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Books > Christianity > Protestantism & Protestant Churches > Other Protestant & Nonconformist Churches > Pentecostal Churches
Pentecostalism is the fastest growing religious movement of our
time. The unexpected birth of the modern-day Pentecostal movement
at the doorsteps of the twentieth century is as perplexing as its
continuing existence and unprecedented expansion worldwide. Once
marginalized from public discourse, Pentecostals have entered into
mainstream culture, religion, politics, academia, and social
action. However, the unprecedented growth of Pentecostalism in all
its diversity has led to characterizations ripe with platitudes,
stereotypes, and misrepresentations. This Guide for the Perplexed
sheds light on the most persistent contrasts characterizing the
Pentecostal movement: the tension between local manifestations and
global Pentecostalism, the inconsistency between spiritual
discernment and charismatic excess, the gap between rampant
denominationalism and the pursuit of Christian unity, the disparity
between poverty among many Pentecostals and the popularity of the
prosperity gospel, the division between Oneness Pentecostals and
their trinitarian counterparts, and the worldview of Pentecostals
beyond the confines of a religious movement. Those tensions form
the essence of global Pentecostalism and represent the emergence of
a global Christian world.
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