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Medicine and the Sciences
Share your responses to these questions:
- This course has repeatedly emphasized the centrality of personal testimony in Pentecostal theology. Does emphasizing personal testimony to such an extent, however, mean that we must take care not to lack compassion when another individual does not have the same experience as we do? Comment on this tension with reference to healing and medicine.
- We have all just lived through the largest global pandemic in a century, and indeed are still feeling many of its effects today. In your experience, how have Pentecostals handled this period in our history? How might we better prepare for potential future pandemics?
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1 Reply
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I do think that there is a potential for many Pentecostals, Charismatics in general, really, to develop an inability to comprehend nuance in personal experience, especially with divine healing. WOF and prosperity gospel-style teachings do not help this, in my opinion. God's plan for each of us is not the same. Just because one person has a particular experience with healing does not mean that another person will, but it is so easy for us as humans to latch onto what we want, rather than onto what God's plan is. Sometimes His plan is for us to pass away from this life and onto the next. Sometimes it's for us to endure. Sometimes it's for us to be healed. More often than not, it is a mixture of all of these things. There is hope to be found in every testimony, not just the ones with a "happy ending" by the world's standards, and I think it can be harmful when people begin to expect one as a given. There is a potential for victim-blaming, for shame, and for Biblical untruth if we place too much emphasis on our expectation of God and our legalistic views rather than reminding ourselves that His will is perfect, and it will be done every time, even if we don't understand it.
I was not actually part of the church during the height of the pandemic, so I don't have a great answer for this second part of the question. From what I can tell, my church handled everything with hope and respect, moving to online service when needed and praying for the sick. In general, I think we could all better prepare by really exercising the muscle of faith. It's such a test of our assurance in God when we are hit with something frightening or stressful, and a pandemic is certainly both.
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