Pentecostalism: An Impure Religion?

[noeticknight]

So very sad. The fruit of an spiritually inbred movement.

-DAII-

I felt an entire thread should be dedicated to this insightful thought.

A friend of mine, a surgeon who now lives in Japan, once related to me about his experience in the Cook Islands. He observed sickness and suffering which was common among the natives due in large part to one factor: lack of genetic variation. The Amish communities suffer similar weaknesses. In the case of the Cook Islands, the problem is mostly a geographical one, resulting from being waterlocked and located in a region of the Pacific Ocean. The Amish, however, are plagued with disorders such as dwarfism, metabolic diseases, and a host of others, due to their ideology of closed communities. Science now knows that variance in genes are essential to perpetuate the healthiness of our offspring. That is why "expanding the gene pool" is a good thing. Weaknesses or gaps in a partner's genetic make-up may be compensated by healthy, hardier genes in the other person. Genetic diversity makes flaws in each other's DNA more difficult to line up.

Consider that following two quotes.

In Edwin Black’s “War Against The Weak: Eugenics And America’s Campaign To Create A Master Race,” the author quotes Walter Plecker, head of Virginia’s Bureau of Vital Statistics in 1912 as saying this: “The white race in this land, is the foundation upon which rests its civilization, and is responsible for the leading position which we occupy amongst the nations of the world. Is it not, therefore, just and right that this race decide for itself what its composition shall be, and attempt, as Virginia has, to maintain its purity?” (page163)

This is a relatively recent quote from the Chairman of the WPF, taken directly from their website: “There is a sense of destiny upon this fellowship. I sense it. I feel it, and many others have expressed the same feeling. Brethren, let us continue preaching this great Jesus name, One God apostolic message. Separation from the world is still a vital part of our message that we must never compromise on. Hearts are hungry for it, and let us not be influenced by the idea of “the emerging church” and other so called spiritual fads that are springing up in these last days. Let us stay true to our message.”

Both of the above statements promote a similar message and theme. The call-to-arms is essentially the same as well, isolation and a closed community. Sound familiar? The Pentecostal leaders who maintain this type of culture should expect the natural consequences, “theological defects” such as “Magic Hair” doctrine, teachings designed to produce loyalty instead of love, spiritual extortion, grace plus law, sins of the spirit and the flesh, etc., etc. We are now witnessing spiritual dwarfs and high spiritual mortality rates in many church assemblies. Left unchecked, these tendencies will produce more and more false doctrines and fables until, like the natives on the Cook Islands, church members may end up begging for diversity to bring balance back to their “genetic makeup.” And when families look around in bewilderment, wondering how their sad state of affairs was able to transpire, it can all be traced back to one word…arrogance. “Doth not even nature itself teach you…?”

[EA]

I can participate in this discussion as long as it focuses on the broader Pentecostal movement, and not a particular organization.

That being said, I do believe the constant demand for absolute uniformity is killing us.

[crakjak]

Originally Posted by Edward Anglin

I can participate in this discussion as long as it focuses on the broader Pentecostal movement, and not a particular organization.

That being said, I do believe the constant demand for absolute uniformity is killing us.

I know of a number of individual churches that are victims of the thing presented in this thread. Once medium size churches, but no one else had such a pure understanding of truth, holiness and the spirit. Now they are mere shells, families of the leaders are mental and emotional wrecks, I call it spiritual incest. According to Hosea, this situations recieve "...miscarrying wombs and dry breasts..." even if the have a live birth it quickly dies due to the dryness of the mothers milk. When we "have it all, and know it all" we are soon all there is.

God is God of all of us, we are all His offspring, and He has no orphans, only prodigals.

[noeticknight]

Originally Posted by Edward Anglin

I can participate in this discussion as long as it focuses on the broader Pentecostal movement, and not a particular organization.

That being said, I do believe the constant demand for absolute uniformity is killing us.

EA,

I believe I understand your hesitancy to get specific, and I respect that. However, our posts are addressing a real tragedy, and this tragedy involves real people. These real people are affected by living, breathing religious organizations made up of men promulgating their religious ideas, correct or incorrect, to the public. Speaking in generalities often masks the most significant points of a discussion. For example, in the book that I referenced, "War Against The Weak...," Mr. Black gives an honest report of his research about those involved in sanctioning and supporting the eugenic movement. No doubt, the sting of conviction would be lost if he had forbidden to disclose such involvements and names like Woodrow Wilson, Margaret Sanger, Oliver Wendell Holmes, the Carnegie Institution, the Rockefeller Foundation, and even the Supreme Court. These names are now associated with evils like forced sterilization, selective human breeding, racist laws, marriage prohibition and eventually euthanasia and Auschwitz. That said, I consider my posts to be very reserved in terms of getting specific, i.e., name calling (which most, if not all of my posts are void of). For me personally though, I'm past beating around the bush.

I sense that you still have some hope and maybe even loyalty to the religious organization of your youth. Are these the same people that you believe demand absolute conformity? If they are, how can you sympathize with their selfish religious intolerance and peripheral teachings? Are you holding out hope that you, one man, can heal the "spiritual disorders" and "genetic defects" that these closed border, piously arrogant communities are experiencing? And if you are holding out hope, are you willing to extend that same benevolent behavior to the Amish people by coercing your children to intermarry with them, so as to increase genetic diversity into their population; because personally imo, they're almost identical scenarios, but the spiritual one is the greater tragedy.

[noeticknight]

Originally Posted by crakjak

I know of a number of individual churches that are victims of the thing presented in this thread. Once medium size churches, but no one else had such a pure understanding of truth, holiness and the spirit. Now they are mere shells, families of the leaders are mental and emotional wrecks, I call it spiritual incest...

...born of arrogance and spread through ignorance. It's ironic that those things which certain Pentecostal leaders fight for to "maintain purity," are actually the very things that are destroying their movement.

[Michael The Disciple]

EA

That being said, I do believe the constant demand for absolute uniformity is killing us.

There is nothing wrong with uniformity. The Bible speaks highly of it. It just depends on what people are being uniform on. For instance Paul wanted all the Churches to be uniform concerning the headcovering of 1 Cor. 11.

The modern Pentecostals have blown it in missing the truth of what the headcovering is. Instead of the veil which Paul meant they have forced a doctrine that its just uncut hair. Then many have taken it to be that the whole chapter is simply "cultural" and our saints can make their own "cultural" standards.

Then others dont take it serious at all. No veil, no long hair, nothing. Just put it on ignore. The way I see it first find what Paul meant. Realize hes writing for the upbuilding of the Church. Then DO what he commands. Everyone.

Its not uniformity thats the problem. Its not understanding Pauls meaning that is hurting the would be New Testament Churches.

[EA]

Michael, obviously there was no uniformity in the New Testament church.

Each epistle Paul penned addressed differences within the assemblies. Same thing in Jesus' letters to the seven churches in Revelation (Asia Minor).

Major, major differences.

[Michael The Disciple]

Originally Posted by Edward Anglin

Michael, obviously there was no uniformity in the New Testament church.

Each epistle Paul penned addressed differences within the assemblies. Same thing in Jesus' letters to the seven churches in Revelation (Asia Minor).

Major, major differences.

Oh really? As in? It looks like to me much of the sacred writings at least by Paul were done for the sake of correcting things that were wrong. When things were made right then everyone would be in one mind and one accord.

The only things I know that were optional was whether to keep days and food issues. Other than that I dont see where there were major, major differences from Church to Church.

[Praxeas]

Originally Posted by Edward Anglin

Michael, obviously there was no uniformity in the New Testament church.

Each epistle Paul penned addressed differences within the assemblies. Same thing in Jesus' letters to the seven churches in Revelation (Asia Minor).

Major, major differences.

Yet it was their lack of uniformity that was the problem, else why write those letters to them?

[EA]

Uniformity in base doctrine, maybe.

But he addressed each assembly and/or person differently, and not simply to correct them.