(STRANGE FIRE -- Part 1)
Charisma of the Spirit
(STRANGE FIRE -- Part 1)
Why has the counter reformation been so successful? How is it possible that all that the Reformation stood for could be brushed aside so readily? The Bible clearly gives its own answer. Delusion and deception have played a major role. The spirit of unity that controls the churches is based on emotion rather than truth and it will require careful study to distinguish truth from error. Revealing error is a painful exercise, and it is not the intention here to belittle any avenue of faith, but since souls are at stake, it is vital that we study the scriptures and seek to come into harmony with them.
Prior to Vatican II, most Protestants were weary of Rome, but Vatican II changed that. In real terms, Vatican II did not change the position of Rome, but the perceptions of Rome were changed. The question is, how was this achieved? The only way to lead people away from concentrating on doctrinal issues is to introduce them to experiential religion. To this end, Vatican II also issued directives for the style of worship to be adopted by churches. Henceforth, the church community should participate more in church services, and become involved in worship procedures. There should be a shift away from traditional sermons and more concentration on the reading of psalms and extracts of the gospels. Popular music should be introduced into services, and physical movement of the congregation during singing should be encouraged. Modern musical instruments should be brought into the service, and popular songs should replace the more traditional hymns. The style of worship should be adapted to suit the culture of the nations. The Liturgical section of the Vatican II document, Vol. 1. on this issue can be summarized as follows:
Get the churches accustomed to
celebration terminology and the celebration concept. Every function of the church becomes
a celebration. . .Get the churches accustomed to a revitalized style of celebration
service . . . Reduction of inhibition . . . Lots of physical gestures, bodily attitudes
and movement. Set forth song and musical celebration services as the most effective
celebrations. Utilizing popular religious songs and relating music to the various cultures
and the temperaments of the people.[i]
The Vatican II document in the section on Music in the Liturgy states:
In order
that the faithful may actively participate more willingly and with greater benefit, it is
fitting that the format of the celebration and the degree of participation in it should be
varied as much as possible, according to the solemnity of the day and the nature of the
congregation present...The participation in the Celebration should be internal, but must
be, on the other hand external also, that is, such as to show the internal participation
by gestures and bodily attitudes. By acclamations, responses and singing.[ii]
Emotionalism is a vital ingredient of this type of worship. Not that there is anything wrong with emotions, but it is when they take the place of truth and rational thinking that they cannot be trusted. The Catechism of the Catholic Church adds to the above statements of Vatican II.
1157. Song and music
fulfill their function as signs in a manner all the more significant when they are more
closely connected with the liturgical action, according to three principle criteria:
beauty expressive of prayer, the unanimous participation of the assembly at the designated
moments, and the solemn character of the celebration. In this way they participate in the
purpose of the liturgical words and actions: the glory of God and the sanctification of
the faithful: "How I wept, deeply moved by your hymns, songs and the voices that
echoed through your Church! What emotion I experienced in them! Those sounds flowed into
my ears, distilling the truth in my heart. A feeling of devotion surged within me, and
tears streamed down my face - tears that did me good." 1158 The harmony of signs
(song, music, words and actions) is all the more expressive and fruitful when expressed in
the cultural richness of the people of God who celebrate.[iii]
The word 'celebration' is repeated over and over again in these documents and emotionalism has a high priority. The danger is that liturgy (church format and activities other than preaching of the Word) can become so all-engrossing that it can replace the Word. Singing, responsive readings, music and praise activities can take the place of Word-based religion thus offering a form of godliness without the sustenance of the heavenly bread.
In the same decade that Vatican II changed ecumenical thinking, the Christian world experienced a dramatic ‘revival.’ The charismatic movement, which had its first appearance at the turn of the century, spread like wild fire throughout the US and the rest of the world. The Pentecostal movement, however, still regarded the Roman Catholics with suspicion, as they had not been blessed by this spirit of renewal. However, by 1965 Erwin Prange wrote:
...recently I attended a Roman Catholic, Episcopalian and Lutheran retreat ... I am convinced that the basic meaning of the charismatic renewal is the reunion of the churches.[iv]
In 1967, the faculty and students of the Catholic Notre Dame University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, (run by The Holy Ghost Fathers), prayed for the gifts of the “Holy Spirit”, and during one of their gatherings, hundreds of adherents to the Catholic faith received what they had asked for, and the Catholic Charismatic Movement was born.
Pope Paul VI was first under pressure to condemn the charismatic movement in the Catholic Church, but in 1975, at a mass gathering of 25 000 people, of which 10 000 were foreigners, at St. Peters in Rome, Pope Paul VI praised the spiritual renewal. The journal, Christianity Today, June 6, 1975 writes:
Bishops, archbishops and cardinals, struggling to keep their hats in place, sang and danced in ecstasy, embracing one another, raising their arms to heaven. Pope Paul VI’s address was punctuated with ecstatics.
Since the establishment of the charismatic movement within the Roman Catholic church, the Protestant and Orthodox churches have changed their stance towards Catholic acceptance. Colin Buchanin writes that:
The emergence of the Church of Rome as a partner in ecumenical discussions, and the impact of the charismatic movement, has totally changed ecumenical relationships.[v]
David du Plessis, in the early 1950s, believed that God was calling him, as secretary of the Pentecostal World Conference, to make contact with the World Council of Churches. Subsequently he played a leading role in ecumenical circles. Since the 1960s, the penetration of Pentecostalism into older Protestant and Orthodox denominations has been dramatic. James Dunn writes:
The acceptance of Pentecostalism by the leaders of the World Council marks the first time that more traditional Christianity has genuinely welcomed this enthusiastic brand of faith and worship as a valid and important expression of Christianity. Previously, such forms of Christianity were either persecuted or only able to flourish outside the organized church. Now the charismatic movement has increasingly broken down many of the barriers and misconceptions on both sides. It has spread across all the traditional classes of society and churchmanship, and Catholic Pentecostalism, particularly, has drawn in a calibre of scholarship, and a respect for authority, sacraments and tradition which was missing from classic Pentecostalism.... many leaders of national churches have moved from a cautious “No comment” to the view that the charismatic movement is the best hope for a renewal of the church in the closing decades of this century.[vi]
It is interesting to note that Catholic Pentecostalism has lead to increased reverence of
Papal authority,
Evidence of this revival includes the way occultism and Asian religions
have come to flourish in the West, the resurgence of Islam in some areas of Africa,
Malaysia and Pakistan, together with the revival of Buddhism in Thailand, Vietnam,
Cambodia, Burma and Sri Lanka, of Hinduism in India and of Shintoism in Japan, the
vitality of Spiritism in Brazil and of Sokka Gakkai in Japan.[vii]
Professor Hollenweger of Birmingham University states:
The Charismatic movement had a tremendous potential to create trust and destroy suspicion between conflicting groups to provide a platform on which people could talk honestly and openly without being polarized . . . Already by bringing together Roman Catholics and Protestants, the Charismatic movement has worked ‘miracles.’ [viii]
Pentecostalism spread across the globe like wild fire and by 1996 the religious reports on this phenomenon had this to say:
Ten thousand Charismatics and Pentecostals prayed, sang, danced, clapped and cheered under the common bond of the Holy Spirit during a four-day ecumenical convention last summer . . . About half the participants at the congress on the Holy Spirit and World Evangelization, held July 26 to 29 in Orlando, Florida, were Catholics . . . "The Holy Spirit wants to break down walls between Catholics and Protestants," said Vinson Synan, theological dean of Pat Robertson’s Regent University, who chaired the congress.[ix]
Since the Holy Spirit leads into all truth, there can be no compromise with error. It is
therefore imperative that we study the function of the Holy Spirit carefully as well as
the phenomena, such as healings and speaking in tongues that are ascribed to the Spirit.
Does the Pentecostal movement satisfy the Biblical criteria with regard to the
manifestations of the Spirit?
This article was excerpted from the book Truth Matters by Dr. Walter Veith.
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REFERENCES:
[i] Lloyd & Leola Rosenvold, Adventist Carnivals, p. 116[ii] Documents of Vatican II p. 83, 84[iii] Catechism of the Catholic Church, Articles 1157, 1158[iv] Erwin Prange, Voice, April 1965, p.7[v] The History of Christianity, p.636[vi] Struik Christian Books, The History of Christianity, p. 621,622[vii] Ibid, p.621622[viii] December 1975, Dimensions[ix] Winter 1996, National and International Religion Report, Signswatch