This post is part of a periodic series on “Current Pentecostal Scholarship.”
Here I interview Dr. Peter Neumann from Master’s College and Seminary in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. I ask him about what a theology of experience is, what it means for Pentecostals, and what difference these ideas make for the average Christian.
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You might also be interested in these posts:
- Myth #2: “Spiritual = Eccentric and Strange”
- 5 Surprises About “the Anointing” in the New Testament
- Spirit Baptism in Current Pentecostal Theology: Part 2 – Amos Yong
Andrew K. Gabriel, Ph.D., is the author of Simply Spirit-Filled: Experiencing God in the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit as well as three academic books, including The Lord is the Spirit. He is a theology professor at Horizon College and Seminary and serves on the Theological Study Commission for the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. You can follow him on Facebook or on Twitter.
For 40 years I have studied with an eye towards experience and worship. I was a teen in 1979 when I abandoned my faith. About 6 months later I attended a Pentecostal service and found it both disturbing and compelling, I discussed the issues with my Baptist Youth Pastor who offered several warnings about the subjectivity and unreliability of personal experience, and Satan’s ability to mimic God.
I did not find his key arguments against Pentecostalism convincing and I have been a Pentecostal ever since. Today, many of the older Baptist pastors/leaders I talk to will often credit Dr. Gordon Fee for changing their views and attitudes towards Pentecostal theology and experience. While my Baptist Youth Pastor’s concerns and warnings were legitimate and I continue to heed, I disagreed with his conclusion that we must abstain from certain experiential practices given the evidences of abuse or fraud.
A personal struggle for me is the tension of the primacy of scripture, experience, and conformity. God purposely created and interdependency within the body of Christ, so I become suspicious when their is a high degree of conformity within the congregation in their Pentecostal experience.
On the other hand, I also find it interesting that I am struck how similar some Anglican’s describe their sacramental encounters with Christ during the eucharist to how the Pentecostal describes their encounter with Christ during Pentecostal worship services. I have also listened to an Orthodox believer who similarly described their experience with Christ while studying and meditating on the religious ideas of the icons in their church, and that was one of the East/West wars in the early church.
I have just bought the Kindle version of “Pentecostal Experience An Ecumenical Encounter ” and am looking forward to reading it.