Jeffrey K. Hadden
Department of Sociology
University of Virginia

Lecture:

PENTECOSTALISM

Lecture Outline:

The Feast of Pentecost

Development of the Pentecostal Movement

Charismatic Renewal

Holy Laughter as the Fourth Blessing

 

Part I

The Feast of Pentecost

Pentecost is Feast of Weeks in Old Testament

Pentecost is one of three Jewish pilgrimage festivals

Pentecost in Greek means literally fifty

For Christians of the early church, Pentecost commemorates the day the Holy Spirit decended in fulfillment of the promise of Jesus [Acts 2: 1-4]

Acts 2: 1-4

“Seven weeks had gone by since Jesus’ death and ressurection, and the Day of Pentecost had now arrived. As the believers met together that day, suddenly there was a sound like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them and it filled the house where they were meeting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on their heads. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other tongues, for the Holy Spirit gave them the ability.”

 

Doctrine of the Trinity

This event marks the origin of the theological doctrine of the trinity:

  • Father
  • Son
  • Holy Ghost

     

Birth of the Church

Pentecost is also traditionally recognized as the date of the founding of the institutional church.

 

Part II

Development of the Pentecostal Movement

Death and Rebirth of the Gifts of Pentecost

While there is evidence of early Christians being filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues, conventional wisdom holds that this came to an end in the third century.

In the 19th century many Christians began to wonder why, if it happened in the early church, it couldn’t happen how.

January 1, 1901

Dateline: Topeka, Kansas

  • Charles F. Parham founded Bethel Bible School in Topeka and with a small group of students consciously sought to recover the give of speaking in tongues. This speaking in tongues (glossalia) was considered to be the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
  • It occured on the first day of January, 190l but had little immediate impact.
  • In 1905 Parham preached at a revival in Houston, Tx.
  • William Seymour, a black holiness evangelist attended and was baptized in the Holy Spirit.
  • Seymour carried the message to Los Angeles

Azusa Street Mission

  • At the Azusa Street Mission, in a run down section of Los Angles, a revival commenced that would last several years and spread around the world.
  • Led by William Seymour, hundreds received the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
  • The press learned of this strange revival and told the story to the world.
  • Soon people were speaking in tongues the world over and the Pentecostal Movement was born.

Distinctive Features of Pentecostalism

  1. Glossolia (speaking in tongues)
  2. Faith healing (and the belief that faith can sustain health)
  3. The vavacity of miracles ("lattaer rain")
  4. The vitality of worship

Growth and Institutionalization of the Movement

  • The growth and institutionalization of pentecostalism is occurring in parallel with the growth of fundamentalism
  • Initially, the two movements appealed to vastly different audiences.
  • Fundamentalism emerged from the core of culture, although it would come to be associated with the South and persons of lower socio-economic status.
  • Pentecostalism emerged on the fringe and appealed to lower classes and downtrodden
  • Almost a century later, both fundamentalism and pentecostalism continue to grow
    • Both still attract persons who are on the lower end of the socio-economic scale, but both also attract educated persons of substantial means.
    • While "fundamentalist tendencies" can be found in all major world religions, American Christian Pentecostalism has been more successfully exporated during the latter part of the twentieth century than has Christian Fundamentalism

     

Pentacostal Church Growth in US*

Church

1950s

1990s

CHANGE

Assemblies of God

543,003

2.,257,846

+ 416%

Church of God (And.)

144,145

214,743

+ 149%

Church of God (Clev.)

197,464

672,008

+ 340%

Church of God in Christ

413,000

5,499,875

+1,332%

Four Square Gospel

89,215

207,455

+ 232%

Pentecostal Assoc of the World

42,000

500,000

+1,190%

United Pentecostal Intl

150,000

550,000

+ 367%

TOTAL

1,578,827

9,901,927

+ 672%
*Source: The information presented here is compiled from various sources, mostly figures offered by the individual groups. We have no way of verifying the numbers. While most of these figures are accurate within the resources of the groups to assess the size of their group, others give cause for cautious appraisal.

 

Estimate of Evangelical Growth in
Select Latin American Countries*

Estimated % of Population Growth
1960

1985

Estimate % Year
2010

Brazil

4.4%

15,9%

45.7%

Chile

11.7%

21.6%

38.8%

Costa Rica

1.3%

06.5%

32.4%

El Salvador

2.5%

12.8%

66.5%

Guatamala

2.9%

18.9%

126.8%

Puerto Rico

5.8%

20.9%

75.1%
*Source: David Stoll, Is Latin American Turning Protestant? Berkeley: University of California Press. 1990. pp. 337-8.

Part III 
Charismatic Renewal

Outpouring of Holy Spirit Goes Mainstream

  • More than a half century after its lowly beginnings, the gifts of the Holy Spirit spread to the mainstream of American religious life.
  • The first evidence appeared in an Episcopalian congregation in Van Neys Calif in the early 1960s.
  • Then, in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, it overtook Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and quickly spread to Notre Dame.
  • They called it Charismatic Renewal
  • Using the correct terminology to identify a group (or individuals) can easily lead to confusion and disagreement. As a general rule, persons coming from more established traditions, like Roman Catholics and Eposcopalians, use the term "Charismatic" to identify themselves while churches emerging in the pentecostal tradition during this century use concept "Pentecostal." But this is not a hard and fast guide. The very popular magazine, Charisma, has greater appeal to the latter than former.

Distinctive qualities of Charismatic Renewal

  • Glossolia
  • Healing with a different touch
  • Worship as celebration.

Part IV

Holy Laughter as the Fourth Blessing

"Toronto Blessing" -- Top tourist attraction of 1994

  • High visibility of the phenomenon known as "holy laughter" dates to a revival meeting at the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church which began in early 1994.
  • Within months, the Vineyard Church had become a spectacular international event. Groups chartered 474 airplanes from around the world to witness first hand and participate in this extraordinary expression of praise.
  • Manifestations of uncontrolled laughter is the most distinguished feature of what has been labeled the "Toronto Blessing," "the Laughing Revival," and "Holy Laughter." But laughter is not the only manifestation. Some participants roll on the floor, shake, jerk, utter sounds of animals, behave as if intoxicated, etc.
  • This expression of worship has spread to pentecostal congregations around the world. The Brownsville Assemblies of God Church in Pensacola, Florida is another location where thousands have made a pilgrimage to "get the blessing."
  • Almost all new expressions of religion generate controversy, but this movement has set pentecostal against pentecostal. Many preachers with celebrity status are into the blessing, while others see this emotion outburst as nothng short of the work of Satan. Some have changed their mind to one side of the debate and then back to the other side.
  • Toronto Life Magazine billed the "Toronto Blessing" as the top tourist attraction in 1994. For those who are not interesting in a journey to Toronto or Pensacola, and don't know where to find a local pentecostal church where "holy laughter" can be observed, a visit to web sites about the phenomenon can be informative or entertaining--depending upon one's disposition.

    There are literally scores of sites where the efficacy of this manifestation of revival are debated. Most of the sites are highly partisan on one side or the other. Margaret Poloma, a sociolgist has spent much time doing observational research and is writing a scholarly book. An early paper of her's is highly recommended for those who are intersted in understanding the phenomenon throught the eyes of a sociologists. The Group Profiles on the Toronto Blessing and Brownsville are recommended as a starting point for more background information and as a gateway to many interesting web sites.