LHBC Adult Sunday Bible Class I. History and Beliefs of… A. The Pentecostal B. Charismatic C. Signs & Wonders Movement (Third Wave) II. Five Key False Teachings of the Prosperity Gospel III. New Movements Today Influence & History 1. Pentecostals 2. Charismatics 3. Signs & Wonders / Third Wave
Evangelicals Faith Healing 1900’s, Latter Rain 40’s, Prosperity Gospel 70’s No Denominational Distinctive Pentecostal New Apostolic RM 1900’s Charismatic Baptism of the 1960’s Signs & Holy Spirit & All spiritual gifts tongues after emphasized and Wonders salvation continue 1980’s Apostles & Prophets
Denominations of Protestants % of all Protestants Other (Independent / Non-Denominational) 38.2 Historically Pentecostal Denominations 10.8 Anglican 10.6 Lutheran 9.7 Baptist 9.0 United Churches (Unions of Diff Denominations) 7.2 Presbyterian Reformed 7.0 Methodist 3.4 Adventist 2.7 Congregationalist 0.5 Brethren 0.5 Salvation Army 0.3 Moravian 0.1 TOTAL 100%
Worldwide in Millions N America (80M) Latin America (141M) Asia (135M) Africa (126M) Europe (38M)
7% 16% 24%
27%
26% Pentecostals are members of distinct Protestant denominations or independent churches that hold the teaching that all Christians should seek a post-conversion religious experience called the baptism of the Holy Spirit. These denominations and churches teach that those who experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit may receive one or more spiritual gifts, including the abilities to prophesy or utter messages from God, practice physical healing, speak in tongues or spiritual languages (glossolalia), and interpret tongues. Pentecostalism has roots in the 19th-century Holiness Movement, which promoted intense personal piety.1 It emerged as a distinct religious movement in the U.S. in the early 20th century.2 Pentecostal denominations include the Assemblies of God and the Church of God in Christ.3
1 & 3 Randall Balmer, The Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism, Westminster John Knox Press, 2002, page 446. 2 For background information, see Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, Spirit and Power: A 10-Country Survey of Pentecostals, 2006. http://www.pewforum.org/2011/12/19/global-christianity-movements-and- denominations/#defining; Accessed 1/18/2014 Charismatics are members of non-pentecostal denominations — including Catholic, Orthodox and some Protestant denominations — who hold at least some Pentecostal beliefs and engage in at least some spiritual practices associated with Pentecostalism, including divine healing, prophecy and speaking in tongues. The charismatic movement, sometimes known as the charismatic renewal, began among mainline Protestants in the U.S. in 1960 and had spread to parts of the U.S. Catholic Church by 1967. • Randall Balmer, The Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism, Westminster John Knox Press, 2002, pages 122-124; Allan Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity, Cambridge University Press, 2004, pages 144-151. • http://www.pewforum.org/2011/12/19/global-christianity-movements-anddenominations/#defining; Accessed 1/18/2014 Protestant charismatics regard Spirit Baptism as a distinct act of grace, as do all Pentecostals, but many Protestant and all Roman Catholic charismatics regard it as a renewal or actualization of the baptism in the Spirit, which all Christians receive in water baptism or on their conversion. Some Protestant charismatics hold the "initial evidence" view of glossolalia; other Protestant and all Roman Catholic charismatics reject this view. "Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity." Encyclopedia of Religion. . Retrieved January 06, 2017 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and- maps/pentecostal-and-charismatic-christianity Evangelicals are Christians who (1) believe in the centrality of the conversion or “born again” experience in receiving salvation; (2) believe in the authority of the Bible as God’s revelation to humanity; and (3) have a strong commitment to evangelism or sharing the Christian message. Evangelicals constitute a trans-denominational movement; Christians who hold these beliefs or commitments may be found in numerous denominations and church traditions, …such as Methodism and Presbyterianism; pentecostal denominations such as the Assemblies of God; and denominations that are expressly and historically evangelical, such as the Evangelical Free Church of America.7 The origins of modern evangelicalism are often traced to late 17th-century Lutheran Pietism in Germany and Methodism in England around the same time.8
7 Randall Balmer, The Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism, Westminster John Knox Press, 2002, pages 196-197. 8 “Evangelicalism,” in New Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 5, Gale, 2002, page 472. http://www.pewforum.org/2011/12/19/global-christianity-movements-and- denominations/#defining; Accessed 1/18/2014 Faith Healing 1900’s, Latter Rain 40’s, Prosperity Gospel 70’s No Denominational Distinctive Pentecostal New Apostolic RM 1900’s Charismatic Baptism of the 1960’s Signs & Holy Spirit & All spiritual gifts tongues after emphasized and Wonders salvation continue 1980’s Apostles & Prophets Overview 1. Pentecostalism began around 1900 Charles Parham: Key figure founded what he called the “Apostolic Faith Movement” E.W. Kenyon promoted the Word-Faith / New Thought Metaphysics and Kenneth Hagin popularized it Primarily contained in denominations such as the Assemblies of God, Foursquare Gospel Churches, and the United Pentecostal church. “Finished Work” “Second Work” Oneness Pent., • Conversion & Sanct • Held to Three Acts “Jesus Only” = One Act of Grace • Rejects Trinity & • Baptist & Keswick • Southern Formula for Water • Majority of • Church of God in Baptism American Christ (CoGiC) • Mostly the poorest Pentecostals • Church of God • Cities Upper • Assemblies of God • Pentecostal Midwest (AoG) 1914 Holiness Church • United Pentecostal Church 2. Charismatic Movement (aka Neo-Pentecostalism) 1960: Dennis Bennett – St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Van Nuys, CA experience what he believed was the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit” & gift of tongues. Spread to Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Lutherans, Catholics, theological liberals, & pseudo-Christian fringe groups. 3. Signs and Wonders Movement (Third Wave) • Began in the 1980’s • C. Peter Wagner (Prof. of church growth at Fuller Theological Seminary) • Characterized by expectations of “signs and wonders” – sensational experiences and supernatural wonders • John Wimber: Founder of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Anaheim, California and primary proponent of the movement Movement Estimated % of World % of Christian Number Population Population Pentecostal 279,080,000 4.0% 12.8% Charismatic 304,990,000 4.4% 14.0% Combined 584,070,000 8.5% 26.7% Evangelical 285,480,000 4.1% 13.1%
Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, 2011 http://www.pewforum.org/2011/12/19/global-christianity-movements-and-denominations/#_ftn6; Accessed 1/18/2014 Faith Healing 1900’s, Latter Rain 40’s, Prosperity Gospel 70’s No Denominational Distinctive Pentecostal New Apostolic RM 1900’s Charismatic Baptism of the 1960’s Signs & Holy Spirit & All spiritual gifts tongues after emphasized and Wonders salvation continue 1980’s Apostles & Prophets What is the heritage of those in the PG movement? Isn’t the Prosperity Gospel only a fringe segment of Christianity? Note: The Prosperity Gospel is also known as: The Health, Wealth, & Prosperity Movement Word-Faith Movement If not, what has been the influence of that philosophy? Nearly half of American Christians, in any denomination, and roughly two-thirds of American Pentecostals now embrace the basic premise of the prosperity gospel: God wants you to be happy, healthy, and rich.54 A recent survey found that in the United States, 46 percent of self-proclaimed Christians agree with the idea that God will grant material riches to all believers who have enough faith.”52 Footnote 54: Even among classic Pentecostals, the prosperity gospel has become more popular than speaking in tongues: As Christianity Todays Ted Olsen noted in 2006, only half of American Pentecostalists report having spoken in tongues but 66 percent agreed with the premise that God grants believers wealth (Douthat, Bad Religion, 194). Footnote 52: David Jones and Russell Woodbridge, Health, Wealth, and Happiness (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2011), 16. John F. MacArthur Jr., Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2013). So is it any wonder the health-and-wealth prosperity gospel has taken our planet by storm?43 In the Two-Thirds World of Asia, Africa, and Latin America—where the Charismatic Movement is growing at an unprecedented rate—experts estimate well over half of Pentecostal and charismatic adherents hold to the prosperity gospel.44 As John T. Allen explains: 43 As Candy Gunther Brown observes, What seems most objectionable, and shamanistic, to non-pentecostal Christian critics and to secular critics of American self-interested consumerism is the pentecostal concern with allegedly lower, selfish, this-worldly blessings, such as healing or financial prosperity, which are often caricatured as a prosperity theology or a health and wealth gospel that greedy U.S. faith healers have exported worldwide through their disturbingly successful use of modern communications media (Candy Gunther Brown, introduction to Global Pentecostal and Charismatic Healing [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011], 11). Footnote 44 Paul Alexander notes the extent of this theology: The Pentecostal prosperity gospel appeals to hungry Christians in an age of wealth and proclaims that if you have faith in God, you will be financially secure. Over 90 percent of Pentecostals and Charismatics in Nigeria, South Africa, India, and the Philippines believe that God will grant material prosperity to all believers who have enough faith (Alexander, Signs and Wonders, 6364). The fastest-growing and largest charismatic congregations all preach some form of this message,48 from David Yonggi Cho in South Korea, whose church claims more than eight hundred thousand members, to Bishop Enoch Adeboye of Nigeria, whose monthly prayer meetings regularly draw three hundred thousand in attendance. 48 As two scholars observe, The fastest-growing movement within Pentecostalism has been called the Prosperity Gospel, or health-and-wealth churches. [ . . . To outside observers, these churches often appear to trade in magical thinking and psychological manipulation]. (Donald E. Miller and Tetsunao Yamamori, Global Pentecostalism [Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2007], 29).
John F. MacArthur Jr., Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2013). As the largest religious television network on the planet, TBN beams its product 24/7 to more than one hundred countries on seventy satellites through more than eighteen thousand TV channels and cable affiliates.41 Daystar & LeSea are two competitors of TBN who broadcast many Prosperity Gospel Preachers 41 About on Trinity Broadcasting Networks official Facebook page, accessed April 2013, https://www.facebook.com/trinitybroadcastingnetwork/info. John F. MacArthur Jr., Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2013).