MARTIN LUTHER UNIVERSITY

(UML)

MADE BY:

JORGE LENIN MUNGUIA UBEDA

TEACHER:

LIC. MEDARDO CASTILLO RUIZ

CAREER
Bachelor's Degree in Theology

CLASS OF:

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY II

THEME TO DEVELOP:

ESSAY ON PENTECOSTALISM

DATE:

25/02/2022
 Introduction

Studying Pentecostalism from its beginnings, we find its basis in the book of
the Acts, where there was a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit when they were
the apostles and about one hundred twenty people gathered, it is there where
register the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, the
People were commenting that they were drunk because they had never seen anything like it.
before their eyes, and those who had not experienced it could not understand this event.

As time went by, Pentecostalism started to lose its strength.

After many years, some authors consider that Pentecostalism begins to
to rise again with the Reformation on October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther nailed the 95
thesis in the cathedral of Wittenberg, it is here that it is recorded that it begins to resurge
this new move of the Holy Spirit.
Other authors consider that the movement of Pentecostalism gains strength with two
major events: First, the events at Bethel Bible School in Topeka,
Kansas, in 1901, which are linked to the names of pastor Charles Fox Parham
(1873–1929) and his student Agnes N. Ozman (1870–1937). Second, the meetings in
1906 on Azusa Street in the city of Los Angeles, California, related to
ministry of the African American evangelist William J. Seymour (1870–1922). The
events in Topeka, Kansas.
From this movement arises one of the largest denominations worldwide.
as are the Assemblies of God, in this great movement of the Holy Spirit that
people from different churches begin to gather and the moment arrives when
the need to establish oneself arises and it is there that the name of the A.D arises
Currently, Pentecostalism is emerging and growing, and it is very relevant, although there are
many currents countering Pentecostalism, it has not diminished, it continues
believing and experiencing the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the relevance of the gifts
of the Spirit.
 Development

Pentecostal
A person who believes that the book of Acts provides a model for the church
contemporary and, on this basis, encourages every believer to experience a baptism
in the Spirit (Acts 2:4) understood as an empowerment for the mission,
different from regeneration, which is evidenced in speaking in tongues, and claims that the
signs and wonders, including all the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10
They must characterize the life of the church today.

The first days of Pentecost....

In the structure of Luke-Acts, the narrative of Pentecost has the same relationship.
with facts that have the narratives of childhood and inauguration with the Gospel. In the
The Gospel according to St. Luke, these narratives not only present the motives that define
the mission of Jesus, but also show that He will carry out His mission in power
of the Holy Spirit. Similarly, the narrative of Pentecost presents both the
future mission of the disciples as the complementary training of the Spirit.
The narrative of Pentecost is the story of the transfer of the Holy Spirit.
charismatic of Jesus to the disciples. In other words, after becoming the
exclusive bearer of the Holy Spirit at his baptism, Jesus becomes the giver
of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Peter explains the Pentecostal gift of the Spirit,
announcing: So, exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the
the promise of the Holy Spirit, has poured out this which you see and hear. (Acts 2: 33)
Through that transfer of the Spirit, the disciples became the heirs.
and successors to the earthly charismatic ministry of Jesus, that is, because Jesus has
the charismatic Spirit poured out upon them, the disciples will continue to do and
teaching the things that Jesus began to do and to teach (Acts 1:1).
That inaugural gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost is an event
central to the theology of salvation history in Luke. Therefore, it is not
it's surprising to observe that Lucas provides a multidimensional description of that.
transfer of the Spirit. Due to the charismatic prophetic dimension of Pentecost,
Lucas's favorite phrase: 'filled with the Holy Spirit,' better approaches the fullness.
meaning of the gift of the Spirit.
There is not a single term, however, that is broad enough to
properly communicate the full meaning of that event. Therefore,
in Luke's narrative it is both an investment, a baptism, a training,
a fullness and an outpouring of the Spirit. In Luke's use of those terms,
they are in their essence synonyms. Each term, however, also contributes with
distinctive and important nuances to the meaning of that complex phenomenon.
Lucas also describes the gift of the Spirit from a four-part perspective: 1)
promise, 2) description, 3) interpretation and 4) application. Firstly, document
three promises of the Spirit that are fulfilled on Pentecost (Luke 24:49; Acts
1:5, 8). Later, Luke describes the signs that confirm the reality of
the pouring out of the Spirit (Acts 2:1–4). Then it recounts Peter's interpretation.
the gift of the Spirit (Acts 2:37–39. After an exposition of that data,
we will also investigate the possible influence of the Sinai tradition on the narrative of
Lucas, and the meaning of the religious experience of receiving the Spirit.

In history, Protestantism...
ARE WE PROTESTANTS?
When on October 31, 1517, the German monk Martin Luther posted it for everyone
they saw, his 95 theses on the door of the cathedral of Wittenberg, was giving rise to
a series of religious movements and churches that would profoundly change the world
(according to the reasoning of Max Weber in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
capitalism). In this document, the monk severely criticized the Catholic custom of
selling indulgences and thus rejected the idea that salvation from hell was
possible through the financial contributions made to the Church.

For Luther, forgiveness was a grace that only God could grant, and neither charity nor the
good deeds, nor the promises of the bishops guaranteed salvation. The only thing that
the faithful could do was to accept Jesus as the Savior, trust in his grace and
try to live holily in search of divine approval. Luther, moreover,
he dismissed papal infallibility and acknowledged as the only source of religious authority
to the Bible –and the personal interpretation that, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, each
believer carried out from her-. For these ideas he was excommunicated in 1521, after the
Diet of Worms.

His thought, expanding with some variations through different countries, gave rise to
the so-called Protestant Reformation. While Catholicism established its faith in the Church, and
in his mind, the pope, the dissident groups that arose from Luther claimed
his belief in the Gospels - the reason why they would soon be known as
evangelicals–. The authority that these groups conferred to each believer in the
autonomous interpretation of the Bible led to a continuous process of creation,
institutionalization and religious dissent that continues to this day and that helps
to the expansion of this religious creed throughout the world.

During the second half of the 19th century, the United States experienced a wave of revival
religious movement known as the Second Awakening, in which different groups claimed
not only the personalized interpretation of the Bible and the acceptance of Christ as the only
Savior, but also divine healing and the need for a strong experience
experiential that will underpin that personal encounter with Jesus. With this background
Religious movements emerged, at the beginning of the 20th century, the first Pentecostal churches.

ELEMENTS OF CONTINUITY OF PENTECOSTALISM WITH THE REFORMATION

PROTESTANT
It is worth noting the dynamic, flexible, and varied nature of Pentecostalism.
it never meant a break with historical Christian faith. The very DNA of the movement
Pentecostal is fully Protestant. This can be easily corroborated if
we analyze the following aspects:

1. The Pentecostals and the Bible.

Among us Pentecostals, beyond any prejudices that may exist about
our doctrines, liturgy, and practices, as we are accused of being 'ignorant',
"emotionalists" and "enemies of study and theological preparation," there exists a
marked appreciation for the Bible, which is read from a literal perspective and
devotional, which is memorized and applied quickly to life. There is a strong
motivation for the proclamation and dissemination of faith, using words in
public and private spaces. There is a keen desire to understand clearly and passionately what
the Bible says.

1. The positive relationship with Protestant theology.

There is a strong attachment among Pentecostals to Protestant orthodoxy and
the doctrines of historic Christianity, although with a fundamentalist emphasis.
Probably, the aspect that is closest to the fruits of the Protestant Reformation
in Pentecostalism, it has to do with the doctrinal baggage that supports it.

1. The conception of the church.

At the ecclesiological level, it is very important to highlight the fact that churches
Pentecostals (similar to historical Protestantism) founded national churches,
with self-government and independence in the management of economic resources.
Another element to highlight here is the performance of a worship service that includes singing and prayer.
and preaching in the vernacular language, contextualized in the reality they face due to the
providencia.

Time after having started Pentecostalism…..

Charles F. Parham gave Pentecostalism its distinctive hermeneutics, theology and
apologetics, and remains as the founder of Pentecostalism. Parham was not the
the first person to speak in tongues. In a sense, this honor belongs to the
Miss Agnes N. Ozman. In another sense, the birth of the Pentecostal movement
it was the climax for the growing increase of experiences in various revivals and
movements of the apostolic faith. Make Charles F. Parham the father of
Pentecostalism, and Topeka, Kansas the place of modern Pentecostalism, is not the
unique to that moment, but it is a new biblical and hermeneutical understanding of
this experience.
In Parham's testimony, we find essential characteristics of the Movement.
Pentecostal. These are: 1) the conviction that contemporary experience can
is identical to that of the apostolic church, 2) the separation between the baptism of the Spirit
Saint and Sanctification (as the holiness movements did by separating the
conversion and incorporation), and 3 speaking in tongues as the indisputable evidence or
test of baptism in the Holy Spirit.
The discovery of speaking in other tongues as indisputable evidence in the Bible
the baptism in the Holy Spirit was confirmed the next day, January 1
1901, through the experience of one of the students at the Bethel Bible Seminary,
called Agnes N. Ozman. She testified: The spirit of prayer came upon us that
night. This occurred around seven o'clock on the first of January. Something came from
my heart, which was to ask Brother Parham to lay his hands on me
so that he could receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. At the moment when he placed his
hands on my head, the Holy Spirit descended on me and I began to speak in
other tongues, glorifying the Lord. I spoke in different tongues, and this was
clearly manifested when a new dialect was spoken.
Agnes Ozman was the first person, but not the last, to speak in other tongues.
inside the Biblical Seminary. On January 3, 1901, other students, and soon
Parham himself, they had spoken in tongues. When questioned about his
experience, Miss Ozman, "... I pointed out to them the biblical references,
highlighting that (she) had received baptism in accordance with Acts 2:4 and
19.1-6
The birth of Pentecostalism.....
Carl Brumback says that glossolalia has been present in almost all
revivals of each century. This is perhaps an exaggeration, but it is true that it is
it is possible to detect it throughout the history of Christianity, even during the centuries
XVIII and XIX. At the beginning of the 20th century, glossolalia played an important role in the
emergence of the Pentecostal movement.
The beginning of Pentecostalism can be traced back to two particular revivals.
First, the events at Bethel Bible School in Topeka, Kansas, in 1901, that
are linked to the names of Pastor Carlos Fox Parham (1873–1929) and his student
Agnes N. Ozman (1870–1937).
Second, the meetings in 1906 on Azusa Street in the city of Los Angeles,
California, related to the ministry of the African American evangelist Guillermo J.
Seymour (1870–1922). The events in Topeka, Kansas. Carlos F. Parham was a
Methodist revivalist preacher linked to the tradition of the holiness movement.
In October 1900, a small Bible school began in Topeka.
He and his students began to scrutinize the Scriptures looking for explanations.
of things such as conversion, healing, and the second coming. The baptism of
The Holy Spirit and the evidence of it turned out to be points of great debate. Parham.
he had to go out to conduct services in Kansas City, and left the students who
they will continue with the investigation. Upon returning on December 31, 1900, it was found
with forty students had come to the conclusion that the gift of tongues
it was undeniable evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
At the midnight service, one of the students, Agnes Ozman, asked the others
that they imposed their hands on her to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Having done this, Parham
she began to
speak "in Chinese," as understood at the time, and could not speak in English due to
three days. One student after another received the 'baptism' and it is said that they spoke in various
different languages (xenolalia). Parham closed the school and preached with his students the
new message throughout the state of Missouri and Texas.
The importance of these events does not lie in the gift of tongues itself, since
several cases like this were known. The novel aspect was that Parham made a distinction between
the baptism of the Holy Spirit and sanctification or 'second blessing'. It was about,
well, from a third experience, which equipped believers for service.
An interesting addition was that he could now be sure that he had received the
baptism of the Spirit, since tongues were the initial physical sign and evidence of
Hello. At first, this message was not well received. Parham traveled all over Kansas,
Missouri and Texas trying to convince others of the authenticity of the experience
lively. Only in 1905, in Texas, did people accept their 'full gospel' in numbers.
significant. Parham started a Bible school in Houston, Texas, from where
his teaching reached the congregation on Azusa Street, in Los Angeles, California.
The events in Azusa, Los Angeles.
The African American Baptist preacher William Seymour, associated with the movement of
holiness, attended Parham's Bible school and was nourished by the new doctrine. A
African American woman from Los Angeles, who visited Texas, brought news of the baptism.
of the Spirit and the tongues to her small mission of holiness among African Americans in
California. They invited Seymour to preach.
On April 1, 1906, Seymour preached on Acts 2, but was excluded from the
small congregation because it had associated the gift of tongues with baptism
Holy Spirit. As good Wesleyans they were, these believers associated the
spiritual baptism with sanctification. At a prayer meeting on April 9th in
in his home, Seymour himself and several others received the gift of tongues. The interest and the
curiosity grew immediately and to an extreme degree.
People felt 'energized' by the power of the Spirit and literally fell down.
to the floor from their seats. Caucasian people began to join the group of
African Americans. Languages and other manifestations began to occur. The group
moved to an abandoned Methodist temple on Azusa Street 312, which had served
as a stable and soon became the focus of an impressive revival.
The news spread quickly throughout the country and even abroad.
Generally, this small and humble gathering place is taken more than the
Bible school of Topeka, as the birthplace of the Pentecostal movement.
Some have even begun to speak of an "American Jerusalem." The differences
between the new movement and the doctrines of holiness spread from here. More
of twenty Pentecostal denominations, including the well-known Assemblies of
God, trace their origin back to the Azusa Street revival.
Pentecostal denominations.....
At first, the new Pentecostal groups were not interested in forming new
denominations. But the predominant confusion and disunity reached a point
critic in which the need for more solid structures began to be felt. Only in
the United States, between 1895 and 1925, thirty-eight denominations emerged
Pentecostal cut, outside of a large number of independent congregations.
Parham began the Apostolic Faith Movement. The Pentecostal Holiness Church
It was formed in 1911, from small groups of holiness that had emerged.
Pentecostals.
The southern Pentecostal groups, mostly made up of African Americans and
a background of holiness, they continued to consider the baptism of the Spirit as a
third blessing. But most of the Pentecostal churches that were formed
after 1911 they accepted the concept of Durham regarding the 'finished work of
Calvary.
This was the case with the Assemblies of God, a denomination that was established in 1914.
in Hot Springs, Arkansas. This was the largest Pentecostal denomination outside of
the Wesleyan tradition. The Assemblies maintained an independent form of
ecclesiastical government, perhaps because many of its leaders had a background
Baptist or Presbyterian, like that of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, founded by
Simpson. Other names, such as the Church of God, retained the organization.
centralized in the Methodist tradition.
Currently, Pentecostalism...
Pentecostal churches experienced extraordinary growth in the
the first decades of the 20th century. One of the most colorful characters was Aimee
Semple McPherson (1890–1944). After three years in the Assemblies, she formed her
own International Church of the Four Square Gospel, in Los Angeles, in 1923. Its
name was always in the newspapers, linked to conflicts and scandals. Later, the
Evangelical Lighthouse separated from its church.
During the 1920s and 1930s, the Pentecostal movement grew more
it stabilized and improved its organization, but problems continued to emerge and gave
place to new minor schisms. Some were the result of rigid moral standards.
and a fundamentalist hermeneutics in relation to divorce and the way of dressing.
The Pentecostal Church of Holiness of Fire Baptism separated during the years
from 1930 for the use of ties on Sundays.
The Pentecostal approach to theology was basically evangelical and fundamentalist.
However, the fundamentalists rejected them. Later, during the development of
Charismatic movement, it is striking that the churches most critical of the concept
Pentecostal regarding tongues and gifts, were also the churches.
more conservative and fundamentalist evangelicals. This can be explained in part
due to their theological proximity and their agreement on many aspects. These controversies
were almost like a kind of civil war. Another factor was that the groups
conservatives were more concerned about issues of dogma, while the
larger, more liberal Protestant churches that accepted the charismatic movement
without major problems, they were more free and tolerant.

Conclusions.
Pentecostalism has been a special movement since its emergence, that transforms and
it changes lives, which is not emotion, but empowers those who believe and have the
opportunity to experience that special move. It is undeniable that Pentecostalism
has provided a tremendous contribution and renewed vigor to worldwide Christianity,
filling each city with churches built with great effort, with their chants
be joyful with instruments or with a loud voice, with their proclamation of the gospel and by
supposedly, with fully redeemed lives. On the other hand, beyond the ruptures and
elements of change, elements of continuity with the have been preserved
Protestantism and historical Christianity.

Pentecostalism is an explosive movement not because of its novelty, but because of its
relevance, because it has something to say to the man and woman of today. Something that the
historical Protestantism lost along the way. Unfortunately, not everyone did
they do not enjoy our success nor celebrate our progress. The restorationist profile that is given to him
to the Protestant Reformation, as if it broke with the dark medieval past,
tends to underestimate Pentecostalism and its achievements, as if Christianity
primordial, after a long interval -at least since the 3rd century AD- would have
returned to exist due to the Reformation.