| "Baptism in the Spirit" Requires Serious
Discernment An April meeting in Los Angeles, U.S.A.,
commemorated the first centenary of the Pentecostal Movement.
The chronicles recount that at the beginning of the 20th century, a
group of believers was expelled from the Second Baptist Church of Los
Angeles because of its constant insistence on the need for a spiritual
revival. The search for these revivals, a practice that has been more or
less widespread in Protestant milieus since the advent of Methodism in the
19th century, involved a special kind of prayer and worship which,
stimulated by intense preaching and prayer meetings, often resulted in an
upsurge of religious zeal.
In 1905, instead of breaking up and joining other Christian
communities, this little group of the faithful began to meet in a house on
Bonnie Brae Street, under the direction of William J. Seymour. There a new
Pentecost was preached and they prayed for an outpouring of the Holy
Spirit, just like the one described in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. Acts
2:1-21).1
Historians tell us that news of this initiative spread rapidly across
the city and that many other people joined the group. It soon became
necessary for it to relocate to larger premises on Azusa Street, where the
Apostolic Faith Mission was set up.
The first religious service took place on 14 April 1906. The story says
that it was actually in Azusa Street that a large number of the faithful
experienced the "personal Pentecost", in other words, that spiritual
experience generally recognized as the beginning of Pentecostalism, which
was later to be called "Baptism in the Holy Spirit".
Reactions to this event were varied and conflicting. Those who received
the "anointing" spoke of it as the sovereign touch of God, whereas leaders
of the Protestant and Evangelical Communities kept their distance, fearing
that such an experience could not have solid spiritual and doctrinal
foundations. Especially in light of the manifestations that accompanied
it, they began to doubt the "mental health" of the protagonists.2
Today, 100 years after the events on Azusa Street, there are numerous
Pentecostal groups, either local or part of a real international network.3
No organic institutional unity
Although they all describe themselves as Pentecostal, there are slight
structural differences between them; while three important trends can be
identified, there is no organic institutional unity among them nor a
totally representative world structure.
Many claim, on the other hand, that the spiritual unity which derives
from "Baptism in the Spirit" is a fundamental and sufficient bond.
In addition to the properly Pentecostal denominations (Classical
Pentecostals), Pentecostal groups exist within the various Churches and
Ecclesial Communities: (Denominational Pentecostals, such as the Catholic
Charismatic Renewal); many others define themselves as Nondenominational,
Neo-charismatic and Independent.
To these can be added a long list of groups of a dubious ecclesial and
Christian character that can hardly be called religious but that carry out
activities using Pentecostal forms.
In 2005, it was calculated that there were 500 million Pentecostals.
Certain studies forecast a growth of 2.25 percent in comparison with the
1.23 percent increase in the world population.4
It should be noted that these figures also include Christians who live
Pentecostal spirituality in their own Churches and those who occasionally
come into contact with the Pentecostal reality. Also, there are no
statistics for those who have abandoned Pentecostalism.
During the 100 years of its existence, Pentecostalism has come into
contact with almost all Christian communities, but in different ways, as
we will see later.
In fact, the openness of the first groups who offered the grace of
"Baptism in the Spirit" as a source of spiritual renewal was followed by a
clash in the area of mission due to the rejection by the other Christian
Communities: the Pentecostal certainty of salvation obtained through
"Baptism in the Spirit" and the fear of being found guilty by God for
failing to convert those who say they are Christians (but not
Pentecostals) obviously imbues Pentecostals with missionary zeal.
Pentecostals and Catholics
With regard to Catholics, this Movement, born as a reaction to a "dead
orthodoxy" and a "Christian nominalism", has retained its negative
attitude: the identification of Rome with Babylon, inherited from the
Reformation, has not entirely disappeared.
The situation changed with the recognition of the Pentecostal
experience within the Christian communities and consequently does not make
a change of ecclesial affiliation necessary. Pentecostals recognize bonds
of communion with charismatics: they claim, in fact, that the Holy Spirit
works excellently in those believers who have received "Baptism in the
Spirit" independently of the Church to which they belong. But this
spiritual unity, which has given rise to certain missionary associations
and alliances, does not legitimize Christian Communities as such
Catholics and Pentecostals meet all ever the world and confront each
other everywhere.
Aggression and diffidence have frequently been at the root of their
relations: the desire to convert clouds minds and hearts. Pentecostals
have difficulty in recognizing the saving value of the Catholic Church and
of the sacraments, whereas many Catholics view with suspicion the
proliferation of divine interventions and consider the promises of healing,
prophecies and spiritual gifts as forms of proselytism.
The Catholic-Pentecostal international dialogue began in 1972, it
should be remembered that 40 years ago, Catholics were in the dark about
Pentecostal spirituality and missiology. Nor did the majority of
Pentecostals know of the rich spirituality and missionary vitality of
Catholics. Catholics and Pentecostals were diffident and wary of each
other.
The contact established between them, thanks to the appearance of
Catholic Charismatic Renewal together with the participation of a
Pentecostal leader in the Second Vatican Council,5 made it
possible to initiate a dialogue with several leaders and groups of the
Classical Pentecostals. This dialogue aimed at deepening their knowledge
of each ether and at overcoming reciprocal misunderstandings.
Today, through documents published for the international Catholic
Pentecostal Dialogue,6 Catholics and Pentecostals can recognize
certain confessional traits proper to their dialogue partner and can
understand the basic reasons for some of their attitudes. The process is
far from easy. Indeed, their missiology and expression of spirituality are
not the same, while their approach to theology is radically different.
How does one become Christian?
These differences have emerged even more clearly in the current phase
of dialogue (the fifth, since the beginning of the conversations), which
addressed, in the context of biblical and patristic testimony, the theme
of how one becomes a Christian. Common and complementary points in faith,
conversion, the following of Christ, experience and formation were
identified.
On the other hand, regarding "Baptism in the Spirit", a basic
experience for Pentecostals, doctrinal differences emerged within
Pentecostalism itself, together with the need for a pastoral rethinking,
given that not everyone has had this experience.
Many people consider Pentecostalism as the last fruit of the
Reformation. Its minimal ecclesial structure, missionary zeal, doctrinal
simplicity and openness to the "supernatural", as well as its cultural
flexibility, strong emotional connotation and ability to give rise to
religious experiences, give it a special character of its own.
The urgent need to have and to inspire the vital experience of the Holy
Spirit and the certainty of salvation explain part of its fascination and
success.
In this regard, during the September 2005 Study Seminar organized
jointly in São Paulo by the Pontifical
Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Bishops' Conference of
Brazil,7 Cardinal Walter Kasper presented the Bishops' work,
saying: "A critical examination of our pastoral conscience is urgently
necessary. We must ask ourselves: why are Catholics leaving our Church and
moving to these groups? What is lacking in our parishes? What can we learn
from the pastoral closeness of Pentecostals? What must we avoid?".
Whenever addressing Pentecostalism, it must be remembered that to
Pentecostals, having and awakening religious experiences is essential. The
very fact that the Pentecostal/Charismatic Movement is perceived as a new
and definitive movement of divine origin, a sign of the last times, and
that it presents "Baptism in the Spirit" as "an outpouring of the Holy
Spirit that precedes the coming of Jesus Christ" and is obligatory as such
if one desires to be a Christian, poses serious theological problems for
Catholics.
It is clear to Catholics that the experience known as "Baptism in the
Holy Spirit" (totally distinct from the Sacrament of Baptism) is neither
the loftiest nor fullest form of experience of the Holy Spirit. It is one
experience among others that is a feature of a certain spirituality within
Christianity and demands serious and continuous spiritual and pastoral
discernment on the part of the Church.
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Notes:
1 Cf. The New International Dictionary or Pentecostal and
Charismatic Movements, Grand Rapids, 2001.
2 A description from the press of the time is included in J.
Usma, Catholics and Pentecostals: the breath of the Spirit, in
L'Osservatore Romano Italian edition, n. 20, 26 January 2005.
3 In which, among others, the Assemblies of God, the
Quadrangular Church, the Church of God, the Apostolic Faith Mission
and the Open Standard Bible can be mentioned.
4 D. Barrett. T. Johnson and P. Crossing, Missiometrics
2005: A Global Survey of World Mission, in "International Bulletin of
Mission I". vol. 29. January 2005, p. 29.
5 The leader, David du Plessis, took part as a guest of the
Secretariat for Christian Unity in the third session of the Second Vatican
Council.
6 The two documents most recently published for this
Dialogue are Perspectives on Koinonia (1990) and Evangelization,
Proselytism and Common Witness (1997).
7 Further information on this meeting can be found in: "Study
Seminar organized in Brazil". L'Osservatore Romano Italian
edition, 4 November 2005, p. 4.
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