Trinity Western University: TWU Academic Journals

Wilkinson, Michael

Althouse, Peter F.

 
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  3	  (2012)	  i-­‐iv.	  
PENTECOSTALISM	  AS	  LIVED	  RELIGION	  	  MICHAEL	  WILKINSON	  PETER	  ALTHOUSE	  	  
	  The	   scholarly	   study	   of	   religion	   appears	   to	   be	   a	   fairly	  straightforward	   process.	   Researchers	   identify	   those	  who	  practice	  a	  particular	  religion,	  ask	  them	  what	  they	  believe,	   how	   they	   practice	   their	   religion,	   and	   make	  some	  general	  conclusions	  about	  the	   influence	  of	   their	  religion	   in	  society.	  However,	  as	  soon	  as	  graduate	  stu-­‐dents	   and	   even	   some	   seasoned	   researchers	   venture	  into	   the	  study	  of	  a	   religious	  group	  or	   the	  practices	  of	  individuals	  who	  may	   or	  may	   not	   identify	  with	   a	   reli-­‐gious	  group,	   the	   study	   takes	  on	  numerous	   layers	  and	  becomes	   multifaceted.	   This	   is	   troublesome	   for	   those	  who	  want	   “straightforward”	  answers,	   like	   journalists,	  denominational	  leaders,	  and	  politicians.	  	   What	  makes	  religion	  so	  interesting	  is	  the	  diver-­‐sity	  of	  beliefs,	  practices,	  viewpoints,	  and	  assumptions,	  even	   within	   a	   single	   family	   like	   Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	   Christianity.	   Furthermore,	   religions	  change	  over	  time,	  which	  requires	  scholars	  to	  consider	  the	  relationship	  between	  religions	  and	  social	  contexts,	  whether	   they	  are	   local	  as	   in	  a	  neighbourhood	  or	  par-­‐ticular	  community,	  or	  national,	  regional,	  global	  or	  any	  combination	   of	   various	   contexts.	   Religions	   also	   re-­‐spond	   to	   social	   change	   and	   in	   some	   cases	   a	   religious	  
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  ii	  group	   will	   embrace	   or	   endorse	   change	   and	   in	   other	  cases	  will	  reject	  it.	  This,	  however,	  is	  not	  always	  easy	  to	  understand	   because	   while	   some	   denominations,	   for	  example,	  may	  embrace	  cultural	   shifts,	  other	   individu-­‐als	  and	  subgroups	  do	  not.	  We	  have	  not	  even	  begun	  to	  discuss	   the	  popular	  notion	  of	   religion	   among	  Canadi-­‐ans	  as	  “spiritual	  but	  not	  religious”	  that	  has	  led	  some	  to	  refer	   to	   Canada	   as	   “a	   nation	   of	   believers	   not	   be-­‐longers.”	  	   The	  idea	  of	  “lived	  religion”	  comes	  from	  a	  num-­‐ber	  of	  scholars	  working	  through	  these	  issues.1	  For	  ex-­‐ample,	  Meredith	  McGuire	   understands	   through	   years	  of	   research	   that	  religion	   is	  multifaceted	  and	   it	  under-­‐goes	   change	   just	   as	   society	   changes.	   Lived	   religion	   is	  an	   attempt	   to	   get	   at	   the	   “unofficial”	   ways	   in	   which	  people	  practice	   their	   religion.	   It	   is	   also	   an	  attempt	   to	  makes	   sense	   of	   the	   ways	   in	   which	   “official”	   religion	  responds	  to	  the	  “unofficial.”	  Lived	  religion	  investigates	  the	   spectrum	   of	   spirituality,	   experience,	   religiosity,	  individuals,	  and	  identities.	  It	  does	  not	  preclude	  institu-­‐tions	   like	   denominations	   and	   congregations.	   Rather,	  the	  approach	  gives	  attention	  to	  the	  ways	   institutional	  religion	  interacts	  with	  the	  practices	  of	  participants	  in-­‐cluding	  those	  often	  at	  the	  margins	  such	  as	  immigrants	  or	  women,	   or	   those	   issues	   often	   deemed	   too	   contro-­‐versial	  such	  as	  human	  sexuality	  and	  science.	  	  
                                                
1 See Meredith McGuire, Lived Religion: Faith and Practice in Eve-
ryday Life (New York: Oxford, 2008). 
Pentecostalism	  as	  Lived	  Religion	   iii	  	   In	   this	   issue,	   the	   essays	   address	   a	   number	   of	  ways	   in	  which	  Pentecostalism	   is	   a	   “lived	   religion.”	   In	  the	   first	   article	  Peter	  Neumann	  examines	  how	  Pente-­‐costals	  have	  understood	  their	  “experience”	  of	  God	  and	  furthermore,	   how	   that	   understanding	   is	   changing.	  Neumann	  gives	  attention	  to	  the	  ways	   in	  which	  “expe-­‐rience”	  is	  mediated	  through	  theological	  constructs.	  	  Another	  way	  that	  Pentecostalism	  is	  mediated	  is	  through	  congregations.	  Pentecostals,	  especially	  classi-­‐cal	  Pentecostals	  who	  make	  up	  denominations	  such	  as	  the	  Pentecostal	  Assemblies	  of	  Canada,	  value	  congrega-­‐tions	  and	  expend	  much	  energy	  and	  resources	  support-­‐ing	  them.	  Throughout	  the	  twentieth	  century	  the	  PAOC	  	  has	   established	   over	   1,000	   congregations,	   invested	  major	  resources	  into	  their	  operation,	  and	  believes	  they	  are	   central	   to	   religious	   practice.	   However,	   as	   Sam	  Reimer	   demonstrates,	   the	   growth	   of	   PAOC	   congrega-­‐tions	  is	  plateauing	  and	  a	  number	  of	  questions	  are	  now	  being	   asked	   about	   their	   future	   including	   its	   identity,	  vitality	  and	  the	  role	  of	  women.	  Linda	   Ambrose	   writes	   about	   her	   research	   on	  women	   in	   Canadian	   Pentecostal	   history	   and	   raises	  questions	  about	  the	  scholarly	  study	  of	  women.	  Her	  ar-­‐ticle	  focuses	  on	  the	  issues	  of	  gender,	  history,	  and	  Pen-­‐tecostalism.	   Ambrose	   raises	   questions	   that	   are	   per-­‐plexing	   for	   scholars	   especially	   when	   the	   theology	   of	  Pentecostalism	  claims	  liberation	  but	  also	  places	  limits	  on	  women.	  Her	  work	  also	  explores	  methodological	  is-­‐sues	   and	   archival	   resources	   that	   often	   celebrate	  men	  and	  women,	  but	  she	  asks	  how	  trustworthy	  these	  offi-­‐
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  iv	  cial	  reports	  are	  for	  understanding	  the	  lived	  experience	  of	  Pentecostal	  women.	  She	  probes	  the	  tricky	  relation-­‐ship	   that	   researchers	   who	   want	   to	   place	   history	   in	  theoretical	   frameworks	   have	  with	   archivists	  who	   are	  denominational	   gatekeepers	   and	  have	   a	   vested	   inter-­‐ested	  in	  maintaining	  the	  official	  denominational	  histo-­‐ries.	   Finally,	  we	  include	  in	  this	   issue	  review	  articles	  on	  the	  work	  of	  Amos	  Yong	  and	  his	  approach	  to	  Pente-­‐costalism	  and	   science.	  The	   articles	  were	   initially	  pre-­‐sented	  as	  papers	  at	  the	  Center	  for	  Theology	  and	  the	  Natural	   Sciences	   in	   Berkeley,	   California	   November	  2011.	   Yong	   offers	   a	   creative	   response	   that	   illustrates	  how	   Pentecostalism	   is	   attempting	   to	   wrestle	   with	  some	  of	  the	  key	  questions	  from	  the	  field	  of	  science.	  	   These	  essays	  are	   interdisciplinary	   in	   the	  areas	  of	  theology,	  sociology	  and	  gendered	  history.	  They	  offer	  different	   approaches	   to	   the	   scholarly	   study	   of	   Pente-­‐costalism	  as	  a	  “lived	  religion.”	  	  


English

Pentecostalism as Lived Religion

Medina, Néstor

	  
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  3	  (2012)	  159-­‐63.	  
Kevin	  Lewis	  O’Neil,	  City	  of	  God:	  Christian	  Citizenship	  in	  
Postwar	  Guatemala	   (Berkeley:	  University	  of	  California	  Press,	  2010).	  Pp	  xix	  +	  278.	  $24.95.	  	  This	  book	  is	  yet	  another	  contribution	  about	  Guatema-­‐la’s	   socio-­‐political	   and	   economic	   situation,	   and	   reli-­‐gious	   configurations	   since	   the	   end	   of	   the	   civil	   war.	  O’Neil	   examines	   the	   impact	   of	   religious	   affiliation	   on	  citizenship	  construction	  and	   formation.	  He	   focuses	  on	  the	   ways	   Neo-­‐Pentecostals	   in	   Guatemala	   (specifically	  the	  El-­‐Shaddai	  communities)	  respond	  to	  the	  challenge	  of	  citizenship.	  In	  doing	  so,	  he	  counters	  the	  notion	  that	  neo-­‐Pentecostalism	   functions	  as	  a	  neutralizing	  opium,	  preventing	   its	   adherents	   from	   “more	   militant”	   social	  and	  political	  engagement.	  The	  paradox,	  he	  explains,	   is	  that	   neo-­‐Pentecostal	   activities	   display	   systematic,	   in-­‐tentional,	   and	   calculated	   actions	   that	   foster	   the	   for-­‐mation	  of	  citizens,	  while	  at	  the	  same	  time	  limiting	  the	  avenue	  through	  which	  they	  can	  act.	  	  In	  six	  carefully	  delineated	  chapters,	  O’Neil	  looks	  at	  five	  particular	  neo-­‐Pentecostal	  beliefs	  and	  practices	  (cell	   groups,	   spiritual	   warfare,	   fatherhood,	   charity,	  evangelism),	   and	   how	   these	   conspire	   to	   produce	   citi-­‐zens	  and	  function	  as	  cultural	  technologies	  for	  the	  pro-­‐duction	  of	  particular	  kinds	  of	  citizens.	  	  In	  the	  first	  chapter	  O’Neil	  locates	  his	  work	  with-­‐in	  the	  larger	  field	  of	  citizenship	  studies.	  In	  Guatemala,	  he	  claims,	  neo-­‐Pentecostals	  confront	  enormous	  obsta-­‐cles	  due	  to	  the	  destructive	  effects	  of	  the	  prolonged	  civil	  war	   (1954-­‐1996),	   and	   the	   present	   state	   of	   social	   un-­‐rest,	   gang-­‐related	   crime	   and	   violence,	   femicide,	   ex-­‐treme	  poverty,	  and	  unfettered	  racism.	  This	  is	  the	  con-­‐
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  160	  text	   within	   which	   neo-­‐Pentecostalism	   continues	   to	  thrive,	  and	  where	  the	  creation	  of	  specific	  kinds	  of	  citi-­‐zens	   takes	   place.	   O’Neil	   convincingly	   argues	   that	   citi-­‐zenship	  is	  an	  ever-­‐present	  concern	  for	  Guatemalans	  in	  general.	   Drawing	   on	   critical	   cultural	   sources	   (e.g.	  Bakhtin,	  Foucault,	  Arendt,	  and	  Rose)	  he	  shows	  how	  at	  various	   levels	  of	  government,	  popular	  political	   strate-­‐gies	  conspire	  to	  place	  the	  weight	  of	  civic	  responsibility	  upon	   the	   shoulders	   of	   the	   population,	   while	   at	   the	  same	  time	  exempting	  themselves	   from	  addressing	  the	  needs	  of	  the	  populace.	  This	  emphasis	  on	  citizenship	  is	  also	   found	  among	  neo-­‐Pentecostals	  where	  they	  exem-­‐plify	  how	  religious	  faith	  fosters	  civic	  responsibility:	  re-­‐ligious	   faith	   connects	   directly	   with	   building	   a	   better	  country.	  	  In	   the	   second	   chapter,	   O’Neil	   addresses	   El	  Shaddai’s	   cell	   group	   structure.	   Through	   these	   groups	  participants	   keep	   each	   other	   accountable	   by	   fasting,	  prayer,	   and	   conscience	   evaluation.	   They	   exercise	   a	  form	   of	   self-­‐government	   and	   mutual	   policing,	   which	  must	   be	   properly	   recognized	   as	   citizenship	   activity.	  These	  activities	  take	  place	  at	  the	  level	  of	  the	  individual,	  and	  show	  the	  fundamental	  connection	  of	  religious	  affil-­‐iation	  and	  citizen	  engagement	  and	  activity.	  	  Spiritual	  warfare	   is	   the	  topic	   in	   the	  third	  chap-­‐ter,	  which	   is	  viewed	  as	   the	  responsibility	  of	  every	  be-­‐lieving	   Guatemalan	   citizen.	   For	   El-­‐Shaddai	   members,	  street	  gangs,	  rampant	  violence,	  alcoholism,	  and	  spous-­‐al	  abuse	  are	  manifestations	  of	  the	  negative	  destructive	  influence	  of	  evil	  spirits	  across	   the	  nation.	  Mayan	  spir-­‐ituality	   is	   depicted	   as	   having	   diabolical	   influence.	   Be-­‐lievers	  battle	  against	   the	   spiritual	   forces	  of	   evil	   in	  or-­‐
Book	  Reviews	  
	  
	  
161	  der	  to	  create	  the	  conditions	  for	  a	  country	  free	  of	  satan-­‐ic	  influence	  and	  for	  its	  conversion.	  Fatherhood	  and	  its	  connections	  toward	  building	  a	  greater	  Guatemala	  is	  the	  preoccupation	  of	  the	  fourth	  chapter.	  O’Neil	  unmasks	  the	  careful	  inscription	  of	  par-­‐adoxical	   patriarchal	   cultural	   structures	   baptized	   by	  literal	  interpretations	  of	  the	  Bible.	  While	  spousal	  abuse	  is	   rejected,	   the	   submission	   of	   women	   is	   enforced.	  While	  males	  are	  viewed	  as	  the	  authority	  figures	  of	  the	  home,	  women	  are	  keenly	  active	  in	  the	  preservation	  of	  the	  structures.	  The	  present	  state	  of	  national	  disarray	  is	  the	  result	  of	  a	  generation	  of	  males	  who	   failed	   in	   their	  responsibility	   as	   fathers.	   According	   to	   O’Neil,	   neo-­‐Pentecostals	  challenge	  men	  to	  affirm	  their	  responsibil-­‐ities	   over	   their	   homes,	   and	   to	   shoulder	   the	  weight	   of	  the	   entire	   nation.	   Fatherhood	   becomes	   a	   cultural	  mechanism	  of	  control	  at	  the	  level	  of	  citizens.	  	  El	  Shaddai’s	  relation	  to	  the	  indigenous	  people	  is	  the	  subject	  of	  the	  fifth	  chapter	  where	  O’Neil	  focuses	  on	  the	  practice	  of	   charity.	  Charity	  does	  not	  mean	   justice.	  Here,	   it	  means	  the	  preservation	  of	   ideas	  and	  attitudes	  about	  the	  indigenous	  person	  that	  echo	  Spanish	  colonial	  times.	  The	   indigenous	  bear	  a	   long	  history	  of	  discrimi-­‐nation	  and	  racism,	  and	  continue	  to	  be	  portrayed	  as	  un-­‐developed	   and	   uncultured,	   infants	   worthy	   of	   charity.	  Citizenship	   takes	   center	   stage	   as	   evangelization	   is	   ar-­‐ticulated	  as	  crucial	  for	  the	  fulfillment	  of	  their	  civic	  du-­‐ty.	  The	  improvement	  of	  the	  nation	  lays	  in	  their	  ability	  to	  express	   love	   for	   the	   indigenous	  while	  seeking	  their	  conversion.	  In	   his	   final	   chapter,	   O’Neil	   discusses	   world	  evangelism.	  He	  distinguishes	  between	  global	  Christian-­‐
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  162	  ity	   and	   internationalism.	   “Global,”	   he	  writes,	   assumes	  that	  Christianity	   is	  spreading	  everywhere	   in	   the	  same	  way.	   In	   reality,	   Christianity	   is	   spreading	   throughout	  many	  places	   in	  the	  world,	  but	  also	  skips	  many	  others.	  The	   connections	   are	   really	   among	   different	   nations	  where	  neo-­‐Pentecostalism	  is	  an	  expression	  of	  transna-­‐tional	   and	   translocal	   Christianity.	   Guatemalan	   neo-­‐Pentecostals	  do	  not	  dissolve	  national	  differences.	  They	  seek	  to	  change	  the	  world	  by	  changing	  themselves	  and	  their	   country.	   They	   are	   citizens	   of	   the	  world	   because	  they	  are	  citizens	  of	  Guatemala.	  In	   his	   conclusion,	   O’Neil	   expresses	   his	   disap-­‐pointment	   for	   how	  Guatemala’s	   forms	   of	   government	  and	  El-­‐Shaddai	   communities	  undercut	   the	  destructive	  and	   violent	   history	   of	   civil	  war	   and	   indigenous	   geno-­‐cide.	  The	  army,	  which	  carried	  out	  the	  vast	  majority	  of	  the	   violence,	   continues	   to	   be	   the	   model	   for	   militant	  Christian	  living.	  Thus,	  citizenship	  does	  not	  mean	  a	  cri-­‐tique	  of	  the	  present	  social	  structures	  that	  condemn	  the	  majority	  of	  the	  population	  to	  physical	  danger,	  poverty,	  or	  lack	  of	  basic	  necessities.	  	  Several	   problems	   exist	   in	   this	   book,	   however.	  Despite	  O’Neil’s	   skillful	   sensitivity,	   his	   study	   perpetu-­‐ates	  dominant	  Eurocentric	  notions	  of	  citizenship.	  He	  is	  correct	  that	  citizenship	  studies	  must	  take	  seriously	  the	  role	  of	  religion	  in	  the	  formation	  of	  citizens.	  His	  insights	  lose	   force	   as	   he	   ignores	   the	   cultural	   nature	   of	   cell	  groups	   and	   other	   activities,	   and	   how	   these	   provide	   a	  sense	   of	   belonging,	   relationship,	   and	   community	   that	  people	  would	  not	  have	  otherwise.	  He	  gives	  no	  reasons	  why	  people	  feel	  attracted	  to	  neo-­‐Pentecostal	  churches.	  Furthermore,	   he	   does	   not	   identify	   the	   historical	   con-­‐nections	   of	   these	   groups	   to	   classical	   Pentecostalism.	  
Book	  Reviews	  
	  
	  
163	  And	  he	  does	  not	  acknowledge	  the	  profound	  dominance	  of	   U.S.	   evangelical	   cultural	   by	   way	   of	   literature,	   ap-­‐proaches	   to	   liturgy,	   and	  music.	   These	   issues	  must	   be	  addressed	   in	  order	   to	  better	  understand	   the	  develop-­‐ment	   of	   neo-­‐Pentecostalism	   in	   Guatemala	   and	  throughout	  the	  world.	  	  	  Reviewed	  by	  Néstor	  Medina	  
Regent	  University	  	  	  	  	  	  	  


Kevin Lewis O’Neil, City of God: Christian Citizenship in Postwar Guatemala (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010).

Yong, Amos

Speaking in Scientific Tongues: Which Spirit/s, What Interpretations?

Kertson, Brandon

	  	  
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  3	  (2012)	  89-­‐95.	  
PENTECOSTAL	  THEOLOGY	  &	  SCIENCE:	  INTRODUCTION	  TO	  THE	  “SCIENCE	  AND	  SPIRIT	  PANEL	  OF	  PAPERS”	  	  BRANDON	  KERTSON	  	  On	  November	   17,	   2011,	   the	   Center	   for	   Theology	   and	  the	   Natural	   Sciences	   (CTNS)	   hosted	   the	   “Science	   and	  Spirit	   Panel”	   at	   the	   Graduate	   Theological	   Union	   in	  Berkley,	  California.	  The	  session	  was	  a	  look	  at	  the	  place	  of	   pentecostal	   scholarship	   in	   the	   dialogue	   between	  theology	  and	  science.	   In	  this	  ongoing,	   larger	  dialogue,	  recent	   developments	   in	   the	   field	   of	   renewal	   studies	  have	  helped	  pentecostal	  scholarship	  find	  its	  voice	  and	  place.	  These	  advances	  have	  opened	  up	  possibilities	  for	  the	  interface	  between	  science	  and	  pentecostal	  theolo-­‐gy,	  especially	  new	  avenues	  involving	  pneumatological	  perspectives.	  A	  major	  impetus	  in	  this	  burgeoning	  con-­‐versation	  has	  been	  the	  recent	  research	  initiative	  fund-­‐ed	   by	   the	   John	   Templeton	   Foundation	   from	   2005-­‐2009:	  “Science	  and	  the	  Spirit:	  Pentecostal	  Perspectives	  on	   the	   Science/Religion	  Dialogue.”	   Two	   recent	   books	  prominent	   in	   the	  discussion	   are	   the	   volume	   that	  was	  the	  direct	  result	  of	  this	  initiative,	  edited	  by	  James	  K.	  A.	  Smith	  and	  Amos	  Yong,	  Science	  and	  the	  Spirit:	  Pentecos-­‐
tal	  Engagements	  with	   the	  Sciences	  (Indiana	  University	  Press,	  2010),	   and	  a	  monograph	   that	  was	  an	   initiative	  by-­‐product	  by	  Yong,	  The	  Spirit	  of	  Creation:	  Modern	  Sci-­‐
ence	   and	   Divine	   Action	   in	   the	   Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  
Imagination	  (Eerdmans,	   2011).	   The	   agenda	   of	   the	  CTNS	   event	   involved	   reviews	   of	   these	   books	   by	   four	  scholars	  prominent	  in	  the	  theology-­‐and-­‐science	  ente
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  
	  
90	  prise	  followed	  by	  a	  rejoinder	  from	  Yong.	  For	  the	  CJPC	  audience,	   we	  will	   introduce	   Yong	   and	   his	   two	   books	  and	  summarize	  the	  event	  and	  discussion.	  Amos	  Yong	   is	   J.	  Rodman	  Williams	  Professor	  of	  Theology	   at	   Regent	   University	   School	   of	   Divinity	   in	  Virginia	   Beach,	   Virginia.	   His	   graduate	   education	   in-­‐cludes	  degrees	  in	  theology,	  history,	  and	  religious	  stud-­‐ies	  from	  Western	  Evangelical	  Seminary,	  Portland	  State	  University,	   and	  Boston	  University,	   and	  an	  undergrad-­‐uate	  degree	  from	  Bethany	  University.	  He	  has	  authored	  or	  edited	  over	  a	  dozen	  volumes.	  Other	  books	  appear-­‐ing	   in	   2011	   include	  Afro-­‐Pentecostalism:	   Black	   Pente-­‐
costal	  and	  Charismatic	  Christianity	   in	  History	  and	  Cul-­‐
ture	  (New	  York	  University	  Press),	  Who	  is	  the	  Holy	  Spir-­‐
it:	  The	  Acts	  of	  the	  Spirit,	  the	  Apostles,	  and	  Empire	  (Par-­‐aclete	  Press),	  and	  The	  Bible,	  Disability,	  and	  the	  Church:	  
A	  New	  Vision	  of	  the	  People	  of	  God	  (Eerdmans).	  Beyond	  these	  accomplishments,	  he	  is	  widely	  recognized	  as	  one	  of	   the	   premier	   and	   pioneering	   pentecostal	   scholars	  able	  to	  speak	  on	  behalf	  of	  a	  pentecostal	  tradition.	  Pen-­‐tecostalism,	   according	   to	   respondent	   Thomas	   Oord’s,	  is	   “one	  of,	   if	  not	   the,	  most	  exciting	  conversation	  part-­‐ners	  in	  the	  science-­‐and-­‐religion	  dialogue.”	  	  Yong,	  along	  with	   James	  K.A.	  Smith	   (Calvin	  Col-­‐lege),	  served	  as	  editor	  for	  Science	  and	  the	  Spirit,	  a	  basic	  primer	   for	   possible	   pentecostal	   contributions	   to	   the	  science-­‐and-­‐theology	  dialogue.	  The	  volume	  is	  made	  of	  up	  of	   ten	  chapters,	  each	  written	  by	  a	  different,	  recog-­‐nized	   pentecostal	   scholar.	   Each	   chapter	   attempts	   to	  answer	   a	   different	   pressing	   question	   at	   the	   intersec-­‐tion	   of	   a	   pentecostal	   worldview	   and	   contemporary	  science	   from	   a	   uniquely	   pentecostal	   perspective.	   The	  first	  part,	  (chapters	  1-­‐3)	  offers	  reflection	  on	  the	  over-­‐
Brandon	  Kertson	  
	  
91	  arching	   theological,	   philosophical,	   and	   cosmological	  issues	  raised	  in	  the	  encounter.	  The	  second	  set	  of	  arti-­‐cles	   (chapters	   4-­‐7)	   focuses	   on	   interaction	   with	   the	  natural	   sciences	   (physics,	   biology,	   neuroscience,	   and	  chemistry),	  while	   those	   in	  part	   three	   (chapters	  8-­‐10)	  deal	   with	   the	   human	   and	   technological	   sciences	   (an-­‐thropology,	   sociology,	   and	   technology).	   Each	   of	   the	  chapters	   begins	   with	   a	   biographical	   vignette,	   which	  provides	  space	  for	  registering	  the	  testimony	  so	  central	  to	  pentecostal	  spirituality	  in	  this	  engagement	  with	  the	  sciences,	   and	  proceeds	   to	  engage	   fundamental	   issues.	  On	  the	  one	  hand,	  the	  contributors	  bring	  scientific	  per-­‐spectives	   to	   bear	   on	   pentecostal	   Christianity,	   but	   on	  the	   other	   hand,	   pentecostal	   perspectives	   are	   also	  shown	  as	  making	  a	  difference	  in	  the	  theology	  and	  sci-­‐ence	  dialogue.	  Since	  the	  responders	  focused	  mainly	  on	  Yong’s	  chapter	   entitled	   “How	  Does	   God	   Do	  What	   He	   Does?”	  (chapter	   3)	   I	   will	   also	   summarize	   this	   chapter.	   Yong	  presents	   a	   new	   reading	   of	   many	   tongues	   as	   repre-­‐sentative	   of	   the	   various	   scientific	   disciplines	   even	   as	  he	   seeks	   to	   develop	   a	   pentecostal	   theology	   of	   God’s	  activity	  in	  light	  of	  historical	  Christian	  theologies	  of	  di-­‐vine	  action.	  While	  part	  of	  the	  essay	  explores	  the	  more	  recent	   attempts	   to	   find	  God	  within	   the	   gaps	   of	   quan-­‐tum	  mechanics	  and	  chaos	  theories,	  he	  also	  formulates	  a	   teleological	   notion	   of	   divine	   action,	   which	   he	   then	  correlates	  with	  a	  pentecostal	  account	  of	  eschatological	  divine	   action.	   The	   result	   is	   a	   constructive	   pneumato-­‐logical	  theology	  of	  divine	  action	  that	  attempts,	  through	  the	  eyes	  of	  faith,	  to	  see	  the	  Spirit	  as	  the	  one	  moving	  the	  world	  toward	  its	  eschatological	  goal.	  This	   language	  of	  faith,	   however,	   does	   not	   displace	   science,	   but	   can	   be	  
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  
	  
92	  mapped	  onto	  science	  and	  its	  presuppositions,	  hypoth-­‐eses,	  and	  interpretations.	  Yong’s	  monograph,	  The	  Spirit	  of	  Creation,	  seeks	  to	  bring	  pentecostal	  Christianity	  and	   its	   robust	  pneu-­‐matology	   into	   conversation	   with	   the	   scientific	   disci-­‐plines.	   In	  particular,	   it	  develops	   the	  pioneering	  meth-­‐odology	  and	  constructive	  proposals	  in	  the	  earlier	  book	  chapter.	  The	  book	  begins	  with	  a	  sketch	  of	  the	  past	  re-­‐lationship	  and	  conversation	  between	  science	  and	  pen-­‐tecostalism,	  for	  instance,	  overviewing	  research	  on	  the	  charismatic	   practice	   of	   glossolalia	   from	   a	   variety	   of	  disciplines	   including	   sociology,	   psychology,	   and	   neu-­‐roscience.	   This	   enables	   a	  more	   robust	   articulation	   of	  the	  metaphor	  of	  many	  tongues	  as	  providing	  a	  theolog-­‐ical	   perspective	   on	   interdisciplinary	   inquiry.	   Yong	  then	  proceeds	  to	  deal	  with	  some	  of	  the	  major	  issues	  at	  the	   interface	   of	   the	   pentecostal	   theology	   and	   science	  dialogue	   including	   natural	   laws	   and	  what	   they	  mean	  for	   divine-­‐human	   interaction,	   evolution,	   the	   idea	   of	   a	  spirit-­‐filled	   creation,	   and	   overcoming	   naturalistic	   re-­‐ductionism	   as	   well	   as	   material-­‐spiritual	   bifurcations	  that	  occur	  on	  both	  sides.	  The	  constructive	  thrust	  of	  the	  volume	   unfolds	   his	   pneumatological	   and	   eschatologi-­‐cal	   theology	   of	   divine	   action.	   Yong	   concludes	   with	   a	  chapter	  on	  a	  spirit-­‐filled	  world	  (inhabited	  or	  populat-­‐ed	  by	  both	  good	  and	  bad	  spirits)	  in	  dialogue	  with	  par-­‐apsychology	   and	   elaborates	   a	   number	   of	   speculative	  theses	   about	   the	   universe	   that	   can	   further	   foster	   re-­‐search	   and	  dialogue	  between	  pentecostalism	  and	   sci-­‐ence.	   Having	   given	   a	   brief	   overview	   of	   the	   major	  themes	  in	  Yong’s	  two	  works,	  we	  turn	  to	  a	  summation	  of	   the	  discussion	  at	   the	  CTNS	  event.	  Overall,	   the	   tone	  
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93	  of	   the	  evening	   from	   the	   respondents	   and	   those	   in	   at-­‐tendance	  was	  one	  of	   amicability	  and	  appreciation	   for	  the	   work	   that	   Yong	   has	   done	   and	   the	   direction	   in	  which	   the	  dialogue	   is	  headed.	  All	   four	  of	   the	  present-­‐ers	  affirmed	  the	  potential	  of	  a	  mutually	  enriching	  con-­‐versation	  in	  which	  pentecostalism	  can	  learn	  from	  sci-­‐ence	   and	   also	   be	   a	   contributor.	   Since	   their	   contribu-­‐tions	  to	  the	  discussion	  are	  contained	  in	  the	  articles	  fol-­‐lowing	   this	   introduction,	   I	  will	   briefly	   summarize	   the	  conversation	   that	   ensued	   after	   the	   presentations.	  While	  a	  number	  of	  comments	  were	  made,	  three	  exam-­‐ples	  are	  representative	  of	  the	  exchange	  in	  response	  to	  the	   presentations	   and	   the	   ideas	   posed	   by	   Yong’s	  books.	  The	   initial	   comment	   was	   posed	   Robert	   John	  Russell,	   founder	  and	  director	  of	  the	  CTNS	  and	  profes-­‐sor	   of	   science	   and	   theology	   at	   Graduate	   Theological	  Union	  (GTU)	  who	  has	  been	  at	  the	  vanguard	  of	  the	  the-­‐ology	   and	   science	   interchange	   over	   the	   last	   thirty	  years.	  From	  his	  broad	  base	  of	  knowledge,	  Russell	  was	  very	  affirmative	  of	  Yong	  and	  the	  pentecostal	  project	  he	  represents.	   For	   instance,	   he	   was	   in	   agreement	   with	  Yong’s	   desire	   to	   speak	   about	   disembodied	   beings	  within	   the	   theology-­‐and-­‐science	  discussion.	  However,	  he	  pushed	  back	  on	  what	  he	   took	   to	  be	  Yong’s	  overall	  understanding	  on	  the	  achievements,	  or	  lack	  thereof,	  of	  the	  divine	  action	  project	  as	  articulated	  in	  The	  Spirit	  of	  
Creation	   (to	   which	   Yong	   responded	   that	   he	   would	  need	  to	  revisit	  that	  issue	  in	  light	  of	  Russell’s	  more	  re-­‐cent	   contributions).	   Further,	   Russell	  was	   not	   as	   opti-­‐mistic	   about	   Yong’s	   use	   of	   emergence	   theory	   –	   nor	  about	   Joshua	   Moritz’s	   (the	   second	   responder)	   pro-­‐posal	   to	   develop	   information	   theory	   –	   for	   thinking	  
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  
	  
94	  about	  the	  eschatological	  issues	  relevant	  to	  the	  theolo-­‐gy-­‐and-­‐science	  dialogue.	  So	  while	  supporting	  the	  pen-­‐tecostal	  theology-­‐and-­‐science	  research	  project,	  he	  saw	  a	  need	  to	  continue	  to	   test	  new	  hypotheses	  and	  meth-­‐ods	  through	  which	  to	  engage	  the	  issues.	  	  A	   second	   response	   representative	   of	   the	   con-­‐versation	  was	   from	  a	  physicist	   from	  the	  University	  of	  Berkley	   who	   had	   little	   background	   in	   the	   theology-­‐and-­‐science	  interaction	  (the	  event	  was	  advertised	  and	  open	  to	  locals	  in	  the	  Berkeley	  area).	  From	  his	  perspec-­‐tive,	   as	   a	   self-­‐professed	   spiritual	   person,	   the	   whole	  task	   of	   pentecostalism	   and	   its	   engagement	   with	   the	  sciences	  was	   timely	  and	  worthwhile.	   In	  particular,	  he	  appreciated	   the	   types	   of	   questions	   that	   were	   being	  prompted	   and	   asked	   in	   this	   discussion,	   especially	  since	  these	  were	  questions	  that	  were	  not	  being	  posed	  within	  his	  own	  circles	  of	  scientists.	  Still	  these	  were	  is-­‐sues	   that	   needed	   to	   be	   broached	   and	   perhaps	   they	  have	  finally	  found	  a	  forum.	  Finally,	   from	   the	  other	   side	  of	   the	   spectrum,	   a	  comment	  was	  made	  by	  a	  GTU	  student	  who	  had	  a	  back-­‐ground	   in	   theology	   but	   not	   in	   the	   sciences.	  He	  was	   a	  self-­‐professed	   evangelical	   going	   to	   school	   in	   an	   envi-­‐ronment	  with	  few	  other	  evangelicals,	  and	  who	  had	  not	  yet	  been	  a	  part	  of	  such	  conversations	  in	  his	  GTU	  expe-­‐rience.	  More	  precisely,	  he	  had	  not	  encountered	  arenas	  that	  allowed	  for	  interactions	  on	  such	  topics	  in	  the	  wel-­‐coming	  manner	  he	  had	  experienced	  that	  evening.	  The	  introduction	   he	   received	   to	   Yong’s	   work	   that	   night	  represented	   the	  possibility	  of	  greater	  dialogue	  across	  the	  two	  worlds	  he	  inhabited	  than	  he	  had	  realized	  was	  possible	  prior	  to	  the	  event.	  
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95	  	   These	  comments,	  as	  well	  as	  the	  following	  writ-­‐ten	  responses	  to	  Yong’s	  work	  by	  Thomas	  Oord,	  Joshua	  Moritz,	  Craig	  Boyd,	  and	  LeRon	  Shults	  reflect	  a	  genuine	  interest	   in	   the	   thoughts	   that	  one,	  unabashedly	  Pente-­‐costal	   scholar	   has	   presented	   in	   an	   attempt	   to	   give	  voice	  to	  Pentecostal-­‐charismatic	  experience	  within	  the	  wider	   academy.	   There	   is,	   of	   course,	   an	   array	   of	   re-­‐sponses	  to	  the	  issues	  raised	  by	  Yong’s	  work.	  There	  will	  always	  be	  agreements,	  disagreements,	  and	  even	  some	  misunderstandings.	  The	   future	  will	  be	  bright,	  howev-­‐er,	   if	  Pentecostal-­‐charismatic	  scholars	  continue	  to	  en-­‐gage	   in	   the	   larger	  discussions	   taking	  place	  within	   the	  academy	  and	  do	  so	  with	  the	  excellence	  and	  yet	  humble	  provisionality	   as	   seen	   in	   Science	   and	   the	   Spirit,	   The	  
Spirit	  and	  Creation,	  and	  the	  exchange	  that	  follows.	  


Pentecostal Theology & Science: Introduction to the “Science and Spirit Panel of Papers”

Conteh, Prince Sorie

	  
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  3	  (2012)	  144-­‐46.	  
Frieder	   Ludwig	   and	   J.	   Kwabena	   Asamoah-­‐Gyadu,	   eds.	  
African	   Christian	   Presence	   in	   the	  West:	   New	   Immigrant	  
Congregations	   and	   Transnational	   Networks	   in	   North	  
America	  and	  Europe.	   (Trenton,	  NJ:	  African	  World	  Press,	  2011).	  	  This	   interdisciplinary	   volume	   on	   transitional	   dynamics	  in	  African	  Christianity	  is	  a	  product	  of	  a	  Conference	  held	  at	  Luther	  Seminary	  in	  St.	  Paul	  Minnesota,	  USA	  from	  23rd	  to	  25th	  March	  2007.	  It	  is	  about	  the	  African	  Christian	  im-­‐migrants’	   experiences	   in	   establishing	   religious	   commu-­‐nities	   in	  Western	  cultures.	  The	  original	   intention	  of	   the	  Conference	   was	   to	   discover	   “what	   African	   immigrant	  churches	  are	  doing	  religiously	   in	  the	  United	  States,	  and	  what	  manner	  of	  religious	  institutions	  they	  are	  develop-­‐ing	   by,	   and	   for	   themselves”	   (Ludwig	   and	   Asamoah-­‐Gyadu	  2011,	  ix).	  Its	  scope	  was	  broadened	  to	  include	  Eu-­‐rope	   as	   a	   result	   of	   the	   valuable	   contributions	   and	   dis-­‐cussions	  pertaining	  Europe	  that	  ensued	  during	  the	  Con-­‐ference.	  	   The	  contributors	  are	  from	  Africa,	  North	  America	  and	   Europe	   with	   varied	   academic	   and	   professional	  backgrounds	   and	   experiences,	   which	   give	   the	   reader	  credible	   information	   and	   well-­‐informed	   knowledge	  about	  the	  development	  and	  sustenance	  of	  African	  Chris-­‐tian	  Churches	  and	  institutions	  in	  North	  America	  and	  Eu-­‐rope.	  	   Religion	   for	   many	   Africans	   is	   a	   way	   of	   life	   and	  this	   is	   true	   of	   the	   African	   Christians	   in	   this	   study	  who	  represent	   the	   four	   denominational	   Christian	   groups	   –	  Roman	   Catholics,	   Protestants,	   Orthodox	   and	   neo-­‐Protestants.	   These	   Christians	   did	   not	   abandon	   their	  
Book	  Reviews	  
	  
	  
145	  brands	   of	   Christianity	   at	   the	   ports	   of	   entry	   into	   North	  America	   and	  Europe.	  They	  migrated	  with	   their	  Christi-­‐anity	  and	  maintain	  it	  as	  a	  viaduct	  between	  their	  old	  and	  new	   countries	   and	   cultures.	   Partly	   through	   their	   reli-­‐gion,	   the	   Africans	   are	   recreating	   and	   modeling	   them-­‐selves	   in	   the	  West.	   Religion	   is	   crucial	   to	   surviving	   the	  existential	  realities	  and	  coping	  with	  challenges	  of	  living	  in	  North	  America	  and	  Europe.	  The	  immigration	  congre-­‐gations	  under	   study	  continue	   to	  provide	  a	   sense	  of	  be-­‐longing	  and	  spiritual	  resources	   for	  a	  civilization	  rooted	  in	  African	  cosmologies.	  	  Migration	   today	   accounts	   for	   the	   movement	   of	  people	   in	   the	   world.	   In	   the	   Introduction,	   the	   editors	  rightly	  attribute	  the	  presence	  of	  Africans	  in	  the	  West	  to	  migration.	  This	  outcome	  is	  supported	  by	  research	  done	  by	   migration	   and	   immigration	   professionals,	   scholars,	  institutions	  and	  studies	   in	   the	  West.	  Gone	  are	   the	  days	  when	   migration	   was	   hugely	   from	   developed	   Western	  countries	   to	   developing	   non-­‐Western	   countries.	   Today	  the	   trend	   is	   the	   reverse;	  migration	   is	  mainly	  now	   from	  developing	   non-­‐Western	   countries	   to	  Western	   civiliza-­‐tion.	   Africans	   contribute	   largely	   to	   this	  movement.	   Im-­‐migrants	  from	  these	  weak	  economies,	  welfare	  and	  social	  structures	   are	   moving	   to	   the	   West	   in	   search	   of	   socio-­‐economic	   prosperity,	   political	   stability	   and	   religious	  freedom.	  It	   is	   the	   thesis	   of	   the	   authors	   that:	   “Since	   immi-­‐grants	   frequently	   react	   to	   the	   alienation	   and	   confusion	  that	   result	   from	   their	   uprootedness	   in	   religious	   terms,	  studies	  on	  migration	  experiences	  and	  of	   the	  process	  of	  adaptation	   of	   religious	   communities	   to	   new	   environ-­‐ments	   are	   important	   issues.”	   The	   authors	   are	   recom-­‐
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  146	  mended	   for	   putting	   together	   works	   that	   support	   this	  thesis.	  Like	   any	   well-­‐written	   edited	   work,	   the	   editors	  provided	  readers	  with	  helpful	  synopses	  of	  the	  chapters.	  The	   book’s	   twenty-­‐three	   chapters	   are	   categorized	   into	  five	  thematic	  parts	  as	  follows:	  Part	  1,	  “The	  African	  Chris-­‐tian	  Presence	  in	  the	  West	  and	  Discourses	  on	  Migration”	  contains	   four	   chapters.	   Part	   II,	   “North	   American	   Case	  Studies”	  has	  six	  chapters.	  Part	  III,	  “Comparisons	  and	  In-­‐teractions”	   is	   a	   composition	   of	   four	   chapters.	   Part	   IV,	  “European	   Case	   Studies”	   is	   made	   up	   of	   five	   chapters.	  Part	  V,	   “Migration	  Theologies	  and	  Theologies	  of	  Migra-­‐tion”	   has	   four	   chapters.	   The	   four	   Appendices	   are	   in-­‐formative	  and	  helpful	  that	  should	  not	  be	  ignored.	  Not	  every	  African	   immigrant	  church	   in	  the	  West	  is	  considered	  in	  this	  study,	  which	  is	  quite	  understanda-­‐ble,	  but	  what	  it	  presents	  is	  adequate,	  first	  of	  its	  kind	  and	  helpful	   in	   understanding	   how	   African	   Christians	   are	  singing	   the	   “Lord’s	   song	   in	   a	   foreign	   land”	   and	   partici-­‐pating	  in	  the	  socio-­‐economic	  development	  of	  the	  West.	  	  This	   is	   the	   perfect	   book	   for	   studies	   in	   African	  Christianity,	  African	  and	  American	  studies,	  Religions	   in	  American	   and	   European,	   Religious	   emigration	   and	   im-­‐migration.	  I	  recommend	  it	  for	  students,	  faculty,	  scholars,	  researchers	  and	  pastors.	  
	  Reviewed	  by	  Prince	  S.	  Conteh	  
All	  Nations	  University,	  Koforidua,	  Ghana	  and	  the	  Universi-­‐
ty	  of	  South	  Africa	  


Frieder Ludwig and J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, eds. African Christian Presence in the West: New Immigrant Congregations and Transnational Networks in North America and Europe. (Trenton, NJ: African World Press, 2011).

Boyd, Craig

 
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  3	  (2012)	  102-­‐07.	  
AMOS	  YONG’S	  PENTECOSTAL	  THOMISM	  	  CRAIG	  A.	  BOYD	  	  In	  responding	  to	  Amos	  Yong’s	  provocative	  and	  engaging	  works	  I	  fear	  that	  the	  Thomistic	  principle	  of	  double-­‐effect	  may	   apply.	   That	   is,	   I	   intend	   to	   juxtapose	   central	   ele-­‐ments	  of	  Yong’s	  work	  on	  divine	  causation	  –	  specifically	  his	   account	   of	   eschatological	   divine	   causation	   and	   his	  notion	  of	  pneumatological	  theology	  –	  with	  certain	  (often	  misunderstood)	   elements	   of	   Thomistic	   metaphysics.	  The	  unintended	  effect	  –or	  at	  least	  the	  secondary	  effect	  –	  of	  this	  will	  be	  to	  irritate	  my	  colleagues	  (especially	  LeRon	  Shults	   and	   Tom	   Oord)	   by	   reintroducing	   that	   most	   un-­‐welcome	  of	  philosophical	  guests,	  Aristotle.	  	   What	  I	  contend	  is	  that	  there	  are	  at	  least	  two	  ele-­‐ments	  of	  “consonance”	  between	  Yong’s	  account	  of	  divine	  causation	  and	  Aquinas’s	  that	  warrant	  serious	  considera-­‐tion.	  In	  fact,	  Yong	  explicitly	  appeals	  to	  Aristotle	  when	  he	  contends	  that	  we	  should	  reintroduce	  teleology	  into	  our	  causal	   explanations	   (“How	   Does	   God	   Do	   What	   God	  Does?”62).	  Those	  elements	  are	   (1)	   the	  primacy	  of	   tele-­‐ology	   and	   (2)	   a	   “participatory”	   understanding	   of	   crea-­‐turely	   action	   within	   the	   divine	   order.	   There	   are,	   of	  course,	  significant	  differences.	  For	  example,	  Yong	  advo-­‐cates	   for	  a	   libertarian	  account	  of	  human	  freedom	  while	  Aquinas	  accepts	  a	  kind	  of	  “compatiblism.”	  Here,	  I	  whole-­‐heartedly	   side	   with	   Yong.	   Yong	   also	   notes	   that	   on	   the	  Thomistic	   account	   of	   primary	   and	   secondary	   causality	  that	   the	   problem	   of	   evil	   remains.	   I	   agree	   that	   Aquinas	  never	   sufficiently	   provides	   an	   answer	   here	   but	   then	  again	  I	  remain	  skeptical	  about	  any	  account	  to	  solve	  this.	  
Craig	  A.	  Boyd	   103	  However,	   the	  most	   important	   point	   of	   divergence	   con-­‐cerns	   the	   nomological	   behavior	   of	   “substances.”	   For	  Aquinas,	  laws	  of	  nature	  do	  not	  vary	  unless	  God	  changes	  the	  formal	  nature	  of	  the	  cosmos.	  But	  for	  Yong’s	  Peircean	  ontology,	  laws	  of	  nature	  are	  rather	  “habitual	  tendencies	  that	   function	   teleologically	   like	   final	   causes”	   (Spirit	   of	  
Creation,	  138).	  This	  last	  point	  plays	  a	  critical	  role	  in	  the	  reconsideration	  of	  a	  Thomistic	  ontology	  that	  subscribes	  to	  fixed	  essences.	  	   As	   I	   read	   Yong’s	  work,	   I	   see	   the	   desire	   to	   steer	  the	  middle	   course	  between	   classical	   accounts	  of	   divine	  action	   in	   the	   world	   as	   too	   mechanistic	   and	   “interven-­‐tionist,”	  on	  the	  one	  hand,	  and	  modernist	  accounts	  where	  Special	  Divine	  Action	  is	  sacrificed	  to	  an	  account	  of	  Gen-­‐eral	  Divine	  Action	  which	  simply	  is	  not	  robust	  enough	  to	  account	   for	   traditional	   Pentecostal	   (and	   Yong	   would	  claim,	   “biblical”)	  accounts	  of	  how	  the	  Spirit	  of	  God	  acts	  in	  the	  world,	  on	  the	  other	  hand.	  He	  is	  initially	  suspicious	  of	  Thomistic	  accounts	  of	  divine	  causation	  for	  a	  number	  of	   reasons,	   but	   he	   may	   have	   interpreted	   Aquinas	   in	   a	  way	   that	  does	  not	   lend	   itself	   to	  a	  more	  productive	  dia-­‐logue	  than	  it	  could.	  In	   his	   discussion	   of	   Aquinas	   Yong	   claims	   that	  “Most	  pertinent	  for	  our	  purposes,	  is	  Thomas’s	  argument	  from	  motion:	   (a)	   there	   is	   no	   movement	   that	   is	   purely	  self-­‐caused;	   (b)	   an	   infinite	   regress	   of	   movers	   is	   self-­‐contradictory;	   thus	   (c)	   there	  must	   be	   a	   first	   Unmoved	  Mover”	   (“How	  Does	  God	  Do	  What	  God	  Does?”	  52).	  Alt-­‐hough	  the	  arguments	  from	  motion	  and	  efficient	  causali-­‐ty	  get	  a	  great	  deal	  of	  attention	  following	  Aquinas’s	  time,	  I	  believe	  that	  the	  most	  important	  of	  the	  arguments	  is	  the	  argument	  from	  final	  causality	  (often	  misnamed	  “the	  ar-­‐gument	  from	  design”).	  But	  why	  is	  that?	  For	  Aquinas,	  as	  
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  104	  for	  Aristotle,	  the	  most	  important	  of	  the	  four	  causes	  was	  the	  final	  cause	  since	  a	  being	  took	  its	  formal	  nature	  from	  its	  end,	  or	  goal.	  Since	  the	  “Five	  Ways”	  flow	  from	  Aristo-­‐tle’s	   four	   causes,	   we	   can	   see	   that	   the	   Fifth	  Way	   likely	  represents	   the	   most	   important	   of	   the	   “Ways”	   since	   it	  represents	   the	   most	   important	   of	   the	   causal	   explana-­‐tions.	  In	  fact,	  the	  entire	  structure	  of	  the	  Summa	  Theolo-­‐
giae	   is	   patterned	   after	   the	   exitus-­‐redditus	   scheme	   in	  which	   teleology	   plays	   the	   central	  metaphysical	   role	   as	  creatures	   “return”	   to	  God	   from	  whence	   they	   came.	  But	  divine	   causality	   is	   represented	   not	   only	   in	   terms	   of	   a	  temporal	  teleology	  but	  also	  with	  respect	  to	  a	  causal	  de-­‐pendency	  of	  the	  creature	  upon	  God.	  Aquinas	  sees	  a	  hierarchy	  of	  agents	  at	  work	  in	  the	  created	   order.	   There	   are	   clearly	   lower	   and	   higher	  agents.	  Any	   lower	   agent	   obtains	   its	   power	   through	   the	  efficacy	  of	  the	  higher	  agent	  as	  “the	  artisan	  applies	  an	  in-­‐strument	  to	  its	  proper	  effect,	  though	  he	  neither	  gives	  the	  Form	  whereby	   the	   instrument	  works,	   nor	   preserves	   it,	  but	   simply	   gives	   it	   motion”	   (Thomas	   Aquinas,	   Summa	  
Contra	  Gentiles,	  III,	  70).	  	   The	   underlying	   rationale	   for	   this	   analogy	   is	  Aquinas’s	  participation	  metaphysics.	  All	  creation	  partic-­‐ipates	  in	  God	  because	  there	  can	  be	  no	  being	  apart	  from	  God.	  He	  says,	  	  	   Creatures	  are	  said	  to	  be	  in	  God.	  .	  .	  in	  one	  sense	  in-­‐sofar	  as	  they	  are	  contained	  and	  preserved	  by	  the	  divine	  power;	  even	  as	  we	  say	  that	  things	  that	  are	  in	   our	   power	   are	   in	   us.	   And	   thus	   creatures	   are	  said	   to	   be	   in	  God,	   even	   according	   to	   their	   exist-­‐ence	  in	  their	  own	  natures.	  In	  this	  sense	  we	  must	  understand	   the	   words	   of	   the	   Apostle	   when	   he	  
Craig	  A.	  Boyd	   105	  says,	  In	  Him,	  we	   live,	  and	  move,	  and	  have	  our	  be-­‐
ing;	  since	  our	  living,	  being,	  and	  moving	  are	  them-­‐selves	   caused	   by	   God	   (Thomas	   Aquinas,	   ST,	  Ia.18,4,ad1).	  	  God	  provides	  the	  ontological	  grounding	  for	  all	  creature-­‐ly	  activity	  because	  all	  creatures	  derive	  their	  being	  from	  God	   not	   merely	   as	   a	   child	   derives	   her	   being	   from	   her	  mother	  and	  father	  but	  in	  the	  more	  profound	  sense	  that	  they	   continually	   rely	   upon	   God	   as	   the	   higher	   cause	   of	  their	   activities.	   Not	   only	   has	   God	   granted	   being	   to	   all	  creatures	   when	   they	   first	   receive	   their	   existence,	   God	  also	   conserves	   their	   being	   as	   long	   as	   they	   continue	   to	  exist	  since	  a	  creature’s	  being	  is	  radically	  contingent	  up-­‐on	  God.	  As	   long	   as	   a	   creature	  has	  being	   it	   also	  has	   the	  causal	   powers	   God	   has	   granted	   it.	   Thus,	   “If	   this	   divine	  influence	   were	   to	   cease,	   every	   operation	   would	   cease.	  Therefore,	   every	   operation	   of	   a	   thing	   is	   traced	   back	   to	  Him	  as	  to	  its	  cause”	  (Aquinas,	  Summa	  Contra	  Gentiles,	  III,	  67).	  	   It	   is	   in	   light	   of	   the	   participation	  metaphysics	   of	  Aquinas	  where	  we	   see	  another	  avenue	  of	   convergence.	  Because	  many	  contemporary	  interpreters	  portray	  Aqui-­‐nas	   as	   drawing	   a	   radical	   separation	   between	   Creator	  and	  creation,	  the	  transcendence	  of	  God	  is	  emphasized	  at	  the	  expense	  of	  divine	  immanence.	  As	  a	  result,	  we	  see	  lit-­‐tle	   emphasis	  on	   the	  participation	  ontology	   that	  perme-­‐ates	  Aquinas’s	  thought.	  What	  we	  see	  is	  a	  radical	  contin-­‐gency	  of	  the	  creation	  on	  the	  Creator.	  It	  is	  here	  that	  God	  is	   no	   longer	   merely	   one	   agent	   among	   others	   acting	   in	  the	  created	  order,	  but	   the	  Spirit	  of	  God	   that	  permeates	  the	  created	  order.	  
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  106	  Contemporary	  Thomists,	   like	  W.	  Norris	  Clarke,	  seem	  to	  articulate	  accounts	  of	  this	  kind.	  Clarke	  writes,	  	   God	  is	  constantly	  working	  creatively	  with	  the	  on-­‐going	  unfolding	  of	  the	  world’s	  own	  built-­‐in	  active	  potentialities,	  stepping	  up	  his	  creative	  collabora-­‐tion	   at	   certain	   key	   thresholds	   to	   inject	   new	   in-­‐formation-­‐sets—not	   necessarily	   new	   physical	  energy—into	   the	  process	   to	  enable	  new	  qualita-­‐tively	  higher	  ontological	  centers	  with	  new	  prop-­‐erties	   to	   appear	   on	   the	   scene.	   Such.	   .	   .	   creative	  collaboration	  of	  God,	  acting	  on	  a	  totally	  spiritual	  level,	  would	   entirely	   escape	   all	   empirical	   obser-­‐vation,	   quantitative	   measurement,	   or	   scientific	  detection	   in	   any	  way	   (The	   One	   and	   the	  Many:	   A	  
Contemporary	   Thomistic	   Metaphysics	   [Notre	  Dame:	   University	   of	   Notre	   Dame	   Press,	   2001],	  256).	  	  	  Here,	   the	   created	   order—in	   traditional	   Thomistic	   un-­‐derstanding—is	   full	   of	   potencies	   waiting	   to	   be	   actual-­‐ized	  by	  various	  causes—both	  God	  and	  creatures.	  On	  this	  view,	  the	  creation	  continues	  to	  develop	  not	  in	  the	  man-­‐ner	   of	   predetermined	   Augustinian	   rationes	   seminales	  but	  with	  respect	  to	  genuinely	  new	  creatures—a	  decided	  departure	   from	  Aquinas’s	   own	   Aristotelian	   view	   of	   es-­‐sential	  natures.	  	   This	  neo-­‐Thomist	  account	  offered	  by	  Clark	  bears	  an	   interesting	   similarity	   to	   Yong’s	   Pentecostal	   account	  of	  divine	  agency.	  Peirce,	  Clark,	  and	  Yong	  all	  have	  the	  ad-­‐vantage	   of	   working	   in	   a	   post-­‐Darwinian	   age—an	   ad-­‐vantage	  Aquinas	  could	  not	  have	  anticipated.	  However,	  if	  the	   “Angelic	  Doctor”	   could	  have	  known	  what	  we	  know	  
Craig	  A.	  Boyd	   107	  today	  about	  so-­‐called	  “laws	  of	  nature”	  he	  may	  softened	  his	  radical	  essentialism	  and	  opted	  for	  a	  metaphysic	  that	  looked,	   in	   many	   ways,	   similar	   to	   that	   of	   Amos	   Yong’s	  Pentecostal	  account	  of	  divine	  causation.	  


Amos Yong's Pentecostal Thomism

Ware, Frederick L

	  
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  3	  (2012)	  173-­‐77.	  
Estrelda	  Y.	  Alexander,	  Black	  Fire:	  One	  Hundred	  Years	  of	  
African	   American	   Pentecostalism	   (Downers	   Grove,	   IL:	  InterVarsity	  Press,	  2011).	  	  In	  Black	  Fire,	  Estrelda	  Alexander,	  visiting	  professor	  of	  theology	   at	   Regent	   University	   Divinity	   School	   and	  executive	   director	   of	   the	   William	   J.	   Seymour	  Educational	   Foundation,	   constructs	   a	   grand	   narrative	  that	  interprets	  the	  origins	  and	  theological	  perspectives	  of	   various	   African	   American	   Pentecostal	   and	  Charismatic	  denominations.	  	  She	  describes	  not	  only	  the	  distinctives,	   but	   also	   the	   connections	   (organizational,	  doctrinal,	   and	   ritual)	   between	   them.	   	   In	   chapters	   five	  and	   six,	   she	   describes	   the	   origins	   and	   theologies	   of	  various	   Trinitarian	   and	   Oneness	   denominations.	   	   In	  chapter	  nine,	   she	  does	   the	  same	  with	  neo-­‐Pentecostal	  and	  Charismatic	  movements.	  She	  also	  provides	  charts	  that	  show	  the	  organizational	  connections	  of	  numerous	  denominations	   to	   their	   parent	   bodies	   (204-­‐206,	   246-­‐248,	  390).	  	  	  	  	  	  Alexander’s	   Black	   Fire	   is	   an	   ambitious,	   but	  sincerely	  motivated,	  project	  to	  create	  a	  comprehensive	  one-­‐volume	  source	  on	  the	  history	  of	  African	  American	  Pentecostalism.	   	   However,	   the	   book	   does	   not	   exhibit	  mastery	   of	   the	   many	   details	   associated	   with	   an	  undertaking	   of	   this	   nature.	   	   I	   have	   read	   Alexander's	  book	   with	   special	   attention	   to	   statements	   about	   the	  Church	  of	  God	  in	  Christ	  (COGIC),	  with	  which	  I	  am	  most	  familiar.	   	   The	   book	   presents	   conflicting	   and	   incorrect	  dates	   that	   are	   given	   for	   the	   founding	   of	   COGIC	   (173,	  204).	   	   COGIC	   was	   established	   first	   as	   a	   holiness	  denomination	   in	   1897	   and	   later	   reorganized	   as	   a	  
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  174	  Pentecostal	   denomination	   in	   1907.	   	   The	   book	  incorrectly	  cites	  the	  years	  1877	  and	  1896	  for	  COGIC's	  formation.	   	   The	   book	   incorrectly	   reports	   that	  women	  constitute	  the	  majority	  of	  delegates	  to	  COGIC’s	  general	  and	   jurisdictional	   assemblies	   (318).	   	  The	   truth	   is	   that	  women	   do	   not	   make	   up	   the	   overall	   majority	   of	  delegates;	  women	  are	  the	  majority	  in	  only	  one	  class	  of	  delegates	   and	   that	   is	   the	   lay	   delegates.	   	   The	   largest	  number	   of	   delegates	   continues	   to	   be	   ordained	  ministers,	  who	  are	  predominately	  male.	  	  	  While	   Alexander	   appropriately	   criticizes	  COGIC’s	   incoherent	   position	   on	   women’s	   ordination,	  her	   book	   profiles	   past	   women	   pastors	   in	   COGIC’s	  history	   and	   yet	   does	   not	   provide	   current	   information	  on	   the	   identities	   of	   the	   increasing	   number	   of	  women	  pastors	   in	   COGIC.	   	   The	   book	   incorrectly	   reports	   that	  Gilbert	   E.	   Patterson	  was	   the	   grandson	   of	   C.H.	  Mason,	  the	   founder	   of	   COGIC	   (187).	   	   Gilbert	   Patterson’s	  relation	   to	   Mason	   was	   through	   J.O.	   Patterson,	   Sr.,	   an	  uncle,	  who	  was	  married	   to	  one	  of	  Mason’s	  daughters.	  The	  terms	  “grandfather”	  and	  “grandson”	  are	  normally	  restricted	   to	   direct	   biological	   relations.	   	   There	   is	   no	  direct	   biological	   relation	   between	   C.H.	   Mason	   and	  Gilbert	  Patterson.	  	  It	  is	  possible	  that	  persons	  who	  have	  substantial	  knowledge	  about	  other	  denominations	  will	  also	   detect	   errors,	   as	   they	   shall	   appear	   in	   the	   book,	  about	   these	   denominations.	   	   For	   example,	   some	  persons	  may	  notice	  that	  the	  House	  of	  the	  Lord	  Church,	  which	   is	   appropriately	   classified	   as	   a	   Oneness	  denomination,	   is	   listed	   and	   described	   (perhaps	   by	  mistake)	   in	   chapter	   five	   with	   Trinitarian	  denominations	   (197,	   248).	   	   While	   these	   and	   other	  factual	   errors	   do	   not	   undermine	   Alexander's	   project,	  
Book	  Reviews	  
	  
	  
175	  they	   are	   very	   distracting	   to	   readers	   already	   having	  familiarity	   with	   the	   histories	   of	   the	   groups	   and	  biographies	  of	  persons	  mentioned	  in	  the	  book.	  	  	  
Black	   Fire	   represents	   not	   only	   Alexander's	  attempt	   to	   address	   the	   problem	   of	   race,	   that	   is	   the	  neglect	   of	   African	   American	   Pentecostal	   and	  Charismatic	   movements	   by	   religious	   historians	   and,	  possibly	  worse,	   the	   racial	   divide	   among	   Pentecostals,	  but	   also	   her	   concern	   to	   tell	   the	   history	   of	   African	  American	  Pentecostalism	  with	  attention	  to	  gender	  and	  the	   problem	   of	   sexism.	   	   Throughout	   the	   book,	   she	  documents	   the	   role	   of	   African	   American	   woman	   in	  Pentecostal	   and	   Charismatic	   movements	   and	  denominations.	  	  However,	  she	  devotes	  chapter	  eight	  to	  a	   fuller	   treatment	   of	   African	   American	   women's	  leadership	  in	  these	  movements	  and	  denominations.	  In	   chapters	   two,	   three,	   and	   four,	   Alexander	  points	   to	  African	   spirituality,	   the	  Holiness	  movement,	  and	   Azusa	   revival	   as	   sources	   of	   and	   influences	   on	  African	  American	  Pentecostalism.	  	  Her	  treatment	  of	  the	  Holiness	   movement	   and	   Azusa	   revival	   raises	   no	  controversy,	   but	   her	   claim	   about	   African	   spirituality	  does.	   	   Alexander	   asserts	   that	   black	   Pentecostalism	   is	  rooted	   in	   African	   spirituality	   (16,	   28-­‐29,	   44-­‐56).	   	   She	  points	  to	  several	  parallels	  (in	  music,	  song,	  dance,	  spirit	  possession,	   healing,	   and	   openness	   to	   women’s	  leadership)	  between	  black	  Pentecostalism	  and	  African	  indigenous	  religions	  (30,	  56-­‐59).	  	  She	  admits	  that	  these	  connections	   are	   only	   indirect	   and	   largely	   based	   on	  analogy	  (30,	  59).	   	  Beyond	  this	  admission,	  more	  needs	  to	  be	  said	  about	  which	  paradigms	  of	  African	  American	  
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  176	  historiography	   are	   suitable	   for	   the	   study	   of	   black	  Pentecostalism.	  	  	  The	   study	   and	  writing	   of	   black	   Pentecostalism	  after	   Alexander’s	   Black	   Fire	   will	   have	   to	   look	   more	  closely	   at	   large-­‐scale	   patterns	   in	   the	   history	   and	  culture	   of	   the	   United	   States	   for	   discernment	   of	   a	  broader	   range	   of	   influences	   on	   African	   American	  Pentecostalism.	   	   Too	   often	   revisionist	   histories	   of	  African	  Americans	  have	  emphasized	  African	  culture	  as	  an	  ultimate	  source	  and	  explanation	  of	  black	  culture	  in	  America	   and	   portrayed	   black	   culture	   as	   a	   counter-­‐culture	  impervious	  to	  other	  influences.	  	  The	  practice	  of	  racial	   separation	   (legalized	   and	   customary)	   and	  minority	   experiences	   of	   national	   events	   may	   have	  more	   impact	   on	   African	   American	   religious	   life	   than	  direct	   or	   indirect	   influences	   from	   African	   religions	  from	   long	   ago.	   	   Alexander	   regards	   Black	   Fire	   as	   a	  “meager	   beginning”	   and	   thinks	   that	   the	   work	   of	  revision	  will	   take	  years	   to	  complete	  (13).	   	  This	   future	  work	   may	   be	   aided	   by	   critiques	   of	   African	   American	  historiography	  such	  as	  Wilson	  J.	  Moses’s	  Afrotopia:	  The	  
Roots	   of	  African	  American	  Popular	  History	   (1998)	  and	  William	  D.	  Wright’s	  Critical	  Reflections	  on	  Black	  History	  (2002)	  and	  Black	  History	  and	  Black	  Identity:	  A	  Call	  for	  a	  
New	  Historiography	  (2002).	  	  	  In	   chapter	   ten,	   Alexander	   concludes	   that	   there	  is	  no	  monolithic	  black	  Pentecostalism	  (393).	  	  Black	  Fire	  shows	  clearly	  that	  black	  Pentecostalism	  has	  grown	  into	  a	  large	  movement	  largely	  through	  frequent	  splintering.	  	  Alexander	   sees	  as	  a	   challenge	   the	   task	  of	   interpreting	  and	  building	  unity	  among	  the	  persons	  and	  groups	  that	  comprise	   this	   movement	   (395).	   	   This	   indeed	   is	   a	  challenge	  for	  the	  practitioners	  of	  black	  Pentecostalism.	  	  
Book	  Reviews	  
	  
	  
177	  For	   scholars	   seeking	   to	   write	   the	   history	   of	   black	  Pentecostalism,	   the	   challenge	   centers	   on	   the	  development	  of	  critical	  historiography	  that	  is	  inclusive	  of	   those	   aspects	   of	   African	   Americans’	   experiences	  which	   are	   omitted	   or	   suppressed	   in	   the	   ideologically	  driven	  paradigm	  for	  black	  historical	  studies.	  	  Reviewed	  by	  Frederick	  Ware	  
Howard	  University	  School	  of	  Divinity	  


Estrelda Y. Alexander, Black Fire: One Hundred Years of African American Pentecostalism (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2011).

Scandrett-Leatherman, Craig

	  
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  3	  (2012)	  168-­‐72.	  
Mark	   R.	   Gornik,	  Word	  Made	   Global:	   Stories	   of	   African	  
Christianity	  in	  New	  York	  City	  (Grand	  Rapids,	  Michigan:	  Eerdmans,	  2011).	  	  In	  Word	  Made	  Global,	  Mark	  Gornik	  contributes	  to	  glob-­‐al	   Christianity	   research	   by	   focusing	   on	   African	   Chris-­‐tians	   in	   New	   York	   City.	   The	   book’s	   significance	   is	  achieved	   by	   combining	   ethnographic	   methods	   and	  theological	   perspectives,	   and	  by	   emphasizing	   interna-­‐tional	  migrations	  and	  urban	  realities.	  Gornik	  points	  out	  that	  as	  New	  York	  is	  a	  major	  hub	  in	  the	  flow	  of	  financial	  capital	  it	  is	  also	  a	  major	  hub	  in	  the	  global	  flow	  of	  Afri-­‐can	  Christianity.	  In	   chapter	   one	   Gornik	   surveys	   150	   African	  churches,	  describes	  various	  types,	  and	  then	  introduces	  three	   churches	  which	   are	  his	   focus.	   Each	  of	   the	   three	  churches	  has	  African	  origins	  (and	  ongoing	  connections	  with	   African	   cities):	   1)	   the	   Presbyterian	   Church	   of	  Ghana	   in	  Harlem	  (Accra,	  Ghana),	  2)	   the	  Church	  of	   the	  Lord	   (Aladura)	   in	   the	   Bronx	   (Monrovia,	   Liberia),	   and	  3)	  the	  Redeemed	  Christian	  Church	  of	  God	  International	  Chapel	   in	   Brooklyn	   (Lagos,	   Nigeria).	   All	   of	   these	  churches	   have	   Pentecostal-­‐charismatic	   influence.	   Be-­‐yond	   sharing	   evangelical	   characteristics	   (conversion,	  Bible	   centric,	   and	   crucifixion)	   these	   churches	   empha-­‐size	  resurrection,	  Holy	  Spirit,	  and	  power	  (24).	  The	  roles	  of	  the	  pastors	  of	  these	  three	  churches	  as	   spiritual	   directors,	   agents	   of	   healing,	   institution	  builders,	   and	   cultural	   intermediaries	   are	   reviewed	   in	  chapter	   two.	  Chapter	   three	   focuses	  on	   the	   liturgy	  and	  life	   of	   the	   three	   churches	   touching	   on	   their	   historical	  developments.	   For	   example,	   the	   Presbyterian	   Church	  
Book	  Reviews	  
	  
	  
169	  of	   Ghana	   is	   influenced	   by	   the	   pietism	   of	   the	   Basel	  Evangelical	  Missionary	   Society,	   the	  polity	   of	   the	   Scot-­‐tish	  Presbyterians,	  and	  the	  Pentecostalism	  of	  the	  Afri-­‐can	   Charismatic	   movement.	   Each	   member	   of	   the	  church	   carries	   a	   yellow	   “Certificate	   of	   Membership”	  which	   is	  kept	  current	  by	  paying	   tithes.	  The	  certificate	  serves	  as	  a	  passport	  not	  only	  good	  for	  being	  welcomed	  to	  other	   churches,	  but	  also	   for	  earthly	   celebrations	  of	  eternal	  transitions.	  Passport-­‐bearing	  members	  receive	  a	   celebratory	   funeral.	   Gornik	   describes	   one	   funeral	  that	  included	  a	  deejay,	  loud	  (conversation-­‐stifling)	  mu-­‐sic,	  and	  dancing	  (until	  3:00	  a.m.),	  followed	  by	  member-­‐supported	   body	   transport	   and	   another	   funeral	   in	   Ac-­‐cra.	  	   Chapter	  four	  describes	  prayer	  as	  lived	  theology	  embodied	   in	   postures,	   actions,	   intensities,	   and	   dura-­‐tions	   that	   shape	   participant’s	   practices	   and	   perspec-­‐tives.	  “Prayer	  is	  at	  least	  as	  much	  a	  bodily	  exercise	  as	  it	  is	  a	  discursive	  activity”	  (144).	  Prayer	  is	  participation	  in	  power.	  It	  involves	  the	  whole	  body	  sometimes	  prostrate	  on	   the	   floor,	   sometimes	   dancing	   in	   the	   aisles.	   It	   in-­‐volves	   linguistic	   rhythm	   and	   style,	   kinetic	   movement	  and	  tongues	  of	  utterance,	  all-­‐night	  tarrying	  and	  praise	  shouts,	   testifying	  and	  thanksgivings,	   fasting	  and	  feast-­‐ing.	  By	  its	  diverse	  conjunctions	  African	  Christian	  pray-­‐er	  creates	  connections	  between	  the	  spiritual	  world	  and	  social	   world	   by	   sanctified	   imagination	   and	   material	  engagement.	  African	  Christian	  prayer	  is	  highly	  spiritu-­‐al	   but	   not	   otherworldly.	   It	   relates	   simultaneously	   to	  God,	  creation-­‐cosmos,	  power(s),	  and	  community.	  	  The	  African	  use	  of	   the	  Bible	   in	   chapter	   five	   re-­‐veals	  that	  the	  contemporary	  message	  is	  emphasized	  by	  
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  170	  these	   churches	  as	   the	  Spirit	   inspires	   congregations	   to	  imagine,	   materialize,	   and	   embody	   the	   Word	   in	   New	  York	   City.	   Chapter	   six	   reviews	  mission	   strategies	   and	  statements,	  but	  cross-­‐cultural	  missional	  engagement	  is	  thin	  in	  this	  chapter.	  Toward	  the	  end	  of	  the	  author’s	  re-­‐search	   one	   of	   the	   pastors	   of	   the	   three	   highlighted	  churches),	   Nimi	  Wariboko,	   was	   hired	   as	   Professor	   of	  Ethics	  at	  Andover	  Newton	  Theological	  School.	  If	  semi-­‐nary	   professors	   constructively	   contribute	   to	   the	   criti-­‐cal	  education	  of	  future	  church	  leaders,	  then	  this	  devel-­‐opment	   calls	   for	   further	   reflection	   (along	   with	  Wari-­‐boko’s	  several	  books	  which	  are	  not	  in	  an	  otherwise	  ex-­‐tensive	  and	  inclusive	  bibliography).	  	  Chapter	  seven	  describes	  pilgrimages	  such	  as	  the	  Annual	  Convention	  of	   the	  Redeemed	  Christian	  Church	  of	   God	   headquarters,	  which	  was	   held	  with	   thousands	  in	  Madison	  Square	  Garden	  in	  June	  of	  2005.	  	  The	  event	  drew	   members	   from	   other	   cities,	   nations,	   and	   other	  Nigerian	   Pentecostal	   churches	   and	   culminated	   in	   the	  Holy	  Ghost	  service	  with	  the	  intention	  to	  “heal	  America,	  to	  heal	  Nigeria,	  to	  heal	  Africa”	  (224).	  General	  Overseer,	  E.A.	  Adeboye	  began	  to	  speak	  at	  about	  1:30	  a.m.	  accom-­‐panied	  by	  large	  screens	  that	  projected	  video	  images	  of	  him	  speaking	  to	  a	  large	  crowd	  at	  Redemption	  Camp	  in	  Lagos.	   The	   Madison	   Square	   Garden	   room	   was	   filled	  with	   people	   clapping	   on	   the	   video	   screens	   with	  Adeboye	  “holding	  forth	  in	  both	  worlds	  simultaneously”	  (227)	  declaring	  victory	  over	  pharaohs.	  The	  other	   two	  churches	  also	  held	  NYC	  pilgrimages	  with	  blessed	  cloth,	  and	  Mount	  Tabborrar	  convocations	   involving	   thirteen	  days	  of	  prayer	  and	  fasting.	  	  Chapter	   eight	   describes	   youth	   in	   the	   African	  Christian	  churches.	  The	  Presbyterian	  youth	  group	  does	  
Book	  Reviews	  
	  
	  
171	  not	  associate	  much	  with	  each	  others	  during	  the	  week.	  The	  Aladura	  church	  had	  only	  one	  ten-­‐year-­‐old	  youth	  in	  2007,	   while	   the	   eight	   member	   youth	   group	   of	   Re-­‐deemed	  Christian	  Church	  of	  God	   International	  Chapel	  “was	   a	   religiously	   intense	   and	   personally	   committed	  group”	   (252).	   Among	   the	   latter	   group	   faith	   was	   im-­‐portant	  in	  daily	  lives,	  beginning	  with	  family	  devotions,	  and	  rooted	  in	  Pentecostal	  identity	  and	  tradition.	  	  Gornik	  concludes	  with	  a	  review	  of	  gifts	  that	  the	  African	   churches	   contribute	   to	   New	   York	   City	   and	  global	   Christianity.	   Gifts	   include	   inviting	   global	   Chris-­‐tians	   to	   name	   themselves	   by	   the	   Pentecost	   event,	   to	  engage	  sacramental	   imagination	  and	  embodied	  spirit-­‐uality,	   to	   engage	   the	   Lord’s/Word’s	   living	   power,	   to	  practice	  mission	  with	  a	  comprehensive	  theology	  of	  sal-­‐vation—with	  its	  earthly	  and	  material	  dimensions,	  and	  to	   reposition	   the	   concept	  of	   citizenship	  by	   a	   vision	  of	  Christ’s	  international	  body.	  Gornik	  challenges	  the	  Afri-­‐can	   churches	   to	   theologize	   about	   the	   relationship	   be-­‐tween	  the	  resurrection	  and	  the	  cross	  (power	  and	  suf-­‐fering),	   to	   think	   about	   the	   relationship	   between	   Afri-­‐can	   immigrants	   and	   African	   Americans	   (ritual	   and	  cosmology	   parallels	   with	   African	   American	   Pentecos-­‐talism	  are	   certainly	   striking),	   and	   to	   explore	   relation-­‐ship	  with	  Christian	  history	  and	  catholicity.	  This	   chap-­‐ter	   represents	   Gornik’s	   encouragement	   toward	   mis-­‐sion	  that	  he	  seems	  to	  see	  as	  not-­‐yet	  fruitful	  (based	  on	  my	  interpretation	  of	  chapter	  five).	  	  	  By	  participating	  in	  and	  reflecting	  on	  three	  Afri-­‐can	   churches	   in	   New	   York	   City	   Mark	   Gornik	   has	  opened	   the	   door	   to	   a	   crucial	   perspective	   on	   global	  Christianity	   that	   includes	   the	  missionary	   engagement	  
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  172	  from	  the	  global	  south	  in	  the	  North	  (and	  West).	  Mission	  involves	  passing	  the	  faith	  to	  the	  next	  generation	  and	  to	  other	   cultures,	   and	   Gornik	   has	   noted	   the	   differences	  between,	   and	   constructive	   engagements	   of	   these	  churches.	  Now	  the	   implicit	  challenges	  bear	  further	  at-­‐tention	   and	   ecumenical	   cooperation	   as	   global	   Christi-­‐anity	  seeks	  to	  pass	  on	   its	   faith	  to	   the	  next	  generation.	  As	  New	  York	  City	  is	  a	  central	  hub	  in	  the	  flow	  of	  global	  capitalism	   and	   Christianity,	   it	   is	   also	   a	   central	   hub	   in	  the	  production	  of	  (youthful)	  global	  music	  (rap).	  Might	  (African)	  Pentecostals	  (and	  others	  with	  active	  imagina-­‐tions)	   receive	   discernment,	   dreams,	   and	   visions	   of	  what	   the	   Spirit	   is	   working	   among	   city-­‐dwellers	   who	  seek	   justice,	   art,	   and	   embodied	   Jesus-­‐devotion	   (as	   in	  Occupy,	  rap,	  and	  African	  Christianity)?	  	  	  Reviewed	  by	  Craig	  Scandrett-­‐Leatherman	  
Washington	  University	  in	  St.	  Louis	  


Mark R. Gornik, Word Made Global: Stories of African Christianity in New York City (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2011).

Shults, Fount LeRon

Science and spirits? Response to Amos Yong’s The Spirit of Creation

Oord, Thomas

 
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  3	  (2012)	  96-­‐101.	  
THE	  PROMISE	  OF	  PENTECOSTAL	  THEOLOGY	  AND	  SCIENCE	  	  THOMAS	  JAY	  OORD	  	  The	  Pentecostal	  tradition	  offers	  one	  of,	  if	  not	  the,	  most	  exciting	   conversation	   partners	   in	   the	   science-­‐and-­‐religion	   dialogue.	   The	   work	   of	   Amos	   Yong	   as	   editor	  and	  contributor	   to	  a	  pair	  of	   edited	  volumes	  –	  Science	  
and	  Spirit:	  A	  Pentecostal	  Engagement	  with	  the	  Sciences	  and	  The	  Spirit	  Renews	  the	  Face	  of	  the	  Earth:	  Pentecos-­‐
tal	  Forays	  in	  Science	  and	  Theology	  of	  Creation	  –	  amount	  to	  creative	  theological	  epicenter	  for	  what	  is	  best	  about	  Pentecostals	  engaging	   the	  science-­‐and-­‐theology	   inter-­‐face.	   In	  what	   follows,	   I	   will	   focus	   on	   the	   Science	   and	  
Spirit	  volume	  for	  my	  analysis.	  I	   believe	   the	   Pentecostal	   tradition	   has	   the	   po-­‐tential	  to	  turn	  the	  science-­‐and-­‐religion	  dialogue	  into	  a	  mutually	   transformative	   engagement.	   Such	   an	   en-­‐deavor	   could	   transform	   the	  way	  we	   think	   about	   and	  do	  science,	  and	  it	  could	  transform	  Pentecostalism	  and	  its	   theology.	  These	  are	  bold	   claims,	   I	   know.	  They	  beg	  for	   thorough	   justification	   –	   far	   beyond	   the	   scope	   of	  this	  essay.	  In	  rapid-­‐fire	  sequence,	  however,	  I	  offer	  five	  reasons	  why	  Pentecostalism	  and	  Pentecostal	  theology	  can	  be	  game	  changers	  in	  the	  science	  and	  theology	  dia-­‐logue.	   First,	  Pentecostals	  have	  no	  established	  canon	  of	  Pentecostal	  tomes	  and	  authoritative	  intellectuals.	  This	  may	  seem	  like	  a	  disadvantage.	  And	  in	  many	  ways	  it	  is.	  But	  this	  lack	  of	  an	  established	  canon	  allows	  Pentecos-­‐tal	  scholars	  to	  draw	  from	  a	  diverse	  and	  rich	  set	  of	  re-­‐
Thomas	  Jay	  Oord	   97	  sources	  when	  pursuing	  answers	  to	  questions	  raised	  by	  the	  science	  and	  theology	  interface.	  Those	  who	   think	   carefully	   about	   issues	   in	   sci-­‐ence	  and	  theology	  sometimes	  tire	  of	  appeals	  to	  author-­‐ity.	  I	  can’t	  tell	  you	  how	  many	  times	  I’ve	  heard	  scholars	  quote	  Aquinas	   that	   grace	   perfects	   nature	   rather	   than	  destroys	  it,	  for	  instance!	  Of	  course,	  appeals	  to	  authori-­‐ty	   sometimes	  have	   their	   place.	  None	  of	   us	   exists	   in	   a	  vacuum,	   and	   the	   science	   and	   religion	   fields	   have	   a	  number	   of	   authoritative	   voices	   from	   which	   it	   can	  draw.	  I	  happen	  to	  like	  some	  of	  what	  Aquinas	  says,	  for	  instance.	   And	   there	   are	  many	   scientific	   voices	   of	   au-­‐thority	   we	  must	   heed.	   But	   Pentecostals	   have	   greater	  freedom	   to	   think	   afresh	   about	   issues.	  And	   such	   fresh	  thinking	  is	  always	  needed	  in	  the	  complex	  field	  of	  work	  that	  reflects	  on	  the	  interface	  between	  science	  and	  the-­‐ology.	  There’s	  more	  to	  be	  said	  than	  what	  Aquinas	  said	  800	  years	  ago.	  Second,	   Pentecostal	   theology	   emphasizes	   the	  surprising,	   unpredictable,	   and	   miraculous.	   Pentecos-­‐tals	  often	  say	  “God	  is	  doing	  a	  new	  thing,”	  and	  they	  ex-­‐pect	   to	   encounter	   the	   unexpected.	   Let’s	   call	   this	   the	  “Pentecostal	  hermeneutic	  of	  surprise.”	  While	  science	  requires	  nature	  be	  in	  some	  ways	  consistent,	  as	  a	  set	  of	  domains,	  science	  is,	  in	  principle,	  always	   open	   to	   discovery	   and	   surprise.	   The	   science-­‐and-­‐theology	  dialogue	  is	  complex	  enough	  to	  be	  always	  in	  need	  of	  some	  promising	  new	  proposals.	  An	  obvious	  example	  here	  is	  those	  events	  Pentecostals	  call	  “mirac-­‐ulous.”	  The	  conversation	  about	  miracles	  might	  prompt	  scientists	   to	   think	   more	   carefully	   than	   David	   Hume	  about	   how	   to	   account	   for	   the	   extraordinary.	   And	   it	  might	   prompt	   Pentecostals	   to	   think	   more	   carefully	  
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  98	  about	  what	  they	  deem	  supernatural	  or	  interventionist.	  I’m	   excited	   about	   James	  K.	   A.	   Smith’s	   proposal	   in	   his	  essay	   in	   Science	   and	   the	   Spirit.	   Jamie	   argues	   for	   the	  “the	   possibility	   of	   the	   ‘miraculous,’	   not	   as	   interven-­‐tions	  of	  the	  ‘natural’	  order	  or	  as	  ‘interventions’	  into	  an	  otherwise	  closed	  universe,	  but	  rather	  as	  especially	  in-­‐tense	   ways	   in	   which	   the	   Spirit	   is	   active	   and	   present	  within	  nature”	  (46).	  Third,	  Pentecostal	  theology	  stresses	  a	  pneuma-­‐tology	  that	  says	  the	  Spirit	   is	  active	   in	  all	  creation.	  Be-­‐cause	   another	   of	   the	   respondents	  will	   explore	   this	   in	  detail,	  I	  won’t	  develop	  my	  thoughts	  much	  here.	  I	  simp-­‐ly	  will	  say	  that	  pneumatology	  has	  the	  potential	  to	  cap-­‐ture	   the	   imaginations	   of	   Pentecostals	   as	   they	   ponder	  an	   active	   spirit	   present	   in	   all	   creation,	   imaginations	  that	   are	   sometimes	   stifled	   by	   visions	   of	   Christology	  that	   focus	   upon	   the	   incarnation	   of	   Jesus	   2,000	   years	  ago	   and	   visions	   of	   the	   Father	   God	   would	   create	   the	  universe	  long	  ago	  and	  in	  holiness	  remain	  transcendent	  over	  the	  created	  order.	  	   The	  fourth	  reason	  I	  think	  Pentecostalism	  makes	  for	   an	   exciting	   conversation	   partner	   in	   the	   science-­‐and-­‐theology	   interface	   is	   that	   Pentecostalism	   is	   often	  at	  the	  fore	  of	  using	  science	  and	  technology	  to	  proclaim	  the	  gospel	  of	  Jesus	  Christ.	  The	  history	  of	  Christianity	  in	  the	  twentieth	  and	  early	   twenty-­‐first	   centuries	   reveals	   that	   Pentecostals	  often	  took	  the	  first	  steps	  –	  often	  risks	  –	  to	  incorporate	  media	  technology	  in	  their	  efforts.	  This	  includes	  the	  use	  of	  radio,	  television,	  Internet,	  etc.	  The	  reasons	  given	  for	  using	  the	  latest	  technology	  are	  often	  pragmatic	   in	  na-­‐ture.	  And	  pragmatism	  can	  sometimes	  conflict	  with	  and	  other	   times	   promote	   the	   theological	   presuppositions	  
Thomas	  Jay	  Oord	   99	  of	  Pentecostal	  theology.	  In	  Science	  and	  Spirit,	  contribu-­‐tor	   Telford	  Work	  worries,	   for	   instance,	   that	   pragma-­‐tists	  can	  read	  to	  glean	  information	  for	  use	  in	  the	  mar-­‐ketplace,	   cocktail	   circuit,	   home,	   or	   study	   –	   but	   at	   the	  expense	  of	   learning	  capital	  T	  “Truth”	  (19).	  A	  theology	  that	  rejects	  pragmatism	  en	  toto	  will	   likely	  be	  blind	   to	  how	   the	   Spirit	   moves	   throughout	   all	   creation	   to	   call	  forth	   fruit.	   A	   theology	   that	   embraces	   pragmatism	   en	  
toto	  will	   likely	  be	  blind	   to	  how	  what	  some	  call	   “fruit”	  does	  not	  fit	  well	  in	  the	  establishment	  and	  rationale	  of	  the	   Kingdom	   of	   God.	   Pentecostalism	   can	   aide	   in	   this	  important	  exploration.	  Fifth,	   the	   sheer	   number	   of	   Pentecostal	   Chris-­‐tians	  makes	  Pentecostalism	  distinctive	  and	  potentially	  influential	   in	   the	   science-­‐and-­‐theology	   interface.	   An	  estimated	   250	   million	   Pentecostals	   live	   on	   planet	  earth.	   In	   a	   world	   that	   increasingly	   seems	   to	   want	  democratic	  forms	  of	  government	  and	  decision-­‐making,	  large	   numbers	   of	   people	   who	   have	   a	   shared	   vision	  have	  the	  potential	  for	  greater	  influence.	  	  Many	  who	  work	  in	  the	  science	  and	  theology	  in-­‐terface	   do	   so	   because	   they	   think	   the	   questions	   and	  possible	   solutions	   can	  affect	   the	  overall	  well-­‐being	  of	  life	  on	  planet	  earth.	  They	  believe	  the	  common	  good	  is	  in	  some	  way	  at	  stake	  as	  we	  seek	  to	  find	  the	  most	  plau-­‐sible	  answers	   to	  some	  question	  we	  ask	  about	  science	  and	  theology.	  Those	   are	   five	   reasons	   I	   think	   the	   Pentecostal	  tradition	  is	  one	  of	  the	  most	  exciting	  participants	  in	  the	  science	  and	  theology	  dialogue.	  But	   I	  also	  think	  Pente-­‐costalism	   and	   Pentecostal	   scholars	   face	   some	   great	  challenges,	   some	  of	  which	   are	   unique	   to	   Pentecostal-­‐ism	  and	  others	   that	  may	  not	  be	  unique	  but	  are	  wide-­‐
Canadian	  Journal	  of	  Pentecostal-­‐Charismatic	  Christianity	  100	  spread	  among	  Pentecostals.	  I	  want	  to	  mention	  three	  in	  particular.	  First,	  contributors	  to	  Science	  and	  the	  Spirit	  and	  the	  relatively	  few	  other	  books	  on	  Pentecostal	  theology	  engaging	   the	   sciences	   acknowledge	   that	   a	   very	   high	  percentage	   of	   Pentecostals	   must	   be	   brought	   up	   to	  speed	  on	  what	  is	  happening	  in	  the	  sciences.	  The	  lack	  of	  scientific	  literacy	  is	  especially	  great	  in	  cultures	  around	  the	  world	   not	   largely	   framed	   or	   informed	  by	   the	   sci-­‐ences.	  Pentecostalism	  grows	  rapidly	  in	  many	  develop-­‐ing	  countries,	  and,	  in	  most	  of	  these,	  science	  plays	  a	  rel-­‐atively	  minor	  role	  in	  the	  shaping	  of	  the	  culture	  or	  col-­‐lective	  conscious.	  The	   second	   major	   challenge	   Pentecostals	   en-­‐gaged	   in	   the	   science-­‐and-­‐theology	   discussion	   is	   the	  ability	  to	  speak	  well	  about	  dramatic	  expressions	  of	  the	  Holy	   Spirit	   often	   reported	   among	   Pentecostals.	   Such	  expressions	   include	   activities	   such	   as	   speaking	   in	  tongues,	  demonic	  possession,	  faith	  healing,	  holy	  laugh-­‐ter,	   words	   of	   knowledge,	   and	   predictive	   prophecy.	   I	  know	   of	   few	   non	   Pentecostals	   who	   are	   hopeful	   that	  Pentecostals	  can	  come	  to	  terms	  scientifically,	  and	  even	  theologically,	   with	   these	   dramatic	   expressions.	   But	   I	  am	  hopeful.	   I	   join	  Amos	  Yong,	   Jamie	  Smith,	  and	  other	  Pentecostals	   in	   the	   task	   of	   accounting	   for	   the	   wild	  workings	  of	  the	  Holy	  Spirit	  in	  light	  of	  a	  form	  of	  scien-­‐tific	   theory	   that	   coheres	   with	   Christian	   theological	  convictions	   about	   God	   at	   work	   presently	   in	   all	   crea-­‐tion.	   The	  third	  and	  final	  challenge	  is	  not	  address	  ex-­‐plicitly	  in	  Science	  and	  the	  Spirit.	  This	  challenge	  is	  bibli-­‐cal	  hermeneutics.	  Like	  many	  in	  my	  own	  holiness	  theo-­‐logical	  tradition,	  many	  in	  Pentecostalism	  affirm	  a	  form	  
Thomas	  Jay	  Oord	   101	  of	  Christian	  Fundamentalism	  that	   interprets	  the	  Bible	  in	  ways	   that	   conflict	  with	   some	   of	  what	   science	   sug-­‐gests.	  Because	  the	  Bible	  is	  so	  central	  to	  the	  worldview	  of	   most	   Pentecostals,	   I	   doubt	   much	   progress	   can	   be	  made	   in	   Pentecostalism	   generally	   until	   more	   Pente-­‐costals	  adopt	  a	  less	  literalistic	  biblical	  hermeneutic.	  In	  sum,	   I	  am	  optimistic	  about	  the	   future	  of	   the	  Pentecostal-­‐science	  discussion.	  I	  think	  Amos	  Yong	  can	  and	  will	  play	  a	  major	  role	  in	  moving	  the	  discussion	  in	  fruitful	   ways.	   Amos’s	   own	   essay	   in	   this	   book	   is	   on	  God’s	  action,	  and	  his	  ideas	  help	  with	  some	  of	  the	  issues	  I	  have	  mentioned.	  I	  hope	  to	  have	  set	  the	  table	  for	  our	  time	   together	  by	   exploring	   general	   themes	   and	   areas	  for	  exploration	  in	  the	  science	  and	  Pentecostal	  theology	  interface.	  


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