SwampThing said:
It really bothers me when people lump everyone that believes that the Gifts of the Spirit are for today.....before you all go Terminator on me let me define something....
Charismatic = the TBN & WOFers......
Pentecostal = Believes that the Gifts of the Spirit are for today and are valid to operate just so long as they operate as per scribed in scripture. but that Scripture must take priority and puts the focus on God's Word.
There is a huge difference between the two.
Swamp Thing.......OUT.....
Hiya SwampThing,
I don't mean to sound harsh, As a charismatic believer, I find your definition of terms to be highly simplistic, and actually lacking in true historical definition.
The term Pentecostal has been clasically utilized to define that movement of the Holy Spirit which came into the forefront through Azusa Street in 1906, which was marked by the emphasis of receiving a post-conversion "baptism in the Holy Spirit", marked by the "initial physical evidence" of speaking in other tongues, as per Acts 2:4, Acts 10:44-46, and Acts 19:6. Pentecostals are generally organized denominationally (i.e. Assemblies of God, Church of God - Cleveland, TN, International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, United Pentecostal Church International, etc.), and have generally maintained a more solid balance doctrinally, resisting the extremes of some of the newer movements (i.e. Latter Rain, WoF/Health & Wealth, etc.) Pentecostal church bodies have also spearheaded valuable educational institutions, which fulfill their role in equipping ministers theologically.
The Charismatic Renewal, on the other hand, has not really had one central point of origin (though many historians agree that the influence of Episcopalian Dennis Bennett had great impetus in bringing the movement into the open). Definitions of Spirit-baptism in the movement are more adapted to the respective theologies of the various participants, and insistence on speaking in tongues as evidence of said baptism is not universal. Participation in the Charismatic Renewal is cross-denominational, and has also resulted in "new wineskin" independent church networks. The Charismatic Renewal also absorbed elements of the Latter Rain movement (i.e. apostles and prophets today, Davidic worship, restoration of the Church), and in some ways, birthed the modern-day deliverance ministry (mainly through the ministries of Maxwell Whyte and Derek Prince), the WoF movement, and the "Shepherding Movement".
Then there is the "Third Wave" (coined by C. Peter Wagner), which was a term used to describe the moving of the Holy Spirit among conservative evangelicals, in healing, deliverance, signs and wonders, yet without the Pentecostal distinctives of post-conversion Spirit-baptism w/tongues (Third Wave teaching generally identifies the "baptism in the Holy Spirit" with regeneration, and other encounters with the Spirit as "fillings" or "empowerings"). The main figure recognized as the pioneer of the Third Wave is the late John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard movement.
I hope this overview proves to be helpful to anybody wanting clarification about these movements.
