Historical Perspectives in Christianity - Essay Example

? Topic: Lecturer: Presentation: Introduction The modern day Christianity has evolved over a long time. In thepast, only one denomination used to exist known as Roman Catholicism and all individuals proscribed to it. However, today many denominations do exist in form of Protestantism. The renaissance movement led by Martin Luther led to the split of the catholic denomination into protestant churches that were against the teachings of the catholic faith especially on the issue of confessions and celibacy.1 They felt the clergy should be allowed to marry. However, the Lutheran church was further divided into several denominations due to doctrinal differences. Some retained some rituals conducted by catholic faith while some did away with them altogether. Divisions continued and up to date many denominations continue to crop up. The birth of Pentecostalism however, can be attributed to the Azusa street revival led by William J. Seymour an African American preacher in 1906.2 Seymour was born in a catholic family but was later converted into born again Christian owing to his numerous travels. He believed in the baptism of individuals with the Holy Spirit and the filling of individuals with the Holy Ghost as stated in the book of Acts: 2 by Apostle Luke.3 The Pentecost was thus a renewal of the church and was referred as a revival. There are many events that led to the Azusa street revival that affected and continue to influence the church even today. These will be the focus of attention in this paper but first, a short history of the church will be given. The rest of the paper will be based on the events in the life of William Seymour which led to the revival. Brief History of Christianity The early church mostly was comprised of the Jews hence was regarded as Jewish Christianity. Its roots can be traced in the New Testament where Jesus used to walk with His disciples preaching the gospel to all nations. When He ascended to Heaven, He promised the Apostles He would send them a helper in the name of the Holy Spirit to enable them to preach the gospel widely and this was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost.4 The apostles established a church and spread the gospel far and wide. However, they were all persecuted for holding on to their faith but this did not stop the gospel from spreading. These early churches practiced hymn singing and also believed in miracles such as healing. According to Noll, the Jews were attacked by Romans on 66AD and the war continued for seven years.5 This resulted in taking over of Jerusalem which was the centre of Christianity’s communication, organization and authority and consequently replacing it with Rome. This according to Noll served to expand Christianity from Jewish Christianity to universal Christianity, that is, from Judaism to Christianity. The church became independent and creeds were established to “mark out boundaries of Christian faith.” 6 Christian reform did not end with transformation from Judaism to Christianity; rather, more reforms were in the offing. The Roman Catholic was the dominant denomination and followed the structure that was used by the apostles with the pope as the head of the church. However, the church entangled itself with politics and materialism leading to decay of some moral values. The congregation was supposed to pay taxes, women were not allowed to preach, indulgencies.7 Besides, some people were not happy with the doctrine of celibacy. As such, the protestant movement cropped up and led to reformation of the church. In the protestant church, women were allowed to preach and clergy were allowed to marry. The doctrine of repentance or confession was done away with as people could communicate directly with God instead of confessing sins to priests.8 The protestant church also differed on several issues leading to formation of many other denominations such as Calvinists, Anabaptist, Lutherans and Anglicans.9 The ruling king decided on the denomination to be adopted by the country; some countries were rules by popes, others by Protestants. For example, United Kingdom even today has a state religion in the name of ‘church of England’ or ‘church of Scotland.’ Missionaries from Europe travelled wide to evangelize the world especially the colonized areas and as such America was no exception. Several denominations existed in America such as the holiness church, church of God, assemblies of God, and Baptist church.10 Although they were baptizing people, this was believed to be one of the works of grace. Other works of grace included sanctification and salvation.11 The Birth of Pentecostalism The Azusa street revival is considered as the beginning of modern Pentecostal movement. There is a controversy as to who between Charles Fox Parham and William J. Seymour should be credited with the beginning of this movement. For the whites, they believe it is Parham while the African Americans believe it was Seymour. Whatever the case, the Azusa revival associated with Seymour is credited with this transformation that shaped Christianity in the whole world. There are many issues and events that led to the Azusa street revival. This event cannot be discussed without discussing the life of its founder William Seymour. He was born in 1870 to a slave couple in Centerville, Louisiana. This was a time when America was undergoing reconstruction after the civil war.12 Slaves were required to join the Roman Catholic Church and so Seymour was brought up in the catholic faith which was the dominant religion then. Owing to their African roots, the slaves still believed in the supernatural, signs and wonders, miracles and healings, invisible spirits and visions and dreams.13 These affected the faith of William in various aspects and played a role in the church reformation. The trip to Indianapolis played a part in the revival mission. Here Seymour joined the Methodist Episcopal Church but later left due to conflict with his own doctrines. He believed in return of the Lord in 1000 years and in the role of special revelations which this church did not give much credit.14 He used to attend teachings by Daniel S.Warner in the evenings where people of all races met; there was no discrimination as even women were allowed to preach. Warner was practicing baptism by immersion, believed in last supper and washing of feet just like Jesus did to the Apostles during the last supper.15 Seymour was pleased with these acts and emulated them. Those who attended the teachings were referred as Evening Light Saints. Seymour then embarked on a journey to Cincinnati, Ohio where he met Martin Wells Knapp. Knapp was a great influence to the faith of Seymour even more than Warner. He shared his belief that Jesus would return before the millennium ended and also in special revelations.16 While there, Seymour was infected with small pox which left him one eyed. He believed that this was a message from God to start missionary work. He left Cincinnati to Houston, Texas where he joined holiness congregation led by Lucy Farrow. She was a niece to Frederick Douglass who was an abolitionist. Thorough Lucy Farrow, he was able to meet Charles Parham who was a strong believer of the coming of Holy Spirit. He believed in “baptism in the Holy Spirit with bible evidence of people speaking in tongues.”17 Seymour accepted this belief. He was enrolled in bible school by Parham but he had to study in the corridors due to racial segregation which had been prompted by ‘Jim Crow’ laws. He was allowed to minister to the African Americans congregation and it is while in this mission that Neely Terry discovered him. Neely Terry was a member of congregation which attended a holiness church founded by Julia Hutchings. Julia Hutchings was to go for missionary work in Africa and needed someone to replace her. Neely suggested that Seymour is chosen to replace her and the decision was accepted and so Seymour was invited to Los Angeles to start his own missionary work.18 He had preached in his own church and this was the chance to exercise all he had experienced and learnt. Although Parham was reluctant to let him go, he gave him some money and allowed him to go. However, Seymour’s work at Hutchins church was short lived. Hutchins did not believe that baptism in the Holy Spirit was bible evidence of speaking in tongues and so she locked him out to prevent him from corrupting the church. This was the beginning of new things to come. The Welsh revival was another event that played a great role in establishing Azusa street revival. Wales had experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the American evangelists were expectant of the same in their country.19 Joseph Smale having come from England was determined to lead the Americans to revival and as such he undertook a journey to Wales to witness what was happening. When he came back, he started preparing his congregation for revival (First Baptist Church) but when this was not forthcoming, his congregation rejected him.20 It was this time that Seymour arrived in Los Angeles (Feb, 1906). Hutchins differed with Seymour on various issues. First, Hutchings believed in three acts of grace: baptism, salvation and sanctification while Seymour was of the opinion that baptism in the Holy Spirit was for those who are saved and sanctified and not for sanctifying people.21 The outpouring of the Holy Spirit had been prophesied by Joel in the book of Joel 2: 23-29: “I will pour out my spirit on all fresh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams; your young men shall see visions. Even upon the menservants and maidservants in those days, I will pour out my spirit.”22 This prophesy was about to be fulfilled if the Welsh revival was anything to go by. After falling out with Hutchings, Seymour was accommodated by the family of Edward Lee at where they continued with prayers.23 After few weeks of prayers Lee was baptized and started speaking in tongues. Seymour gave this testimony to congregation and at that instant more people received the Holy Spirit and started speaking in tongues. The congregation swelled hence they had to move to Asberry’s home at North Bonnie Brae Street but after the front porch collapsed , they moved to 312 Azusa street to a building which was previously occupied by African Methodist Episcopal church. The Apostolic Faith Mission was established in the second floor of the building.24 The congregation was too large hence other rooms were also prepared to cater for the overflowing congregation. The building also contained rooms for residents such as Seymour and his wife Jennie. Seymour also began speaking in tongues after long prayers. The main features that separated this church from others were that people of all races intermingled to a point of Liardon and Bart leman commenting that “the colour line had been washed away in the blood.”25The church also embraced men and women and treated them equally. Though Parham played a part in establishing Pentecostalism, he was not happy with mixing of races in the church and thus continued with his own missions which comprised whites only. He also depicted the believers as mentally deranged due to the things they used to do after possession by the Holy Spirit.26 The events unfolding at Azusa were publicized in news articles thus spreading the gospel far and wide. The April 18. 1906 issue of Los Angeles Times commented that “collared people and sprinkling of whites compose the congregation” and that “people spoke in Babel of tongues and could comprehend the babels.”27 Besides Parham, Bartleman was also very critical of the revival and wrote many articles depicting the acts of the church. Those who received the Holy Spirit travelled far and wide to preach the new gospel thus the revival acquired a global perspective. Missionaries went to Africa, Asia, India and Europe and many people received the Holy Spirit after baptism. The services unlike the earlier churches were dominated be people speaking in tongues and there was no singing.28 The church also believed in salvation by faith, sanctification of believers, faith healing, speaking in tongues as bible evidence and the return of Christ. Language was not a barrier.29 The earlier churches were not performing miracles and as such this was a breakthrough and connection to the biblical times of apostles who used to perform miracles. Contrary to earlier churches, there was neither a leader nor order of services. People from all denominations defected to the Apostolic faith Mission prompting other churches to change their services or preaching even Hutchins was baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit. Many denominations sprang up as a result of this revival. Conclusion Christianity has grown since biblical times. The Azusa street revival is considered the foundation of modern Christianity due to the enormous effect it had on church and society. The Pentecostal movement was started by William Seymour an African American born in Louisiana. He started baptizing people with the Holy Spirit and they spoke in tongues as evidence of this spirit. He encouraged people of all races, men and women to join the church and receive the Spirit. They joined in large numbers and others started their own missions locally and abroad thus spreading Pentecostalism globally. Even today, Pentecostal churches are in existence. References Azusa History. 2013. International Center for Spiritual Renewal. Retrieved Jan 10, 2013 from http://www.icfsr.org/history.html Bartleman, Frank (2005). Azusa street:An Eye Witness Account 1906-2006.South Plainfield, NJ: Bridge Publishing. Burgess, S.M and McGee, G.B (1995). Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements. Grand Rapids, MI: Zonderman Publishing House. Cloud, David. "Azuza Street Mission". Retrieved Jan 10, 2013 from http://www.tribwatch/com/azusa.hml Gonzales, J.L (2010). The Story of Christianity: Volume 2: The Reformation to Present Day. New York: HarperCollins. Hocken, P (2009) The Challenges of the Pentecostal , Charismatic and Messianic Jewish Movement. England: Ashgate Hollenweger, W.J (1997) Pentecostalism: Origins and Developments Worldwide. Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson Lane, T.A (2006). A Concise History of Christian Thought. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic Latourette, K.S (1975) A History of Christianity. New York: Harper & Row Publishers. Liardon, R & Bartleman, F (2006). Frank Bartleman’s Azusa Street: First Hand Accounts of the Revival. Shippensburg: Destiny Image Publishing MacRobert, Iain (1988). The Black Roots and White Racism of Early Pentecostalism in the USA. London: Macmillan Press. McGee, G. B (2013). William J. Seymour and the Azusa Street Revival. Enrichment Journal. Available at: http://www.enrichmentjournal.ag.org/199904/026-azusa.cfm Noll, M.A (2012). Turning points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books Owens, R.R. 2005. The Azusa Street Revival: Its Roots and its Message. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. Queen II, E.L., Prothero, S and Shattuck, G.H (eds) (2009). Encyclopedia of American Religious History. 3rd ed. New York: Infobase Robeck, C.M (2006). The Azusa Street Mission and Revival: The Birth of Global Pentecostal Movement. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc. Wilken, R.L (2001). The Christians as the Romans Saw Them. 2nd ed. New Haven: Yale University Press. Read More