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An investigation into the phenomena and practices of spiritual ...

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Azusa Street outpouring in 1906. After Azusa Street fur<strong>the</strong>r Pentecostal groups developednot just in Europe, but also in Hong Kong in 1907 <strong>and</strong> Shanghai in 1910 <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs grewup in <strong>the</strong> East <strong>and</strong> West. As noted in Chapter Four, Black Pentecostalism arrived in Britainduring <strong>the</strong> 1960s <strong>and</strong> 1970s. This was <strong>the</strong> same time as charismatic movements began togrow in mainline denominations in USA, Europe <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r parts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> world (Steel 2005).Although <strong>the</strong> Holy Spirit was manifested in practical terms by <strong>the</strong> outpouring at Pentecost,some <strong>the</strong>ologians see <strong>the</strong> healing brought about by <strong>the</strong> Spirit to be framed in terms <strong>of</strong>freedom <strong>and</strong> salvation from bondage. The manifestation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Holy Spirit is illustrated onmany occasions in <strong>the</strong> Old <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> New Testament which includes <strong>the</strong> appointment <strong>of</strong>elders by Moses to assist his leadership <strong>and</strong> to enable Elisha <strong>and</strong> Elijah to functioncharismatically (Warrington 2008)Christian doctrine underst<strong>and</strong>s <strong>the</strong> Holy Spirit as a divine agent, who brings trans-creation<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> human cosmic liberation <strong>and</strong>, as Richardson <strong>and</strong> Bowden (1999:262) assert, „TheSpirit <strong>of</strong> God is <strong>the</strong> basic source <strong>of</strong> life.‟ Gaunton (1997), Beckford (2000) <strong>and</strong>Warrington (2008), all define <strong>the</strong> „power <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Spirit as <strong>the</strong> ability to reckon withsuperhuman forces, <strong>the</strong> Spirit <strong>of</strong> God being <strong>the</strong> supreme <strong>spiritual</strong> force in <strong>the</strong> Universe‟.Gaunton (1997) discusses many instances <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> operation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Holy Spirit in <strong>the</strong>se tasks<strong>and</strong> responsibilities in <strong>the</strong> Old <strong>and</strong> New Testaments. Muddiman (2001) asserts that in <strong>the</strong>letter to <strong>the</strong> Ephesians, Paul makes reference to <strong>the</strong> Spirit world, beyond <strong>the</strong> world <strong>of</strong>ordinary sense perceptions which should be <strong>the</strong> focus <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> people as a church. Theecclesiology <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Pentecostal church is <strong>of</strong>ten related directly to <strong>the</strong> Spirit. In Easternorthodoxy, Zizioulas (1985) writes about <strong>the</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Holy Spirit as beingconstitutive to <strong>the</strong> church in whatever expression it appears in different cultures <strong>and</strong> times.The church has been instituted by Christ but constituted by <strong>the</strong> Holy Spirit. In <strong>the</strong>160

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