Perspectives On The New Pentecostalism

$7.95 8076-2 Perspectives on the New Pentecostalism Russell P. Spittler, Editor Here, in one volume, the reader will find expressions of the variety, the diversity, and the multiformity found in the New Pentecostalism. Truly ecumenical in scope, this revealing compilation provides a com­ prehensive view of the emerging patterns vvithin the New Pentecostalism, coupled with appraisals of these developments. Covered are historical backgrounds and theological viewpoints, along with analyti­ cal assessments and personal reflections. The book closes with two essays on future prospects. These essays were originally prepared for presentation at the Second Annual Meet-. jng of the Society for Pentecostal Studies. Represented among the contributors are not only classical Pentecostals but also newer charismatics — including Protes­ tants, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Or­ thodox representatives. Viewpoints out­ side of the Pentecostal tradition are also evident. Perspectives on the New Pentecostalism Perspectives on the New Pentecostalism Russell P. Spittler, E d ito r Baker Book House Grand Rapids, Michigan Copyright© 1976 by Baker Book House Company Grand Rapids, Michigan ISBN: 0-8010-8076-2 Printed in the United States of America Contributors Richard A. Baer, Jr. Ray H. Hughes Stanley M. Burgess Morton T. Kelsey Athanasios F. S. Emmert William G. MacDonald Gordon D. Fee Kilian McDonnell, O.S.B. J. Massyngberde Ford Clark H. Pinnock R. Hollis Gause William J. Samarin Donald L. Gelpi, S.J. Krister Stendahl Walter J. Hollenweger J. Rodman Williams __________________________ PREFACE For some years it has been my hope to demonstrate the variety within the charismatic and Pentecostal movements. The opportu­ nity came with the responsibility given me to arrange the program for the second annual meeting of the Society for Pentecostal Studies (SPS), which met in November, 1972, in Oklahoma City. My design was to let representatives of various sectors of the movements speak for themselves. They did so, and their words are here preserved. Represented are not only the classical Pentecostals but also the newer charismatics—including Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox representatives. In addition, there are reflections offered from highly diverse—but not unsympathetic—viewpoints from outside the Pentecostal tradition. It is clear from these papers that not all that is charismatic is “evangelical,” meaning by that term the sort of theology charac­ teristic of the post-war conservative new evangelicalism which is now well known. But it should be equally apparent that the ten­ dency of the charismatic renewal is to move in an evangelical direction—even within the Roman Catholic Church. It is just pos­ sible, in fact, that the Pentecostal-charismatic movement in the twentieth century will yield a renewal in piety as far-reaching in ef­ fect as the sixteenth century doctrinal renovation of the church. One cannot avoid the ecumenical (or transdenominational) implications of the New Pentecostalism. If union efforts have aborted, shared brotherhood has widely characterized the transdenominational character of the newer charismatic thrust. Morton Kelsey in fact, in his essay here, argues that a courageous absorption of charismatic openness can produce a true spiritual unity—a unity not insensitive to doctrinal differences, but able to surpass them. Somewhere in the early ’70s it became clear that the classical Pentecostal churches and the charismatic movement are two dif­ ferent forces. Even though the new charismatics drew from the traditional classical Pentecostals, for the most part they did not join them. For the classical Pentecostal, whose heritage was t