Towards A Pentecostal Theology of Praxis


Book Description

This book outlines a Pentecostal theology of praxis while also providing a concrete example of how such a theology is fleshed out. By investigating various elements of Pentecostal and Liberation theologies and highlighting various similarities and differences between the two camps, John Mark Robeck constructs a framework through which a Pentecostal theology of praxis might be observed. Taking a step further, he offers a case study of three Pentecostal churches in El Salvador as an example of how such a theology is lived out. Robeck examines the lives of the pastors of these congregations, the engagement of these congregations in activities of social engagement that serve to bring about various forms of liberation, as well as the participation of the congregations and their communities in transformative actions which serve to bring about real change.




Pentecostal Formation


Book Description

The Pentecostal movement has been subject to some negative external assumptions. In this enlightening and challenging book, Cheryl Bridges Johns argues that, in fact, Pentecostals employ a powerful process of formation of catechesis, which has enabled millions of believers to own and articulate the Christian story. She engages dialectically with the work of Paulo Freire, a specialist in education among the marginalized. As well as looking more broadly at the nature of all catechesis, there is also an attempt to move beyond the rationalism found in a praxis epistemology.




The Spirit of Atonement


Book Description

Steven M. Studebaker proposes a Pentecostal approach to a major Christian doctrine, the atonement. The book moves Pentecostal theology of the atonement from a primarily Christocentric and crucicentric register to one that articulates the pneumatological and holistic nature of Pentecostal praxis. Studebaker examines the irony of Classical Pentecostalism relying on the Christocentrism of Protestantism evangelical atonement theology to articulate its experience of the Holy Spirit, as well as the Pneumatological nature of Pentecostal praxis. He then develops a Pentecostal theology of atonement based on the biblical narrative of the Spirit of Pentecost and returns to re-imagine an expanded vision of Pentecostal praxis based on the theological formation of the biblical narrative. The result is a Pentecostal atonement theology that shows the integrated nature of pneumatology, creation and Christology in the biblical narrative of redemption. It gives theological expression to not only the pneumatological nature of Pentecostal praxis, but also the fundamental role of the Holy Spirit in the biblical narrative of redemption. The book challenges popular western atonement theologies to re-think their Christocentrism and crucicentrism as well as their atomistic tendency to separate soteriology into objective (Christological) and subjective (pneumatolgical) categories.




Pentecostals in the 21st Century


Book Description

A little over one hundred years ago the Holy Spirit breathed a fresh awakening into little communities in Topeka, Kansas (1901) and then on Azusa Street in California (1906). Over the past century this spiritual awakening has touched every country on the globe. By 2014 there were 631 million Pentecostals in the world, comprising a quarter of all Christians, and that number is forecast to grow to 800 million by 2025. This book offers a window into some of the unique features of this phenomenal movement through expert contributions from some of the world's preeminent Pentecostal theologians. It presents a Pentecostal perspective on important theological themes that pastors, theologians, and lay leaders are grappling with in the twenty-first century.







The Globalization of Pentecostalism


Book Description

"This book, comprising a sweeping range of well-documented articles on Pentecostal theology, hermeneutics, missiology, and the social sciences, provides for the student of Pentecostals a window on contemporary Pentecostal scholarship that discloses vigorous engagement with critical issues. The editors have provided a resource that promises to stimulate further research and reflection." William Menzies, Chancellor, Asia Pacific Theological Seminary, Baguio City, Philippines. Excerpts from Respondents Jose Miguez Bonino on Changing Paradigms: "An updating of Pentecostal thinking on a whole spectrum of theological disciplines: systematics, missiology, biblical studies, history, and praxis . . . a wealth of information and reflection." Vinay Samuel on Global Culture: "Global Pentecostalism can bring a new impetus to the movement for Christian unity . . . it has much to contribute to the shaping of a new 21st century definition for Christian unity." Harvey Cox on A Postmodern World: "There was a time when Pentecostals warned themselves and anyone else who would listen not to become entangled with and dependent on the 'things of the world.' Pentecostals were suspicious of the passing fads of stylish clothing, the latest hairdo, and glitzy new consumer products. They were also, as it turns out rightly, suspicious that the powerful new mass media could be a seductive lure, tricking people into the empty values of the consumer market culture. Perhaps it is time for a rebirth of that ethic of simplicity, that suspicion for 'the things for the world' for which the early Pentecostals were so famous."




Spirit, Pathos and Liberation


Book Description

The growth of the Pentecostal movement is often most evident among the poor and disenfranchised of society, as, for example, among the Hispanic-American community. As this community continues to develop, will Pentecostal theology be able to incorporate into its hermeneutics those issues that especially concern it? Solivan looks at relevant issues to this debate from a Hispanic-American perspective, presenting an overview of Hispanic diversity, and its common roots and struggles. He talks of four critical issues in Hispanic theology (religious experience, suffering, the work of the Holy Spirit and the importance of language and culture) and other issues including acculturation and assimilation. He shows how a community's suffering and oppression can be transformed by the Holy Spirit into a liberating life, full of hope and promise.




Who is Present in Absence?


Book Description

What transpires when Classical Pentecostals pray for God to intervene within their suffering, but God does not? Traditionally, Classical Pentecostals center on encountering God as demonstrated through the relating of testimonies of their experiences with God. In seeking to contribute to a theology of suffering for Pentecostals, Pam Engelbert lifts up the stories of eight Classical Pentecostals to discover how they experienced God and others amidst their extended suffering even when God did not intervene as they had prayed. By valuing each story, this qualitative practical theology work embraces a Pentecostal hermeneutic of experience combined with Scripture, namely the Gospel of John. As a Pentecostal practical theological project it offers a praxis (theology of action) of suffering and healing during times when we experience the apparent absence of God. It invites the reader to enter into the space of the other's suffering by way of empathy, and thereby participate in God's act of ministry to humanity through God's expression of empathy in the very person of Jesus.




Pentecostal Theology


Book Description

Pentecostals (traditionally) do not think theologically so much as do it practically. This book will present Pentecostal theology as well as the particular style of Pentecostal thinking and praxis that makes it different. Pentecostalism is not just distinctive because of its belief base but also because of the worldview it owns. The latter is based on a certainty that a religion that does not work is not worth much. Consequently, they look for expressions of life and vitality in their faith. These dominate, rather than an expression of the cerebral, though this is changing. Nevertheless, the sense of the immediate, the God of the now not the distant past, underlie how they do theology. Pentecostal theology tends to be seen through the eyes of people, not theologians; through the community, not traditions (though they have them); through their faith and worship, not ancient creeds. It is a theology of the dynamic, seen through the lens of experience. It is a functional theology that exists to operate; to incorporate an experiential dimension. Pentecostal theology does not operate as other theologies which often only detail a list of beliefs; it does this but also and (more) importantly, it explores them in the context of praxis. Thus, this volume incorporates praxis as part of the enquiry relating to theology.