The Holy Ghost People V. Vodun

I remember a day when we all shared our personal thoughts in World Geography. I was surprised at the number of people that claimed they were Jehovah's Witness. I learned great knowledge of numerous religions that day, but the one that really stuck in my head was my new found understanding of a Jehovah's Witness. After asking multiple questions and annoying the life out of my friend, who is a Jehovah’s Witness, I came to the conclusion of similarities between our religions.

We now come to the section devoted to the major pioneers in the beginning of Pentecostalism in America. The first person we want to discuss is Charles Fox Parham. “He is the man generally recognized as the formulation of Pentecostal doctrine and the theological founder of the movement.” Parham held to the theological argument that tongues are always the initial evidence of a person receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He also taught the necessity of being baptized with the Holy Spirit as the only way to escape the great tribulation.

There are many religions throughout the world today. Although there are several different religions, many individuals are not educated about the other beliefs besides there own. Religions today do have differences but are also very much the same. This is demonstrated between the religion of Yoruba, and Christianity. The Gods that the people in these religions worship are different but have the same purpose throughout the lives of each individual. Each individual’s purpose and goal in these religions also display similarities. Furthermore the rituals that are done throughout these religions are done for directions and to improve the relationship between the individual and their god. There are various differences and similarities between

Located in the heart of downtown Cedar Rapids this Historical brick building with its’ decorative molding and beautiful stain glass windows is the home of a subculture of biblically based Christians. This church family meets every Sunday like many churches who revere Sunday as being the Lord’s day, set aside for rest and worship of God. Biblically based Christianity is a vast culture of faith in God carried out by many subcultures called churches, made up of people who seek to worship God and to foster a personal relationship with him. One of the most important things that make a subculture is a question of what is it that brings these people together? This foundational question is not only the question of the subculture, but is also the defining

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.

When given the opportunity, I am usually open to and enjoy stepping out of my comfort zone. This project allowed me to do just that. For my religious visit, I visited Shaare Emeth, Reformed Jewish Synagogue on Saturday June 20, 2015 for their Shabbat Morning Worship Service at 11 a.m. It is located at 11645 Ladue Rd, St. Louis, MO 63141.

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

In The Charismatic Theology of St. Luke, Robert Stronstad adduces a succinct interpretation of the significance of Holy Spirit according to Lukan theology. He examines both the Spirit’s activity in Luke-Acts and the implications of the Gift of the Spirit in empowering, equipping, and commissioning of God’s people for service. The text is separated into six sections covering “the Holy Spirit in Luke-Acts”, “the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament”, “the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of Luke”, “The Holy Spirit at Pentecost”, “The Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles” and the Charismatic Theology of St. Luke.

In relation to several critical writings on the analysis of religion, the film Holy Ghost People by Peter Adair is aligned intricately into such discussions. Emile Durkheim states in The Elementary Forms of Religious Life that “religion is a natural expression of society” (Durkheim). Through Adair’s directorial decision to keep his own narration to a minimum, the audience is able to observe a personal account of a Pentecostal church community in a way that seems less studied and more like a natural expression of the church members. Durkheim also states that “when I approach the study of primitive religions, it is with the certainty that they are grounded in and express the real” (Durkheim). As Durkheim points out, if these people truly believe they are being possessed by the holy ghost, then they are experiencing it and it is therefore real to them. Adair allows the audience to experience the presentation of the possessions without any additional narration, and so these sections seem more like a natural part of this religious group as a whole to frequently believe in and experience possessions.

Next, the two groups celebrate customs that are often blindly followed. Finally, the dominant world religions and smaller cults pursue a lifestyle that is accepted by their group. By analyzing the recognized beliefs, the different customs, and the controlled lifestyle of the widespread religion and cult followers, it will become evident that the two are ultimately similar.

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.

Today, Latinos are immigrants, this factor plays a large part in how they choose to express beliefs’; otherwise uncompromising Pentecostal churches are known to expand on their religious doctrine to focus more on themes such as struggle, displacement and migration2. Many prayers, testimonies and bible readings focus on this theme; stories such as the Exodus from Egypt receive significantly more attention than would be the norm. The Trinity Cathedral is an excellent example of this, the majority of the congregation were immigrants or children of immigrants who spoke little English; the sermon—according to the deacon—included messages about being away from home, finding faith in a unfamiliar place and traveling. St Clare’s was a bit more general in its message, while many in its congregation were immigrants the sermon’s message didn’t linger on any ‘migrant themes’ over any other theme. The use of iconography was also very important, both churches featured statues of the Virgin of Guadalupe and Our Lady of Charity—the patron saints of Mexico and Cuba respectively—which were visited by various churchgoers and their children3. The children’s interaction with the statues was particularly noteworthy, most did not mimic their parents’ exact practices, some children would touch a statue when their parents would have bowed to it, and others would merely contemplate the statues when their parents said

One organization that is becoming increasingly popular, is the new youth church. These churches are made up primarily of young adults; those that attend gain a sense of belonging by their family-like structures and “cell groups”. They also dabble with the postmodern and nontraditional ways of worship, to attract outsiders, and they have a strong emphasis on missionary work.

The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, and is equal in essence and in power in the Trinity to the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit was originally sent by Jesus after his ascension into heaven, Jesus himself saying that he would send a “helper” after he departed from the earth. This spirit is worshipped just as the Father and the Son are, and also participated in the creation of the world, sustaining and giving life continually to all things, and exhibits the uniqueness and characteristics of the third person in the Trinity. This is the same Holy Spirit that divinely inspired the infallible word of God, and although the canon is now closed, the Holy Spirit still works powerfully and constantly in the life of the church and in believers. The Holy Spirit is the giver of spiritual gifts, which are given at conversion and help the believer become more like their creator. The presence of the Holy Spirit is evident in the life of all true believers, and this Spirit turns cowardly men into mighty warriors for Christ who accomplish actions way beyond their natural ability.

The second paper, written by David Norris, focuses mainly on the history of Pentecostal women in ministry. He gave a brief mention to the emergence of Holiness women preachers, and then fast-forwards to the Pentecostal movement. Because many of the people involved in the Pentecostal movement had once been a part of the Holiness movement, women were generally accepted as ministers. However, even here women were relegated to the margins. They took the broken, burnt out, run down churches that no one else wanted. Many times these women would revitalized a run down church only to step down, or be shunted aside, so a man could take over as pastor. According to Norris, at the founding of the UPCI nearly 22% of the licensed ministers were women. This number has steadily declined over the past 50 years until only 3% of the licensed ministers are women. Norris gives four possible reasons for this: 1. Because women did not learn how to theologically defend their position at the beginning of the movement, they do not know how now that the climate has changed to where they must defend their calling. 2. There were many more denominations involved in the Pentecostal movement than just the Holiness groups who were not willing to license women. 3. There are little or no role models who promote women in