Fringe Pentecostalism Controversy

Charismatic Spiritual Gifts; I believe while God still does some amazing miracles, signs, and wonders and sometimes performs those wonders through a Christian. I believe these things are not necessarily the miraculous gifts of the Spirit as we see in the New Testament. While the Bible does not say outright that the miraculous gifts have ceased, I believe it does lay the foundation for why they might no longer occur to the same extent as they did as recorded in the New Testament.

The Watchtowers represents the four cardinal directions: North, South , East and West. In many traditions they are also associated with each of the four classical elements: Air, Fire and Water and Earth. These are the Elements of nature and are forces honored by Pagans and Witches.

In Pentecostalism, a variant of Christianity, the Bible is studied in many versions, to deepen the understanding of the adherent regarding Christianity, which can better help them make informed decisions in terms of the religious practice, which imposes validity in the dynamism of Pentecostalism (Walsh, 2008).

The New Christian Right were a group of people in the protestantism took an part in the political affairs actively. Many issue came out during that time period that were contrary to the purpose of Christianity. In essence, the protestant tradition was the foundation of the American civilization.

Modern Pentecostalism can find its roots in the early 20th century revivals of the practices of Spirit-infilling, ecstatic worship, and a strict adherence to the literal interpretation of the Bible. Some consider one of the appeals of the Pentecostal movement in its early years, as well as today, to be an inclusive, "whosoever may" attitude of multiculturalism and evangelism (Longman, 2012). Though Pentecostal organizations exist that are predominantly Caucasian, Black, or Hispanic, a growing trend of incorporating all ethnicities within one congregation has led to a dramatic increase in multicultural congregations within several of the established

Gospel of Wealth - The Gospel of Wealth, or sometimes the Gospel of Success, was the term for a notion promoted by many successful businessmen that their massive wealth was a social benefit for all. The Gospel of Wealth was a softer and more palatable version of Social Darwinism. The advocates linked wealth with responsibility, arguing that those with great material possessions had equally great obligations to

Speaking in tongues is an interfaith phenomenon that has roots in the bible, but also has branches in the environment I was raised in. Growing up in a Church of God in Christ church, which is the third largest pentecostal denomination in the world, every Sunday morning and Friday night I would witness people ecstatically break out into tongues after catching the holy spirit. This piqued my interest in its origin and meaning to the pentecostal church. Glossolalia, also known as speaking in tongues, is a vital aspect of the pentecostal COGIC church. Looking into glossolalic origins such as where it came from and its purpose can provide insight into the practices of the pentecostal COGIC church.

Although Pentecostals and Charismatics have similarities and do agree on the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues, they are not the same and can be distinguished theologically. One distinctive mark between the Pentecostals and Charismatics is their perspectives on Spirit- baptism. While Pentecostals see it as subsequent to our new birth, Charismatics tend to view Spirit-baptism as

Spiritual Gifts are special divine empowerments given to us through the Holy Spirit. These Gifts however are not for our own personal benefit, instead the main purpose is to equip us to be able to serve and glorify the Lord while Jesus continues His ministry though us. When we use our Spiritual Gifts to glorify the Lord we are contributing to the overall heath and growth of the church. 1 Peter 4:10-11 shows us that we have each been given a Gift by the Holy Spirit and when we use that Gift we find the strength we need to build up the Church. The Gifts of the Spirit are messages of wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miraculous powers, prophecy,

Square Peg: Why Wesleyans Aren’t Fundamentalists, is a great book that examines, argues, and details the differences between Wesleyan theology and fundamentalists teachings. Edited by, Al Truesdale, and published by Beacon Hill Press, Square Peg: Why Wesleyans Aren’t Fundamentalists, gives a great perspective from not only Al Truesdale and his commentary, but also from other various scholars. Each contributor opens your eyes to new theology and requires you to think outside your traditional religious thoughts. After a historical introduction to fundamentalism by Floyd Cunningham, the book offers chapters on topics such as

It can be characterised as a wholesale commodification of religion, that is the selling-off of religious buildings, ideas and claims to authenticity in service to individual/ corporate profit and the promotion of a particular worldview and mode of life, namely corporate capitalism” (15). Carrette and King are making an important observation that religion has become a good that can be sold and traded through the idea that spirituality is a certain way of living. The “Prosperity Gospel” falls into this spirituality trap that Carrette and King address. The “ideas and claims” are seen when prosperity preachers tell their congregations that monetary donations will lead to an increase in personal wealth, and to better health. Meanwhile the “promotion of a particular worldview and mode of life” is apparent when prosperity preachers teach their followers that money and property are essential in God’s plan for them, and it is a sign of their spirituality when they prosper. In addition, the “selling-off of religious buildings” can be found in the numerous mega-churches and multi-million dollar mansions that prosperity preachers inhabit. The wealth of these places sell the idea that fancy buildings are signs of a healthy spiritual lifestyle being lived in God’s favor. Overall,

When it came to the Theology of Prosperity we discovered that it boiled down to this: those who have money, health, and are essentially successful in every facet of life have been rewarded for their faith in God. This theology predicts that those who are not successful in every aspect of their lives, whether it be financially, martially, health, general well-being, have not been completely faithful to God. The Theology of Prosperity (Also referred to as ‘Prosperity Gospel,’

Glossolalia or speaking in tongues is practiced by an estimated 100 million Christians in the world today and the number engaging in this practice is growing at a massive rate every year. That is approximately 20% of all Christians. What many people are wanting to know is if speaking in tongues as seen in the Church today is always from God or are there other explanations. Speaking in tongues has been practiced for many centuries, but despite its long history, differences of opinion accompany almost all questions regarding the phenomenon: is it sent from God? Is it of the Devil? Need it be a religious experience at all? Or is it a result of a mental disorder? People from all different walks of

In the 1940s, Pentecostals began to find acceptance. Before the 1960s, there were some non-Pentecostal people who had been baptized with the Holy Spirit of God. Most of these people decided that they would then keep it a secret but later join the Pentecostal Church. Around this time the theme of Classic Pentecostalism had somewhat shifted. This became known as New Pentecostalism. At this time there was the start of the Charismatic Movement. The supporters of the Charismatic Movement started to stray people away from the traditional beliefs of Classic Pentecostalism. More recently, there is a third wave of Pentecostalism that consists of non-Pentecostal Christians whose beliefs are mainly swayed towards the beliefs of Traditional Christianity. This third wave of Pentecostalism was founded by C. Peter Wagner. These non-Pentecostal Christians follow the practices of Traditional Christianity, but they believe in the Spiritual gifts of God and the works of God. Members of the third wave of Pentecostalism do not see being baptized by the Holy Spirit of God as an indicator. This third wave of Pentecostalism is better known as the Vineyard Movement. Kenn Gulliksen and John Wimber are two very important people who are associated with the Vineyard Movement. In the 1980s Gulliksen and Wimber joined ministries. Vineyard churches were churches that focused on modern-day prophecies. Some prophecies failed. Therefore, John Wimber decided that the Vineyard ministries should focus their

Their is much debate surrounding the use of the charismatic gifts in Acts. Many questions arise about how to use such gifts, and whether or not they can be used today in the first place. The debate regarding the continuation and the cessation of the spiritual gifts, the meaning of which we will clarify in a moment, is a relatively modern one. Although we read about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in Acts, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the early church of the New Testament, history is more or less silent on this issue. It was not until the early