{"id":70,"date":"2002-08-29T21:15:29","date_gmt":"2002-08-30T05:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/archives\/2002\/08\/29\/a-pentecostal-and-a-catholic-discuss-the-essence-of-christianity\/"},"modified":"2009-06-28T12:38:12","modified_gmt":"2009-06-28T20:38:12","slug":"a-pentecostal-and-a-catholic-discuss-the-essence-of-christianity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2002\/08\/29\/a-pentecostal-and-a-catholic-discuss-the-essence-of-christianity","title":{"rendered":"A Pentecostal and a Catholic Discuss the Essence of Christianity"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been mean\u00ading to men\u00adtion for a while now that I\u2019ve start\u00aded a blog con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtion with Sean Gal\u00adlagher<\/a> (a Catholic who runs a blog title Note Bene<\/i>) about the rea\u00adson Peten\u00adcostal mis\u00adsion\u00adar\u00adies seem to tar\u00adget Catholics.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the run\u00addown so far: it all began when I read Sean\u2019s August 24th post about Pen\u00adte\u00adcostal pros\u00ade\u00adlytism<\/a>. I made a com\u00adment on that post\u00ading explain\u00ading my point of view.<\/p>\n

As a Pen\u00adte\u00adcostal mis\u00adsion\u00adary (albeit to Stan\u00adford and not Latin Amer\u00adi\u00adca), I\u2019d like to com\u00adment. <\/i><\/p>\n

Some peo\u00adple who attend Catholic church\u00ades are fol\u00adlow\u00aders of Jesus, and some are not. My strong impres\u00adsion is that here in the Amer\u00adi\u00adc\u00adas the major\u00adi\u00adty are not. <\/p>\n

By way of dis\u00adclaimer, I would like to add my belief that the same prob\u00adlem exists in most denom\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtions (includ\u00ading mine): too many peo\u00adple are involved because of momen\u00adtum and not because of faith. I do think the prob\u00adlem is par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly acute in the RCC. <\/p>\n

That being said, I nev\u00ader delib\u00ader\u00adate\u00adly seek to pros\u00ade\u00adly\u00adtize peo\u00adple who are faith\u00adful adher\u00adents of anoth\u00ader Chris\u00adt\u00adian tra\u00addi\u00adtion. In gen\u00ader\u00adal, if a stu\u00addent tells me they are a Chris\u00adt\u00adian I believe them, and I try to help them grow in their faith. If I am of sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant help to them, they often wind up switch\u00ading their adher\u00adence. <\/p>\n

How\u00adev\u00ader, when I meet some\u00adone with\u00adout a vibrant faith (such as the infa\u00admous East\u00ader and Christ\u00admas only crowd), I try to help them either reawak\u00aden a faith grown cold or dis\u00adcov\u00ader true faith for the first time. When\u00adev\u00ader that hap\u00adpens, they almost always switch their adher\u00adence. This is what I believe is hap\u00adpen\u00ading in South Amer\u00adi\u00adca. <\/p>\n

The switch has two roots, I think: one is an emo\u00adtion\u00adal intu\u00adition that what\u2019s work\u00ading for us might work for them since we were so help\u00adful to them, the oth\u00ader is that we express sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant\u00adly dif\u00adfer\u00adent doc\u00adtri\u00adnal posi\u00adtions from the RCC that if believed make a switch vir\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly inevitable.<\/p>\n

He thought that what I said was pret\u00adty inter\u00adest\u00ading<\/a>, and brought it to the atten\u00adtion of his read\u00aders. Short\u00adly there\u00adafter, he post\u00aded a series of ques\u00adtions for me answer<\/a> <\/p>\n

divx pearl har\u00adbor<\/a><\/div>\n

.<\/p>\n

I answered his ques\u00adtions via email, but for your con\u00adve\u00adnience, here they are:<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll answer your ques\u00adtions as best I can, just remem\u00adber that I\u2019m not a spokesper\u00adson for my denom\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion<\/a> (much less for all of Pen\u00adte\u00adcostal\u00adism)\u2026 I come from the strand of Pen\u00adte\u00adcostal\u00adism that val\u00adues oth\u00ader tra\u00addi\u00adtions with\u00adout com\u00adpro\u00admis\u00ading the integri\u00adty of my own (much like the founders of the Soci\u00adety for Pen\u00adte\u00adcostal Stud\u00adies<\/a>).<\/i><\/p>\n

First, what is a fol\u00adlow\u00ader of Jesus?<\/b> I should state for the record that I am using this term syn\u00adony\u00admous\u00adly with Chris\u00adt\u00adian. The authors of the New Tes\u00adta\u00adment seem to have been inca\u00adpable of con\u00adceiv\u00ading of a Chris\u00adt\u00adian who was not active\u00adly seek\u00ading to emu\u00adlate Jesus. Jesus\u2019 call was (and is) to \u201ccome, fol\u00adlow me.\u201d In fact the very label Chris\u00adt\u00adian refers to the con\u00adcept of \u2018lit\u00adtle Christs.\u2019 Hav\u00ading said that, I would define a fol\u00adlow\u00ader of Jesus as some\u00adone who has embraced the teach\u00adings and exam\u00adple of Jesus as the foun\u00adda\u00adtion of their lives and has brought their lives under the influ\u00adence of the God (become cit\u00adi\u00adzens of the King\u00addom). The clas\u00adsic word for this action is repent: to turn from a self-direct\u00aded life to a God-direct\u00aded life.<\/p>\n

Sec\u00adond, defin\u00ading a faith\u00adful adher\u00adent is always tricky.<\/b> I mean both faith\u00adful (con\u00adsis\u00adtent par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpant in a local com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty of Chris\u00adt\u00adian faith) and faith-full (con\u00adforms to the def\u00adi\u00adn\u00adi\u00adtion above). Allow me to demon\u00adstrate by way of coun\u00adterex\u00adam\u00adple what I\u2019m get\u00adting at: <\/p>\n

* Sup\u00adpose that I\u2019m in con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtion with a stu\u00addent and they dis\u00adcov\u00ader that I\u2019m an ambas\u00adsador for Christ. They make some sort of com\u00adment along the fol\u00adlow\u00ading lines, \u201cYeah, I was raised in church, but I just don\u2019t find it mean\u00ading\u00adful. I stopped going when I was a teenag\u00ader.\u201d In my mind, they flunk both tests\u2013they need to be intro\u00adduced to the King and enrolled in a local com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty of like-mind\u00aded believ\u00aders. <\/p>\n

* Sup\u00adpose that I meet a stu\u00addent who says, \u201cYeah, I love going to church\u2013that\u2019s where all the cute girls go!\u201d (and upon inves\u00adti\u00adga\u00adtion I dis\u00adcov\u00ader that they real\u00adly are that shal\u00adlow). They pass the con\u00adsis\u00adten\u00adcy test but fail the fol\u00adlow\u00ader of Jesus test. <\/p>\n

* Sup\u00adpose that I meet a stu\u00addent who says, \u201cYeah\u2013I real\u00adly admire Jesus. But I hate the church\u2013they\u2019ve real\u00adly let me down. I\u2019ll nev\u00ader set foot in a church again!\u201d Per\u00adhaps they pass test #2 (fur\u00adther inves\u00adti\u00adga\u00adtion is need\u00aded), but they fail test #1. <\/p>\n

I would con\u00adsid\u00ader all these peo\u00adple in des\u00adper\u00adate need of God\u2019s grace expressed through human love in the con\u00adtext of a com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty earnest\u00adly fol\u00adlow\u00ading Jesus. Please note that I nev\u00ader men\u00adtioned a spe\u00adcif\u00adic denom\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal back\u00adground for any of them\u2013it\u2019s irrel\u00ade\u00advant to these exam\u00adples.<\/p>\n

Third, how would I as a Pen\u00adte\u00adcostal help a Catholic grow in their faith?<\/b> That\u2019s an excel\u00adlent ques\u00adtion! Basi\u00adcal\u00adly I do it the same way I help any\u00adone to grow in their faith: love them uncon\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly, pray for them con\u00adsis\u00adtent\u00adly, encour\u00adage them in right\u00adeous\u00adness, and rebuke them in sin. Teach them the lessons of Scrip\u00adture (I should note that my inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtion of Scrip\u00adture dif\u00adfers from the Catholic under\u00adstand\u00ading at points. I obvi\u00adous\u00adly teach what I believe to be true). Give rea\u00adson\u00adable answers to hon\u00adest ques\u00adtions. In addi\u00adtion, here are a few oth\u00ader actions I\u2019d take with some\u00adone from a churched back\u00adground: <\/p>\n

* I\u2019ve noticed that many col\u00adlege-aged peo\u00adple engage in litur\u00adgy by rote and fail to under\u00adstand its sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcance (con\u00adfir\u00adma\u00adtion notwith\u00adstand\u00ading). I\u2019d try to help them see it with fresh eyes: as a heart\u00adfelt expres\u00adsion of wor\u00adship and devo\u00adtion to God. I\u2019d prob\u00ada\u00adbly also give them a copy of some\u00adthing like Peter Kreeft\u2019s One Catholic to Anoth\u00ader.<\/p>\n

* I\u2019ve also noticed that many stu\u00addents raised in church (of what\u00adev\u00ader tra\u00addi\u00adtion) have a very juve\u00adnile under\u00adstand\u00ading of faith\u2013their reli\u00adgious edu\u00adca\u00adtion stalled at a junior high lev\u00adel and they\u2019ve nev\u00ader probed their faith at an age-appro\u00adpri\u00adate lev\u00adel. Inci\u00adden\u00adtal\u00adly, I think that\u2019s one of the rea\u00adsons so many col\u00adlege stu\u00addents bail on the church. They\u2019re try\u00ading to incor\u00adpo\u00adrate irrec\u00adon\u00adcil\u00adable world\u00adviews in their minds: one a 7th-grade under\u00adstand\u00ading of the good news and the oth\u00ader a col\u00adlege-lev\u00adel under\u00adstand\u00ading of sec\u00adu\u00adlar phi\u00adlos\u00ado\u00adphy. Guess which one wins? To that end, I\u2019d try to help stu\u00addents reframe their ques\u00adtions and seek answers in a more sophis\u00adti\u00adcat\u00aded man\u00adner. <\/p>\n

* Anoth\u00ader high pri\u00ador\u00adi\u00adty on my list is to help stu\u00addents expe\u00adri\u00adence the imme\u00addi\u00adate super\u00adnat\u00adur\u00adal pow\u00ader of the Holy Spir\u00adit (includ\u00ading the charis\u00adma\u00adta). The Bible por\u00adtrays charis\u00admat\u00adic Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty as the nor\u00adma\u00adtive mod\u00adel for fol\u00adlow\u00aders of Jesus. We are to exhib\u00adit not only the fruit of the Spir\u00adit but also the gifts of the Spir\u00adit.<\/p>\n

Fourth, I think I\u2019ve addressed this ques\u00adtion in my response to ques\u00adtions one and two. A vibrant faith is a com\u00adbi\u00adna\u00adtion of belief and trust that makes a dif\u00adfer\u00adence in one\u2019s day-to-day opin\u00adions, feel\u00adings, and behav\u00adior.<\/b> <\/p>\n

I hope I\u2019ve answered your ques\u00adtions mean\u00ading\u00adful\u00adly. I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll have some com\u00adments in response.
\n<\/p>\n

So far he\u2019s post\u00aded his reponse<\/a> to my answer to his first ques\u00adtion: What Defines a Fol\u00adlow\u00ader of Jesus? I\u2019ll try to respond as soon as I can (although my in-laws are vis\u00adit\u00ading<\/a> and that will make com\u00adput\u00ader time hard\u00ader to come by).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In which I talk with a Catholic about the nature of Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-of-random-interest"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-18","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1857,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70\/revisions\/1857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}