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Charismatic Theology and the New Testament

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Charismatic Theology and the New Testament Charismatic Theology and the New Testament RICHARD C. OUDERSLUYS Since there is need to limit the subject announced, let me say at the outset that it is not my intention to attack or defend certain contemporary chari smati c expe ri ences and practi ces. While the H oly Spirit is not foreign to my Christian fa ith and li fe, I do stand outside the experi e nce and practi ce of speaking in tongues. T hi s being so, I have no expe ri ential basis for evalu ating the reality and validity of the ma ny claim s being made today for such spiritual experiences and practices. Like every other renewal move ment in the hi story of the church, the present chari smati c movement offers both pe ril and promise. It is my observation that in circles where there is a strong litu rgy, polity, and theology, the movement appears as a good expe ri ence, creating a new sense of Christi an community, a new caring and sha ring in fa ith , hope, and love, and it is a happening that is affi rmative and positiv e. In other circles, in cluding our own, the experi ence meets with antagonism, creates division and tension, and is, unhappily, facti onal and negativ e. T here is reason to be li eve that a church such as our own, possessing a well ­ defi ned liturgy, polit y, and theology, is we ll designed fo r containing and incorporating th ose whose faith has been re vi tali zed by some kind ofrecent chari smati c experi ence. Surely the church has before it chall enges and tasks more important than opposing enthusiasm and spontaneity . Christi an diversity should be respected when it involves individual C hristi an experi ence. Here the counsel of the Apostl e Paul is appropriate: Let us no more pass judgment on one another, but rather decide never to put a stumbling bl ock or hindrance in the way of a brother .. Let us then pursue what makes fo r peace and for mutual upbuilding . Welcome one another, therefore, as Chri st has welcomed you, for the glory of God (Rom. 14 :13, 19; 15:7). Attitudes of uncompromi sing hosti lity and negativity, whether on the pa rt of cha ri smati cs or non-chari smati cs, are not only deplorable but contra di ctory of the claimed leading and presence of the Holy Spirit. If chari smati c rene wal brings into our mi dst only a steady proliferation of small groups to li ve somewhere out on the periphery of the church, it will be due to the fa ilure of both church and groups to evide nce what both profess: " I beli eve in the H oly Spirit, the Lord and gi ve r of life." I trust that you will share my optimism when I say that I am hopeful of better things in our own beloved church. If there is any truth to the old adage th at wi sdom keeps company with age, then the oldest Protestant C hurch in Ameri ca with a continuous existence should be possessed by this time of enough wi sdom to meet the chall enge of the charismati c movement. After a ll , the old Dutch church has fo und grace at long last to accommodate itself to speaking Engli sh. And we have been able to 48 welcome with good grace those who speak Germ an, Hungari a n, Ita li an, and Spa ni sh, and so why not those who speak in ye t "other tongues?" D o not di smi ss or mi sta ke my optimism too hastil y, fo r it is a thinl y di sgui sed plea for understanding, and fo r a real attempt at "eagerness" to mainta in the unity of the S pirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3). T here are obstacles, of course, whic h stand in the way of an immedi ate reali zation of thi s goal. O ne of the m is the amazing diversity of the cha ri smatic movement it self. It is commonplace today to di stingui sh between older, classical, or traditi onal Pentecos­ tali sm and so-call ed N eo-Pentecosta li sm. 1 T he new Pentecostals, fo r the most pa rt , are ve ry defi nitely new. Most of them choose to remain within their fa miliar denomina­ tional structures. They do not practi ce speaking in tongues in public worship but reserve it fo r private devoti ons or fo r the specia l mid-week prayer service. Many of the m do not insist on speaking in tongues as a necessary proof of H oly Spirit bapti sm. In some circles, the renewal movement seems to be a new aware ness of the Spirit's presence and power whi ch prompts prayer, speaking and singing in the Spirit , and a new joy in the pursuit of sanctificati on a nd service. T heir c hari smati c expe ri ence-in contrast to olde r fo rms of Pentecosta li sm- is seldom introduced into the customary li turgy of the established c hurch. 2 If the N eo-Pentecostali st adheres to thi s new mode l, then it appears that hi s new experi ence can be theologized as an ' 'infilling of the Holy Spirit," and incorporated into our biblical unde rstanding of the doctrine of sanctificati on. N ot a ll c hari smati cs, ho wever, a re concerned to re main integrated with their fa miliar churc h liturgy, po lity, and theology. Some in sist upon making an absolute of the ir new fo und cha ri sm and demand it of a ll other C hristi ans as the sin e qua non of being baptized with the H oly Spirit. Some make so much of their new expe ri ence that they assume, a ll too hastil y in many in stances, that they were not C hristians at a ll before the experi ence and inadvi sedl y have themselv es re-baptized . Carri ed away by their own enthusiasm and zeal, they separate themselves from previous C hristian association a nd fellowship under the persuasion that they a re call ed to hi gher things. And when " preferring o ne another in honour" gives way to a spiri t of controversy, milita nc y, and rupture, then we mu st conclude, albeit re lu cta ntl y, that it may be best to agree to di sagree and go our separate ways. At present, however, N eo-Pentecosta li sm is so a morphous and free-wheeling that it defi es description and most sure ly does not possess anything like a normative theology. T hi s may be due to its recent developme nt , its subjectivity, and considerabl e div e rs ity o f expressio n . A n yo ne who assumes tha t he unde rst a nds Neo­ Pentecostali sm will be quickly di sabused of hi s a rrogance by reading a little of Walter J . H oll enweger's 572-page handbook on The Pentecostals. 3 S in ce it is a move ment, howe ver, or better still , a spirituality, and still lac king an adequate ly articul ated theology, opportunities for fruitful di scussion a nd study are still with us. If willing, churches and chari smati cs in our own theological tradition have before them a n opportunity to di scuss and study together thi s new spirituality, and to explore together its place in the framework of Reformed thought. If thi s does not take place, chari sma­ ti cs w ill have no alternative but to resort to theologizing their experience in terms of 49 older, traditional Pentecostalis m, and this will be regrettable . O ne of the spokesmen fo r chari smati cs in the Roma n Catho li c C hurch, Kili an McDonnell , sees the situati on this way: One of the major proble ms of the charismati c moveme nt has been a lack of critical exegeti cal litera ture. There has been much use of Scripture, and much populari zing with vari ous appeals to Scripture , but little seri ous exegeti cal study. C hari smati cs in the hi stori c churc hes have taken too unc riti call y the exegesis and theology of cl assical Pentecostali sm. Classi­ cal Pentecostali sm has its areas of strength- evange li sm, to mention onl y one-from which the hi stori c churches mi ght learn . But it would be a grave mi stake to take over classical Pentecostal exegesis without a careful examinati on. 4 T his " grave mi stake" which Kili an McD onnell depl ores is being avoided in some circles. Theologians in the various traditions are at work seeking to explore the biblical and theological groundings avail abl e fo r intei·preting thi s new spirituality . T wo or three outstanding Pentecostal theologians are also busy seeking to furnish the c hari s­ mati c movement with a definite theology. These me n are Walter J . H oll enweger, a former Pentecostal and presently serving as one of th e secreta ri es of the World Counc il of C hurc hes; Arnold Bittlinge r, a Lutheran and Professor of syste mati c theology in Schloss Craheim , Germany ; and D avid J.
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