The Significance of Glossolalia in the Apostolic Faith Mission, Zimbabwe

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Machingura
Keyword(s):  
Young Men ◽  
African Culture ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Speaking In Tongues ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Prosperity Theology ◽  
History Of ◽  
Pentecostal Churches ◽  
Apostolic Faith Mission ◽  
Philosophical Debates

This study seeks to look at the meaning and significance of Glossolalia 1 in the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe. 2 This paper has also been influenced by debates surrounding speaking in tongues in most of the Pentecostal churches in general and the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe in particular. It was the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) that brought Pentecostalism to Zimbabwe. 3 The paper situates the phenomenon of glossolalia in the Zimbabwean socio-economic, spiritual, and cultural understanding. The Pentecostal teachings on the meaning and significance of speaking in tongues have caused a stir in psychological, linguistics, sociological, anthropological, ethnographical, philological, cultural, and philosophical debates. Yet those in the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe argue that their concept of glossolalia is biblically rooted. Surprisingly non-glossolalist Christians also use the Bible to dismiss the pneumatic claims by Pentecostals. The emphasis on speaking in tongues in the AFM has rendered Zimbabwean ‘mainline’ churches like Anglicans, Catholics and Methodists as meaningless. This is the same with African Indigenous Churches which have also been painted with ‘fault-lines’, giving an upper hand to AFM in adding up to its ballooning number of followers. This is as a result of their restorationist perspective influenced by the history of the Pentecostal Churches that views all non-Pentecostal churches as having fallen from God's intentions through compromise and sin. The AFM just like other Pentecostal churches in Zimbabwe exhibit an aggressive assault and intolerance toward certain aspects of the African culture, which they label as tradition, 4 for example, traditional customs, like paying homage to ancestral spirits (Kurova Guva or bringing back the spirit of the dead ceremony), and marriage customs (polygamy, kusungira or sanctification of the first born ritual). The movement has managed to rid itself of the dominance of the male adults and the floodgates were opened to young men and women, who are the victims of traditional patriarchy. Besides glossolalia being one of the pillars of AFM doctrines, the following also bear some importance: personal testimonies, tithing, church weddings, signs/miracles, evangelism and prosperity theology.

Personality, Mental Health and Glossolalia

Pneuma ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 253-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.J. Francis ◽  
William K. Kay
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young Men ◽  
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Personality Questionnaire ◽  
General Outline ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Speaking In Tongues ◽  
Psychological Theories ◽  
Current Sample ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThis article reports on a survey of young men and women training for Pentecostal ministry. The survey was designed to test the relationship between glossolalia, or speaking in tongues, and personality. Personality theory, briefly outlined below, is complex and divided into several schools. For this reason it is necessary to show how findings derived from one school may be interpreted differently by another. Nevertheless, the general outline of previous work is clear. Most critically important for young men and women preparing for Pentecostal ministry is the fact that some research has questioned the mental health of those who speak in tongues. This article is able to show that, on the contrary, those who speak in tongues in the current sample under study are less neurotic than the general population. In order to demonstrate the validity of this thesis, this article will first outline the optional psychological theories of personality with their explanations of mental health and mental illness, then delineate the findings of various psychological studies of glossolalia, and finally present the results of our study of Pentecostal ministry candidates from a data analysis of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire.

scholarly journals Structural Violence against Women in the Pentecostal Movement: Proposals for a South African Deconstruction Strategy

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Nel
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Structural Violence ◽  
Women's Ministry ◽  
Pentecostal Movement ◽  
History Of ◽  
Pentecostal Churches ◽  
Apostolic Faith Mission

The phenomenon of discrimination against women within Pentecostal churches in terms of ministry and leadership is investigated to propose a strategy for deconstructing such structural violence. The violence is described in terms of a case study, the history of a prominent South African Pentecostal denomination (Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa) that initially recognised the involvement of women in all forms of ministry; subsequently in the 1940s refusing their ministry as preachers and pastors, and eventually at the end of the 1970s offering them the same ministerial privileges as for males. Their recognition is, however, characterised by a practical non-application of a church order that in effect represents the commitment of violence against women. It is argued that the change in perspectives of women’s ministry and leadership is hermeneutical in nature. To deconstruct it would need revisiting Pentecostalism’s original hermeneutic as well as restoring its restorationist urge of egalitarianism and inclusiveness.

scholarly journals Implikasies van ontwikkelings in die leerstelling van goddelike genesing binne die Pinksterbeweging

2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Nel
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Medical Science ◽  
Healing Ministry ◽  
Divine Healing ◽  
Pentecostal Movement ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History Of ◽  
Pentecostal Churches ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Way

Die Pinksterbeweging het met verloop van tyd sy begrip van die leer van goddelike genesing verander. Die veranderings is hoofsaaklik as gevolg van vorderings wat deur die mediese wetenskap gemaak is en die pinksterteologie moes opnuut die verhouding tussen versoening en heling definieer. Die veranderings word in terme van die geskiedenis van die wit afdeling van die Apostoliese Geloof Sending van Suid-Afrika (AGS), die grootste pinksterdenominasie in Suid-Afrika, beskryf. Dit dien tot ’n groot mate as verteenwoordigend van veranderings in die res van die AGS, maar ook van die Pinksterbeweging as sodanig. Die ontleding toon dat die veranderde houding teenoor die gebruik van medisyne en inenting sowel as mediese prosedures soos operasies pinksterkerke uiteindelik dwing om toegewings in sy genesingsbediening te maak wat aan sy Skrifbeskouing verwant is. Dat die kerk veranderings aanbring in ’n belangrike leerstelling soos dié van goddelike genesing, hou belangrike implikasies vir die kerk in. Die implikasies hou verband met die wyse waarop die pinkstermense die Bybel lees en benut en dit noodsaak die Pinksterbeweging om ook oor ander leerstellings na te dink wat uitdagings daaraan stel, byvoorbeeld die eskatologie en ekklesiologie.Implications of developments in die doctrine of divine healing in die Pentecostal movement. The Pentecostal movement changed over time its understanding of the doctrine of divine healing. These changes are mainly in the attitude towards the advances made by medical science and reflected in the way pentecostal theology defined the relation between atonement and healing. The changes are described in terms of the history of the white division of the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa (AFM), the largest pentecostal denomination within South Africa. It serves to a large extent as representative of the changes in the AFM, but also the Pentecostal movement per se. The analysis shows that the changed attitude towards the use of medicine and vaccination as well as medical procedures such as operations eventually forced pentecostal churches to make concessions in its healing ministry, leading to changes in its scriptural view of the doctrine under consideration. That the church changed in aspects related to such an important doctrine poses important challenges that it must take note of. These implications are related to the way pentecostal people read and use the Bible and require that the church reflect on other doctrines that also challenge the Pentecostal movement, like its eschatology and ecclesiology.

The Evangelical Background

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grayson Carter
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Young Men ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
Oxford Movement ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

Did Evangelicalism influence the beginnings—and nature—of the Oxford Movement? There were, in fact, a number of close associations between the two movements, and several of the leading personalities of the Oxford Movement were raised in Evangelicalism, but eventually came to reject the more extreme ‘gospel religion’ found in Oxford during the 1820s and 1830s. As this chapter illustrates, there were powerful political, spiritual, and social forces and counter-forces at work in England at the time, propelling young men and women in different ecclesial directions. The Evangelical background to the Oxford Movement is an important, but often overlooked, feature of the history of the Church of England during the nineteenth century.

scholarly journals MODERN UKRAINIAN PENTECOSTAL THEOLOGY: FROM HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT TO CONTENT OF RESEARCHES

Skhid ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-66
Author(s):  
Vitalii Hura
Keyword(s):  
Theological Education ◽  
Assembly Of God ◽  
Doctoral Level ◽  
Pentecostal Movement ◽  
Theological Schools ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Pentecostal Theology ◽  
History Of ◽  
Pentecostal Churches ◽  
The Church

The article reflects the main historical stages of the formation of Ukrainian Pentecostal theology over the past thirty years: from the “birth” of the first church schools to the defense dissertations of doctoral level. Author has presented connection between post-soviet Pentecostal dogmatic system with evangelical traditional of dispensationalism and literal hermeneutic method in study of the Bible. Obviously, that Pentecostal Churches were strongly influenced through the Baptist Bible Courses in Moscow, because many Pentecostal leaders completed them. The author demonstrated the role of Bible Seminaries founded in independent Ukraine by western missioners of leading church`s unions, like the Assembly of God and the Church of God. The article identifies two models of the Pentecostal education (“church” and “academic” approaches) that address to the different needs of church society. “Church” type of theological education tries to teach important topics connected with applied questions of church ministry. However, this approach has a weak side hidden in methodology of research. As a result, not all research papers completed by graduates of the church-oriented school are interesting for Ukrainian scientific society. For control of quality in Ukrainian theological schools, EAAA was founded. Another direction of the development of the Ukrainian pentecostal theological model thinking is the “academic model” of theological education, that today develops in cooperation with state institutions. Through the analysis of the topics of defended dissertations, the author identifies key trends in the development of the Ukrainian Pentecostal movement. Among key topics, there is introspective research of the own roots, reasons of spreading alternative church movement in USSR, and its place on the World religious map. Like prognostic conclusion of all the text, the author identified several topics that may be interesting for Western academic partners, like “theology of Maidan”, “Church peaceful strategies for East of Ukraine” and “Ecological theology in light of Chernobyl’s tragedy”.

Some Varieties of Humility Worth Wanting

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Nadelhoffer ◽  
Jennifer Cole Wright ◽  
Matthew Echols ◽  
Tyler Perini ◽  
Kelly Venezia
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Current Literature ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Contemporary Philosophy ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History Of ◽  
Philosophical Debates ◽  
Theology And Philosophy

In this paper we first set the stage with a brief overview of the tangled history of humility in theology and philosophy—beginning with its treatment in the Bible and ending with the more recent work that has been done in contemporary philosophy (§§1–2). Our two-fold goal at this early stage of the paper is to explore some of the different accounts of humility that have traditionally been developed and highlight some of the key debates in the current literature. Next, we present the findings from several studies we recently conducted in an effort to explore people’s intuitions and beliefs about humility as well as their experiences with being humble (or failing to be humble) (§3). Finally, we discuss the relevance of our findings to the ongoing philosophical debates about humility—suggesting that while some varieties of humility are problematic, other varieties of humility are certainly worth wanting (§4).

scholarly journals Moratorium to Preserve Cultures: A Challenge to the Apostolic Faith Mission Church in Zimbabwe?

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-148
Author(s):  
Robert Matikiti
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Religious Practice ◽  
Historical Study ◽  
African Culture ◽  
Predominantly Black ◽  
Main Challenge ◽  
Pentecostal Churches ◽  
Apostolic Faith Mission ◽  
Mission Church ◽  
Azusa Street

This historical study will demonstrate that each age constructs an image of Jesus out of the cultural hopes, aspirations, biblical and doctrinal interfaces that make Christ accessible and relevant. From the earliest times, the missionaries and the church were of the opinion that Africans had no religion and culture. Any religious practice which they came across among the Africans was regarded as heathen practice which had to be eradicated. While references to other Pentecostal denominations will be made, this paper will focus on the first Pentecostal church in Zimbabwe, namely the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM). Scholars are not agreed on the origins of Pentecostalism. However, there is a general consensus among scholars that the movement originated around 1906 and was first given national and international impetus at Azusa Street in North America. William J. Seymour’s Azusa Street revival formed the most prominent and significant centre of Pentecostalism, which was predominantly black and had its leadership rooted in the African culture of the nineteenth century. Despite this cultural link, when Pentecostalism arrived in Zimbabwe from 1915 onwards, it disregarded African culture. It must be noted that in preaching the gospel message, missionaries have not been entirely without fault. This has resulted in many charging missionaries with destroying indigenous cultures and helping to exploit native populations for the benefit of the West. The main challenge is not that missionaries are changing cultures, but that they are failing to adapt the Christocentric gospel to different cultures. Often the gospel has been transported garbed in the paraphernalia of Western culture. This paper will argue that there is a need for Pentecostal churches to embrace good cultural practices in Zimbabwe.

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