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3.1 Schisms in the Pentecostal Movement
Answer ONE of the following prompts in a paragraph.
- Consider the idea of Progressive Illumination. Howard Goss, one of the founders of ACOP, wrote “A Pentecostal preacher who did not dig up a new slant on some scripture, or get some new revelation to his heart every so often; one who did not propagate it, defend it, and let it be known that if necessary, he was prepared to lay down his life for it, was considered slow, dull and unspiritual.” Is there some merit to the idea of Progressive Illumination? Do you discern any problems or challenges with it?
- Of the three issues in this video (Only Evidence, Finished Work, New Issue), which side of the theological divides do you find yourself on? Are there any of these issues that you think are of lesser importance than the others?
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17 Replies
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I agree with Only Evidence, Finished Work, I think these two are of lesser importance than New Issue. Major on the Majors doctrinal issue.
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The problem one might have with coming up with a new slant on scripture. Where is your new slant taking you and is it God led. Is it taking you on a road that leads further way from the biblical foundation . Putting pressure on having some new slant might not allow time to hear from God and it be God led. Also, putting pressure on someone not to be boring is okay, but to what point. Does it lead to the person being prideful and all about oneself. Many verses in the bible talk about being humble , this truly is the opposite of that. To be a good speaker yes you must have personality, biblical knowledge but is it Gods heart or your slant.
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Thanks, @KarryMac It is interesting to consider the distinction between seeking to find new ways to describe the timeless truth of scripture well not just creating some new slant outside the boundaries of scripture. It can be very hard as a Bible teacher to do this, but in our day and age being faithful to scripture is probably our most essential task and as you have pointed out, requires a level of humility. One of the best ways we can walk this line well is by staying faithful to our role in the story. See this article for further information.
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In the culture of those days, feeling pressure to find a “new” meaning of scripture seems to be inviting all kinds of rebellion. As a rebel myself, I can relate to wanting to stand up to something and push the boundaries. It would be so easy to neglect the foundational truths and to veer off on a tangent that may or may not be relevant. This would foster a culture of argumentative division. One benefit though, is there was an openness to challenge beliefs, and an expectation that you should be able to defend what you believe and why. We should foster that kind of study without the negative pressure to have to come up with something new and shiny.
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It sounds like the heart of the Progressive Illumination idea was to be receiving scriptural revelation from Holy Spirit in a deeply convicting way. Not a bad desire. It seems that this desire became unbalanced however and what was meant to be relational learning from the scriptures fell under pressure to “produce and perform”. In the expectation to defend revelation there could be an open door to pride as well.
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