The Christian Cults (CC): Charismatics

Speaker: Scott Jarrett | Aug 2, 2015

After the apostolic period (the time when the apostles were still alive, 1st century), the belief that God was still speaking audibly or that the prophets continued to exist (including the other accompanying sign-gifts) was rejected by the Christian Church as heretical. Those groups practicing such things or embracing those doctrines were likewise condemned (e.g. 2nd century, Montanism/The New Prophecy). This continued to be the position of the Protestant Church until the emergence of the Pentecostal, Charismatic and Third wave movements of early 20th century America (i.e. 1901, Charles Parham, William Seymour and the Azusa Street Revivals). Today, such doctrine/practices are tolerated even by those who disagree signaling a major historical shift. In other words, what claims to be Christianity today is at considerable odds with where Christianity has existed for almost two thousand years. The result of this new persuasion has also had a noticeable effect on the overall population of this country. For example, a 2000 study found that 38.7 percent of the population reported visual, auditory or other hallucinations, including out-of-body experiences. The common buzz-words associated w/this kind of thinking are: “Spirit-filled”, “whole-gospel”, “whole-bible”, “the gifts are for today”, “slain in the Spirit”, “Holy Spirit focused”, “baptism of the Holy Spirit”, “second baptism”, “spirit baptism”, “prayer walks, tearing down the high places and reclaiming the city”, “spiritual warfare”, “binding satan/enemy”, “deliverance from the demon of…”, “reading their mail”, “a word from the Lord for you”, “Continuationist”, “the doctrine of subsequence”.