Student Scholarship
Document Type
Article
Abstract
This paper explores the historical development of Pentecostalism, arguing that the contemporary movement is not a modern innovation but a recurring revival of experiences rooted in the early Christian Church. By examining the antecedents of the movement, the author seeks to provide a bridge of continuity between the original Day of Pentecost and modern practice. The core of Pentecostal identity is defined by a personal experience with the Holy Spirit, specifically characterized by baptism in the Spirit, divine healing, and speaking in tongues. These elements are traced back to the Apostolic Church as recorded in the New Testament, where the outpouring of the Spirit was viewed as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy and a sign of universal salvation.
Historical analysis reveals that while these charismatic gifts were prominent in the first century, they began to decline due to the growth of rigid church structures and the need for the early church to appear rational to a hostile Greco-Roman world. Despite this suppression, the document identifies several significant outbreaks of Pentecostal activity throughout history. These include the Montanist movement of the second century, which reacted against the institutionalization of the church, and various groups during the Protestant Reformation such as the Prophets of Cevennes, the Camisards, and the Jansenists. Each of these movements typically followed a cycle of spiritual fervor followed by accusations of fanaticism or heresy, leading to eventual excommunication or decline.
The nineteenth-century Irvingite movement in England serves as the final major link before the emergence of the modern worldwide charismatic movement. Ultimately, the paper concludes that the history of Pentecostalism is a cyclical narrative where the suppression of spiritual expression by established religious authorities repeatedly gives birth to insurgent movements seeking a return to apostolic simplicity and power.
Research Highlights
The Problem: Many people perceive the contemporary Pentecostal movement as a novel or spontaneous religious fad, ignoring its deep historical roots and recurring manifestations throughout Christian history.
The Method: The researcher examines the historical antecedents of Pentecostalism from the Apostolic Age through the 19th century, analyzing groups like the Montanists, the Prophets of Cevennes, and the Irvingites to establish a bridge of continuity for modern beliefs such as Holy Spirit baptism and glossolalia.
Qualitative Finding: The Pentecostal experience is identified as a recurring phenomenon throughout the history of the Christian Church; historical movements often declined when spontaneous spiritual expression was superseded by rigid ecclesiastical authority or when ecstatic practices degenerated into fanaticism; the movement serves as a renaissance of Apostolic Christianity.
Publication Date
5-1973
Recommended Citation
Spitzmiller, Debbie, "A History of Pentecostalism: Antecedents of the Contemporary Movement" (1973). Student Scholarship. 178.
https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/student-research-papers/178
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
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