Pentecostalism

Modesty Codes in Pentecostalism and Mormonism by Amanda Pumphrey

by Feminism and Religion

Originally posted on the Feminism and Religion project

“You look like a lesbian.” “Why do you want to look like a man?” “Hey, boy head!” These were just some of the... more “You look like a lesbian.” “Why do you want to look like a man?” “Hey, boy head!” These were just some of the responses I got from friends and family when I decided to cut off my hair. The gendered connotations that come with how one decides to wear one’s hair are an overarching signifier of the dominant culture’s obsession with normative appearances. Many religious institutions and congregations uphold normative understandings of appearance and dress. Growing up in a conservative town in rural South Georgia and being raised within a Pentecostal tradition came with many challenges regarding gender, sexuality, and dress.

The Bible in two keys: Traditionalism and Evangelical Christianity on the Fort Apache reservation

by M. Eleanor Nevins

Language and Communication 2010, in a special issue entitled "Intertextuality and Misunderstanding"

This article examines contrasting entextualizations of the Bible across conflicting Traditionalist and Evangelical... more This article examines contrasting entextualizations of the Bible across conflicting Traditionalist and Evangelical Christian identities on the Fort Apache reservation in Arizona. On the one hand, each makes use of Apache language idioms and genre precedents to underwrite their respective claims to authentic Apache identities. On the other hand, each selects different components of that loosely shared repertoire of discursive precedents in their entextualizations of the Bible in order to articulate contrasting transformative projects for their community as well as to assert the contemporary relevance of their voices
within differently imagined global orders. This analysis constitutes the local speech community as a locus of ethnolinguistic inquiry in which relations to encompassing social
orders are mediated in part by the circulation of texts. In this process conventions and precedents serve as a reservoir of resources mobilized for use in competing strategies advanced by differently affiliated actors in dialogue with one another. In this way multiplicity and dynamism as a characteristic of local communities is defined as a crucial dimension of local–global discursive processes.

Transformational Tithing: Sacrifice and Reciprocity in a Neo-Pentecostal Church

by Devaka Premawardhana

Published as Devaka Premawardhana, "Transformational Tithing: Sacrifice and Reciprocity in a Neo-Pentecostal Church," Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, Vol. 15, No. 4 (May 2012), pp. 85-109. © 2012 by the Regents of the University of California. Copying and permissions notice: Authorization to copy this content beyond fair use (as specified in Sections 107 and 108 of the U. S. Copyright Law) for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by the Regents of the University of California for libraries and other users, provided that they are registered with and pay the specified fee via Rightslink® on [JSTOR (http://www.jstor.org/r/ucal)] or directly with the Copyright Clearance Center, http://www.copyright.com.

This article examines a controversy surrounding the theology of prosperity associated with neo-Pentecostalism: the... more This article examines a controversy surrounding the theology of prosperity associated with neo-Pentecostalism: the aggressive soliciting of tithes from largely underclass worshippers, and the eagerness of those worshippers to respond beyond what seems financially sound. Drawing on ethnographic research among Cape Verdean immigrants in a Boston branch of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, I argue that a sense of empowerment often accompanies sacrificial tithing. This sense comes through the insertion of worshippers into multiple relations of reciprocity. Those whom I observed submitting to their pastor's calls to tithe should not, therefore, be glibly dismissed as victims of alienation or brainwashing. Their expressions of devotion are active and creative strategies of self-transformation in response to the precariousness of the migrant's life-world.

Etnografando pentecostalismos: três casos para reflexão

by Eva Scheliga

The Adaptability of Pentecostalism: The Fit between Prosperity Theology and Globalized Individualization in a Los Angeles Church

by Gerardo Marti

A main theme in the study of global Pentecostalism is its adaptability to the modern world system; yet, the way in... more A main theme in the study of global Pentecostalism is its adaptability to the modern world system; yet, the way in which adaptability “works” is not well theorized. Hannah Arendt’s analysis of “the private and public realm” and Ulrich Beck’s description of “individualization and selfculture” offer heuristic frameworks for understanding how prosperity theology is well-suited to macro-historical patterns that address the growing individualization of everyday life, especially in relation to uncertain career paths and risk-oriented work structures. Arendt’s and Beck’s theoretical conceptualizations move away from sect-like notions of Pentecostals cultivating a bounded system among the non-Spirit-filled natives. Instead, their theoretical conceptualizations reveal Pentecostalism — especially in its prosperity orientation — to be fully compatible with individualization processes experienced by and demanded from today’s workers. A case study of the ministry of Oasis Christian Center to Hollywood entertainment industry workers illustrates connections between the Prosperity/Word of Faith orientation of the congregation and overarching processes of individualization.

Ritual Water, Ritual Geist: An Application of Narratological Analysis to Luke's Development of Christian Initiation from John the Baptist to Pentecost

by David McCollough

This paper employs narratological analysis, especially focalization, the sequential development of entity... more This paper employs narratological analysis, especially focalization, the sequential development of entity representations and intertextuality, to demonstrate that through Luke 3, 11 and Acts 2, Luke prescribes a liminal ritual complex of initiation composed of four elements: repentance, water baptism, prayer and xenolalic experience understood as Spirit reception. The paper briefly explains focalization (the lens through which a narrator looks at something) and entity representations (ERs, the mental construct of a character, motif, procedure, network of relationships, etc., built up lineally through a narrative). It addresses the intertextual role of Isaiah and Malachi in the formation of the initiation ER, and implications of lukan Sinai imagery.
The paper traces the cumulative development of the initiation ER from John the Baptist’s prophecy of Spirit and fire baptism, to Jesus’ baptism, to Jesus’ teaching on prayer for the Spirit, to Pentecost. Luke’s use of priestly imagery is found to color his portrayal of believers. The Pentecost narrative is shown to redundantly focalize the xenolalia experience, and to identify it for the reader as the Spirit experience prophesied by Joel and promised by Jesus, and to prescribe that same xenolalic experience as a boundary marker obtainable through repentance, water baptism and prayer.
The paper will demonstrate that notwithstanding a strong, undeniable vocational role, narratological analysis indicates Luke subordinates Spirit experience under a broader soteriological heading which can be further refined as initiatory with a liminal aspect, thus ecclesiological.

Religion, Politics and the Election in the Southern Highlands. In R.J. May, Ray Anere, Nicole Haley and Katherine Wheen (eds) Election 2007: The Shift to Limited Preferential Voting in Papua New Guinea. pp. 285-305. Boroko: The National Research Institute and State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program.

by Richard Eves

Christianity, Masculinity and Gender Violence in Papua New Guinea.

by Richard Eves

SSGM Discussion Paper 2012/2.

Más allá del bien y del mal: la Iglesia Universal del Reino de Dios en el Uruguay.

by L. Nicolás Guigou

Autores: L. Nicolás Guigou y Yamila Rovitto

Más allá del bien  y del mal: la Iglesia Universal del Reino de Dios en el Uruguay.
L. Nicolás Guigou y... more Más allá del bien  y del mal: la Iglesia Universal del Reino de Dios en el Uruguay.
L. Nicolás Guigou y Yamila Rovitto
En: Roger Geymonat (Comp.) Las religiones en el Uruguay. Montevideo: La Gotera, 2004.

Ecstasy and the Kinesthetic Body: An Ethnographic Study of Contemporary Pentecostal Worship

by Travis Cooper

Master's Thesis, Missouri State University, May 2011

Keywords: pentecostalism, expressive worship, contemporary music, the body, kinetic motion, trance, cognition, assembly of god, ethnography

One prominent characteristic of historic Pentecostal praxis is lively, ecstatic music. After tracing the roots of... more One prominent characteristic of historic Pentecostal praxis is lively, ecstatic music. After tracing the roots of Pentecostal music and its developments up to the present, this study investigates the production and experience of contemporary worship in Evangel Temple Christian Center, an Assemblies of God congregation in Springfield, Missouri. Using ethnographic interviews and months of detailed field observations, this study traces the internal dynamics of musical expression in terms of evident tensions such as the balance between processes of institutionalization with ecstatic charismatic experiences. Combining research on music, cognition, and materialist theories with firsthand ethnographic data, problematic conceptions of the human body arise. The Pentecostal body is both restrained and expressive, distrusted and celebrated. Evangel Temple is balanced carefully between processes of formalization and charismatic praxis, and due to its implementation of a range of sacred music genres, it caters to all age groups and retains vitality and vibrancy.

The Homosexual as the Antithesis of “Biblical Manhood”? Heteronormativity and Masculinity Politics in Zambian Pentecostal Sermons

by Adriaan van Klinken

Published in Journal of Gender and Religion in Africa, vol. 17 no. 2 (2011), pp. 126-142.

This article offers a critical analysis of a series of sermons entitled Fatherhood in the 21st Century preached in a... more This article offers a critical analysis of a series of sermons entitled Fatherhood in the 21st Century preached in a Zambian Pentecostal church, in which homosexuality is an explicit theme. The sermons are discussed in relation to the broader controversy on homosexuality in African Christianity. While it is often suggested that African Christian leaders actively oppose same-sex relationships to profile themselves in local and global contexts, the case study reveals an additional factor. Homosexuality is also used in the politics of gender, particularly masculinity, within the church. The references to homosexuality in the sermons create a counter-image of the promoted ideal of “biblical manhood”. A stereotypical homosexual was constructed, who represents two of the main concerns about Zambian men: their preoccupation with sexuality and their indifference towards the male role they are to play. This article reveals the heteronormative politics and theology underlying “biblical manhood” and points to the problematic consequences in relation to HIV&AIDS. It also suggests how to interrogate and rethink “biblical manhood” from the perspective of queer theology.

Chapter 5. “How to deal with the Dutch”: the local and the global in the habitus of the saved soul Kim Knibbe

by Kim Knibbe

In: ENCOUNTERS OF BODY AND SOUL IN CONTEMPORARY RELIGIOUS PRACTICES
Anthropological Reflections
Edited by Anna Fedele and Ruy Llera Blanes Berghahn Books 2011

Spirit-shaped mission: a holistic charismatic missiology

by Andy Lord

Review of James Smith, "Thinking in tongues"

by Andy Lord

Published in Expository Times, January 2012

Thinking in Tongues is an engagingly written re-reading of pentecostalism that provides a number of challenging... more Thinking in Tongues is an engagingly written re-reading of pentecostalism that provides a number of challenging contributions to contemporary philosophical debates.

Review of William Vondey, "Beyond Pentecostalism"

by Andy Lord

Expository Times, 2011

In this provocative book, Wolfgang Vondey starts with the crisis of theology that scholars of different traditions see... more In this provocative book, Wolfgang Vondey starts with the crisis of theology that scholars of different traditions see in the late modern world. He feels that Christian theology is too large, divided, rational and abstract to connect God with the pluralistic world that confronts us. What is needed is a global theology that extends contextual theology to the concerns and contexts of a global environment. In articulating such a theology, Pentecostalism is seen as playing a crucial role. Pentecostalism can serve as a catalyst for global theology, particularly in the way it embodies key elements of the current crisis in that it embraces both unity and diversity. In contributing to such future global theology Pentecostalism will have to change as a result, hence the title of “Beyond Pentecostalism.”

Pentecostal Dreaming and Technologies of Governmentality from New Ireland (Papua New Guinea). American Ethnologist 38(4): 758-773.

by Richard Eves

Among the Lelet of central New Ireland (Papua New Guinea), a dramatic increase in Pentecostalist fervor has produced... more Among the Lelet of central New Ireland (Papua New Guinea), a dramatic increase in Pentecostalist fervor has produced significant changes in dreaming. Traditionally, the Lelet have valued dreaming as a means of access to knowledge and power. Now it is seen as a gift bestowed by the Holy Spirit, giving access to new and different forms of knowledge and power. Pentecostalism lays down many rules of conduct for the avoidance of sin, and dreams now play a role in policing them. Drawing on Michel Foucault's work on governmentality, I find that Lelet dreaming acts as a form of self-scrutiny, reminding dreamers of the need to rectify their failures to follow Pentecostal precepts. Beyond this, dreams enable people to address the dilemmas that emerge when they embrace frameworks that impose radically different ways of being in the world than their previous religion did.

" Pray Earnestly": The Textual Construction of Personal Involvement In Pentecostal Prayer and Song

by Robin Shoaps

“They Made a Pentecostal Out of Her: The Church of God (Cleveland) in Australia,” Lucas Evangelical History Journal new series 1 (January 2009): 67-99.

by Glen O'Brien

The Church of God may have had its international headquarters in Cleveland, Tennessee; but its emergence in Australia... more The Church of God may have had its international headquarters in Cleveland, Tennessee; but its emergence in Australia in the 1970s would not be furthered by its American identity so much as by the diversity of its immigrant communities who came to Australia already identifying with the Church of God in their home country. With its origins among the mountain Holiness people of southern Appalachia, the form of red-hot Holiness religion it exhibited was radical enough, but as it moved out beyond the ‘hollers’ it encountered an even more radical strain of Christianity. The Pentecostal ‘blessing’ brought those who had already received the ‘second blessing’ of entire sanctification to an even greater intensity. The ‘baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire’ seemed to bring the conversion and sanctification experiences to their logical fulfillment. For a while, and in its formal doctrinal statements, the Church of God (Cleveland) sought to be both Holiness and Pentecostal. However, as time went on and the non-Wesleyan form of Pentecostalism dominated the religious landscape, it became more difficult for the Church of God to remember its Wesleyan roots. Not wanting to remain aloof from other Christians, but finding Wesleyan churches suspicious of their ‘tongues’ orientation, the Church of God (Cleveland) left its Wesleyan roots left behind, and a Pentecostal orientation was fully embraced.

Simmons, Alfred Langley (1869-1951)

by Mark Hutchinson

Alfred Langley Simmons was a minor figure in early Australian Pentecostalism who, however, is an interesting character... more Alfred Langley Simmons was a minor figure in early Australian Pentecostalism who, however, is an interesting character for the light he throws upon the links between Methodism and early Pentecostalism, and the transference of ideas that these linkages entail. It is normal for scholars to propose that early Pentecostalism was a-statal and otherworldly, ‘evening light saints’ little interested in the passing cultural politics of their time. Simmons, however, was a pro-English imperialist of the first rank, and while he traded his allegiance from the British Empire to the global empire of the Holy Spirit, it is clear that his cultural biases remained. His Pentecostalism was a markedly English foursquare gospel, with no association to American innovations. This affected his denominational attachments, and seemingly the shape of his theology of the Spirit. This is the shorter biographical entry for the Australasian Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements. A longer piece on Simmons will appear in rotation on the Alphacrucis College-hosted 'Pentecostal Heritage Centre' website (http://phc.alphacrucis.edu.au/).

Sermon Responses and Preferences in Pentecostal and Mainline Churches

by Heather Kavan

Co-authored with William Vaughan Jenkins. Attached copy is pre-print version.

While research over the last 30 years has shown that sermons have a minimal
influence on listeners,... more While research over the last 30 years has shown that sermons have a minimal
influence on listeners, denominational differences in sermon effectiveness have
been unexplored. We surveyed Anglican and Elim members (representing
Mainline and Pentecostal Christians respectively) to compare their responses to
sermons, and the sermon features and themes they prefer. The results revealed
higher sermon effectiveness responses from Elim participants. The data also
showed that Anglicans desired significant intellectual content and discussion of
social issues compared with Elim members who gave higher ratings on almost
all other features and themes. However, participants from both churches
responded to sermons in a predominantly emotional (rather than cognitive or
behavioural) way, and most wanted to hear sermons on grace and forgiveness.
We conclude by noting the need for evaluations of sermon effectiveness that
reflect preachers’ and listeners’ motivations.