4E - Religious Identity through Religious Experience

What does 'charismatic' mean?

• Greek word, 'charismata' = 'gifts of grace'
• This is the word Paul used to refer to special qualities that Christians receive through Holy Spirit
- Paul + others were not trying to present a standardised list, but were drawing attention to the different way believers could express God's grace

Give three references of passages that mention spiritual gifts.

• Romans 12:6-8
• 1 Corinthians 12:8-11
• Ephesians 4:11

Passages that scholars believe were written later, such as 1 Peter, do not contain many of the 'miraculous' gifts.
What question could you derive from this?

• Was the C.ch moving towards a more formal, regulated order?
- In early centuries, there was the development of formal leadership and very little evidence of the more miraculous gifts

What Bible passage provides the most extensive discussion of spiritual gifts?

• 1 Corinthians 12-14
- Paul: true purpose of spiritual gifts is to strengthen the body of Christ
- Discouraged a chaotic practice of the gifts where there were multiple and simultaneous displays of tongues/prophecies where all an observer would hear is babbling
- Tongues = more fitting for private worship unless the exp. was interpreted in an orderly fashion
- Most important for Paul = people should seek spiritual gifts in an attitude of love and helpfulness for those around them

Give a quote from M. Cartledge about Pentecostalism.

• "Pentecostals have turned to the narrative of Luke-Acts as the main source of their ideology"
- Miraculous events e.g. outpouring of Holy Spirit on Apostles, mass conversions, healing miracles - should not be seen as part of a past age

When do many scholars trace the beginning of the Pentecostal movement to?

• Charles Fox Parham in Kansas
- One of his students spoke in tongues after reading Acts and praying to receive Holy Spirit
• William James Seymour followed Parham's ministry and formed, in 1906, what quickly became the largest c.ch in Los Angeles
- Seymour worked with an interracial congregation of African-Americans, Mexican-As, European-As

Pentecostal denominations are known for being evangelical in nature.
What four qualities of evangelism does Alistair McGrath note?

1) Scripture = ultimate authority
2) Jesus' death = only source of redemption
3) All people need to have a conversion experience
4) The Christian faith should be shared through evangelism

In what ways are Pentecostal churches different from other evangelical churches?

• Pentecostal c.chs believe there is a 2nd baptism (that of the HS) that takes place after conversion
• Many Ps believe that speaking in tongues = confirmation of receiving this 2nd baptism
• In Pentecostal c.chs, there is a focus on spontaneous worship + healing, and that these are the 'end times'
• Pentecostal c.chs in early 20th C = anti-ecumenical; can be seen in attitudes to RCC, which has been viewed by many Ps as outside of Christianity altogether ∵ of its formalism, hierarchy and worldliness

What does the Charismatic Movement refer to?

• The exp. of the gifts of the spirit in C.chs outside of Pentecostal denominations
• From mid-20th Century onwards, many from traditional denominations experienced speaking in tongues, healing, other gifts described in NT, but decided to remain in their denominations rather than leave them
- Saw their experiences as ways to bring renewal to their denominations rather than leave them
• CM spread quickly from 1960s, finding acceptance in RCC + many Prot. denominations
• Can be described as a 'renewal movement' within c.chs + is sometimes referred to as 'neo-Pentecostalism' ∵ shares many traits with Pentecostal denominations, such as the belief that the gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 = just as valid today

Give a quote from the 1981 Church of England report about the charismatic movement.

• "Is it possible that an institutionalised, intellectualised, formalised practice of Christianity has left a thirst in the inner being which only the springs of charismatic renewal could satisfy?"

Give examples of different emphases between Pentecostalism and the Charismatic Movement.

• Tendency in Pentecostal c.chs to see tongues as initial proof of spirit baptism; in CM, tongues = viewed as a gift to all believers, but not one that necessarily confirms their spiritual exp.
• In CM, less reference to the baptism of the HS as the 2nd part of a two-stage initiation - prefer to speak of "being filled by the Spirit" to emphasise biblical teaching that there is only one baptism

When was the beginning of the Charismatic Movement?

• World attention in 1960 when Dennis Bennet, Episcopalian minister in California, had a charismatic experience and introduced it to his congregation
• First CofE cong. to declare itself as char. = 1963- Soon after, The Fountain Trust = founded to encourage char. worship across denominations in UK

Give some information on the Charismatic Movement in the Roman Catholic Church

• Prior to rise of CM in RCC, Vat. II focused on need for renewal, expressed in Lumen Gentium

• Scholars often cite Feb 1967 as beginning of char. renewal in RCC: tongues at Duquesne University (Catholic uni)

• Cardinal Suenens, a leading voice at Vat. II: "Rather than a movement, charismatic renewal is a moving of the HS which can reach all Christians"

• Movement has been recognised in many sig. ways by RCC:
- 1975: Pope Paul VI welcomed 10,000 char. Christians attending a conference on CM
- 1980: Pope John Paul II appointed char. priest Raniero Cantalamessa as a preacher to the papal household (retains this role for Pope Francis)

• Estimated number of Catholics involved in charismatic renewal = 10-15% of Catholics worldwide (150 million)

What was the fastest growing Christian movement in the UK in the 1980s?

• House Church movement, aka Restorationism
- Char. experiences with strong eschatological emphasis
- Adherents believed they were living in the end times when demonic powers would be overcome

List three things that have been influential in spreading the Charismatic Movement amongst evangelical Christians.

• Toronto Blessing
• Vineyard association of c.chs
• Spring Harvest

What are the four main beliefs/practices of the Charismatic Movement?

• Speaking in tongues
• Prophecy
• Healing
• Inspiration in worship

Give some information on speaking in tongues.

• Glossalia = Greek term to refer to tongues: a human or divine lang. unknown to speaker

• Acts 2: Disciples speaking in human languages they did not know themselves, but other members of international Jewish communities did know

- Known as xenolalia (speaking in a known lang. that one has not consciously learned
- Seems to be diff. from 1 Corinthians 12-14 where Paul speaks in a heavenly lang. that cannot be understood by anyone w/o spiritual gift of interpretation
- 1 Corinth. 14 - Paul makes clear that the lang. = meant for a divine audience ∴ private prayer = primary function; it is permissible in public worship if there is someone who can interpret the message

• Some scholars have tried to reconcile Acts and Corinthians:- Acts ≠ xenolalia, but rather the Apostles were speaking in a heavenly lang., and the HS = giving listeners a miracle of interpretation (minority position as most theologians believe they are two diff. phenomena)

Give some information on prophecy

• In Bible, a prophet = someone who conveys the word of God in a direct way
- Foretelling future, or a message that brings about greater loyalty to God/inc. morality/more worshipful attitude

• Same in CM: a prophecy = exhortation known for its directness that inspires confidence/obedience e.g. 'This is the year you will reclaim your confidence as a believer'

• 1 Corinth. 14:29 - Paul says that prophecies need to be tested ∴ c.chs have criteria to discern true from false prophecy
- e.g. does the prophecy contradict the Bible?; does it recog. that Jesus=God?; is it accepted by c.ch leaders?

Give some information on healing.

• In Mark 16 (although seen by some scholars as added later), when Jesus gave command to spread Gospel across world, said that a no. of signs would accompany their work, like healing
- "they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."
• When char. Christians gather, they expect the Holy Spirit to heal believers
- Can happen through prayers of elders
- Prayers for healing often involve the laying of hands b multiple people
• Healing encompasses physical + psychological + emotional dimensions (e.g. healing of relationships)

Give some information on inspiration in worship.

• Char. services = mood of joyful expectation as to what the Holy Spirit might do
• Move bodies, sway with music, raise hands, clap, dance, link arms
• Contemporary style of music with a 'worship band' using a variety of instruments
- Music used in formal ways such as times of prayer, Eucharist, tongues

What is one of the appeals of the Charismatic Movement?

• It offers an experience of God to Christians who may only have possessed an intellectual relationship with Christianity
- In contrast to mere knowledge about God, char. believers claim to have direct experience of Gods presence

List the set of criteria for accepting claims from charismatic experiences.

1) Do the messages (e.g. prophecy) conform to Bible teachings?
2) Does the exp. produce spiritual fruits? e.g. love, joy, peace
3) Is the message or exp. supportive of the direction set by the leaders of the congregation?
4) Do the experiences affirm that Jesus = Lord, to be esteemed as God and followed?
• The fact that c.chs have tests for char. experiences suggests that sometimes they see them as not coming from God at all, but perhaps from spiritual forces generated by one's own ego

Why is there an issue verifying charismatic experiences?

• Surface level, provide proof - instead of a complicated argument for God's existence, point to empirical evidence: millions of people who have seemingly miraculous experiences with God resulting in healings, tongues which offer inspiring insights

• Ayer: all knowledge outside of formally true statements must be able to be verified through sense experience
- Acts 2 seems to provide such a verifiable experience as the xenolalia = interpreted by others
- However, comes from an ancient religious document without outside confirmation
- No scientific studies have confirmed CM claims for xenolalia

• Most current accounts of tongues are heavenly languages ∴ no way to verify an interpretation ∴ no way to prove the experiences came from God

Why are claims for healing difficult to verify by Ayer's standards?

• When someone experiences a dramatic improvement in health, some Christians might credit the prayers for healing, however:
- Some diseases have symptoms that come/go erratically e.g. multiple sclerosis
- Reports of healing have been found to be false as the patients are still or worse off
- No scientifically conducted study has yet to prove a correlation between prayers for healing and actual healing

• Falsification Principle: cannot falsify emotional / psychological healing
- without ability to falsify claims, science cannot proceed (CM claims that God has healed in response to prayer, but it is not physical)

What is the strongest scientific claim for religious experience?
What is the issue with it?

• Correlation between religious participation and emotional health
- Many scientific studies have demonstrated benefits to religious belonging

• But, are not limited to char. Christianity ∴ does not verify the experiences

• Unreliable ∵ only those in fairly good health can attend c.ch + some religious groups forbid certain behaviours with negative health benefits

∴ while people are emotionally strengthened after receiving prayers, this does not prove God's existence

What are three natural explanations for charismatic experiences?

• Cultural phenomenon
• Psychological
• Sociological
• According to these views, experiences in CM = projections of our human needs / longings / problems
- people have religious experiences ∵ they need to have them, regardless of their ultimate truth-value
- negative tone, viewing those with char. experiences as 'weaker' humans with more psychological + social needs

Give some information about the natural explanation for charismatic experiences: cultural phenomenon.

• Someone raised in a geographical area influenced by Christianity = more likely to have an experience of Jesus than of Allah / Muhammad or Krishna

• Cross-cultural studies have shown that religions other than Christianity have experiences which are similar to tongues

• In cultures where Christianity = more prevalent, tongues = viewed as a sign of Holy Spirit but in other cultures, different understanding of the 'power' behind these experiences
- Does not rule out a transcendent realm, but challenges claims that the origin of these experiences = Christianity

Give some information about the natural explanation for charismatic experiences: psychological.

• We live in a world full of anxiety/neediness ∴ some may be especially open to experiences which ease our anxiety + meet our emotional needs

• Freud: religion = illusion based on primal need for father figure

• Could the absence of relational support make one especially prone to char. experience?

Give some information about the natural explanation for charismatic experiences: sociological.

• Nature + society = so chaotic that humans need rules to survive
- Society uses religion to do this: Emile Durkheim, founder of modern sociology: "God wants us to live this way" can be equated to "Society wants us to live this way"

Give some justification for charismatic experiences.

• These people are not all lunatics
- Sheer no. of people who have char. experiences mean that a broad cross-section of society is involved, from emotionally unstable to healthy and intellectual

• You can say the brain is involved without saying it originates in the brain
- The brain plays a role in interpreting the exp. but the exp. is caused outside of one's brain
- As the experiences happen in different cultures, support's Hick's view that there is one divine reality 'refracted' by different cultures

• These experiences are part of a cumulative case for God
- No scientific proven evidence of the miraculous in the CM, but millions have unusual experiences that bring joy, happiness, positive social benefits
- Swinburne: compelling case for God's existence from the "cumulative evidence"
- When intellectual + experiential arguments are combined, they have evidential force