Vinson Syn A Christian Scholar And Dean Emeritus

After the Civil War, African Amerians organized their own churches and religious denominations. “The church was integral to the lives of most black people. It fulfilled spiritual needs through sermons and music” (pg. 319). These churches would also help the sick, the bereaved, and those in need when they didn’t even have the money to spare. “The church service itself was the most important aspect of religious life for most black congregations” (319).

“Roll, Jordan, Roll”, “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Had”, “Go Down, Moses”, and “Wade in the Water” are the titles of only a handful of what were called “Negro Spirituals”, which originated during the reign of slavery in the United States (Frey). Such spirituals used call-and-response, a method of communication that was popular with slaves who brought African traditions to America, and gave way to the gospel music and unique form of preaching characteristic to the Black Church. The history of the Black Church, which began during the slave era, demonstrates the way that African Americans found refuge in Christianity, where the church became the center for African American communities (Baer). Born out of struggle and oppression, the Black Church not only became the focus for the religious practices of African American communities, but also worked to “re-member” the community through rituals such as that of call-and-response, a core element of the Black Church which served as a powerful tool for the African American community in the fight for the exercise of true freedom in America.

Black religion was no longer regarded as exemplary or special. During a time of growing segregation and violence, some black leaders attempted to counter this perspective seen by whites by embracing the romantic racialist notions that “blacks possessed peculiar gifts.” These gifts being directly connected to the importance of black churches in a time of direct exclusion of blacks from other pieces of society.

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.

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).

While his work did not engage directly with the topic, a tinge of anti-intellectualism was fostered within the movement this book examined. In Spiritual Mobilization’s magazine, Faith and Freedom, the editor devoted an entire issue to confronting clergymen who supported the Social Gospel, a movement which he claimed was led by, “a small, unusually articulate minority who feel political power is the way to save the world. . .” If the articles of the 1930’s demonstrated a distrust of the “unusually articulate,” the embracing of religious identity and language publicly by the Eisenhower administration had created an atmosphere in the 1950's whereby the Gideons International, Inc. was actively trying to influence curriculum in U.S. schools. Traveling preachers successfully utilized marketing techniques to blend entertainment, education, and religion into a single message. Sadly, that single message forbade the kind of discourse or dissent which fosters intellectual growth. Rather, the libertarian ideologies, which had inspired the original rebellion against the Social Gospel, had come to full fruition in snuffing out dissenters and making commonplace the existence of state-sanctioned

The book then addresses the Church and discipleship and looks at some basic questions, baptism, the body of Christ and the visible Church-Community. The book also covers Saints – members called by God. Included in this chapter is sanctification

Acts of the Apostles chronicles the rapid advancement of the Gospel by way of the gift of the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles: The Charismatic Community in Mission” takes into account the narratives succeeding Pentecost including Spirit Baptisms from Samaria to Ephesus (Acts

Go Tell It on the Mountain is a story than many African Americans can relate too. Author James Baldwin paints a picture of what the post-Civil War era was for former slaves and their families. Many African Americans moved north in areas such as Harlem to find better job opportunities and to escape the harsh treatment of the Jim Crow laws in the South. As black families were moving to the North, many saw this as an opportunity to start over. It was a sentiment of being “reborn” again. That is why I believe the Pentecostal church was very attractive to many African Americans. The Pentecostal church gave the African American community a sense of relief. It was an outlet from the harsh and cruel treatment that was distributed on a daily basis. The Pentecostal gave the black community hope just like how Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. There is a parallel to the Pentecost that the church would lead people to a better life and after their time on Earth is over.

The Making of the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message. A. J. Smith Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008.

Initially, America did not have a Christian foundation in the sense of creating a theocracy. However, it was shaped by Christian moral truths, and the forefathers created a hospitable environment that supported this religion. The relationship linking the state and religion grew strong as most of the people in the nation became Christians. This research paper outlines how Christianity came to be one of the major religions in the United States of America.

Pentecostalism is one of the major denominations of Protestant Christianity that originated from the Holiness Revival of the 19th century. The Pentecostal Movement began in Topeka, Kansas at Bethel Bible College, established by Charles Parham who taught that speaking in tongues was a spiritual gift that demonstrated as evidence of baptism with the Holy Spirit, a distinct type of baptism experienced in chapter two of the book of Acts on the day of Pentecost. On January 1st of 1901, Agnes Ozman, a student at Bethel Bible School, was the first person to speak in tongues after being baptized with The Holy Spirit. This marks the beginning of the Pentecostal Revival. In 1905, Parham began preaching in Houston, Texas where he began a smaller bible school. According to Kevin Sack, a journalist for The New York Times, an African American pastor named William Seymour would attend Parham 's services though he was made to sit outside the room and listen through a cracked door. Parham 's teachings of baptism with the Holy Spirit enveloped Seymour, who took this new theology to Los Angeles in 1906 where he temporarily pastored a small African American Holiness Church. The church rejected Seymour 's claims on tongues as proof of baptism with The Holy Spirit. The pastor of the church, Julia Hitchins, was outraged by Seymour 's sermon and kicked him out of the church. Seymour moved in with a friend of his,

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 Pentecostal reality thus appears as a threat; and for the sake of protecting what is already established, strong efforts are often made to repel an apparently foreign body. But now it is fervently to be hoped that, with more adequate understanding of what the Pentecostal reality means, and its signal importance for the full life of the church, a new, positive, and expectant attitude can

Pentecostalism is one of the most complex and curious denominations of Christianity. The Pentecostal Movement places an emphasis on a personal experience of God through the baptism with the Holy Spirit. The term “Pentecostal” is derived from the word Pentecost, which is Greek for the “Jewish Feast of Weeks.” The Jewish Feast of Weeks is a Christian holiday that celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus Christ. This event can be found described in the second chapter of the Book of Acts. Pentecostalism is one of the most interesting and intriguing denominations because of its history, organization, beliefs, practices, and structure of authority.