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The Foursquare Gospel and Pentecostal Biblical Pragmatism of the Elim

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The Foursquare Gospel and Pentecostal Biblical Pragmatism of the Elim WHOSE PENTECOSTALISM? WHICH RATIONALITY? THE FOURSQUARE GOSPEL AND PENTECOSTAL BIBLICAL PRAGMATISM OF THE ELIM TRADITION by SIMO KALEVI FRESTADIUS A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies Department of Theology and Religion School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham March 2018 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT The aim of the thesis is to provide a tradition-specific ‘Pentecostal rationality.’ To do this it will first analyse and evaluate some of the main contemporary Pentecostal rationalities and epistemologies (chapter 1), before proposing that Alasdair MacIntyre’s tradition-focused and historically-minded narrative approach is conducive in providing a more tradition-constituted Pentecostal rationality (chapter 2). Utilising the methodological insight of MacIntyre, the thesis will then provide a philosophically informed historical narrative of a Pentecostal tradition, namely, the Elim Pentecostal Church, by exploring its underlying context and roots as a classical British Pentecostal movement (chapter 3), its emergence as a religious tradition (chapter 4), and its two major ‘epistemological crises’ (chapters 5 & 6). Based on this historical narration, the thesis will argue that Elim’s tacit Pentecostal rationality is best defined as Pentecostal Biblical Pragmatism in a Foursquare Gospel framework. This form of rationality will then be developed vis-à-vis Elim’s Pentecostal concept of truth (chapter 7), biblical hermeneutics (chapter 8), and pragmatic epistemic justification in dialogue with William Alston (chapter 9). For Caroline and Kaiho ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This doctoral thesis could have not been completed without the support, sacrifice and prayers of many. I would like to acknowledge my debt to Mark Cartledge and David Cheetham as my supervisors. Mark guided me through the first half of the thesis and instilled in me his passion for Pentecostal theology, and David directed me through the second half while encouraging me to think as a philosophical theologian. The Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies at the University of Birmingham has also been a real source of academic insight and inspiration. At the Centre, Wolfgang Vondey, Allan Anderson and others have facilitated a dynamic learning environment for research students (in fact, I blame Allan’s indirect influence for the historical turn in my thesis!). And the friendships formed there with the likes of Dik Allan, Elmer Chen, and Matt Churchouse have been life giving. I would also like to express my appreciation to Regents Theological College as my employer and context for carrying out my Christian calling. Regents has not only contributed financially towards my PhD fees, but has granted me research days and study leave to help me complete the thesis. All of my colleagues and friends at Regents, not least Dave Newton, Gary Gibbs, Geoff Richardson, John Owen, Keith Warrington, Jenny Kimble, Liam Hanna, Martin Clay, Mathew Clark, Michael Edwards, Oliver Ward, Paul Folland, Peter Read and Richard Hasnip have spurred me on. A special thanks to Tim Walsh for copy editing the thesis for spelling, grammar and referencing. As much of the research has focused on Elim’s history, there have been many who have given me access to primary material on Elim. Sally Gibbs and Philip Thompsett have enabled me to have unrestricted access to the general Elim Archives, and Sharon Millar has provided me full access to the General Superintendent’s personal Elim Archives. The Elim historian Maldwyn Jones has not just been a constant exhorter but a mine of information on Elim. I am also grateful to Chris Cartwright, Elim’s General Superintendent, for permission to use images from Elim Evangel in Appendix 2 and 3. I want to thank friends and family who have stood with me through the researching and writing. I appreciate that not always having weekends or normal holidays while studying has meant that those closest to me have been affected the most. Thank you to all my friends, who have remained my friends despite my lack of real investment in friendships over the last few years! Thank you to my family (including my English family through marriage) for understanding, praying and providing moments of rest. I particularly want to thank my parents Kyösti and Irma Frestadius for offering their selfless support throughout my studies. And I especially want to thank my wife Caroline and son Kaiho. Caroline has been without equal in her steadfast love, patience and encouragement; Kaiho has been my joy, as well as my personal teacher on all types of vehicles! Finally, I thank God for the gift of life and the privilege of academic study. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................ x INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 1 PART I – SEARCHING FOR A PENTECOSTAL RATIONALITY ....................................... 8 CHAPTER 1 – THE ‘PENTECOSTAL’ RATIONALITIES OF AMOS YONG, JAMES K. A. SMITH AND L. WILLIAM OLIVERIO, JR. ................................................................. 11 1.1. ‘Pneumatological Imagination:’ Yong’s Pentecostal Rationality .............................. 11 1.2. Affective, Embodied and Narrative Knowing: Smith’s Pentecostal Rationality ....... 27 1.3. Pentecostal ‘Hermeneutical Realism:’ Oliverio’s Pentecostal Rationality ................ 45 1.4. Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 66 CHAPTER 2 – ON METHOD: MACINTYRE, TRADITION AND RATIONALITY ...... 68 2.1. MacIntyre’s Tradition-Dependent Rationality ........................................................... 69 2.2. Truth and Dialectical Justification ............................................................................. 79 2.3. Implications for Pentecostal Rationality and Epistemology ...................................... 86 PART II – NARRATING A TRADITION-SPECIFIC PENTECOSTAL RATIONALITY .. 90 CHAPTER 3 – PROLOGUES TO THE ELIM TRADITION: THE CONTEXT AND ROOTS OF THE ELIM ARGUMENT ................................................................................ 93 3.1. The Pre-Pentecostal Religious Context: Modernity, Religious Pluralism and Secularisation .................................................................................................................... 94 3.2. Holiness, Revival and Pentecostal Roots of Elim .................................................... 119 CHAPTER 4 – THE BIRTH OF ELIM: THE EARLY OPPONENTS, CONTENT, RATIONALITY AND EMBODIMENT OF THE ELIM ARGUMENT .......................... 141 4.1. The Implied Opponents of the Elim Argument ........................................................ 142 4.2. The Content of the Elim Argument: The Foursquare Gospel .................................. 148 4.3. The Rationality of the Elim Argument: Pentecostal Biblical Pragmatism............... 157 4.4. The Social Embodiment of the Elim Argument: The Elim Alliance ....................... 175 4.5. Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 183 CHAPTER 5 – THE ELIM ARGUMENT EXTENDED THROUGH TIME (I): THE RESIGNATION OF JEFFREYS AND ELIM’S FIRST EPISTEMOLOGICAL CRISIS 187 5.1. The Coming King: An Overview of Elim’s Eschatology ........................................ 190 5.2. The British Israel Controversy ................................................................................. 196 5.3. ‘Set Your House in Order:’ The Question of Church Government ......................... 216 5.4. The ‘Epistemological Crisis’ and its Resolution ...................................................... 219 5.5. Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 232 CHAPTER 6 – THE ELIM ARGUMENT EXTENDED THROUGH TIME (II): THE CHARISMATIC/RESTORATION MOVEMENTS AND ELIM’S SECOND EPISTEMOLOGICAL CRISIS .......................................................................................... 234 6.1. The Charismatic Movement: The ‘Renewal Charismatics’ and the ‘Restoration Charismatics’ ................................................................................................................... 236 6.2. The Restoration Charismatic Movement: Ecclesiologically and Eschatologically Updated Elim Argument ................................................................................................. 240 6.3. The ‘Epistemological Crisis’ and its Resolution ...................................................... 244 6.4. Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 254 PART III – (RE)CONSTRUCTING PENTECOSTAL
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