4E-Charismatic movement Flashcards
(21 cards)
What does charismatic mean
greek word ‘gifts of grace’
Give an introduction to the charismatic movement
Worship in charismatic church includes: speaking in tongues, laying on of hands during eucharist, worship bands
Several lists of ‘spiritual gifts’ in the new testament for example Romans 12- the grace gives us gifts such as prophecy and serving
These gifts are to be shared with others so everyone in church can have deeper relationship with God
Explain Pentecostalism
Set up by Parham- he asked his students to read book of acts and pray they receive the HS
One of his students in 1901 was believed to have spoken in tongues
This group rapidly grew as a result
Explain the development of the charismatic movement
Charismatic movement refers to experience of the gifts of the spirit in churches outside pentecostalism
Spread from the 1960s finding acceptance in RCC and protestant churches
Different emphasis than pentecostal churches eg speaking in tongues is not tied tightly to ones first experience of HS
Movement came to attention in 1960 when Bennet had charismatic experience and introduced to his congregation
Other examples of charismatic experiences eg pentecostal book ‘cross and the switchblade’ in 1963
First CofE congregation declared as charismatic was in 1963
Modern day pentecostal church example- Audacious Manchester
Charismatic movement and the RCC
Initially wary but became more open as accepted some believers wanted ‘renewal’
In 1975 Pope Paul VI welcomed 10,000 charismatic xtians attending a conference
Today the amount of Catholics estimated involved in charismatic movement is 10-15% worldwide
Give 2 other expressions of the charismatic movement
1980’s house church movement, met in homes and formed larger assemblies
Also numbers of festivals and leaders that have been influential such as vineyard churches- 1500 charismatic churches led by Wimber
Give the 4 Implications for christian practice in the experience of believers and Christian communities
1: speaking in tongues
2: prophecy
3: healing
4: inspiration in worship
explain the implication of speaking in tongues
glossolalia is greek terms of peaking in language unknown to the speaker, made possible by the HS- xenolalia, speaking in a known language that one hasn’t consciously learned
In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul speaks of a heavenly language that cannot be understood by anyone without gift of interpretation
explain the implication of prophecy
speaking a message that will bring about greater loyalty to God
In 1 Corinthians 14 paul says prophecies need to be tested, so churches have criteria to discern between true and false
explain the implication of healing
when charismatic christians are gathered they expect that Spirit of God can move to heal believers- prayers for healing involve laying of hands
explain the implication of inspiration in worship
worshippers feel free to move their bodies, raising hands in the air- contemporary music that’s informal
Give 4 Philosophical challenges to charismatic experience
verification
claims for healing
natural explanations
justifiying
Explain the challenge of verification
Charismatic movement seems to point to empirical evidence with tens of millions having miraculous experiences
AJ Ayer said all knowledge must be verified through sense experience
For example claims of xenolalia have never been confirmed by any scientific studies
Most current accounts of speaking in tongues are heavenly languages- however there’s no way to verify a relationship between the interpretation and the relationship
Physical signs to work with but no physical way to prove
Explain the challenge of claims for healing
Some diseases such as multiple sclerosis are known to have symptoms that come and go erratically
Reports of healing that when followed up find patients just as ill or worse off
No scientifically conducted study has yet proven correlation of prayers of healing and actual healing
Charismatics may say a physical healing might not have happened but a psychological one may have- Flew would reject as not falsifiable
Explain the challenge of natural explanations
One explanations may be a cultural phenomenon- eg someone raised in an area of christianity
Psychology and sociology are other explanations
Psychology- we live in a world of anxiety and neediness- some of us may be open to experiences which ease this- Freud viewed as an illusion
Sociology- have needed rules to survive- uses religion to do this- charismatic experience projects our human needs
Explain the challenge of justifying
These people aren’t all lunatics
Can say the brain is involved without saying it originates from the brain- brain plays a role in interpreting- fact happens in different cultures supports Hick that there’s one divine that is ‘refracted’ by different cultures
Experiences are part of cumulative case for God- experiences that bring them joy and confidence to their lives- Swinburne ‘cumulative evidence’
Explain narrative fallacy in reference to charismatic movement
Narrative fallacy= where people find patterns intentionally in events that may have no real connection to each other
Can lead us down wrong paths to try and find meaning when there is non
Give 3 points that agree with ‘The strengths and weaknesses of the charismatic movement’
Popular characterization of traditional xtian worship is shown as dull- need to be in like with joy and excitement like charismatic is
Recognises each christian has a spiritual gift from the HS
Lack of formalisation thats lead to dramatic increase in numbers
Give 3 points that disagree with ‘The strengths and weaknesses of the charismatic movement’
Inaccurate to say non-charismatic churches are overly intellectual and passive
As soon as the church was strong enough, miracles were no longer needed
It suggests those who haven’t had a charismatic experience haven’t had full xtian experience
Give 3 points that agree with ‘a natural explanation for charismatic experiences conflicts with the religious value of the experience’
Claims of healing could have been misinterpretations
Those outside the movement value the role of empirical evidence
Experiences can be explained by cultural sociological and psychological factors
Give 3 points that disagree with ‘a natural explanation for charismatic experiences conflicts with the religious value of the experience’
Christians would say the proof of religious value is in the experience itself
Those in the charismatic movement see their experience as purely religious
There;s nothing irrational about a personal God interacting with his creation
