The Origins and Impact of Pentecostalism
September 23rd, 2008Pentecostalism ≠ evangelicalism ≠ fundamentalism. Did you know that?
In fact, Pentecostalism has it’s roots in the Methodist holiness movement, the same movement that the Salvation Army was born out of, which in turn is where I started my journey of faith.
In it’s early days, Pentecostalism had strong ties with emancipation, woman’s suffrage, social justice, liberality and pacifism. It was characterised by the coming together of all races and “classes” - without discrimination - to worship God and see the broken set free supernaturally.
This is liberating to me, because over this past weekend I was led through a life changing series of experiences that swept me back into my core Pentecostal beliefs that I had almost left behind.
I had almost left them behind, because they seemed to me to be so tied up with other experiences in my past - legalism, prosperity theology, institutionalism, empiricism, selfish ambition and subcultures - that seems to me to be incompatible with the Gospel.
But Pentecostalism is not about all that.
I was gracefully shown this through this week’s Podcast of ‘Speaking of Faith’ with Krista Tippit. I started to listen to this podcast when she once featured Shane Claibourne.
So I can still believe that God moves supernaturally, and in profound, powerful ways in a person’s life, and yet still practice Love, reject capitalism and meet organically, because this also seems to be the beliefs of the early Pentecostals.
That is good to know.
