Toward a Theological Understanding of the Pentecostal Appeal to Experience

Introduction The role experience plays in Pentecostal worship and theologizing was aptly described by Frank Bartleman, an avid participant in Azusa Street revival, who was probably person most influential in spreading Pentecostal message through written accounts and preaching tours: Pentecostal methods look foolish to many but natural man receiveth not things of Spirit; just to extent he is in natural does he fall short of full conception of operation of Spirit of God. So people who have not experienced operation of Spirit cannot understand this fresh manifestation of God....But there is in experience and in every fresh realm of Spirit a whole realm of new of right kind, higher thought of God. Truth these days, very largely opens up to me by revelation. (1) Bartleman's emphasis upon religious experience is typical of Pentecostals. Pentecostals assert two primary moments of experience in crisis events of conversion and baptism of Holy Spirit with tongues, while some include second blessing experience of sanctification. They also believe that there are other moments of religious experience commonly encountered in worship as Spirit's presence is made known. Moreover, Bartleman's use of revelation suggests a special knowledge of God's truth through experience of Spirit, not only in scriptural illumination but also through visions, dreams, prophecy, and other charismatic phenomena. Religious experience, though, is a difficult concept to define. In an analysis of Pentecostalism, Harvard theologian Harvey Cox commented that, if Pentecostals are to construct a self-authentic and self-descriptive theology, they need to clarify they mean when they speak of For Cox, fundamentalism and experientialism are emerging spiritual paradigms that seek to create authentic links to sacred past. (2) Although experience assumes differing conceptual forms, Cox noted that its proponents see it as the key dimension of faith. (3) He claimed, however, that these two paradigms are fighting for dominance within Pentecostalism. (4) If Pentecostals are to side with experientialist camp, as Cox would prefer, then they need to define clearly what they mean by 'experience.' Otherwise a vacuous 'cult of experience,' too much in keeping with contemporary celebration of 'feelings' and endless search for sources of arousal and exhilaration, could undermine its authenticity. (5) The intent of this essay is to take up Cox's challenge and develop a clearer understanding of appeal Pentecostals make to experience. The premise here is that experience has varying degrees of meaning and conceptualization that need to be identified before one can speak accurately of Pentecostal experience. This essay, therefore, will first examine how scholars have attempted to understand experience within Pentecostal context. Second, a typology for understanding appeal to experience that was developed by late Jesuit priest and Toronto School of Theology professor George P. Schner will be used in an attempt to clarify appeal to experience in context of Pentecostalism. The Place of Experience in Pentecostal Scholarship Various scholars of Pentecostalism have been struggling to develop an understanding of experience that not only is philosophically and theologically credible but also is true to heart of Pentecostal identity. Donald Dayton has pointed to Pentecostals' use of a subjectivizing hermeneutic, which allows them to read narrative account of Day of Pentecost as experientially normative for receiving Spirit. (6) Pentecostals bring their own desires for fresh experiences of God to Lukan narrative in a dialectic hermeneutic between reader and text. Church of God Pentecostal theologian Steven Land has defined Pentecostal experience through category of crisis, in which believer's experience of Spirit is an existential encounter. …

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