The Highway Forums General Discussion ExCharisma Is Pentecostal charismatic

I have no experience with any of this. I knew a few co-workers who went to an AOG church they seem mostly in the evangelical camp, not charismatic. Their spoken theology around me appear similar to what I heard with my SBC friends. Maybe they did practice the charismatic gifts but they gave no indication that they did.

Is there a difference between Pentecostal and Charismatics; and I assume the AOG woud be Pentecostal?

John,

In general, the term Pentecostal is attributed to one of the denominations that officially subscribes to the Pentecostal distinctives, typically including the "second blessing" of the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues. The "orthodox" Pentecostal denominations (Trinitarian but usually dispensational and Arminian) include the Assemblies of God, Church of God (Cleveland, TN), Foursquare Gospel Churches, Church of God in Christ, etc.. Other so-called "oneness" Pentecostal churches such as the United Pentecostal Church deny the doctrine of the Trinity. Among the Trinitarian Pentecostals, there has long been a "conservative" contingent that, though subscribing to the Pentecostal distinctives, tries to avoid the worst excesses of charismatic extremism. If you happen to find yourself in such a Pentecostal church, you might not find much outward difference between it and, say, the mainstream Arminian Baptist church down the road. Obviously such churches are in error if they hold to any kind of continuation of the "gifts", but yet their commendable caution keeps the consequences of their error within bounds.

As for the term "charismatic", it was coined in the 1960's when members of non-Pentecostal churches began to pursue the Pentecostal baptism in the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, etc.. These charismatics chose not to associate themselves with Pentecostal denominations, instead remaining within their current denominations: Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, and so forth. Today, the term charismatic is often associated with local churches that are unaffiliated with a denomination.

Through the 1970's or so, the accountability structure inherent in the Pentecostal denominations tended to guard them from some of the worst excesses, but later on this type of oversight fell by the wayside. For instance, the AoG stood against the aberrant Latter Rain movement of the 1950s, but came out in strong support of the Brownsville "revival" of the 1990s (which was in turn closely related to the Toronto Blessing of that time). Today, plenty of charismatic extremists find pulpits in the AoG and other Pentecostal denominations.

Here on ExCharisma, our firm stance is that the "charismatic" spiritual gifts ceased with the passing of the apostolic age and the completion of Scripture. Thus, we take issue with both Pentecostals and charismatics regarding that issue. However, it seems to me that the fruit of the erroneous Pentecostal/charismatic teaching on the Holy Spirit got much, much worse as people started to try to "renew" non-Pentecostal churches or to set up independent churches. Spiritual accountability is sadly, woefully lacking in charismatic circles, and judging by the rise of extremism in Pentecostal circles, accountability there has suffered a decline since the onset of the charismatic movement of the 1960s.

Dave U.

Dave,

Thanks and I have a follow-up. I thought the Azuza (sp) Revival started the whole movement?

Dave you covered the issue pretty well.
During my time in the Charismatic movement, I attended extreem Charismania churches such as a WoF (Word of Faith)Church to a PAOC (Penticostal Association of Canada) Church that unless you go to a prayer meeting, you probably wouldn't even know they were Charismatic.

Tom

John,

Modern-day Pentecostalism got its start in 1901 through a gentleman named Charles Parham, but the movement didn't start to take off until Azusa Street in 1906.

Dave U.