Pentecostals, Catholics look at role of Holy Spirit
Scholars
from both sides start
next round of dialogue
By ChristianWeek staff
BOLTON, ON–Roman Catholic and Pentecostal scholars launched another phase of dialogues when they met in June to discuss "Christian initiation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit."
The discussion was based on a book by the same name by two Catholic scholars. One of them, Kilian McDonnell of St. John’s University in Minnesota, noted in his presentation that charismatic phenomena were commonly experienced in the church well into the eighth century.
The only Canadian scholar involved in the dialogue, Ron Kydd of Eastern Pentecostal Bible College, gave a paper discussing the same subject from a Pentecostal perspective.
Initiation, says Kydd, refers to "the process by which a person is incorporated into the body of Christ." That can include water baptism, faith conversion, and some experience of the Spirit. Kydd describes the dialogue, which at the June meeting involved about 20 scholars, as "a remarkable exercise to try to achieve understanding among the members of the teams."
Terms used differ between Catholics and Pentecostals, he points out. And even when the same terms are used, they often mean different things to the two groups.
The dialogue between Catholics and Pentecostals has been going on since 1972. Following a meeting in Rome last year, which focused on "Evangelization, Proselytism, and Common Witness," participants wrote a 33-page report, which was published earlier this summer.
Tension between groups
The dialogues are important, a press release says, because Roman Catholics and Pentecostals, by some accounts, constitute two-thirds of the world’s Christians. But in many places, particularly in Latin America, there is considerable tension between the two groups.
"Their relationships have frequently been marred by caricatures, name calling, charges of proselytism or persecution, and even acts of violence."
Dialogue participants explored the biblical and theological foundations of evangelization and studied its relation to culture as well as to social justice. They also debated definitions of proselytism and made recommendations on how to avoid proselytism or charges of proselytism.
