Pentecostalism as the Future of Christianity

The denominations of Christianity are pluralistic in many ways, including in their understandings of worship (Empereur 2004: 15). According to Alvarado (2012: 135), the way people worship reveals both their understanding of God and contributes to their spiritual development. Worship therefore ushers adherents into an authentic and meaningful relationship with God and with each other. However, in contemporary society, “many people seek deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives” (Alvarado 2012: 136). Much of the contemporary population desire to experience worship in their churches in living, active and dynamic ways.

The tenets of Pentecostal worship which are passionate praise and emotional release make its expression a transformative, active, vibrant and moving encounter with God and the Holy Spirit (Alvarado 2012: 139). Pentecostal theology of worship therefore has much to offer Christianity and its adherents in terms of liturgy and ritual. According to Alvarado (2012: 135), “a Pentecostal revision of liturgy and liturgical theology will benefit the Church.” However, many churches are reluctant to abandon their prepared liturgy in favour of free-flowing worship like that of Pentecostalism.

Take Hillsong Worship for example. Hillsong embraces contemporary technological advances and recognises contemporary society’s needs to form a new practice of worship through a well-recognised music ministry. The repetition of the lyrics and the transforming melodies within its songs transform the individual participants so that they may transcend the normality of life for a special spiritual experience. It is thus a dynamic, transformational and spiritually formative event. This is exemplified in the following YouTube clip of a song called This I Believe (The Creed). This Hillsong Worship song is based on the Apostles Creed and is a unifying bold declaration of faith in Jesus Christ. Just by listening to and watching this video, the individual can gain a sense of the feelings one can attain from a new, more encompassing and active type of worship.

In an increasingly digital age, youth are becoming no longer interested in attending Church services as they find them ‘outdated’ or ‘boring.’ So, by adapting elements of the Pentecostal tradition in order to engage worshippers with the word of God and the Holy Spirit, it may strengthen the faith and encourage participation and church attendance in the future of Christianity. This view of liturgical reformation would revive our Christian hearts and give us the opportunity to be a worshipping community, like that shown in the above Hillsong video (Alvarado 2012: 151).

As Empereur expounds, “excellent parishes are like missionary outposts that are in conflict with the surrounding culture but are trying to sanctify it.” So, in a world overtaken by technology and secularism, an enlivening of the Christian faith is somewhat necessary to renew faith within the adherent’s lives. So, is Pentecostalism the future of Christianity?

References

Alvarado, J. (2012). Worship in the Spirit: Pentecostal Perspectives on Liturgical Theology and Praxis. Journal of Pentecostal Theology, 21: 135–151

Empereur, J. (2004). Worship Wars in the Roman Catholic Church. Liturgy, 19(4): 15-24.

Secularization and Counter-Secularization

In today’s world, fundamentalism is often considered a strange, rare, hard-to-understand and hard-to-explain phenomenon. However, Berger argues that, when you look at the contemporary world today, what is rare is not the phenomenon of fundamentalism, but knowledge of it.

Berger goes on to say that the assumption that we live in a secularised world is false. The world is as furiously religious as it ever was, and in some places more than ever. Berger defines secularization theory as “modernization necessarily leads to a decline of religion, both in society and in the minds of individuals.” However, this is wrong. Although secularisation has had some effect in some places, it has also provoked strong movements of counter-secularisation. The relation between religion and modernity is therefore rather complicated.

To some people, modernity and secularisation is the enemy. To others, it is some kind of invincible world-view to which religious beliefs and practices should adapt themselves. In this sense, religious phenomena is considered backward or superstitious to some extent. However, this can be argued against. If we really lived in a highly secularised society, as some believe we do, then religious institutions would be expected to survive to the degree that they manage to adapt to secularity (Berger 4). But, in fact, religious communities have survived and even flourished to the degree that they have not tried to adapt themselves to the alleged requirements of a secularized world.

Take Islam for example. The world is currently experiencing an Islamic upsurge. Berger explains this as an impressive revival of emphatically religious commitments overtaking vast geographical scope and affecting every single Muslim country from North Africa to South-East Asia (7). This resurgence is bringing about a restoration of distinctively Islamic life-styles.

For instance, many daughters of secularised professionals are adopting the hijab, the Islamic headscarf or veil. This is occurring in predominately Western-style higher education such as universities in Egypt and Turkey. So, the movement is by no means restricted to the less modernized or backward sectors of society.

In my opinion, and through research conducted in my past, I can confirm that the resurgence of the hijab in Western societies is indeed occurring in the contemporary world, and for positive reasons. Today, the wearing of the hiab can function as a way of establishing identity. The wearing of the hijab now, for Muslim feminists such as Leila Ahmed, affirms pride in Muslim identity in Western societies. As I established in an essay last year:

“In Western societies, some Muslim women wear the hijab to find pride in their ethnic identities (Howard 2012: 154). It can be a powerful symbol of Muslim identity. Muslim women consciously reinforce their religious identity by adopting "scripturally ordained apparel" (Gabriel & Hannan 2011: 14). One Muslim woman says she wears it "as a way of openly identifying with a group that people have prejudices about" (Ahmed 2011: 8).”

So, in contemporary society, the wearing of the hijab affirms pride in Muslim women’s Muslim identity. This resurgence therefore acknowledges Berger’s theory, being that religious communities have survived and even flourished in the wake of secularisation, to the degree that they have not adapted themselves to the modern world, but adopted and restored traditional religious life-styles. In this instance, secularisation has in fact caused a counter-secularisation approach, or resurgence of religion, the opposite of what this theory attempts to achieve.

Secularisation is therefore not a theory that stands true today, despite popular belief. As Berger concludes, “those who neglect religion in their analyses of contemporary affairs do so at great peril” (18).

References

Ahmed, Leila. (2011). A Quiet Revolution: The Veil's Resurgence from the Middle East to America. London: Yale University Press.

Berger P. The desecularization of the world. A global overview. In P. Berger. The desecularization of the world. Resurgent religions and world politics. Grand Rapis, MI: William Erdmans & Co.

Gabriel, Theodore & Hannan, Rabiha. (2011). Islam and the Veil: Theoretical and Regional Contexts. London: Continuum International Publishing Group.

Howard, E. (2012). Banning Islamic veils: Is gender equality a valid argument? International Journal of Discrimination and the Law, 12 (14). DOI: 10.1177/1358229112464450

The Future of Witchcraft

In his article, Clark begins by saying that no two things could be further apart than demonology and science (2005: 151). However, he quickly changes his mind on this statement. He highlights that, from the 15^th to the 18^th century, questions dominating witchcraft concerned its very possibility as a genuine occurrence in the physical world (151). In other words, questions of demons and witches were a commonality for scientists in these eras. Clark defines demonology as a “study of a natural order in which the existence of demonic actions and effects was, largely, presupposed” (151).

The complete opposite of this idea and definition exists today. Modern science refers the deeds of devils and witches to a realm of supernatural, wholly beyond natural laws (Clark 152). As C.S. Lewis foregrounds, “such creatures are not part of the subject matter of natural philosophy” (Clark 152). Nowadays, it is regarded as occult or pseudo-science. Themes such as demons and witches have consequently become incompatible with scientific insight and progress.

Clark terms this development in scientific knowledge as the “rise of science and decline of magic.” This is an interesting thought. In my perspective, this magic that he is referring to is like religion. The word ‘magic’ can just as easily be substituted with ‘religion.’ So, the rise of science can be said to have led to a decline of magic and religion. As we become increasing aware of the world around us and advance in knowledge, then there becomes a decreasing interest in things such as magic and religion to explain ultimate questions. Nowadays, magic is termed “supernatural,” basically meaning ‘non-existent,’ or an idea from a past time. Does that mean religion will follow this path too? As science rises higher and higher, will religion become extinct and a part of history?

Clark argues that before enlightenment, and the coming of ‘new’ science, things were different, metaphysically speaking, and nature was thought to have other limits. He therefore views the modern era’s scepticism as not a victory of knowledge over ignorance, but rather a corollary of knowing nature according to different rules. In early modern Europe, it was the unanimous opinion that witches and demons, in fact, really did exist (Clark 152). Demonology was a part of early modern science and nature. So, rather than calling this period ‘foolish’ or ‘irrational’, the best way sum it up is by associating demonology with development and advancement in natural knowledge, not by stagnation or decay (Clark 156).

So, I wonder, is the extinction of religion next on this road of development and advancement? In the future, I ponder whether we will again regard nature according to different rules to the one’s we recognise now. Will religion become the new magic? Will it become a part of the supernatural in years to come? Will future scientists see us as ‘irrational’ for our somewhat unanimous opinion that God, or some kind of afterlife, really does exist?

Reference

Clark, S. 2005. Thinking with Demons. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ch. 10