Comments on: Pentecostalism’s Forgotten Nonviolent Roots

By: jeffp

jeffp — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 20:09:24 +0000

Picky how?

By: jeffp

jeffp — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:09:24 +0000

Picky how?

By: Joe_Allen_Doty

Joe_Allen_Doty — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:56:00 +0000

Just go to the General Council of the Assemblies of God website at http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/Position_Papers

Go down to the link for the .pdf version of "Homosexuality."

By: Palosaari

Palosaari — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:18:10 +0000

Another bit of pickiness- miltiant refers to how strident and committed you are. MLK was militant, as was Ghandi – and for that matter, Jesus. Military-minded is a different thing altogether.

By: PASTOR JEFF

PASTOR JEFF — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:42:49 +0000

The spiritual warfare I am speaking of is Christian school children memorizing the armor of God complete with skits, choruses that emphasize the spiritual “battles” and books that romanticize and imagine the spiritual warfare in heavenly places such as Frank Peretti's series. I believe language is powerful and influences the impressionable most profoundly. Thank you for a more clear wording re: just war theory. To me, it's all just making excuses for taking matters into our own hands and not following Christ's example. You can probably blame the Baptists for all the demagougery you aptly described as mini-popes. Egalitarianism does lend itself to tyranny.

By: PASTOR JEFF

PASTOR JEFF — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:31:07 +0000

Thank you. Could you reference the paper for me?

By: meurig

meurig — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:58:04 +0000

I feel a need to be picky about terminology here. I am no fan of the just war theory, which has no real biblical roots and was developed by Augustine and others to assist the accommodation of the church to its new position as part of the establishment. However, the criteria set forward in classic just war theory seek to limit and restrict participation in war, not justify any conflict that comes along. I cannot think of a modern conflict that would satisfy all of the classic just war criteria.

What you're referring to, Pastor Jeff, is a theology of “holy war” or “crusade”. Except that instead of a single pope in Rome justifying it seems we now have hundreds of mini-popes, all convinced of their own authority, and equally convinced that God has told them that someone should go out and slay the heathen.

As for spiritual warfare, to me that is a reality. I am in a struggle against evil forces every day. But it is vital to remember, with Paul in Ephesians 6, that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood”.

By: Joe_Allen_Doty

Joe_Allen_Doty — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:54:37 +0000

I discussed the stereotypical language with Dr. Zenas Bicket when he was the head of the doctoral committee of the AG.

When Dr. Bicket was the president of the AG's Evangel University, an education professor who taught psychology, Dr. Brock, had his son come out of the closet. While I never personally knew Dr. Brock, he became a close friend of my parents after he moved back to Tulsa and retired from being an educator and missionary. I did not know Dr. Brock's son personally; but, I had several friends who did.

When we discussed Dr. Brock's son, I prove to him that Steve didn't fit any of the stereotypical language in the paper.

I also told him that the same-gender sexual activity in the book of Leviticus and in the book of Romans was actually done by heterosexuals in pagan fertility rituals. The same-gender sexual activity done in the book of Leviticus was connected with the Canaanite religion. Every time that the word "Sodomite" appears in the KJV Bible, the literal translation of the noun is "holy" as in a holy person in service to a deity. And the contexts where "Sodomite" appears has to do with the religion which started in the country of Canaan.

By: squeaky

squeaky — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:22:22 +0000

Why, yes…yes it is.

Or at least it was until I completely abandoned the “more comments” option out of annoyance and frustration. Now I almost exclusively use the community page.

By: squeaky

squeaky — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:21:04 +0000

Thanks! He told me that he monitors several networks, and this is the first he is hearing of the problem. Apparently he needs to hear from more than just me before he believes it is an issue.

By: letjusticerolldown

letjusticerolldown — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 03:37:47 +0000

What can I do without going on the community page? Almost nothing.

I did send a brief email.

By: PASTOR JEFF

PASTOR JEFF — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 02:27:21 +0000

I think he means one that embraces “just war” theory applied liberally to US global involvement. My suspicion is that this is rooted in the relative poverty and resultant higher military enrollment of it's members. The secondary contributing factor is the increased emphasis on “spiritual warfare” and it's accompanying use of militaristic language/culture (God's Warriors, spiritual armor, etc.). Care to comment Aaron?

By: PASTOR JEFF

PASTOR JEFF — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 02:20:00 +0000

“That paper has a lot of stereotypical language in it and it ignores the fact that all of the scriptures used in the paper to call homosexuality a sin don't have any literal contextual connection to homosexuals.”
Joe_Allen, could you please expand this comment. Thank You

By: PASTOR JEFF

PASTOR JEFF — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 02:11:34 +0000

“Thanks to TV evangelists, the unholy fusion of Christianity, Zionism, and American nationalism is the status quo in most American Pentecostal/charismatic churches — with very few exceptions.”

Thank you for voicing this insight. This ties in with the recent post about the death of evangelicalism.

By: Eric77

Eric77 — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 17:26:55 +0000

Yes, I'm having trouble even clicking on the “more comments” section and getting anything to come up. Is this happening to you squeaky?

By: canucklehead

canucklehead — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 03:42:42 +0000

watch out for those “doctoratal” people, Aaron, worse than jihadists, those boys

By: scat

scat — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 00:37:41 +0000

Thanks for the history lesson. :I would have never guessed that Pentacostals started out as pacifists. Whenever I happen to land on one of their tv broadcasts, they look more like jingoistic war-whoopers. that is why I do not watch their programs.

By: Born Again Bird Watcher

Born Again Bird Watcher — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 21:51:59 +0000

Thanks for sharing this insight into what is a too often overlooked aspect of Pentacostalism. I hope you have a great experience at the conference.

By: 1Grace

1Grace — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 18:40:17 +0000

(this comment was removed before it was even typed out completely)

By: Joe_Allen_Doty

Joe_Allen_Doty — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:45:03 +0000

Mr. Taylor is referring to the "militant Christian" as one who is no longer being an evangelist for Christ Jesus; but, one who has become politically militant.

Quite a few of the Charismatic church pastors who are also televangelists are political militants in that they have started preaching politics from the pulpit instead of Jesus' Gospel.

Many of the Pentecostal/Charismatic church pastors were disappointed when so many of their younger than 30 year olds voted for Barack Obama instead of John McCain.