The Charismatic Movement

During the present century there have been widespread claims to the recovery of certain spiritual gifts which were experienced in apostolic times

- speaking in tongues, prophecy and healings. These are often referred to as "charismatic gifts" because the Greek word charisma is translated as ~gift" in our New Testament.

Claims to these gifts in the first half of this century mainly found expression in the "Pentecostal" denominations. Traditional churches tended to resist the doctrinal basis on which the renewal of the gifts was claimed, and to suspect the type of manifestations involved.

Since the middle of the century, however, there has been a widespread "overspill" of charismatic manifestations among other denominations. This development is sometimes referred to as "neo-Pentecostalism". Those who promote it prefer to be called "Charismatic" rather than 'Pentecostal".

The growth of this movement within non-Pentecostal churches is a dramatic feature of the religious scene of our time. Even the Roman Catholic Church has been affected by it. In 1967 a meeting of Charismatic Catholics at Duquesne University (USA) attracted only 90 people. In 1973, 25,000 Catholic Charismatics met at Notre Dame University (USA). It is conservatively estimated that in the USA about half a million Catholics now regularly organize charismatic prayer groups for personal spiritual uplift.

Still more significantly the Charismatic Christian Movement has organized

interdenominational charismatic conventions. In the summer of 1977 an interdenominational assembly was held at Kansas City (USA), with an attendance of 45,000. The chairman and about half the delegates were Roman Catholics. The chairman said he believed this to be the largest grass-roots ecumenical movement in 800 years. Others have also hailed the wider charismatic development as "the greatest single unifier among Christians". The ecumenical movement seeks union between the larger denominations, and is led by church hierarchies. But the charismatic movement is a grass-roots phenomenon, and largely upholds the idea of separate denominations. Charismatics are generally encouraged to remain in the church where they feel most comfortable. An overall spirit of unity will be developed by sharing charismatic experiences.

Among the religious personalities featured at the Kansas City Convention in 1977 was a Catholic cardinal from Belgium. As he celebrated mass at the convention stadium he is reported to have interrupted the ceremony to speak in tongues. An evangelist from California paused in his address for a "Holy Ghost break". He began to shout "Glory to God" and "Jesus is Lord". The audience rose and joined in. As excitement mounted, "a gurgling sound arose from the audience". This was claimed to be the New Testament experience of speaking in tongues.

How is all this seen in the light of God's Word? A helpful guiding principle is that the Holy Spirit works in harmony with the written Word. God's Word is truth (John 17:17). "When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He shall guide you into all the truth" (John 16,13).' So in any movement of the Spirit of God we'd expect to find a basic soundness of doctrine. Yet we now have charismatic manifestations among people of widely diverse groups, including many who still happily relate to the doctrinal errors of the Roman Catholic church. The manifestations appear to be identical with those experienced within the Pentecostal churches. This can only deepen mistrust of the claim that gifts of the Spirit are genuinely being manifested. For how can we attribute to the Holy Spirit these manifestations in tongues and prophecies among people whose doctrines are so clearly unscriptural and so largely at variance?

Again, a Spirit - directed unity would be according to the apostles' teaching as seen in the unity of churches of God in the New Testament. The scriptural ground of unity is common allegiance to the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude v.3). But with neo-Pentecostalism, this current flood-tide of charismatic manifestation, there is a quite different concept. It substitutes for divine unity an expedient which accommodates the wide doctrinal diversity of many denominations. All these differences are apparently to be submerged in the overriding sense of unity achieved by togetherness in charismatic experiences. How very far this idea is removed from the true unity of the Spirit! Our great safeguard as believers is faithfulness to the written Word "Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors ... Remove from me the way of falsehood: and grant me Thy law graciously... Order my footsteps in Thy word" (Psa. 119:24,29,133).

unknown | 8111 1981
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