I. Introduction
The prime focus of this paper is to explore the modern Pentecostal or charismatic movement and its impacts among the Dalits and the tribal in India. In this paper the presenter will also try to bring out a brief origins and historical development of Pentecostalism, in order to understand the movement and its impact on the Dalits and the tribal in India.
1. Etymology of the term Pentecostal
The term Pentecostal is derived from the Greek word pentekosté which literally means ‘fifty’. It is the Greek name for the Jewish festival known as the ‘Feast of Weeks’ in the Old Testament, which celebrates the fiftieth day after Passover observances. The New Testament used the term to refer to the established Jewish feast. However,
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After the Azusa Street revival on April 1906, “Azusa Street soon became the ‘Mecca’ for thousands of visitors around the world.” The people who visited this place went back to their homelands spread this new experience and spread the Pentecostalism to other parts of the world and formed Pentecostal churches. From the Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles, Pentecostalism spread rapidly around the world and began its advance toward becoming a major force in Christendom.
5. Pentecostalism Movement in India
We have observed the modern Pentecostal movement in the 20th century that sparked out of the revivals that took place at Azusa Street, Los Angeles, which spread rapidly to the ends of the earth. Most of the scholars traced back the origin of Pentecostalism to the Azusa Street revival in 1906. However, it is not yet firmly established as to when the Pentecostalism started in India because prior to the coming of Pentecostal missionaries in the 20th century there were Pentecostal like events in the history of Christianity in India.
According to Gary McGee, the eminent historian of Assemblies of God, Pentecostalism had already established itself in India long before word of Azusa reached the subcontinent. He validated by showing the documentary evidence that Pentecost, with all the associated phenomena, came
In a process begun in the nineteenth century and accelerated in the twentieth, the great religions of the world became truly global in the geographic distribution of their adherents and so
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).
When most western people think about Native American or African religions there is a certain stigma that comes with the topic. This is in part because there is a lot of misinformation in the world about Native American and African religions. When most westerners think of African religions they think of voodoo and black magic. Likewise, the view of Native American religions is still looked at through the lens of the pilgrims who wrote about Native Americans as being savages and less than human. These stereotypes were all formed from a lack of accurate information. African and Native American religions are very similar. It is difficult to find a lot of accurate information on African and Native American indigenous religions because of the lack of written history but there is a lot of oral history that has been passed down from generation to generation. From this information, it is clear that Native American and African religions have many more similarities than they do differences. Three of these similarities will be discussed in this paper. The first topic of discussion is the similarity between African and Native American people when it comes to their perception of the spirit world. Following this topic are the similarities between Native American and African views on the afterlife and finally, the diversity of beliefs within African and Native American religions.
While the neo-Pentecostals in the A.M.E. Church had produced enormous church growth, there were severe critics, who resented the threat to traditional worship in an atmosphere of order. In addition, they criticized the spiritual loyalty of many people who tend to view their way as the only way. There is some evidence that the neo-Pentecostal movement also involved Black church denominations, including a few churches in the A.M.E. Zion Church and some middle-class Baptist churches. The challenge that neo-Pentecostalism posed for the Black church is an issue of how to benefit from this church growth and spiritual revitalization without producing a crisis of differences in
Throughout Dennis Covington’s book titled Salvation on Sand Mountain, it became clear that snake handling within the Pentecostal churches, more specifically in the Southern United States, provided an experience unlike any other mainstream forms of religion for the people who participated. Through analyzing and questioning these experiences, many things became clear. For instance, the motives behind why they decided to participate in the praising of the Holy Ghost in such a way as this, what they inevitably felt and received after (as well as during) these rituals and how the snake-handlers turned once observational journalist Dennis Covington to one of their own. Throughout this short paper, these ideas will be discussed in context to both
The mission programme resulted in the syncretism of the Indian religion and Roman Catholic Christianity. Indians might have responded enthusiastically to the new teaching, but they tended to interpret Christianity as a
Quanah Parker, the credited founder of the Native American Church, adopted the peyote religion after he suffered a near death experience fighting federal troops. He claims that Jesus Christ came to him and told him that he needed to take the peyote religion to the Indian Peoples to atone for his many killings and misdeeds (Toquerville). The establishment of the Native American Church allowed the use of peyote for religious uses and for many it provided a powerful alternative to both ancient tribal religions and missionary-controlled versions of Christianity which caused it spread like wildfire across tribes (Fikes). Faced with the suppression of many traditional rituals from the US Government, many Native Americans took solace in peyote ceremonies because they took place quietly and they were protected under the law (Toquerville). It was not just Native Americans that took part in these ceremonies. In 1956, Saskatoon Star Phoenix featured an article in which white men experienced peyote rites and one of the observers remarked that peyote ceremonies offer a tremendous religious experience that intensify the awareness of God. He also said that they provide an enormous cohesive force for the American Indian when they have had nothing to unify behind in a long time (Dyck).
vigorously through the tribes. The religion was a vision of a new world of only Indians, a world without
The caste system has been extremely stable in India for over two thousand years. It is only since the more modern, independent state of India was formed that the system has come under any scrutiny at all. It is presently outlawed, but many of the practices, attitudes and traditions remain ingrained in Hindu society (University of Wyoming, 1997).
Bell and H.A. Goss issued a call to convene a general council of “all Pentecostal saints and Church Of God In Christ followers,” to meet the following April at Hot Springs, Arkansas. This invitation went only to the white saints.
It establishes principles for correspondence between religions, exploring the ways in which they are similar and in which they are different.” For modern Americans who seek a meaningful spirituality yet are aware that many religious traditions exist and offer rewards to their practitioners, Santeria may seem at once a unique tradition with specific beliefs and rituals and a reconciliation of several different religious views. The stories of the orishas from Africa, the correlation of orishas with Roman Catholic saints, and the applicability of the roles and domains of the orishas to modern life in America make Santeria an inclusive and rich tradition.
Religion is a fundamental element of human society. It is what binds a country, society or group of individuals together. However, in some instances it destroys unity amoungst these. Religion is a belief in a superhuman entity(s) which control(s) the universe. Every religion has its differences but most strive for a just life and the right morals. The three major groups are the primal regions which consist of African, Aboriginal and Native American religions, Asian which consist of South Eastern Asian religions and Abrahamic religions which consist of Middle Eastern religions. The foci of this essay are the differences between the Abrahamic religion, Christianity, and the Asian region Buddhism as well as making reference to the Islamic
Chapter three is a careful reading of the early Pentecostal periodical materials. She explains how the worship practices of early Pentecostals using both the Wesleyan-Holiness and the Finished Work traditions during the time period of 1906-1916.
The Azusa Street revival of 1906 to 1909 was an event that popularised the practice of charismatic worship first in the United States and eventually throughout the Christian world. However, representations of the revival in the early years of the 20th century were biased, and distorted the events that occurred. Early believers portrayed the revival as an eschatological narrative in which the power of God came down to earth and revolutionised the church, especially with the gift of tongues. Pentecostal historians later mythologised Azusa Street representing the revival as the birthplace of Pentecostalism. On the other hand, conservatives portrayed the events of the revival as unbiblical and sinful, while secular critics depicted the revival
On Sunday, February 21, Billy and I joined Arjun's father in his trip to the Hindu temple in Orlando—we had to wake up earlier than usual for a Sunday but it was for good cause. We arrived at the temple in Orlando just before 10AM for a prayer service that was difficult to