas‘
abl
ow t
ot
heGhanaian dignity and self-e
s
t
e
e
m’
.
The only way according to Marfo to stop the stream of immigration is
economical justice. He points to the African dictators who have stolen
milliards of dollars and placed it on secret accounts in the West. The
American Secret Service knew where to find the accounts of Al Qaeda in 24
hour
s
.‘
Whyi
snote
ve
r
yt
hi
ngdonet
ot
r
ac
eours
t
ol
e
nmone
y?I
ns
t
e
adwe
can pay rent for 300 years for the money we were allowed to borrow from
36
t
heWe
s
t
.
’
Marfo fights against the materialism, individualism and selfishness of the
Dut
c
hs
oc
i
e
t
y.Hef
i
ndsi
t‘
he
ar
t
br
e
aki
ng’t
os
e
et
henat
i
ont
ur
ne
dawayf
r
om
the heritage of their forefathers, the missionaries who brought the gospel to
other continents. He criticizes the churches for no longer functioning as the
‘
mor
alc
ompas
s
’oft
henat
i
on.
In the Missionary Quarterly Council (a dialogue between Missionary
organizations and the Pentecostals), Tom Marfo formulated the mission of
the migrant churches to the Netherlands:
I believe that the Lord sent us here, legally and illegally, to be copartners with you in the one mission of God; to assist each other in our
common calling; that is to create healing places in the broken-ness of
37
our societies.
Conclusion
Like in Germany, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom, migrant
churches are also presenting themselves in the Netherlands, many of them
are Pentecostal.
Particularly in the larger cities they show a significant growth and
vitality. Many of the members live here without a proper legal status,
because we collectively decided to lock our European Union doors to the
migrants from outside our borders.
35
Ri
j
kvanDi
j
k,‘
Gha
nai
a
nc
hur
c
he
si
nt
heNe
t
he
r
l
ands
’i
nI
.
va
nKe
s
s
e
l(
e
d.
)
,Merchants,
Missionaries & Migrants: 300 years of Dutch-Ghanaian Relations. Amsterdam: KIT, 2002, 89.
36
Wiskerke.
37
NykeDi
j
ks
t
r
aandWoutvanLa
ar
,‘
Ve
r
s
l
agvane
e
nke
nnismaking met The House of
Fe
l
l
ows
hi
p,Ams
t
e
r
dam Zui
doos
t
’(
Nove
mbe
r20
0
2)
.
[www.zendingsraad.nl/verslag%20house%20felloship.htm]
80
Migrants often come dreaming to find green pastures and a land of milk
and honey. While they become disappointed in their expectations to find
material heaven in our part of the word, they do find a home in the migrant
churches. Migrant churches are places of belonging, islands of hope in the
midst of a hard-secularised western world.
Deprived of access to proper housing, labour, medical care and social
security, the undocumented cry out to God for their needs. They know by
experience it is better to trust on God, than on western society.
Migrant churches feel they have something valuable to contribute to
church and society in the Netherlands. The
s
e‘
r
e
f
uge
emi
s
s
i
onar
i
e
s
’maybe
mat
e
r
i
al
l
ypoor
,butt
he
ybr
i
ngwi
t
ht
he
mt
he
i
r‘
r
i
c
hf
ai
t
h,whi
c
ht
he
yhave
acquired by experience in their daily dependence upon God for their
38
s
ur
vi
val
’
.
Fortunately contacts between the indigenous and migrant
churches are slowly developing. It seems there is much to learn and to give
from both sides.
38
Tom Mar
f
o,‘
Re
ve
r
s
eMi
s
s
i
on:TheEme
r
geoft
heMi
gr
antChur
c
he
sandt
he
i
rI
mpa
c
ton
t
heDut
c
hSoc
i
e
t
y’
,Pape
rpr
e
s
e
nt
e
dt
oMissionary Quarterly, 2002.
JEPTA 26 2005
81
The Spirit and Creation:
Possibilities and Challenges for a
Dialogue between Pentecostal
Theology and the Sciences
Amos Yong Associate Research Professor of Theology
Regent University, Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA
[email protected]
Abstract: The dialogue between Pentecostal theology and science has yet to
be seriously engaged. This essay is an attempt to begin the conversation by
suggesting how Pentecostal perspectives and a pneumatological approach to
the theology-and-science encounter can further the discussion in theology of
nature, theological anthropology, and theology of the spiritual realm. The
conclusion presents several recommendations for Pentecostal institutions of
higher education.
Introductory remarks
On the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter connected the outpouring of the
Hol
ySpi
r
i
tnotonl
ywi
t
ht
hec
har
i
s
mat
i
cande
gal
i
t
ar
i
ane
mpowe
r
i
ngof“al
l
f
l
e
s
h”(
e
.
g.
,s
onsand daughters, young and old, slave and free), but also
wi
t
h “por
t
e
nt
si
nt
hehe
ave
n aboveand s
i
gnson t
hee
ar
t
h be
l
ow”(
Ac
t
s
2:19).1 These portents and signs were anticipated long before –by the
prophet Joel (2:28-32)
:“bl
oodandf
i
r
eandc
ol
umnsofs
moke
[
,t
he] sun shall
bet
ur
ne
dt
odar
kne
s
s
,andt
hemoont
obl
ood”–and associated with the
salvation expected on the Day of the LORD. While these manifestations are
t
he
r
e
byf
i
r
s
tandf
or
e
mos
ts
i
gnsofGod’
se
s
c
hat
ol
ogi
c
als
al
vat
i
on,t
woot
he
r
observations are pertinent: first, that these heavenly and earthly phenomena
are directly connected with the pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit of God,
and second, that various elements of heaven and earth serve as capable
metaphors for signifying the salvation of God inaugurated by the gift of the
Spirit.
Whereas it is arguable that the biblical authors only had an implicit
theology of creation, of God as the creator of the heavens and the earth, the
emergence of modern science since the sixteenth century has resulted in
more explicit and extended theological reflection on the created or natural
1
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical quotations are from the New Revised Standard
Version.
82
world. Yet the dialogue between religion and science has proceeded to date
based on very generic terms –i.e., asking about the relationship between
“Chr
i
s
t
i
anf
ai
t
h”and“s
c
i
e
nc
e
”oraboutt
her
e
l
at
i
ons
hi
pbe
t
we
e
n“God”and
2
“c
r
e
at
i
on.
”
Almost entirely lacking in the religion-science conversation are
the more particular perspectives of the various Christian traditions, as well
as a more robustly trinitarian theological approach to science and creation.3
Not surprisingly, then, the pentecostal and pneumatological connections
with the heavens and the earth identified by Joel and Peter (and, by
extension, Acts and St. Luke) have been relatively under-explored.
Hence, this essay seeks to make contributions along two related lines: that
of exploring the possibility of developing an explicitly pentecostal
perspective on theology of creation, and that of contributing to the nascent
thinking about creation within the framework of pneumatological theology.
Section one is devoted to introducing and defining the terms of this trilogue
between Pentecostalism, pneumatological theology, and theology of
creation, while the longer section two includes a sketch of several features of
a theology of creation in pentecostal and pneumatological perspective. I
conclude with recommendations for furthering this conversation within
pentecostal institutions of higher education.
Introducing the terms of the conversation
It is important to establish working definitions of the central terms of this
essay especially since both Pentecostalism and pneumatological theology are
2
For our purposes, the dialogue between religion and science is the dialogue between
Christianity and science and the dialogue between Christian theology and science. Of
course, the broadest category is that between religion and science, which would include
within its parameters the dialogue between Islam and science, between Buddhism and
science, between Hinduism and science, and so on. Because Pentecostals have not even
begun taking the Christianity and science dialogue seriously until this point, we focus on it
here, even if we use the more generic religion and science language.
3
These lacunae are, of course, slowly being filled, beginning a generation ago with T. F.
Tor
r
anc
e
’
sSpace, Time, and Incarnation (London: Oxford University Press, 1969), which
attempted to develop a theology of nature from a specifically christological and
incarnational theological perspective, and continuing t
odaywi
t
hAl
e
xe
iNe
s
t
e
r
uk’
sLight
from the East: Theology, Science, and the Eastern Orthodox Tradition (Minneapolis:
Fortress Press, 2003), which contribution features a robust Logos christology of nature set
within an Orthodox theological framework, and Mi
c
hae
lLodahl
’
sGod of Nature and of
Grace: Reading the World in a Wesleyan Way (Nashville: Kingswood Books, 2003), which
thinks about creation in dialogue with Wesleyan sources. Jeffrey C. Pugh, Entertaining the
Triune Mystery: God, Science, and the Space Between (Harrisburg, Penn.: Trinity Press
International, 2003), Samuel M. Powell, Participating in God: Creation and Trinity
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003), and John C. Polkinghorne, Science and the Trinity: The
Christian Encounter with Reality (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2004), are
promising but preliminary efforts toward a trinitarian theology of creation.
JEPTA 26 2005
83
relative newcomers to the religion and science conversation. Because in each
of the three cases –Pentecostalism, pneumatological theology, and theology
of creation –there is no possibility of providing an exhaustive definition, I
will focus my comments on their links so as to set up the framework of the
following discussion.
Pentecost and Pentecostalism (both capitalized) refer respectively to the Day
of Pentecost described in Acts 2, and to the tradition of Christian churches
and denominations linked to the Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles from
1906-1908.4 Pentecostals (also capitalized) are adherents of modern
Pentecostalism who often understand the Day of Pentecost not as an
unrepeatable historical event, but as paradigmatic and (in some cases)
normative for all Christian life and experience. When used adjectivally,
pentecostal (uncapitalized) is either associated with phenomena on the Day of
Pentecost or descriptive of the perspective informed by the religious
experiences of Pentecostals.
While the pentecostal perspective in this essay is obviously derived from
my own experience,5 I hope to speak in sufficiently general terms that other
Pentecostals can identify with. This is especially important since one of my
motivations for writing this essay is to encourage more Pentecostals to
become involved in the religion and science discussions than have been to
date.6 While more and more Pentecostals are also practicing scientists or
work in the sciences and its related disciplines, few have reflected publicly
about the relationship between their faith and their scientific vocation. If
they have, they have done so in generic Christian or (more often)
4
This would include like denominations like the Assemblies of God, Church of God in
Christ, International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, International Pentecostal Holiness
Church, Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), and Church of God of Prophecy. See Allan
Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity (Cambridge
University Press, 2004), esp. ch. 3.
5
Iwasbor
ni
nt
oanAs
s
e
mbl
i
e
sofGodpas
t
or
’
shomei
nMal
ays
i
a,
a
ndgr
e
w upt
he
r
ea
nd
(after the age of 10) in Northern California. I attended an Assemblies of God affiliated
college, and remain a minister with the denomination today. For more extensive insights
into the pentecostal perspective that informs these reflections, see the autobiographical
vignettes at the beginning of each chapter of my Discerning the Spirit(s): A PentecostalCharismatic Contribution to Christian Theology of Religions (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic
Press, 2000).
6
Foranove
r
vi
e
w,
s
e
eAmosYongandPaulEl
be
r
t
,
“
Christianity, Pentecostalism: Issues in
Sc
i
e
nc
eandRe
l
i
gi
on,
”i
nJ
.
We
nt
z
e
lvanHuys
s
t
e
e
n,ge
n.e
d.
,
Encyclopedia of Science and
Religion, 2 vols. (New York: Macmillan Reference Library, 2003), I:132-35.
84
“e
vange
l
i
c
al
” t
e
r
ms r
at
he
r t
han e
xpl
i
c
i
t
l
y f
r
om t
he
i
r pe
nt
e
c
os
t
al
perspective.7
I believe that part of the reason for the absence of specifically pentecostal
voices in the public domain in general and in the religion and science
conversation more specifically is that Pentecostals have only just recently
begun to think about what is distinctive about a pentecostal worldview.8 I
suggest that given the paradigmatic function of the Day of Pentecost for the
modern pentecostal experience and given the centrality of the Holy Spirit to
pentecostal spirituality, a pentecostal worldview can and should be
developed which is unambiguously pneumatological in orientation. By this,
I mean that a distinctive pentecostal perspective should be informed at its
core by their experience and understanding of the Holy Spirit, and should be
comprehensively
extended
through
the
application
of
this
pneumatologically informed frame of reference – what I call the
“pne
umat
ol
ogi
c
ali
magi
na
t
i
on”–to any and all domains of knowledge.9
Pentecostals who engage in this enterprise would be poised to contribute
t
ot
hee
me
r
gi
ng f
i
e
l
d ofpne
umat
ol
ogi
c
alt
he
ol
ogy.By “pne
umat
ol
ogi
c
al
t
he
ol
ogy,
”Iam r
e
f
e
r
r
i
ngnott
ot
het
he
ol
ogi
c
alordoc
t
r
i
nals
t
udyoft
heHol
y
Spirit (pneumatology), but to a comprehensive theological vision starting
from and informed explicitly by pneumatology.10 This work has been in
progress across denominational lines –no one Christian tradition corners the
7
Of course, the encounter between evangelical theology and science has changed and
become much more dialogical over the last twenty years. I overview some of the
developments in my “Godandt
heEvange
l
i
c
alLabor
atory: Recent Conservative Protestant
Thi
nki
ngaboutThe
ol
ogyandSc
i
e
nc
e
,
”Theology and Science, forthcoming.
8
The beginnings of a pentecostal worldview are to be found in some of the essays in
Michael Palmer, ed., Elements of a Christian Worldview (Springfield, Mo.: Logion Press,
19
9
8)
;
c
f
.my“ToSe
eorNott
oSe
e
:ARe
vi
e
w Es
s
ayofMi
c
hae
lPal
me
r
’
sElements of a
Christian Worldview,
”PNEUMA: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 21:2 (1999):
305-27.
9
Ide
ve
l
opt
hi
si
de
aoft
he“pne
umat
ol
ogi
c
ali
magi
nat
i
on”i
ni
t
i
al
l
yi
nmyDiscerning the
Spirit(s), ch. 5, and more extensively in my Spirit-Word-Community: Theological Hermeneutics
in Trinitarian Perspective (Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2002), Part II.
10
Setting the pace in this regard is Clark Pinnock Flame of Love: A Theology of the Holy Spirit
(
Downe
r
sGr
ove
:
I
nt
e
r
Var
s
i
t
y,1
9
9
6)
,
andD.
Lyl
eDabne
y,
“Ot
he
r
wi
s
eEngage
di
nt
he
Spirit: A First Theology for the Twenty-Fi
r
s
tCe
nt
ur
y,
”i
nMi
r
os
l
avVol
f
,Car
me
nKr
i
e
g,
and Thomas Kucharz, eds., The Future of Theology: Essays in Honor of Jürgen Moltmann
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), 154-63. From pentecostal perspectives, see Veli-Matti
Kärkkäinen, Toward a Pneumatological Theology: Pentecostal and Ecumenical Perspectives on
Ecclesiology, Soteriology and Theology of Mission, ed. Amos Yong (Lanham, New York, and
Oxford: University Press of America, 2002), and my own The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh:
Pentecostalism and the Possibility of Global Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005).
JEPTA 26 2005
85
market on the Holy Spirit11 –since the renaissance in pneumatology itself
about a generation ago, and has borne impressive results so far, even when
limited to the circles of pentecostal theological reflection, in theology of
work, social ethics, and spirituality, among other topics.12 I suggest that the
time has come to ask the specific question: what does a pneumatological
theology have to contribute to the Christian understanding of creation and
the natural world?
To raise this question is to ask about the theology of creation. In brief, the
subject of theology of creation has to do with thinking about creation in its
totality in relationship to God. Of course, the critical point of debate here is
whate
xac
t
l
y “c
r
e
at
i
on”me
ans
.Whe
r
e
asamat
e
r
i
al
i
s
t
i
cde
f
i
ni
t
i
on woul
d
include only spatio-temporal realities, this kind of apriori approach may be
too limiting since its assumption that the creaturely or natural world is
reducible to material elements has not gone unchallenged. But what if we
at
t
e
mpt
e
dt
ot
hi
nk about“c
r
e
at
i
on” or“na
t
ur
e
”i
n a pne
umat
ol
ogi
c
al
framework? This suggestion appears unusual primarily because over the last
few centuries our modernistic and scientific sensibilities have come to
unde
r
s
t
and “c
r
e
at
i
on”asc
ont
r
as
t
i
ng wi
t
h “Hol
y”Spi
r
i
t(
and vi
c
e
-versa)
and “nat
ur
e
”asc
ont
r
ar
yt
o“s
pi
r
i
t
”(
and vi
c
e
-versa). Yet as we shall see
momentarily, the reaction to materialistic and positivistic science has led to
var
i
ousat
t
e
mpt
st
ot
hi
nkaboutt
he“mor
e
”t
ot
hec
r
e
at
e
dwor
l
dt
hanme
e
t
s
t
hee
ye
,e
ve
ni
fs
uc
h“mor
e
”i
ss
t
i
l
lc
onc
e
i
ve
dnat
ur
al
i
s
t
i
c
al
l
yi
nmos
tc
as
e
s
.I
s
ugge
s
tt
hatt
hi
nki
ngaboutt
hi
s“mor
e
”i
npne
umat
ol
ogi
c
alt
e
r
msnotonl
y
will advance the science and religion/theology conversation, but also holds
promise for illuminating and enriching the scientific enterprise through
engagement with categories usually absent from the discourse of science.
This essay focuses on exploring the interface between pneumatology and
theology of creation. Immediately, however, the question of the proper
methodology arises. On the one hand, it may be assumed that a theology of
creation woul
dbe
gi
n“f
r
om be
l
ow,
”f
r
om t
hevar
i
ousr
e
al
msofc
r
e
at
i
onand
the various scientific disciplines which we have developed to study the
11
Hence the importance of perspectives on pneumatological theology by Orthodox
thinkers such as John Zizioulas, Catholics like Yves Congar, Protestant theologians like
Jürgen Moltmann, Wolfhart Pannenberg, and Michael Welker. For summaries of the
contributions of these and others, see Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Pneumatology: The Holy Spirit
in Ecumenical, International and Contextual Perspective (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002)
12
See, e.g., Miroslav Volf, Work in the Spirit: Toward a Theology of Work (New York and
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991); Eldin Villafañe, The Liberating Spirit: Toward an
Hispanic American Pentecostal Social Ethic (Lanham: University Press of America, 1992); and
Steven J. Land, Pentecostal Spirituality: A Passion for the Kingdom (Sheffield: Sheffield
Academic Press, 1993).
86
complexity of this world; in this case, theological categories and perspectives
would be secondary to scientific perspectives, with the threat of naturalism
or scientism (understood in their pejorative senses) not far behind. On the
other hand, however, a theology ofc
r
e
at
i
onwoul
d pr
oc
e
e
d“f
r
om above
,
”
privileging theological methods and categories for understanding the world;
in this case, scientific insights would be secondary to theological
commitments, with the threat of fideism looming not far behind. These
issues point to the formidable methodological challenges confronting the
development of a pneumatological theology of creation. Either religion or
s
c
i
e
nc
ec
oul
dus
ei
t
sownt
e
r
msandc
at
e
gor
i
e
st
oi
nt
e
r
pr
e
tt
heot
he
r
’
sdat
a
,
the integrity of religion or science may be violated if brought into
conversation since each is concerned with wholly distinct (perhaps
incommensurable) domains or realities.
I propose that a pneumatological approach to this methodological
impasse can provide further theological impetus for the complementarity
thesis.13 If religion and science are truly complementary, then both
perspectives are essential to advance our understanding of the created order,
of the creator, and of the relationship between the two. From a
pneumatological and pentecostal perspective, I suggest that this
methodological complementarity is prefigured in the plurality of languages
spoken and/or heard on the Day of Pentecost. If the diversity of tongues has
previously been understood to provide theological validation for the
diversity of national, ethnic and cultural perspectives in as much as the
distinctiveness and particularity of each language was preserved (rather
t
han c
anc
e
l
l
e
d out
)i
n and t
hr
ough t
he Spi
r
i
t
’
sbe
ar
i
ng wi
t
ne
s
st
ot
he
wonders of God (Acts 2:1-11),14 why would this not include the perspectives
of science and its methods? Insofar as this requires that we take seriously
both the theological lenses through which we approach the dialogue between
religion and science and the findings and methods of the sciences
13
Here, of course, I side with complementarians over and against either
incommensurabilists or those who advocate subordinating one side to the other. The
literature on all sides is vast. For an orienting discussion, see Richard F. Carlson, ed.,
Science and Christianity: Four Views (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2000); Howard Van
Ti
l
’
se
s
s
ayi
nt
hi
svol
umede
f
e
ndst
hec
ompl
e
me
nt
ar
i
anappr
oac
h,e
ve
ni
fIdonotf
ul
l
y
agree with the details of his own theological interpretation of the creation narratives.
14
E.g., Samuel Solivan, The Spirit, Pathos and Liberation: Toward an Hispanic Pentecostal
Theology, (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998), esp. 112-1
8on“c
ul
t
ur
algl
os
s
ol
al
i
a;
c
f
.
my “TheSpi
r
i
t Bears Witness: Pneumatology, Truth and theRe
l
i
gi
ons
,
”Scottish Journal of
Theology 57:1 (2004): 1-25, esp. 26-35.
JEPTA 26 2005
87
themselves, to that extent, I submit, a pneumatological approach provides
one way forward for furthering this conversation.15
Pentecostal perspectives toward a pneumatological
theology of creation:
Of course, the proof of this pneumatological thesis lies in the pudding of
the subsequent pneumatological theology of creation. In what follows, then,
I sketch how the religion and science conversation from can be illuminated
from a pneumatological and pentecostal perspective with regard to the
natural or material world, the human world, and the realm of the demonic.
Two caveats should be registered before proceeding. First, while more
complete justification for these topics will be provided in due course, suffice
for the moment to say that if a theology of creation is not limited in ways a
theology of nature is limited – i.e., by naturalistic and materialistic
presuppositions –then the former casts a net wide enough to include all
creaturely (as opposed to the Creator) realities. Hence a pneumatological
theology of creation would inevitably incorporate as a legitimate focus of
scientific inquiry whatever is ruled out in an apriori manner by a positivistic
bias, including the realm of the demonic. If the following dialogue has any
merit, both sides should be mutually enriched and transformed, even while
the integrity of their perspectives should be preserved rather than
compromised.
Second, I am seeking in this essay only to suggest points of entry for
Pentecostals to engage in theological reflection on the sciences. This would
include both Pentecostal theologians who recognize that Christian theology
in the 21st century can no longer ignore the sciences, and Pentecostals who
are actively involved in teaching and researching in the natural and social
sciences and wish to integrate their faith and their scientific vocation in a
more intentional manner. As such, the following comments are certainly not
the last word about theology and science in Pentecostal perspective; rather,
they are programmatic and heuristic, intended only both initiate (in some
cases) and provoke (in other cases) a much-needed conversation.
This essay should be considered as an extension on several themes introduced
previously in my The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh, ch. 7, and“Di
s
c
e
r
ni
ngt
heSpi
r
i
t
(
s
)i
n
t
heNat
ur
a
lWor
l
d:
Towar
daTypol
ogyof‘
Spi
r
i
t
’i
nt
heThe
ol
ogya
ndSc
i
e
nc
e
Conve
r
s
at
i
on,
”Theology & Science, forthcoming. An earlier version of the latter essay was
publ
i
s
he
das“
‘
TheSpi
r
i
tHove
r
sove
rt
heWor
l
d’
:Towar
daTypol
ogyof‘
Spi
r
i
t
’i
nt
he
Re
l
i
gi
onandSc
i
e
nc
eDi
al
ogue
,
”The Metanexus Online Journal 4:12 (2004)
[http://www.metanexus.net/digest/2004_10_27.htm].
15
88
The natural world: pneumatological perspectives –To begin with, a
theology of creation that includes the entirety of the created order will
i
nc
l
udeat
he
ol
ogyoft
henat
ur
alormat
e
r
i
alwor
l
d.By“nat
ur
e
,
”t
he
n,Iam
referring to the material dimension of the created world. In this case, a
theology of nature is a sub-category of theology of creation, concerned with
one aspect or dimension of creatureliness, that of the material order.16 Of
course, human beings are also materially constituted, and in that sense,
could be included within what I call theology of nature. However, I have
chosen to treat theological anthropology separately (below) given that
humans are not merely material beings.
Numerous attempts to develop a theology of nature have been
suggested.17 Our efforts to provide a distinctively pneumatological
perspective on theology of creation are intended to both build on and
complement these others.18 In the following, I comment briefly on the
religion and science conversation in dialogue with Sallie McFague, Denis
Edwards, and William Dembski, before suggesting one way forward from a
pneumatological perspective.
Sallie McFague is longtime professor of theology at Vanderbilt
University who has focused on formulating an ecological theology and
theology of nature appropriate to the challenges of late twentieth and early
Note, however, that the theology of nature being developed here is not a natural theology
i
ft
hel
at
t
e
ri
sde
f
i
ne
dbyt
he“hopet
of
i
ndi
ns
c
i
e
nc
eapr
oof(
oratl
e
as
ts
ugge
s
t
i
ve
e
vi
de
nc
e
)oft
hee
xi
s
t
e
nc
eofGod”
;
r
at
he
r
,
t
he
ol
ogyofc
r
e
at
i
onandt
he
ol
ogyofnat
ur
e
begin from a specific religious perspective –pneumatological in my case –and attempt to
find convergence with modern scientific perspectives. On this distinction, see Ian G.
Barbour, Nature, Human Nature, and God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002), 2.
17
For introductory discussions, see John Carmody, Ecology and Religion: Toward a New
Christian Theology of Nature (New York and Ramsey, NJ: Paulist, 1983); Claude Y. Stewart,
Jr., Nature in Grace: A Study in the Theology of Nature (Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press,
1983); David A. S. Fergusson, The Cosmos and the Creator: An Introduction to the Theology of
Creation (London: SPCK, 1998); and Zachary Hayes, The Gift of Being: A Theology of Creation
(Collegeville: Liturgical, 2001).
18
We are still at the starting line in terms of formulating a pneumatological theology of
nature that takes account of developments in the natural sciences, and this in spite of the
e
f
f
or
t
sofWol
f
har
tPanne
nbe
r
g’
se
s
s
ayf
i
r
s
tpubl
i
s
he
di
n19
72–r
e
pr
i
nt
e
das“TheDoc
t
r
i
ne
of the Spirit and the Task of a The
ol
ogyofNat
ur
e
,
”i
nPanne
nbe
r
g,
Toward a Theology of
Nature: Essays on Science and Faith, ed. Ted Peters (Louisville: WKJP, 1993), ch. 5 –to jumpstart the discussion. More recent contributions –e.g., Robert Faricy, Wind and Sea Obey Him:
Approaches to a Theology of Nature (Westminster, Md.: Christian Classics, 1988), ch. 2; Jürgen
Moltmann, God in Creation: A New Theology of Creation and the Spirit of God, trans. Margaret
Kohl (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985); Elizabeth A. Johnson, Women, Earth, and Creator
Spirit (New York: Paulist Press, 1993); and Raniero Cantalamessa, Come, Creator Spirit:
Meditations on the Veni Creator, tr. Denis and Marlene Barrett (Collegeville: Liturgical, 2003)
–have been stronger on the biblical/theological side than on the scientific/material.
16
JEPTA 26 2005
89
twentieth century planetary life.19 Drawing from process theology and
feminist/liberationist epistemology, McFague has attempted to articulate a
theology of creation that is both theological and naturalistic at the same
time. While concerned to avoid any kind of pre-modern supernaturalism,
McFague also realizes that the positivism and scientism of modernity has
be
e
nde
s
t
r
uc
t
i
vef
orpl
ane
t
ar
yl
i
f
e
.Ast
he
r
ei
sa“mor
e
”t
ot
henat
ur
alwor
l
d
t
hanmat
e
r
i
al
i
s
ms
ugge
s
t
s
,Mc
Faguee
xhor
t
s
,“Chr
i
s
t
i
anss
houl
dnotonl
ybe
natural, understanding ourselves as in and of the earth, but also super,
natural, understanding ourselves as excessively, superlatively concerned
20
with nature and its well-be
i
ng.
”
But how can we avoid the Scylla of
premodern supernaturalism on the one side and the Charybdis of modernist
anti-supernaturalism on the other?21 Thi
sl
e
adst
oMc
Fague
’
sme
t
aphor
i
c
al
theological discourse: metaphorical because (she argues) that is the nature of
all theological language,22 but theological because of the centrality of
Christian symbols like that of the incarnation.
For McFague, the incarnation is suggestive not only of the revelation of
God in Christ, but also the embodiment of God in Jesus. Jesus Christ reveals
(for Christians) the shape of the body of God which is inclusive of all
(especially the needy and oppressed), and unveils the scope of the body of
God which is inclusive of the cosmos (cosmic Christ). This notion of divine
embodiment finds new meaning in the context of our present ecological
c
r
i
s
i
s
.He
nc
et
hewor
l
di
sr
e
c
onc
e
i
ve
dme
t
aphor
i
c
al
l
yast
he“bodyofGod”
so as to articulate an interdependence and interrelational model for the Godhuman-world relationship (rather than dualistic or hierarchical conception
of God and world, or human beings and creation), encourage a reverential
attitude toward the creation (rather than a utilitarian and instrumentalist
one), and motivate the development of an ethic of care, reconciliation and
liberat
i
on (
r
at
he
rt
han an e
t
hi
c ofdomi
nat
i
on)
.Cr
uc
i
alt
o Mc
Fague
’
s
19
Mc
Fague
’
spubl
i
c
at
i
onsar
enume
r
ous
;f
orourpur
pos
e
s
,
he
rmor
er
e
c
e
ntt
r
i
l
ogyi
smos
t
pertinent: The Body of God: An Ecological Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993); Super,
Natural Christians: How We Should Love Nature (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1997); and Life
Abundant: Rethinking Theology and Economy for a Planet in Peril (Minneapolis: Fortress Press,
2001).
20
McFague, Super, Natural Christians, 6; italics orig.
21
McFague is certainly not the first to address this que
s
t
i
on;
c
f
.T.L.S.
Spr
i
gge
,“Re
f
i
ne
d
andCr
as
sSupe
r
nat
ur
al
i
s
m,
”i
nMi
c
hae
lMc
Ghe
e
,e
d.
,
Philosophy, Religion and the Spiritual
Life, Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement 32 (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1992), 105-25, who discusses the early 20th c
e
nt
ur
y“r
e
f
i
ne
ds
upe
r
nat
ur
al
i
s
m”of
William James and F. H. Bradley.
22
See McFague, Metaphorical Theology: Models of God in Religious Language (Minneapolis:
Fortress Press, 1982), and Models of God: Theology for an Ecological, Nuclear Age (Minneapolis:
Fortress Press, 1987).
90
proposals is a creation spirituality and praxis aimed at replacing the neoclassical economic structure of middle class American life with one that
attempts to embody the life of Jesus in ways that are more environmentally
sustainable and friendly.
From a pneumatological perspective, it is interesting also to note that
McFague develops her panentheistic agential-organic model of the Godworld relationship analogously to traditional conceptions of the spirit-body
relationship. Even as the human spirit is understood to animate the human
body, so also the divine Spirit universally gives life, empowers, and
e
ne
r
gi
ze
sal
lt
hi
ngs
.Godas“s
pi
r
i
t
-body”i
st
husne
i
t
he
rf
ul
l
yi
mpe
r
s
onal
(
he
nc
eMc
Fague
’
santi-mode
r
ni
s
m)norf
ul
l
ype
r
s
onal(
he
nc
eal
s
oMc
Fague
’
s
anti-premodernism). Instead, Spirit-theology allows for emphasis not only
on the divine intellect/Wisdom (Logos theology) transcendent over the
wor
l
d’
se
vol
ut
i
onar
ypr
oc
e
s
s
,butal
s
oon t
hedi
vi
nee
nmeshment within
creation.
The recent ecological theology of Australian theologian, Denis Edwards,
t
r
ave
l
sal
ongmanyoft
hes
amel
i
ne
sasdoe
sMc
Fague
’
s
,butdoe
ss
owi
t
hi
n
an explicitly pneumatological framework.23 Edwar
ds
’t
he
s
i
si
st
hatt
hes
t
or
y
of the Holy Spirit is coextensive with (what contemporary cosmological
science says is) the fourteen billion year evolutionary history of the entire
universe, not only breathing life into the world but also empowering the
creative process. Bringing insights from both the biblical and patristic
traditions into dialogue with contemporary science introduces new
possibilities into the religion and science conversation. The dynamism of the
Spirit or the ruach (breath) of God, for example, helps us think about the
dynamic and unfinished character of the world. This openendedness (I
would emphasize) is also suggestive of an eschatological (to use theological
language) or teleological (a more neutral category) dimension to the
universe, and in turn provides for a connection Edwards sees between
pneumatology and the emergence of novelty and complexity in the creation.
He
nc
ehes
ugge
s
t
st
hatbot
hPr
i
gogi
ne
’
snot
i
onof(
hi
ghe
randhi
ghe
rl
e
ve
l
s
of
)or
de
re
me
r
ge
ntf
r
om c
haot
i
cordi
s
s
i
pat
i
ves
ys
t
e
msandDar
wi
n’
st
he
or
y
of natur
als
e
l
e
c
t
i
onvi
ar
andom mut
at
i
onmayde
s
c
r
i
bet
heSpi
r
i
t
’
sac
t
i
vi
t
y
(among other factors) in an evolutionary cosmos. Both are examples of
scientific theories regarding the unpredictable emergence of increasingly
c
ompl
e
xc
r
e
at
ur
e
l
yr
e
al
i
t
i
e
s
:“f
r
om t
hef
i
r
st nuclei of hydrogen and helium,
t
oat
oms
,gal
axi
e
s
,t
heSun,bac
t
e
r
i
alf
or
msofl
i
f
e
,c
ompl
e
xc
e
l
l
s
…[
and]i
n
23
Denis Edwards, Breath of Life: A Theology of the Creator Spirit (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2004), esp.
c
h.
3,
“
Br
e
at
hi
ngLi
f
ei
nt
oaUni
ve
r
s
eofCr
e
at
ur
e
s
.
”
JEPTA 26 2005
91
the series of evolutionary steps from the prokaryotes to eukaryotes,
24
ve
r
t
e
br
at
e
s
,mammal
s
,pr
i
mat
e
s
,andhumanbe
i
ngs
.
”
From a pneumatological pe
r
s
pe
c
t
i
ve
,Edwar
ds
’not
i
onoft
heSpi
r
i
tofGod
i
mmane
ntt
oand ac
t
i
vewi
t
hi
nc
r
e
at
i
on’
spr
oc
e
s
s
e
sc
ont
r
i
but
e
st
owar
da
more robust theological framework for understanding God as creator. In
Edwar
ds
’t
he
ol
ogy of c
r
e
at
i
on,Wor
d and Spi
r
i
t wor
k mut
ual
l
y and
r
e
c
i
pr
oc
al
l
yast
he“t
wohandsoft
heFat
he
r
”(
I
r
e
nae
us
)i
nt
hef
or
mat
i
onand
transformation of the universe. Hence the self-organizing principles guiding
the evolution of complex processes and structures in the universe is
inexplicable if a materialistic metaphysics is assumed but appears to cohere
well with the kind of pneumatological theology of creation suggested by
Edwar
ds
.I
ft
heWor
d(
orLogos
)pr
ovi
de
st
hedi
vi
nepat
t
e
r
nf
orc
r
e
at
i
on’
s
forms, then the Spirit is the divine mind (cf. 1 Cor. 2:10ff.) which
communicates the patterns of the Logos to creatures and the divine breath
that empowers creaturely formation.25 From this, perhaps, the Spirit can be
said to be not only the giver of life and the source of the new in the world,
but also the ontological bas
i
sf
or c
r
e
at
i
on’
si
nt
r
i
c
at
e
l
y s
t
r
uc
t
ur
e
d
r
e
l
at
i
ons
hi
ps
:ofe
ac
h“t
hi
ng”wi
t
hot
he
r
s
,i
t
se
nvi
r
onme
nt
,andt
hedi
vi
ne
,
and of the whole with the triune God.
Edwar
ds
’ pr
opos
al
s ar
e
,of c
our
s
e
,s
t
r
i
c
t
l
yt
he
ol
ogi
c
al r
at
he
rt
han
s
c
i
e
nt
i
f
i
c
.The“de
s
i
gn-the
or
e
t
i
cr
e
s
e
ar
c
hpr
ogr
am”ofWi
l
l
i
am De
mbs
kiand
others, on the other hand, is arguably more scientifically than religiously
oriented.26 To be sure, critics are not convinced about the scientific
credentials of the Intelligent Design (ID, as it is more commonly known)
movement and hence conclude that it is either creationism in disguise or a
24
Edwards, Breath of Life, 44.
On the idea of the Spirit as the divine mind, see Donald L. Gelpi, The Divine Mother: A
Trinitarian Theology of the Holy Spirit (Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1984), 5859.
26
See William A. Dembski, The Design Inference: Eliminating Chance through Small
Probabilities (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998); idem., Intelligent Design: A
Bridge between Science and Theology (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1999); idem., No
Free Lunch: Why Specified Complexity Cannot Be Purchased without Intelligence (Lanham, Md.:
Rowman & Littlefield, 2002); idem., The Design Revolution: Answering the Toughest Questions
about Intelligent Design (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004); William A. Dembski, ed.,
Mere Creation: Science, Faith & Intelligent Design (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1998);
and William A. Dembski and James M. Kushiner, eds., Signs of Intelligence: Understanding
Intelligent Design (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2001). For an excellent overview, see Ted
Peters and Martinez Hewlett, Evolution from Creation to New Creation: Conflict, Conversation,
and Convergence (Nashville: Abingdon, 2003), ch. 5.
25
92
27
mor
es
ophi
s
t
i
c
at
e
df
or
m ofPal
e
y’
st
e
l
e
ol
ogi
c
alar
gume
nt
.
Design theorists
counter that ID is different from creationism since neither requires the other.
Further, ID is focused on empirical artifacts rather than on the putative
de
s
i
gne
roft
hos
ear
t
i
f
ac
t
soront
hede
s
i
gne
r
’
spur
pos
e
s
,andi
si
nt
hats
e
ns
e
,
arguably, an extension of other teleological ideas like the cosmic fine-tuning
and anthropic principles. Finally, ID is a scientific research program focused
on finding design in nature, especially in biological systems. In this case, ID
updates the classical teleological argument through contemporary
i
nf
or
mat
i
ont
he
or
y(
De
mbs
ki
’
spr
i
mar
yc
ont
r
i
but
i
on)andmol
e
c
ul
arbiology
(e.g., in the work of biochemist, Michael Behe).28
Theke
yt
oI
D’
ss
uc
c
e
s
sasas
c
i
e
nt
i
f
i
cr
e
s
e
ar
c
hpr
ogr
am l
i
e
si
ni
t
sc
l
ai
mst
o
have established the ideas of irreducible and specified complexity as testable
notions. Irreducible complexity refers to an empirically detected system
consists of several interlocking parts such that the removal of any one of
those parts results in a dysfunctional system. Specified complexity refers to
the detection of any phenomenon which design cannot be explained by
either chance or necessity, and hence is concluded to be the product of
intelligence. ID theorists reason thus: if the key to complexity is information;
if such information cannot be explained by chance (i.e., random mutation) or
necessity (i.e., natural selection); if such information is irreducibly complex
and cannot be accounted for naturalistically by the processes of evolution
(e.g., there are major gaps in the evolutionary record as promulgated by neoDarwinism); then it is reasonable to infer that such specified complexity is a
product of intelligent design.
Of course, this overview is far too simple, and the jury is certainly still out
on the status of ID as a legitimate scientific research program, especially
about whether or not ID deals with secondary causes (which do not
necessarily include the idea of purpose) or first causes (which would move
ID from the realm of science to metaphysics or theology).29 However, the
connections between ID theory and the ruminations of both Edwards and
McFague are intriguing when viewed from a pneumatological perspective.
While all three (but especially McFague and ID) submit that merely
27
Robert T. Pennock, ed., Intelligent Design Creationism and Its Critics: Philosophical,
Theological, and Scientific Perspectives (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2001).
28
Michael J. Behe, Da
r
wi
n’
sBl
a
c
kBo
x:
TheBi
o
c
he
mi
c
a
lCh
a
l
l
e
nget
oEv
o
l
ut
i
o
n(New York: Free
Press, 1996).
29
ID has been challenged on the left by antitheistic naturalists and on the right by theistic
evolutionists; for questions by one in the latter group, see John F. Haught, Deeper than
Darwin: The Prospect for Religion in the Age of Evolution (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press,
2003), ch. 7.
JEPTA 26 2005
93
materialistic or hard core naturalistic hypotheses are insufficient to account
f
ort
he“mor
e
”e
vi
de
nti
nt
hehumane
ngage
me
ntwi
t
ht
he world, McFague
and Edwards openly resort to theological and pneumatological explanations
while Dembski and his colleagues remain committed to ID as a rigorous
scientific project. But if the claims of the ID movement hold up in the courts
of science, then they provide a kind of scientific validation and correlation
for the theological and pneumatological insights of McFague and Edwards.
Thi
si
se
s
pe
c
i
al
l
ys
t
r
i
ki
ng i
nt
hatI
D’
ss
e
ar
c
hf
ors
pe
c
i
f
i
e
dc
ompl
e
xi
t
y,i
f
established, would conclude toward the metaphysical and theological
hypot
he
s
i
sofan “ope
n”uni
ve
r
s
e
”–ope
ni
nt
hes
e
ns
et
hatt
hewor
l
d’
s
c
ompl
e
xi
t
yi
sr
e
c
e
i
ve
df
r
om “out
s
i
de
”i
t
s
e
l
f
.Coul
dt
hi
spr
ovi
dewar
r
antf
or
t
hi
nki
ngaboutt
heHol
ySpi
r
i
tast
he“mi
ndofGod”i
nf
or
mi
ngt
hedynami
c
patterns, complex structures, and organized interconnections of the world?30
In accordance with the foregoing, I propose that a pneumatological
hermeneutic applied to the creation narratives could further illuminate the
kind of scientific theology of nature suggested by McFague and Edwards.
My exegetical justification for this application is the significant role of the
ruach or breath of God at the beginning and the culmination of the creation:
“…awi
ndf
r
om Gods
we
ptove
rt
hef
ac
eoft
hewat
e
r
s
”and“t
heLORD God
formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the
31
br
e
at
hofl
i
f
e
;andt
hemanbe
c
ameal
i
vi
ngbe
i
ng”(
Ge
n.1:
3and2:
7)
.
Three
aspects of the creation narrative read in pneumatological perspective are
especially suggestive for the religion and science dialogue. First, the creation
narrative unmistakably records the emergence of irreducible and specified
complexity. Read in pneumatological perspective, does not the creation
narrative encourage our understanding of the emergence of complexity –
from the primeval chaos (tohuwabhohu) to ha adam as a rational being,
including the various levels in between delineated by Edwards (above) –as
30
The other possibility which I only mention here but do not develop is to engage with
newer forms of design theorizing that attempt to find a way between what is thought to be
I
D’
sant
i
-nat
ur
al
i
s
ma
nde
s
t
abl
i
s
hme
nts
c
i
e
nc
e
’
sant
i
-teleological dogmatism; for proposals
searching for this via media, see Niels Henrik Gregersen and Ulf Görman, eds., Design and
Disorder: Perspectives from Science and Theology (London and New York: T & T Clark, 2002).
31
D.
Lyl
eDabne
y,
“TheNa
t
ur
eoft
heSpi
r
i
t
:Cr
e
a
t
i
onasaPr
e
moni
t
i
onofGod,
”i
nGor
don
Preece and Stephen Pickard, eds., Starting with the Spirit: Task of Theology Today II
(Adelaide, Australia: Australia Theological Forum, Inc., and Openbook Publishers, 2001),
83-110, has also suggested an alternative rationale and approach to re-reading the creation
narrati
vef
r
om apne
umat
ol
ogi
c
alpe
r
s
pe
c
t
i
ve
.Se
eal
s
omy“
Ruach, the Primordial Waters,
and the Breath of Life: Emergence Theory and the Creation Narratives in Pneumatological
Pe
r
s
pe
c
t
i
ve
,
”i
nMi
c
hae
lWe
l
ke
r
,e
d.
,
Pneumatology: Exploring the Work of the Spirit from
Contemporary Perspectives [working title], forthcoming.
94
enabled by the dynamic presence and activity of the divine breath as a field
of force which envelops and informs the creation and its creatures?
Second, note that the Genesis narrative suggests the creation itself to be
involved in the emergence of new creaturely forms.32 At a few places, the
c
r
e
at
i
on i
s nots
i
mpl
yt
he pas
s
i
ve r
e
c
i
pi
e
ntofi
nf
or
mat
i
on “f
r
om the
out
s
i
de
,
”buti
sanac
t
i
veage
nte
mpowe
r
e
dbyt
hebr
e
at
hofGod(
e
mphas
e
s
mi
ne
)
:e
.
g.
,“Le
tt
hee
ar
t
hput forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit
t
r
e
e
s
…t
hatbear f
r
ui
t
”(
1:
11)
;“Le
tt
hewa
t
e
r
sbring forth swarms of living
c
r
e
at
ur
e
s
…”(
1:
20)
;and“Le
tt
hee
ar
t
hbring forth living creatures of every
ki
nd…”(
1:
24)
.I
nt
hef
i
r
s
tand t
hi
r
dc
as
e
s(
butnoti
nt
hes
e
c
ond)
,God’
s
c
ommand i
sf
ol
l
owe
d by an,“And i
twass
o,
” be
f
or
ei
ndi
c
at
i
ng God’
s
evaluative response. I suggest that these are textual poi
nt
e
r
st
ot
hec
r
e
at
i
on’
s
agency which a pneumatological reading of the Genesis narrative
accentuates precisely because the Spirit empowers creatures as the breath of
God t
o f
ul
f
i
l
lt
he
i
r own c
r
e
at
ur
e
l
y “voc
at
i
ons
.
” How mi
ght t
hi
s
pneumatological perspective open up to alternative evolutionary models for
contemporary scientific inquiry?
Last, but certainly not least, the creation narratives unveil the systematic
interrelatedness of male and female, of human beings and their
environment, of each creaturely realm and the creatures within them with
other creaturely realms and other creatures, and of each and the whole with
God. This interconnectedness of human beings, the natural world, and the
divine is especially highlighted when the Genesis account is read in
pneumatological perspective. In classical theological conception, the Spirit is
not only the love between the Lover and the Beloved, but is also the divine
source of life within which all creatures live, move, and have their being. In
this framework, does a pneumatological perspective provide further
theological warrant for inquiring into creation and its processes through the
interrelatedness of various scientific disciplines and the convergence of
different scientific ideas and theories?
Again, my claim is not that doctrines regarding the Holy Spirit can be
naively identified with or confirmed by scientific data or theories. Rather, I
am suggesting that advances in the natural sciences can contribute toward a
more robust theology of creation when read through a pneumatological lens,
and, even more audaciously, that a pneumatological perspective may also
inform the kind of creative modeling and theorizing which occurs at the
edges of scientific inquiry.
32
On this point, see Michael Welker, Creation and Reality, trans. John F. Hoffmeyer
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999), ch. 1.
JEPTA 26 2005
95
The human world: Toward a pneumatological anthropology –As already
noted, human beings are creatures within the natural world. A
pneumatological theology of creation therefore inevitably requires a
pneumatological anthropology, a view of human creatures informed by our
understanding of the presence and activity of the Spirit of God. In the
following, I comment briefly on classical and more recent anthropological
models in theological perspective, before suggesting one way forward from
a pneumatological and more explicitly pentecostal perspective.
Any overview of the history of anthropological speculation in the West
will identify three dominant theories regarding human nature. First, there
are the more empiricist and materialist theories –whether of the ancient
Stoic, Epicurean or Lucretian kinds on the one hand, or of the modern
behaviorist, epiphenomenalist or purely naturalistic types on the other –
wherein human nature is defined primarily in terms of corporeality and the
human mind is reduced to the physical processes of the brain. Opposed to
this are more idealistic theories (both Platonic or Berkeleyan) wherein
human nature is defined primarily in terms of the personal soul, mind,
rationality, and personality, and human embodiment is understood as a
mat
e
r
i
al“c
as
i
ng”f
ort
hepe
r
s
onals
oulwhi
c
hc
ananddoes survive physical
death; classical Christian anthropology often wedded itself to a Platonist
metaphysics of the soul to emphasize humans as spiritual (non-material),
moral, and rational beings created in the image and likeness of God. In
between are dualistic theories especially prevalent since the Cartesian split
between the soul and the body, between the mind and the brain, between
the realm of consciousness and the realm of materiality. Currently in vogue
are various formulations of parallelism (souls or minds within bodies which
do not interrelate), substance dualism (building and expanding on especially
Aristotelian or Thomist theories of souls as substances), or mind-brain
interactionism (incorporeal minds somehow collaborating with physical
brains).33
33
Dualistic theories inevitably affirm the ontological reality of the soul or mind: human
beings do not have souls or minds, but are souls or minds. See, e.g., Wilder Penfield, The
Mystery of the Mind: A Critical Study of Consciousness and the Human Brain (Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1975); Richard Swinburne, The Evolution of the Soul (Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1986); J. P. Moreland and Scott B. Rae, Body and Soul: Human Nature and
the Crisis in Ethics (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2000); and Kevin Corcoran, ed.,
Soul, Body and Survival: Essays on the Metaphysics of Human Persons (Ithaca and London:
Cornell University Press, 2001), esp. the essays in Part I. The interactionism of Karl R.
Popper and John C. Eccles, The Self and Its Brain: An Argument for Interactionism (New York:
Springer International, 1977), however, does not use soul-language.
96
More recent research, however, is exposing two related misconceived
assumptions about these dominant theoretical constructs: the instability of
the primary terms involved in these debates, and the implausibility of any
kind of dualistic conception over and against more holistic models. With
regard to the former, Paul MacDonald (among others) has decisively
de
c
ons
t
r
uc
t
e
dt
hec
onc
e
pt
sof“s
pi
r
i
t
,
”“s
oul
,
”and“mi
nd”i
nt
hehi
s
t
or
yof
the West.34 Central notions such as nous, psyche, and pneuma, and other
important concepts like sarx, soma, and kardia have been shown to be
conditioned by each other. In fact, the plurivocality of each concept and its
relatedness with others are heightened when we see that especially complex
thinkers like Plotinus, Augustine, and Shakespeare exhibit such wide ranges
of understanding about each of these key terms that they can be often read
against themselves. Increasing realization of this fact has undoubtedly
contributed to the emergence of more holistic theories of human nature
which emphasize relationality (against dualisms of all sorts), integration (of
mind, body, etc.), embodiment (without reduction to crass materialism), and
environmental situatedness (rather than earlier notions of the atomistic
soul).35
In part for these reasons, the nonreductive physicalist or supervenience
theory of human nature and the mind-brain relationship is increasingly
prominent.36 Proposed by philosopher of science Nancey Murphy, among
34
Paul S. MacDonald, History of the Concept of Mind: Speculations about Soul, Mind and Spirit
from Homer to Hume (Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2003); see my review of
this book in Philosophia Christi 6:2 (2004): 337-40, where I point out possible continuities and
discontinuities bet
we
e
nMa
c
Donal
d’
sWe
s
t
e
r
nhi
s
t
or
ya
ndI
ndi
an,
Chi
ne
s
eandBuddhi
s
t
theories of mind.
35
E.g., Warren S. Brown, Nancey Murphy and H. Newton Malony, eds., Whatever Happened
to the Soul? Scientific and Theological Portraits of Human Nature (Minneapolis: Fortress Press,
1998); Niels Henrik Gregersen, Willem B. Drees, and Ulf Görman, eds., The Human Person
in Science and Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000); Joel B. Green, ed., What about the
Soul? Neuroscience and Christian Anthropology (Nashville: Abingdon, 2004); and Malcolm
Jeeves, ed., From Cells to Souls –and Beyond: Changing Portraits of Human Nature (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004). See also my “Pneuma and Pratityasamutpada: Neuropsychology,
the Christian-Buddhi
s
tDi
al
oguea
ndt
heHumanPe
r
s
on,
”Zygon: Journal of Religion and
Science 40:1 (2005): 143-65, where I defend a relational, embodied, and environmentally
situated anthropology in pneumatological perspective.
36
Thi
swoul
dbepar
al
l
e
lwi
t
h,butnoti
de
nt
i
c
alt
o,
ot
he
rmode
l
ss
uc
hasWi
l
l
i
am Has
ke
r
’
s
e
me
r
ge
ntdual
i
s
m andPhi
l
i
pCl
ayt
on’
se
me
r
ge
ntmoni
s
m;s
e
eHas
ke
r
,The Emergent Self
(Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1999), and Clayton, in many different papers, e.g.,
“Emergentist Monism in the Philosophy of Mind”
(http://www.pcts.org/clayton.1998.html).
JEPTA 26 2005
97
others, three central features stand out for our purposes.37 First, and most
obviously, nonreductive physicalism rejects dualism in favor of a monistic
view of the human person as essentially and ontologically a corporeal or
phys
i
c
albe
i
ng;he
nc
e
,t
he
r
ei
sno“vi
t
alf
or
c
e
”orot
he
rme
t
aphys
i
c
ale
nt
i
t
y
which is needed to explain higher level or emergent phenomena such as
consciousness. But second, nonreductive physicalists acknowledge that
mind or consciousness also exerts top-down or downward causal influence
on the physical world and in that sense is dependent upon but causally
irreducible to the brain.38 This leads, third, to an understanding of the mind
37
Murphy has published widely on this topic; cf. Nancey Murphy and George F. R. Ellis,
On the Moral Nature of the Universe: Theology, Cosmology, and Ethics (Minneapolis: Fortress
Press, 1996); Nancey Murphy, Anglo-American Postmodernity: Philosophical Perspectives on
Science, Religion, and Ethics (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1997), esp. ch. 10,
“Supe
r
ve
ni
e
nc
eandt
heNonr
e
duc
i
bi
l
i
t
yofEt
hi
c
st
oBi
ol
ogy”;
i
de
m.
,
“Supe
r
ve
ni
e
nc
ea
nd
the Nonreduc
i
bi
l
i
t
yofEt
hi
c
st
oBi
ol
ogy,
”i
n Robert John Russell, William R. Stoeger, S.J.,
and Francisco J. Ayala, eds., Evolutionary and Molecular Biology: Scientific Perspectives on
Divine Action (Vatican City State: Vatican Observatory Publications, and Berkeley: Center
for Theology and the Natural Sciences, 1998), 463-89; idem., “Nonr
e
duc
t
i
vePhys
i
c
al
i
s
m:
Phi
l
os
ophi
c
alI
s
s
ue
s
,
”i
nWar
r
e
nS.Br
own,
Nanc
e
yMur
phyandH.
Ne
wt
onMal
ony,e
ds
.
,
Whatever Happened to the Soul? Scientific and Theological Portraits of Human Nature
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998), 127-4
8;
andi
de
m.
,
“Ne
ur
os
c
i
e
nc
eandHumanNat
ur
e
:
AChr
i
s
t
i
anPe
r
s
pe
c
t
i
ve
,
”i
nTe
dPe
t
e
r
s
,Muz
af
f
arI
qbal
,
andSye
dNoma
nulHaq,e
ds
.
,God,
Life, and the Cosmos: Christian and Islamic Perspectives (Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, Vt.:
Ashgate, 2002), 357-89.
38
Mur
phyde
f
i
ne
sdownwar
dc
aus
a
t
i
onas“
amat
t
e
roft
hel
awsoft
hehi
ghe
r
level selective system determining in part the distribution of lower-level events and
s
ubs
t
anc
e
s
”
;downwar
dc
aus
at
i
on,“i
nt
hes
e
nse of environmental selection of neural
connections and tuning of synaptic weights, provides a plausible account of how the brain
becomes structured to perform rational operations. The larger system –which is the brain
in the body interacting with its environment –selects which causal pathways will be
ac
t
i
vat
e
d”
;f
i
nal
l
y,downwar
dc
aus
at
i
onal
s
oope
r
a
t
e
s“f
r
om hi
ghe
r
-order evaluative or
s
upe
r
vi
s
or
ys
ys
t
e
mswi
t
hi
nt
heage
nt
’
sc
ogni
t
i
ves
ys
t
e
mt
hatr
e
s
hape
st
heage
nt
’
sgoal
s
and strategies for achieving the
m”(
“Ne
ur
os
c
i
e
nc
eandHumanNat
ur
e
,
”37
2,
3
7
4,
and3
8
4,
i
t
al
i
c
sor
i
g.
)
.Formor
eondownwa
r
dc
aus
at
i
on,s
e
eWi
l
l
i
sW.Har
ma
n,
“ThePos
t
mode
r
n
He
r
e
s
y:Cons
c
i
ous
ne
s
sasCaus
al
,
”i
nDavi
dRayGr
i
f
f
i
n,e
d.
,The Reenchantment of Science:
Postmodern Proposals (Albany: SUNY Press, 1988), 115-28
,
andMal
c
ol
mJ
e
e
ve
s
,
“Mi
nd
Reading and Soul Searching in the Twenty-Fi
r
s
tCe
nt
ur
y:TheSc
i
e
nt
i
f
i
cEvi
de
nc
e
,
”i
nJ
oe
l
B. Green, ed., What about the Soul? Neuroscience and Christian Anthropology (Nashville:
Abingdon Press, 2004), 13-30, esp. 20-22.
For more on the idea that the universe is constituted in some way by mind,
consciousness, or wisdom, see John B. Cobb, Jr., and David Ray Griffin, eds., Mind in
Nature: Essays on the Interface of Science and Philosophy (Washington, DC: University Press of
America, 1977); Graham Dunstan Martin, Shadows in the Cave: Mapping the Conscious
Universe (London: Arkana, 1990); Robert Nadeau and Menas Karatos, The Non-Local
Universe: The New Physics and Matters of the Mind (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999),
and The Conscious Universe: Parts and Wholes in Physical Theory, 2nd ed. (New York: Springer
98
andbr
ai
ne
xi
s
t
i
ngi
nar
e
l
at
i
ons
hi
pofs
upe
r
ve
ni
e
nc
e
.ForMur
phy,“hi
ghe
r
level properties supervene on lower-level properties if they are partially
constituted by the lower-level properties but are not directly reducible to
them. Thus, for example, mental properties can be said to supervene on
properties of the neurological system; moral properties supervene on
ps
yc
hol
ogi
c
alors
oc
i
ol
ogi
c
alpr
ope
r
t
i
e
s
.
”39
What emerges is a nondualistic theory of mental causation supervenient
on indeterministic quantum states of the brain that is essential to the notions
ofbot
hl
i
be
r
t
ar
i
an f
r
e
e
dom and mor
alr
e
s
pons
i
bi
l
i
t
y.Thi
si
sMur
phy’
s
argument for ethics as a science between the social sciences and
theology/metaphysics: on the one hand, ethics cannot be reduced to
neurological, psychological, social or political dimensions, although it
emerges from or supervenes on their combination; on the other hand, the
nonreductive physicalis
tac
c
ountofnat
ur
e“ne
e
dst
o bec
ompl
e
t
e
d by a
theological account in which descriptions of divine action supervene on
descriptions of natural and historical events, but without being reducible to
40
t
he
m.
”
And while Murphy grants that the nonreductive physicalist theory
(like its dualist or reductionist competitors) can never be scientifically
confirmed, it can serve fruitfully as the hard core notion undergirding a
(Lakatosian) scientific research program.41
Keep in mind that Murphy formulates her nonreductive physicalism as a
hypothesis to be tested rather than as an obvious metaphysical axiom. This
is important especially in light of the criticisms raised against the idea of
supervenience.42 The major question –besides that concerning what it means
Verlag, 2000); and Gerald L. Schroeder, The Hidden Face of God: How Science Reveals the
Ultimate Truth (New York: The Free Press, 2001).
39
Murphy and Ellis, On the Moral Nature of the Universe, 23. Thus M supervening on B
entails that something about B in circumstances c entails M, but not vice-versa: for
e
xampl
e
,
whi
l
et
hes
i
gnal“
I
’
m home
”(
M)s
upe
r
ve
ne
sont
hel
i
ght
e
dl
ampatt
hewi
ndow
(B) when agreed upon by neighbors (c), the signal cannot be reduced to this set of physical
circumstances as the lamp could be on for another reason, or the neighbors could have
agr
e
e
dt
ous
eanot
he
rs
i
gnal
;s
e
eMur
phy,“Nonr
e
duc
t
i
vePhys
i
c
al
i
s
m:Phi
l
os
ophi
c
al
I
s
s
ue
s
,
”13
5.
40
Mur
phy,“
Nonr
e
duc
t
i
vePhys
i
c
al
i
s
m:Phi
l
os
ophi
c
alI
s
s
ue
s
,
”1
47
.
41
Imre Lakatos was a philosopher of science who suggested that scientific research
pr
ogr
amswe
r
edr
i
ve
nbyc
onve
nt
i
onal
l
ybutal
s
opr
ovi
s
i
onal
l
ya
c
c
e
pt
e
d“har
dc
or
e
”
commonsense notions and auxiliary hypotheses which were tested and refined, revised,
r
e
j
e
c
t
e
d,orr
e
pl
a
c
e
d,
asde
mande
dbyt
hee
vi
de
nc
e
;
c
f
.Gr
e
gPe
t
e
r
s
on,
“The Scientific
St
at
usofThe
ol
ogy:
I
mr
eLakat
os
,
Me
t
hoda
ndDe
mar
c
at
i
on,
”Perspectives on Science and
Christian Faith 50 (March 1998): 22-31.
42
The most persistent and articulate critic is Jaegwon Kim, Supervenience and Mind: Selected
Philosophical Essays (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993), and Kim, Supervenience
(Burlington, Vt., and Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2002).
JEPTA 26 2005
99
t
o“s
upe
r
ve
ne
”–can be approached from two angles. On the one side, if
Mur
phyi
ss
e
r
i
ousabouthe
rphys
i
c
al
i
s
m,t
he
nt
he“nonr
e
duc
t
i
ve
”qual
i
f
i
e
r
becomes vacuous; on the other side, if mind is truly irreducible to the brain,
then Murphy becomes an advocate of dualism instead of monism. Murphy
is not oblivious to the seriousness of these critical questions, but insists that
nonreductive physicalism serves as a sufficiently coherent metaphysical
hypothesis to sustain ongoing empirical research.
However, when revisited in pneumatological perspective, it is clear that
anthropological reflections from the beginning of the Western tradition are
both implicitly and explicitly informed by pneumatic categories. Modernist
at
t
e
mpt
st
oe
xor
c
i
s
e“s
pi
r
i
t
”andi
t
sc
ognat
e
sf
r
om discussions about human
nat
ur
e have be
e
n uns
uc
c
e
s
s
f
ul
. What i
si
nt
r
i
gui
ng about Mur
phy’
s
nonreductive physicalism is that its simultaneous rejection of
anthropological dualism and its acceptance and irreducible account of
consciousness open up to other possibilities for thinking about the presence
and activity of the Holy Spirit in the world. Three comments, two brief and
one more extended, can be made in this regard. First, the supervenience
model of the mind-brain relationship can be applied to understanding the
Spirit-world relationship in this sense: that apart from the world there is no
Spirit-world relationship, and that the Spirit is in that sense dependent
upon, but in another sense irreducible to the creaturely realities of the world.
Second, the biblical claim that the Spirit is poured out on all flesh (Acts 2:17)
both illuminates the capacity of human beings to receive and enter into
relationship with the Spirit of God on the one hand, and provides a
theological explication for the phenomenon of consciousness and the mindbody relationship which has escaped all rationalistic explanation on the
other; after all, why would the character of the human spirit – i.e.,
consciousness and the mind-body relationship –be any less impenetrable
than the character of the ever shy, neglected, and mysterious Holy Spirit
whose comings and goings are undetectable (cf. Jn. 3:8)?
Finally, and most importantly from a pentecostal perspective, might a
supervenience model shed light on the charismatic experience of the Spirit?
Nat
ur
al
i
s
t
i
ce
xpl
anat
i
onswoul
dr
e
duc
et
heSpi
r
i
t
’
swor
ki
ngt
one
ur
ol
ogi
c
al
or psycho-social processes (or both), while supernaturalistic accounts could
pr
oc
e
e
duni
nhi
bi
t
e
dbyot
he
rpe
r
s
pe
c
t
i
ve
s(
i
.
e
.
,“t
heSpi
r
i
tt
ol
dmes
o!
”)
.The
challenge is to find a way between explaining the Holy Spirit away on the
one hand (the naturalistic model), and mystifying the Spirit altogether (the
s
upe
r
nat
ur
al
i
s
t
i
c al
t
e
r
nat
i
ve
)
.Is
ugge
s
tt
hatMur
phy’
sc
onvi
c
t
i
on about
nonreductive physicalism serving as a hard core notion for ongoing research
100
on human nature in general and the mind-body problem in particular can be
applied also to the process of inquiry into charismatic experience.
In one sense, there has been ongoing research into the similar phenomena
of psi-activity for over a century. What charismatics call the gift of divine
healing of faith healing through the laying on of hands has been explored
under other labels: psychic healing, mental healing, spiritual healing, nonmedical or alternative healing, shamanistic healing, etc. Charismatic words
of knowledge may parallel alleged parapsychological phenomena like
telepathy (reception of information from other minds through extra-sensory
means) and clairvoyance (seeing things from afar). Further, charismatic
prophecy may have a counterpart in psychical precognition (foreknowledge
of events before they occur), and charismatic prayer may be analogous to
psychokinesis (the ability to influence objects physically using the power of
the mind apart from any other physical force). Might charismatic visions and
dreams intersect with what the anomalistic sciences call apparitions
(appearances of non-physically present others), hauntings and poltergeist
outbreaks (recurrent apparitions associated with places and persons),
shamanic journeys (out-of-body experiences), and hallucinations (caused at
least in part by dissociation and depersonalization experiences)?
Now while the anomalistic sciences do not have the same scientific
credentials as the human or social sciences, they are arguably scientific in
terms of methodology. Increasing attention is being paid to
parapsychological research by those who realize that the lines of
demarcation between the natural, social, and anomalistic sciences are
difficult to draw.43 And even if I do not wish to simplistically equate
charismatic and parapsychological phenomena, the admission by Robert L.
Morris, past president of the Psychology section of the British Association
f
ort
heAdvanc
e
me
ntofSc
i
e
nc
e
,t
hat“Wear
enotye
ti
n a pos
i
t
i
on t
o
conclude that terms such as mind and spirit could not possibly refer to some
yet unknown aspect of the universe that could be responsible for at least
s
omeoft
hephe
nome
naofpar
aps
yc
hol
ogyandps
yc
hi
c
alr
e
s
e
ar
c
h,
”44 opens
43
On the question of demarcation, see Henry H. Bauer, Science or Pseudoscience: Magnetic
Healing, Psychic Phenomena, and Other Heterodoxies (Urbana, Ill., and London: The
University of Illinois Press, 2001); cf. Dean Radin, The Conscious Universe: The Scientific
Truth about Psi Phenomena (New York: Harper Edge, 1997).
44
Robe
r
tL.
Mor
r
i
s
,“Par
aps
yc
hol
ogy,
”i
nGor
donSt
e
i
n,e
d.
,
The Encyclopedia of the
Paranormal (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1996), 494-513, quotation from 509. Note the
implications for pentecostal perspectives on and contributions to anomalistic science given
the overlap between more or less typical pentecostal experiences and the following eleven
e
xi
s
t
i
nge
nt
r
i
e
si
nSt
e
i
n’
sEncyclopedia: altered states of consciousness; ESP; miracles;
JEPTA 26 2005
101
the door to pentecostal inquiries into these matters. My question concerns
how a pentecostal application of the supervenience model can advance the
ongoing discussions that the anomalistic sciences push upon us.45
I propose that Pentecostals with their perspectives on charismatic
phenomena should weigh in on the following interrelated conversations.
First, what kind of world is this which allows for charismatic experiences?
This is the broad question about theology of creation (already broached in
the preceding section) upon which Pentecostals can inquire into from a
specifically pneumatological angle. Second, what is it about human nature
that allows for and even nurtures charismatic experiences? Might the
supervenience model help Pentecostals formulate a theological
anthropology (of human nature) and theological ecclesiology (of human
community) that is explicitly informed by experiences of the breath of God?
Finally, how might the scientific enterprise possibly be enriched by
pentecostal perspectives? Here, pentecostal experience would complexify
the already porous boundaries between the natural, human, and anomalistic
s
c
i
e
nc
e
s
,and pe
r
hapse
ve
ni
nj
e
c
tac
e
r
t
ai
n de
gr
e
eof“i
ns
i
de
r
”(
be
c
aus
e
charismatic experience would not be foreign to pentecostal sensibilities) but
yet critical (because so far they have been non-participants in the
conversation) perspectives on philosophy of science and scientific method. A
pneumatological theology of creation cannot avoid thinking after and
inquiring into these interrelated matters that are central to the religious lives
of many persons, including many non-Pentecostals and non-charismatics.46
parapsychology; possession and exorcism; prophetic dreams; psychical research; psychic
healing; psychokinesis; spiritualism; and visions and hallucinations.
45
Ot
he
rha
venot
e
dt
het
he
ol
ogi
c
ali
mpl
i
c
at
i
onsofas
upe
r
ve
ni
e
nc
epe
r
s
pe
c
t
i
ve
:“
Thef
ac
t
that parapsychology provides evidence not only for the telepathic influence of one human
mi
nduponanot
he
r
,
butal
s
of
ort
heps
yc
hoki
ne
t
i
ci
nf
l
ue
nc
eofmi
ndupon‘
mat
t
e
r
’
,
pr
ovi
de
sanal
ogi
c
als
uppor
tf
ort
hi
si
de
aofGod’
si
nf
l
ue
nc
ei
nt
hephys
i
c
alwor
l
d.
”See
David Ray Griffin, Religion and Scientific Naturalism: Overcoming the Conflicts (Albany:
SUNY Press, 2000), esp. ch. 7, quotation from 235; cf. also Griffin, Parapsychology,
Philosophy, and Spirituality: A Postmodern Exploration (Albany: SUNY Press, 2000).
46
Thus Victor Mansfield, a theoretical astrophysicist and a practicing Buddhist, has also
e
xpl
or
e
dpar
aps
yc
hol
ogi
c
alphe
nome
nat
hr
ought
hel
e
nsofwhatJ
ungc
al
l
s“s
ync
hr
oni
c
i
t
y
e
xpe
r
i
e
nc
e
s
”t
ha
tc
onne
c
ti
nne
rps
yc
hol
ogi
c
als
t
at
e
s(
e
.
g.
,dr
e
amsorf
e
elings) with spacetime realities, with the distinction that while both parapsychological and synchronicity
phenomena are without efficient causality (hence: acausal) but involve material causality
(e.g., the dream corresponding to some material reality, or esp corresponding to actual
events), synchronocity experiences are not-repeatable and involve formal (e.g., there is
meaningful connection between the inner state and the outer reality), and final (e.g., in the
sense of accomplishing the individuation of the person) causality as well; see Mansfield,
Synchronicity, Science, and Soul-making: Understanding Jungian Synchronicity through Physics,
102
The spiritual world: toward a pneumatological theology of the angelic
and the demonic –Finally, for our purposes, those engaged in developing a
pneumatological theology of creation have the opportunity, permission, and
perhaps even obligation to reflect on what may otherwise be dismissed: the
spiritual realm of the angelic and the demonic. Certainly, many of those
engaged in the natural and human sciences have come to write off angels
and demons as remnants of the pre-historic, mythological, and superstitious
imagination. However, given that a pneumatological theology of the
c
r
e
at
i
on i
sc
e
nt
r
al
l
yi
nf
or
me
d by t
he “pne
umat
ol
ogi
c
al i
magi
nat
i
on,
”
not
i
onss
uc
has“s
pi
r
i
t
s
”–whether human, divine, or, I argue, demonic –
cannot be arbitrarily rejected. In the following, I comment briefly on classical
theological perspectives on angels and demons, contemporary revisions of
the same, and conclude toward pentecostal and charismatic approaches to
the topic.
Traditional Christian angelology (the doctrine of angels) and demonology
(the doctrine of demons) have been firmly wedded to Platonic or
Aristotelian substance ontologies of non-material entities. 47 Hence the idea
that there are disembodied spirits –good and bad, angelic and demonic –
has not been particularly problematic until modern times. While some have
noted that the rejection of angels and demons because they are spiritual
rather than material entities also requires the rejection of classical theism
because of its emphasis on the transcendence of God, few classical theists
today have spent much time thinking about either angelology or
demonology. The primary options today seem to be: 1) accept naturalism
and reject angels and demons; 2) accept theism but explain angels and
demons using psycho-social (or other modern scientific) categories;48 3)
accept theism but (in this case) ignore the whole question of angels and
Buddhism, and Philosophy (Chicago: Open Court, 1995), and Mansfield, Head & Heart: A
Personal Exploration of Science and the Sacred (Wheaton, Ill.: Quest Books, 2002), ch. 11.
47
An earlier survey cutting across various world religious traditions, even if in outdated
demonological categories, is Paul Carus, The History of the Devil and the Idea of Evil from the
Earliest Times to the Present Day (1900; reprint, New York: Bell Publishing Company, 1969).
A more recent overview focused on the West is Robert Muchembled, A History of the Devil
from the Middle Ages to the Present, trans. Jean Birrell (Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2003).
The most comprehensive history is the multiple volumes by Jeffrey Burton Russell.
48
For example, Pascal Boyer, Religion Explained: The Human Instincts that Fashion Gods,
Spirits and Ancestors (
London:Wi
l
l
i
am He
i
nne
mann,
2
00
1)
,e
s
p.
c
h.
4,
“e
xpl
ai
ns
”godsand
spirits within an evolutionary social-psychological-cognitive framework, noting how such
beliefs emerge out of inferential reasoning processes to serve human adaptive purposes.
JEPTA 26 2005
103
demons;49 4) accept God, angels and demons as supernatural entities.50 (1)
leads to materialism; (2) is reductionistic; (3) is theologically irresponsible;
and (4) is premodern and uncritical.
Recent developments, however, have opened up conceptual space to
rethink classical angelologies and demonologies. Panentheistic models of the
God-world relationship have made it possible also to reconceive the realm of
t
he s
pi
r
i
t
ual
. Agai
ns
t bot
h t
r
adi
t
i
onal t
he
i
s
m’
s e
mphas
i
s on t
he
t
r
ans
c
e
nde
nc
eofGodandpant
he
i
s
m’
se
mphas
i
sont
hei
mmane
nc
eofGod,
panentheism argues for a conception of God as both transcendent from and
yet immanent within the world, albeit in different respects. The theologies of
Mc
Fague(
t
hewor
l
dasGod’
sbody)andEdwar
ds(
t
heSpi
r
i
tase
mpowe
r
i
ng
force within the evolutionary history of the world) previously introduced
are versions of panentheism. So also is the panexperientialism of neoWhiteheadian thinkers like David Ray Griffin.51
Gr
i
f
f
i
n’
sgoali
st
of
i
ndami
ddl
ewaybe
t
we
e
nat
he
i
s
t
i
c
,mat
e
r
i
al
i
s
t
i
c
,and
sensationist (the doctrine that all knowledge results from mere sensation)
naturalism on the one side, and intuitionist supernaturalism on the other.
However, this dichotomy is not the only one bequeathed by modernity;
rather, a modernist mentality has also arbitrarily separated the natural
(inanimate) and human (animate) worlds, the world of facts and that of
values, the domain of experience and that of matter, mind and brain.52
Against these dualistic assumptions, Griffin proposes the doctrine of
panexperientialism that redefines all creaturely realities in terms of how (not
whether or not) they experience the world. Human beings have a complexity
to their experiences that rocks do not have, but to conclude that rocks have
no experiences at all means both that they do not exert causal influence in
49
This is the standard strategy for contemporary theology –e.g., Daniel Migliore, Faith
Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 2004), broaches neither the doctrine of angels nor of demons.
50
Most conservative evangelical and pentecostal/charismatic theologies have not seriously
revisited the angelologies or demonologies that were inherited from the classical
theological tradition.
51
Besides the books referred to in a preceding footnote, see also David Ray
Griffin, Unsnarling the World-Knot: Consciousness, Freedom, and the Mind-Body Problem
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998), and Reenchantment without Supernaturalism:
A Process Philosophy of Religion (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2001).
52
For the record, Griffin defends a version of the supervenience
model of the mind-brain relationship; see his Religion and Scientific
Naturalism, chs. 6-7; Reenchantment without Supernaturalism, ch. 3; and the
book-length argument of Unsnarling the World-Knot.
104
the world (which they do) and that they are incapable of being experienced
(which is counterintuitive to our own encounters with rocks).
Gr
i
f
f
i
n’
spr
opos
al
sar
ei
nt
r
i
gui
ngbe
c
aus
eoft
hepos
s
i
bi
l
i
t
i
e
st
he
ye
l
i
c
i
tf
or
a
pneumatologically
informed
cosmology.
The
doctrine
of
panexperientialism begs for further exploration concerning the convergence
of the traditionally disparate natural, human, and spiritual domains. While
Gr
i
f
f
i
n’
s pr
i
mar
y f
oc
us i
s on how a pane
xpe
r
i
e
nt
i
al
i
s
t pe
r
s
pe
c
t
i
ve
illuminates the processes of what was modernity had defined as the merely
natural world, I suggest that panexperientialism also helps us to rethink
what premodernity had defined as the transcendent or spiritual world. If in
Gr
i
f
f
i
n’
sc
os
mol
ogy t
he
r
ear
eno pur
e
l
yi
nani
mat
ena
t
ur
alentities, in a
pneumatological cosmology there are no purely transcendental spiritual
be
i
ngs
.Mor
epr
e
c
i
s
e
l
y,i
nas
muc
hasGr
i
f
f
i
n’
spane
xpe
r
i
e
nt
i
al
i
s
m doe
saway
with the ontological dualism between the natural and human worlds, I
propose that when extended toward cosmological matters, it also does away
with the ontological dualism between the earthly and spiritual realms.
Rather, as pentecostal and charismatic experience assumes, the angels as
servants of God to human beings and demons as agents of destruction in
human lives and societies reflect the interpenetration of the human, angelic,
and demonic spheres. I conclude that angels and demons are not merely
transcendental entities, but social, personal, and even (to the extent that they
are incarnate in our world) physical realities which constitute our
experience.
It is precisely this kind of revisioning of our cosmological imagination, I
suggest, that makes plausible re-readings of the biblical data on angels and
demons like those provided by Walter Wink.53 For Wink, the biblical
references to angels and demons –including powers, authorities, heavenly
rulers, etc. –should be understood less as personal disincarnate spirits than
as fallen cosmic structures and forces. More importantly, they represent the
var
i
ouss
oc
i
al
,e
c
onomi
c
,andpol
i
t
i
c
alas
pe
c
t
sofwhatWi
nkc
al
l
st
he“wor
l
d
domi
nat
i
on s
ys
t
e
m.
” Ass
uc
h,t
he
y ar
e vi
ol
e
ntand de
s
t
r
uc
t
i
ve r
e
al
i
t
i
e
s
which require not only socio-ethical critique but also a non-violent praxis
and spirituality of resistance.
From a critical pentecostal perspective, Wink is to be applauded in what
he affirms – especially his retrieval and socio-economic-political
53
Se
ee
s
p.
Wi
nk’
sThe Powers trilogy: Naming the Powers: The Language of Powers in the New
Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984); Unmasking the Powers: The Invisible Forces that
Determine Human Existence (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986); and Engaging the Powers:
Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992).
JEPTA 26 2005
105
reinterpretation of the biblical powers and his development of a theology of
praxis to inform our contemporary response –even if he may need to be
challenged in what he denies regarding the personal character of these
powers. Any pentecostal theology of discernment of spirits can certainly
gai
nf
r
om ac
l
os
er
e
adi
ngofWi
nk’
sr
e
c
ons
t
r
uc
t
i
onoft
hebi
bl
i
c
alpowe
r
s
,
especially in terms of balancing out the sometimes excessive individualism
that permeates popular pentecostal demonology. Further, pentecostal rites
ofe
xor
c
i
s
mc
oul
dal
s
obee
nr
i
c
he
dandt
r
ans
f
or
me
dwi
t
ht
hehe
l
pofWi
nk’
s
understanding of the powers as constituting the structures of our world
domination system. In both cases – of discernment and exorcism –
pentecostal praxis would be empowered to engage with far more than the
forces of evil that operate at the level of the individual (as important as that
may be). Rather, insofar as the biblical powers are further understood within
a supervenience model of the God-world relationship, to that degree
pentecostal discernment and exorcism could engage with the entire range of
evil powers, from those functioning at the individual level to those
structuring institutional, social, and other corporate relationships.54 On the
other hand, of course, the personal character of angels and demons need not
be denied, especially since a supervenience model of the Holy Spiritindividual spirit and mind-brain relationships could also support a more
classical understanding of angels and demons. This view would require a
kind of hermeneutical sophistication that goes beyond mere biblicistic
literalism, but nevertheless also recognizes how the cosmic forces of
destruction do manifest themselves in and through and engage with
personal beings like ourselves.
At first glance, this kind of revisioning may be strongly resisted by those
committed to a classical Pentecostal worldview. But theology is always on
its way, and even classical Pentecostal constructs are not immune to
reconceptualization. Hence, I propose that Pentecostals have much to
contribute to the necessary development of a theology of the demonic
sufficient for the twenty-first century. In terms of empirical methodology,
54
This balance between an individualistic and corporate demonology is best seen in the
work of Thomas J. Csordas, The Sacred Self: A Cultural Phenomenology of Charismatic Healing
(Berkeley: Uni
ve
r
s
i
t
yofCal
i
f
or
ni
aPr
e
s
s
,19
9
4)
,e
s
p.
c
h.
7
.
I
nCs
or
das
’a
nal
ys
i
sofCa
t
hol
i
c
charismatic ritual exorcism, the demonic is often comprehensible as a collective
representation of the conflicted/alienated self-in-society. Hence, the phenomenology of
charismatic demonology calls attention to the physical, psychiatric, and social
conflicts/disabilities which are being negotiated by individuals in charismatic
communities, and exorcisms are a socio-emotional process of self-(re)formation. While
Cs
or
das
’anal
ysis does not account entirely for charismatic phenomena, it illuminates the
dialectic between an individualistic and social interpretation of the demonic.
106
Philip Wiebe may point one way forward.55 Although trained in the analytic
phi
l
os
ophyofr
e
l
i
gi
on,Wi
e
be
’
sac
t
i
vepar
t
i
c
i
panti
nc
ongr
e
gat
i
onsi
nt
he
Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada for sixteen years sheds some light on his
interests in exploring and defending a fairly traditional theology and
ontology of created (evil) spirits. His recent God and Other Spirits presents the
argument that an empirical approach to human experiences of
transcendence –which includes not only God, but also angels and other
(evil) spirits –provides the best way forward for contemporary philosophy
ofr
e
l
i
gi
on.I
nanove
r
vi
e
w ofwhathec
al
l
s“i
nt
i
mat
i
onsofe
vi
l
”pr
e
s
e
r
ve
di
n
the Bible, prevalent throughout Christian history, and reported by
contemporaries, Wiebe suggests that the paradigmatic cases that invite some
theory of transcendence involve those which connect two or more distinctive
persons or groups of entities that are otherwise disconnected and that are
corroborated by mult
i
pl
ewi
t
ne
s
s
e
s(
“i
nt
e
r
s
ubj
e
c
t
i
ve
l
yobs
e
r
ve
d”)
.
There are both biblical examples –e
.
g.
,Le
gi
on’
sr
e
que
s
tt
oe
nt
e
rahe
r
dof
pi
gs
,andt
hehe
r
d’
ss
ubs
e
que
nts
t
ampe
dei
nt
ot
hes
e
a,asr
e
por
t
e
dbyt
he
swineherds (Mark, ch. 5)56 –and other accounts that fit these criteria. In a
well-known contemporary report involving Leo the exorcist, the spirits who
were being exorcised from an older man threatened Leo that if cast out, they
would enter a young man known to Leo; Leo proceeded to cast out the
spirits along with ordering them to stay away from the young man;
howe
ve
r
,hewasc
al
l
e
dwi
t
hi
n30mi
nut
e
sbyt
heyoungman’
smot
he
r
,and
uponvi
s
i
t
i
nghi
m,wast
ol
di
nat
hr
e
at
e
ni
ngvoi
c
e“t
hathehadhe
ar
df
r
om
t
heol
de
rmanas
hor
twhi
l
eago…,‘
Wet
ol
dyouwewoul
dge
thi
m,di
dn’
t
we
?
’
”57 Whi
l
et
he
s
e “i
nt
i
mat
i
ons of t
r
ans
c
e
nde
nc
e
” do not pr
ovi
de
c
onc
l
us
i
ve“pr
oof
”i
nt
hemat
he
mat
i
c
als
e
ns
ef
ort
hee
xi
s
t
e
nc
eofs
pi
r
i
t
ual
beings, they also resist purely materialistic or reductionistic explanations.
55
Phillip H. Wiebe, God and Other Spirits: Intimations of Transcendence in Christian Experience
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004).
56
Of course, there are various other possible readings of the destruction of pigs: as an antit
ypeoft
hede
s
t
r
uc
t
i
onofPhar
oah’
sar
my;
asaf
or
e
s
hadowi
ngofJ
e
s
us
’at
oni
ngs
ac
r
i
f
i
c
e
;as
confirming the success of Jesus
’e
xor
c
i
s
m;orase
vi
de
nc
eofJ
e
s
us
’e
s
c
hat
ol
ogi
c
alvi
c
t
or
y.
Se
et
hevar
i
ouse
s
s
ays
,
e
s
pe
c
i
al
l
yt
hos
ebyKe
nFr
i
e
de
n,
“TheLangua
geofDe
moni
c
Possession: A Key-Wor
dAnal
ys
i
s
”andCar
olSc
he
r
s
t
e
nLaHur
d,“
Bi
bl
i
c
alExor
c
i
s
ma
nd
Reader Responses to Ritual inNar
r
at
i
ve
,
”i
nRobe
r
tDe
t
we
i
l
e
randWi
l
l
i
am G.Dot
y,
e
ds
.
,
The Daemonic Imagination: Biblical Text and Secular Story, AAR Studies in Religion 60
(Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990); cf. Michael Willett Newheart, My Name is Legion: The Story
and Soul of the Gerasene Demoniac (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2004). I
nanyc
as
e
,
Wi
e
be
’
s
observations would persist if we take the narrative at face value.
57
Wiebe, God and Other Spirits, 12.
JEPTA 26 2005
107
Following out his empirical approach to religious experiences of
transcendence, Wiebe proposes a sophisticated theory of spirits as best able
to do justice to the described data. While there is a clear admission that we
know far too little about spirits and the spiritual realm to conclude
de
f
i
ni
t
i
ve
l
yt
hatt
he
y ar
ee
i
t
he
r“nat
ur
al
”or“s
upe
r
nat
ur
al
”e
nt
i
t
i
e
s
,t
he
plausibility and coherence of his theory of transcendence suggests that the
conceptual resources of orthodox Christian faith provide even better overall
elucidation of human intimations of transcendence than naturalistic
counterparts.
Wi
e
be
’
s e
mpi
r
i
c
al appr
oac
h t
o t
he de
moni
c de
s
e
r
ve
s e
xt
e
nde
d
consideration by Pentecostals, especially given the emphasis in the tradition
ont
hedi
s
c
e
r
nme
ntofs
pi
r
i
t
s
.How e
l
s
ec
an“i
nt
i
mat
i
onsoft
r
ans
c
e
nde
nc
e
”
be engaged except by careful discernment, and is this not what Wiebe
proposes as empirical engagement? Of course, from within the realm of
pentecostal experiences various questions persist as we wade through the
massive numbers of reports regarding experiences of the holy, of the
demonic, and of the transcendent, so prevalent in our circles. Do not the
fantastic nature of many of these accounts strain the principle of credulity –
the idea that things are probably the way they are reported to be unless we
have good reason to doubt this –even one so finely nuanced as defended by
Wiebe, on the one hand, and beg the coherentist question regarding how
“i
nt
i
mat
i
ons of t
r
ans
c
e
nde
nc
e
” ar
e of
t
e
n e
mbe
dde
d wi
t
hi
n a
narrative/theoretical framework, as Wiebe also acknowledges, on the other?
Mor
ei
mpor
t
ant
,Wi
nk’
se
ngage
me
nt mode
l al
s
os
uppor
t
st
he i
ni
t
i
al
pentecostal notion of exorcising the demonic rather than merely
hypothesizing, studying and understanding that reality. At the same time,
how Pent
e
c
os
t
al
sgoabout“c
as
t
i
ngoutt
hee
vi
lone
”andr
e
l
e
as
i
ngal
lt
hos
e
who are oppressed by the devil is dependent at least in part both on their
ontology of the demonic and on what kind of intimations of transcendence
are discerned to be operative.
I propose that critical pentecostal perspectives should be brought to bear
on the following discussions: on the ontology and the cosmology of the
demonic; on the manifestations of the demonic, both at the personal and the
social levels; and on the rituals of exorcism.58 I
naddi
t
i
on,Wi
e
be
’
se
mphas
i
s
58
My own preliminary attempts to rethink some of these matters can be found in “The
Demonic in Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity and in the Religious Consciousness of
As
i
a,
”i
nAl
l
anAnde
r
s
onandEdmondTa
ng,e
ds
.
,Asian and Pentecostal: The Charismatic
Face of Christianity in Asia (Oxford and Kuala Lumpur: Regnum International, 2005), 93-127,
and“Spi
r
i
tPos
s
e
s
s
i
on,t
heLi
vi
ng,
andt
heDe
ad:
ARe
vi
e
w Es
s
ayandRe
s
pons
ef
r
om a
108
on an empirical approach to the realm of spiritual or transcendent beings
should be pressed into service in order to temper the tendency in pentecostal
c
i
r
c
l
e
s t
o t
al
k about “
a de
mon be
hi
nd e
ve
r
y t
hr
e
e
.
” Fi
nal
l
y,
psychopathological and sociological interpretations of the demonic will also
invite dialogue with the psycho-social sciences in order to develop more
sophisticated understandings of the human encounter with spiritual
dimension of reality.
Concluding Recommendations
For the most part, Pentecostals to date have been non-participants in the
religion and science conversation. I suggest the following as first steps for
pentecostal engagement in these matters.59
1) We need to identify and bring into the conversation Pentecostals
who are also scientists, and encourage them to reflect on how their faith
perspectives are connected to or can be integrated with their scientific work.
I have outlined in this paper some of the unique contributions which
Pentecostals may be ready to make to contemporary theology of creation
(
t
he“what
”oft
hewor
l
d)
,t
he
ol
ogi
c
alant
hr
opol
ogy(
humanc
r
e
at
ur
e
s
)
,and
the realm of the spiritual (the mysterious dimension of the world that seems
to transcend material and human reality). Much more work needs to be
done, and we have barely begun to identify the resources that exist within
t
hepe
nt
e
c
os
t
al“t
ool
-ki
t
”f
ort
he
s
ee
xpl
or
at
i
ons
.
2) We need to encourage pentecostal liberal arts colleges and
universities to invest more in their programs in the natural and human
sciences, and to collaborate with each other about what the specifically
pentecostal perspective can contribute to the religion and science
conversation. This includes strategies for nurturing the faith of younger
students as they engage with science, its methods, and its worldview, so that
they will be encouraged in their own pursuit of a scientific vocation. Instead
of losing Pentecostals from the tradition because they see no way to
reconcile their fascination with science with their faith, pentecostal
institutions of higher education in the twenty-first century need to find ways
to think about things of the Spirit in close dialogue with the sciences.
3) We need to encourage those already involved in the religion and
science conversation to invite and engage with pentecostal voices and
Pe
nt
e
c
os
t
alPe
r
s
pe
c
t
i
ve
,
”i
nDharma Deepika: A South Asian Journal of Missiological Research
8:2 (2004): 77-88.
59
Muc
hoft
he
s
e“c
onc
l
udi
ngr
e
c
omme
nda
t
i
ons
”ar
ei
ns
pi
r
e
dbyDe
nni
sChe
e
k,
“ABr
i
e
f
‘
Wal
k-a
bout
’c
onc
e
r
ni
ngI
nt
e
r
di
s
c
i
pl
i
nar
yDi
al
ogueandI
s
s
ue
si
nSc
i
e
nc
eandRe
l
i
gi
on,
”
Metanexus Chronos (22 June 2004)
[http://www.metanexus.net/metanexus_online/show_article.asp?8917].
JEPTA 26 2005
109
perspectives. This will allow for some shifting from a dialogue that is
oftentimes more ideologically driven toward one that involves multiple
Christian perspectives (without excluding the necessary involvement of
those in other faiths –but that is a topic for another paper).
The result of this kind of multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and
transdisciplinary interaction will be not only the convergence of work done
in the natural, social, and anomalistic sciences, but also increased
perspectives on the natural, human, and spiritual worlds and their
interrelatedness.60 This would be theology of creation in a robust sense, a
truly coherent worldview sought not only by Pentecostals but those
involved in the religion and science dialogue. May the winds of the Spirit
continue to inspire this conversation.61
60
For further explication, see Yong, "Academic Glossolalia? Pentecostal Scholarship, Multidisciplinarity, and the Science-Religion Conversation," Journal of Pentecostal Theology
(forthcoming).
61
A previous version of this paper was presented to the Pneumatology symposium hosted
by the John Templeton Foundation at The Yale Club, New York City, New York, 12-14.
November 2004. My thanks to the symposium participants for their comments and
questions resulting in an improved paper
JEPTA 26 2005
Waiting for AntiChrist:
Charisma and Apocalypse in a
Pentecostal Church,
Damian Thompson, Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2005,
216pp, £27.50
This is a very readable account of
the extent to which Pentecostal
beliefs about the second coming
of Christ affect individuals in
Kensington Temple, one of the
largest Pentecostal churches in
Europe.
In publishing what
appears to be his doctoral thesis,
Thompson has presented a very
fair investigation into the ways
that these beliefs are explained
and the ways that individuals
express them. Thompson is a
journalist and whilst this is
written in academic style, it is
readily accessible.
He begins the work by building
on the arguments of Berger and
Luckman that people make rational
choices about religious affiliation
on the basis of the perceived
benefits offered to the individual.
He argues that this is the same with
millenarian beliefs: that people are
intrigued by them to the extent that
they answer the problems of evil in
t
he wor
l
d and gi
ve
st
he
m ‘
s
e
c
r
e
t
knowl
e
dge
’as t
he
yl
e
a
r
n a ne
w
way of decoding the signs and
portents around them. However,
because the predicted date of the
second
advent
is
regularly
postponed, the extent to which the
individual will embrace apocalyptic
belief will be determined by the
110
extent of charismatic authority
declaring it and the extent of
cultural deviance caused by the
belief.
What he did discover in his
research was a greater ambivalence
about the return of Christ than he
might have expected from previous
studies in an American context.
Although there is evidence of
strong Pentecostal teaching in the
church about the second coming, it
is also clear that it is not a central
plank of the regular preaching and
is couched in a way that
emphasises alternative readings. It
is not surprising then that members
believe that Christ could return
soon, but probably will not. In fact,
he suggests that most of the
ministers at Kensington Temple
believed that Christ would return
in 50 years time. This, he suggests,
i
sa‘
s
af
e
’pr
opos
i
t
i
on,of
f
e
r
i
ngt
he
optimum sense of tension with
society. We do believe that Christ
will return, though maybe not just
at the moment.
So what does the book offer
Pentecostal theologians?
That
which many of us have guessed
and observed in our circles is
demonstrated
again.
Early
Pentecostal belief in the soon return
of Christ has diminished. Even in
the light of the amazing popularity
of the Left Behind series, it could be
argued that this is more about
entertainment than encouraging an
imminent eschatology. It is clear
that those calling for a return to
radical Pentecostalism, will be
111
dismayed to find the evident
diminished belief in a capital of
Pentecostalism, such as Kensington
Temple. So how do Pentecostals
view their eschatological hope?
This question was not really
examined here. Has the western
version of Pentecostalism become
t
oo ‘
athome
’i
nt
he wor
l
d? Do
Pentecostals facing more basic
issues of life cling on to the
imminent hope with greater
fervour?
This book is of interest to those
wanting
to
think
about
contemporary Pentecostal eschatoogical beliefs as well as for those
who are interested in the leadership
of a large Pentecostal church such
as Kensington Temple.
Neil Hudson
Nantwich
Spirit of the Last Days
Peter Althouse
London, T&T Clark
International (JPT Supplement
Series, 25), 2003, pbk, pp 229,
£19.99, ISBN 0 8264 6685 0.
This book is the thesis of a man
who worked his way through his
local Canadian Pentecostal Bible
School and then enrolled for
doctoral studies at Wycliffe
College where he intended to
integrate his background in
sociology with his Pentecostal
heritage.
While doing so he
registered for a course on Jürgen
Mol
t
mann’
st
he
ol
ogy and began
to appreciate its concern for social
justice and eschatology. A little
while later he began to think
critically
about
Pentecostal
eschatology and began to see that
early forms of Pentecostal
theology
were
not
dispensationalist or fundamentalist.
Pentecostal eschatology
appreciated the tension of the
already/not-yet kingdom and
offered a way of understanding
the work of the Spirit in the
world. So what he has done is to
take
four
representative
Pentecostal
theologians
as
partners (Steven Land, Eldin
Villafañe, Miroslav Volf and
Frank Macchia) and brought
these
into
dialogue
with
Moltmann. In short, he concludes
that all four Pentecostals argue
for transformational eschatologies
and
thereby
reject
the
fundamentalist vision of a passive
church
waiting
for
divine
judgement
and
world
destruction. Additionally, he
notes that the fundamentalist
separation of the dispensation of
Israel from the dispensation of
the church is inconsistent with
the Pentecostal emphasis upon
the continuance of charismatic
gifts throughout the present age.
The historical account given here
presumes that during the 1940s
Pentecostals
began
to
ally
themselves with evangelicals and,
in order to cement this alliance
against fundamentalist objections,
Pentecostals allowed themselves to
be over influenced by evangelical
eschatology. Or to put this more
crudely, Pentecostals surrendered
their eschatological insights to
curry favour with culturally
dominant
North
American
evangelicalism. In 1948 the Latter
Rain Revival broke out in Canada
and, in addition to its emphasis on
contemporary
apostles
and
pr
ophe
t
s
, pr
omot
e
d a‘
ki
ngdom
now’ t
he
ol
ogy, al
be
i
t one t
hat
presumed those entering the
kingdom would suffer tribulation.
Elements of Latter Rain teaching
surfaced within the charismatic
movement
and
subsequently
within the house churches in the
decades that followed.
Whereas Steven Land sees
Pentecostal theology as arising out
of a foretaste of the kingdom and
Pentecostal eschatology as leading
112
to a passion for the transformation
of creation, Villafañe proposes a
more corporate and liberationist
spirituality
more
generally
orientated to the future kingdom.
Volf seeks to construct Christian
social ethics on the basis of
continuity between the present and
future and Frank Macchia, while
building on the theology of the
Blumhardts, sees tongues as a sign
of the kingdom.
All in all, this carefully
structured and persuasive book
ought to be on the reading list of
every Pentecostal institution that
teaches upon eschatological themes
William K Kay
University of Wales, Bangor

jepta 2005 25 - European Pentecostal Theological Association

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