Christian History articles from May 1998

Christian History archives from May 1998

Did You Know?
May 1, 1998... Little-known or remarkable facts about early Pentecostalism. Recently Life magazine, in listing the top 100 events of the second millennium, put Pentecostalism at 68th. The Dictionary of Christianity in America says that Pentecostalism is...

Letters to the Editor.
May 1, 1998... I contend that in becoming entangled in the political affairs of the Roman Empire, the church actually did not convert that worldly empire at all; rather, the world converted the church into an institution that Jesus never intended. The simple,...

American Pentecost.
May 1, 1998... The story behind the Azusa Street Revival, the most phenomenal event of twentieth-century Christianity. In the early morning of April 18,1906, San Francisco residents were rudely awakened by the deadliest earthquake in North American...

Sanctification Scuffles.
May 1, 1998... Key events and people who've made the movement as unique as it is diverse. Sanctification Scuffles The finished-work controversy was the first blowup in the Pentecostal family. In 1911 as William Durham denounced the "second...

They Had a Dream.
May 1, 1998... Interracial harmony broke down early, but in many quarters, both black and white, the hope did not. The fact that Pentecostalism has two founders---one white (Charles Parham), one black (William Seymour)--did not go unnoticed. It perfectly...

Dividing Over Oneness.
May 1, 1998... The Oneness movement pushed Pentecostals to organize Preach in Jesus' Name, teach in Jesus' Name Heal the sick in his Name; And always proclaim, it was Jesus' Name In which the power came; Baptize in His name, enduring the shame, For there...

Peaceniks.
May 1, 1998... Many early Pentecostals asked, Why go to war when Jesus is on his way? When World War I broke out, most adherents to the fledgling Pentecostal movement stood firmly on the side of pacifism. The movement's leaders, like Frank Bartleman and...

The Silent Pentecostals.
May 1, 1998... Until recently, Latinos have been the most overlooked members of the Pentecostal family. The Azusa Street Revival was noticeably "free of all nationalist feeling," according to one observer. "If a Mexican or a German cannot speak English,...

`They Shall Take Up Serpents'.
May 1, 1998... Few have taken the Bible more literally than George Hensley and the snake handlers. "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and...

The Rise of Pentecostalism.
May 1, 1998... The Christian History Timeline Holiness Root 1867 National Holiness Association forms in Vineland, New Jersey 1879 Isaiah Reed forms the largest holiness association in America, the Iowa Holiness Association 1887 A. B. Simpson...

`Hell-Hatched Free Lovism'.
May 1, 1998... Evangelicals were none too eager to welcome the new Pentecostals. Almost immediately after the birth of Pentecostalism, the branch of Christianity that gave birth to the movement was disowning the offspring. The parent, radical...

Sister.(Pentecostal Aimee Semple McPherson)(includes sermon excerpt)
May 1, 1998... Aimee Semple McPherson was the first Pentecostal to become a national sensation. In the spring of 1913, a 23-year-old Salvation Army lass was rushed to the hospital with appendicitis. Her husband wired her mother that her life hung in the...

Setting the Vision.(early figures in Pentecostal movement)(includes related story on The Assemblies of God)
May 1, 1998... Pentecostalism's early leaders were as varied as they were dynamic. Maria Beulah Woodworth-Etter (1844-1924) Pre-Pentecostal herald of "signs and wonders" Many shouted, others wept with a loud voice," wrote Maria Woodworth-Etter...

Loose the Women.(women leaders in Pentecostal movement)
May 1, 1998... In the early years, it was not unusual to find women preaching, pastoring, and leading denominations. In 1916 Maria B. Woodworth-Etter declared, "God is calling the Marys and the Marthas today all over our land to work in various places in...

The Pentecostal Tradition.
May 1, 1998... A sampling of ecstatic experiences reported in different eras of church history. THE EARLY CHURCH Clement of Rome (died c.96), and Ignatius (c.35-c.107) document the continued operation of spiritual gifts among average Christians. ...

The Rise of Pentecostalism.(Bibliography)
May 1, 1998... Overviews and Surveys One of the main works on Pentecostal history is also one of the easiest reads: Vinson Synan's The Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition: Charismatic Movements in the Twentieth Century (Eerdmans, 1997). This revision of the...

Pentecostalism's Global Language.(Interview)
May 1, 1998... It's not tongues but a different way of being a Christian. AN INTERVIEW WITH WALTER J. HOLLENWEGER Why is Pentecostalism so popular? It is nearly half a billion strong worldwide, and has been and continues to be the fastest growing...