#MeToo and the Church

#PentecostalSistersToo

God silent

The lid began coming off last Fall: #metoo. We heard numerous, painful stories from seemingly all walks of life. We Pentecostal women waited for the response of our leaders. It seemed to me to be low-hanging fruit; I mean, how hard is it to name the sin of rape? But….crickets. […]

Shouldn’t Faith Always Result in Healing?

(Including a list of some books on a theology of suffering)

faith healing suffering

Some people argue that “the New Testament always shows healing and never shows someone asking for healing and leaving still sick.” The Bible, however, includes examples of people who were not healed. Paul himself was not always healed. Paul himself was not always healed. He reminds the Galatians that “it was because of an illness […]

How Some Pentecostals Misrepresent Their Global Size

And the Truth about How Many Pentecostals there are in the World

World Pentecostals

At times I have heard Pentecostal Christians triumphantly declare that Pentecostalism now consists of over 600 million people in the world. I assume they have the good intention of encouraging those Pentecostals who are listening. I sometimes worry, though, that they are implying that the large and growing number of Pentecostals in the world implies […]

Should Pentecostals talk about the Spirit on Pentecost Sunday?

Pentecost Sunday is coming soon. Did you even know? If you are Pentecostal, probably not. Yet, I have heard some Pentecostals complain when their pastor hasn’t mentioned Pentecost on Pentecost Sunday. Is this a problem? Not Liturgical Most Pentecostal churches I know aren’t liturgical. The closest they come to following the liturgical calendar is celebrating Christmas and Easter. […]

The Spirit of Power and Love: Jonathan Edwards and Pentecostals on the Spirit (and Holiness)

  SPIRIT AS LOVE Jonathan Edwards’s can assist Pentecostals to further develop their understanding of the Holy Spirit. Edwards believes that Scripture confirms his view that the Spirit is the love of God. 1 John 4:8 states that “God is love,” which implies, for Edwards, that “the divine nature and essence does subsist in love.” […]

Pentecostals and Divine Suffering, Again: My Response to Castelo’s Response to Me

In a previous post I noted a response I published to Daniel Castelo regarding divine impassibility (especially concerning the possibility of God suffering). Castelo has since published a response to my article: Daniel Castelo, “Toward Pentecostal Prolegomena II: A Rejoinder to Andrew Gabriel,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 21 (2012): 168-180. (Due to copyright, I can’t […]

Pentecostals and the Question of Divine Suffering

About a year ago I came across an article by Daniel Castelo recommending the doctrine of divine impassibility to Pentecostals (the question of whether God has passion, often focusing on whether or not God can suffer). I wrote a response that was just published. Thanks to Brill’s (a publisher) relatively recent and generous change to their author […]