A SEMINAR ON PENTECOSTAL HERMENEUTICS

Submitted to: Rev. Dr. Mathew C. Varghese

Jonathan K. Samuel
Class : BD IV
Date:
Abraham

Submitted By:
Oct 2017

Kuckoo K.

Introduction:
Pentecostalism is not doctrine or teaching, but rather the experience of an encounter
with God. Beliefs are not derived from understanding so much as from individual and
corporate experiences of the action of God in the lives of Christian believers. The
doctrines of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and of divine healing are based more upon
Pentecostal experience than upon exegetical study. While Scripture always has been
fundamentally important to Pentecostals, its role has been different from that ascribed
to it by Evangelicals who have seen Scripture as a source of objective truth and
doctrinal formulation. From such understanding has grown pronouncements
concerning the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible. By comparison, the Bible for
Pentecostals has been a source and confirmation of experiences of God. The truth of
Scripture is not to be objectively proved, but rather subjectively experienced. 1
THE POSSIBILITY OF A PENTECOSTAL HERMENEUTIC
What should a Pentecostal hermeneutic look like?
In opposition to the postmodern proponents mentioned above, some Pentecostals
would say that it should look exactly like an evangelical hermeneutic. For example,
Robert Menzies declares, "The hermeneutic of evangelicalism has become our
hermeneutic".2
Along with Evangelicals we view Scripture as the inspired word of God which is
authoritative and wholly reliable. We wish to retain the historicity of the events
recorded in Scripture because we see ourselves as participating in the on-going
history of God. The Bible is our handbook for life and, therefore, must convey actual
reality (objective truth).3
A strict adherence to traditional evangelical-fundamentalist hermeneutic principles
leads to a position which, in its most positive forms, suggests the distinctive of the
twentieth century Pentecostal movement are perhaps nice but not necessary;
important but not vital to the life of the Church in the twentieth century. In its most
negative forms, it leads to a total rejection of Pentecostal phenomena.4
1 http://webjournals.ac.edu.au/ojs/index.php/PCBC/article/view/8912/8909
2 http://pneumareview.com/pentecostal-hermeneutics-approach-and-methodology/7/
3 Joel B. Green and Max Turner Eds, Between Two Horizon Spanning New testament studies
and systematic Theology (Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000) 109
4 Kenneth J. Archer, A Pentecostal Hermeneutics for the Twenty-first Century: Spirit, Scripture
and Community (New York: T&T Clark International, 2004), 11.

We emphasize that much Evangelical exegesis, with its heavy emphasis on rationality,
has concluded that Pentecostal phenomena such as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and
gifts such as tongues and healing are not necessary, and possibly not even valid,
today. A hermeneutic that focuses only on what the original author (might have)
meant will not completely satisfy Pentecostalism, which goes on to assert that the
spiritual and extraordinary supernatural experiences of the biblical characters are also
possible for contemporary believers. We desire a hermeneutic that takes into account
the role of the Holy Spirit and the impact of personal experience.5
Pentecostal movements in different parts of the world have different factors behind
their origins, but most of them have similar social-political and religious grounding.
The early American Pentecostal movements, as Archer observes, have their basis on
the post-civil war era, which comprised of industrialization, urbanization and mass
migrations. As the American society sought to discover a new identity, most spiritual
movements, and especially Protestants, saw the possibility of moral reform through
spiritual revival built on private action and personal responsibility. 6
Pentecostal Theology and Interpretation
Hermeneutics has been defined as both the science and the art of interpretation. 7 As
a science, it enunciates principles, investigates the laws of thought and language, and
classifies its facts and results. As an art, it teaches what application these principles
should have, and establishes their soundness by showing their practical value in
elucidation of the more difficult scriptures.8Hermeneutics involves drawing meaning
from the immediate context of the literature and at the same time it is the search for
the meaning of the text here and now.9 Thus we can clearly observe that biblical
interpretation has two main dimensions. The first one seeks to find out the original
meaning of the text; the one that the author intended for the first readers. The second
one looks at the meaning that the readers of the Bible might attach to it. This second
dimension shows that the environment and the experiences of the interpreter largely
influence the meaning he/she attaches to Scriptures.
At the centre of Pentecostal theology are the discipline of reading the Bible and the
baptism of the Holy Spirit commonly explained through the latter rain motif. Let us
tackle each individually for a better view of the basis for Pentecostal hermeneutics
and theology.10
The Discipline of Bible Reading
5 Joel B. Green, opcit., 115
6 Bernard Ramm, Protestant Biblical Interpretation (Boston: W.A. Wilde Company, 1950), 98
7 Ibid., 101.
8 Milton S. Terry, Biblical Hermeneutics (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981),
20.
9 http:/www.theologyinafrica.com/confrence/ppfconf/ppfconf.php (accessed on October 13, 2010).

The reading of the Scripture is highly esteemed in Pentecostal tradition. Bible reading
is interwoven with prayer. The Bible is read until it becomes part and parcel of the
individuals thought system and daily expressions. It should however, be observed that
the Bible is not studied as an academic work but as a devotional material. As Davies
argues, Pentecostals utilize the Bible as a resource for divine encounter. They read
the Bible not to grasp it; but so that God can grasp them through it.11The Bible is
seen not only as the word of God but also as the full representation of the mind and
plan of God. God is seen to be alive in the scriptures and thus an encounter with the
scripture is regarded as an encounter with the living God himself.
The earliest form of Pentecostalism held this divine essence of the scripture to the
point that they regarded the human authors of the Bible as passive instruments in the
process of writing the scripture. They saw them only as instruments that recorded
what God dictated. Such a view led to neglecting the context of the human authors
when interpreting the Bible. However, the latter development of Pentecostal
interpretation recognized human authorship as part of the process that God used to
communicate his will to the people. This later development introduced an
incarnational understanding of the Bible. The scriptures, like Christ Jesus, were seen
to be fully divine and fully human and the two natures as inseparable.12
Pentecostals regard the Bible as the primary authority for doctrine. While other church
traditions would have the Bible, liturgy books, prayer books, and perhaps catechism
books, Pentecostals use the Bible as their only source of doctrine. Some Pentecostals
value the place of history and tradition in the formation of Christian doctrines. But
most Pentecostals regard tradition and creeds only as memorabilia of the lifeless past
and not part of scripture or church authority.
According to Pentecostals, Bible doctrines find their significance in the everyday
application in the believers life, not in its intellectual relevance.
Pentecostal Hermeneutics Today: Approach and Methodology in perspective
The theology of Pentecostalism has grown from its interpretative approach and
historical narrative as a community. But to capture their present interpretative
approach and methodology, we need to outline the historical development briefly.
The rise of Pentecostalism brought with it a new approach to biblical interpretation.
Contrary to the common sense realism approach, the dominant hermeneutical
approach at the time Pentecostalism was born; Pentecostals employed a new
hermeneutical method that entwined Bible reading and practical living. Interpretation
10 Tate, Randolph. Biblical Interpretation: An Integrated Approach (Peabody, Massachusetts:
Hendrickson Publishers, 1991), 78.

11 F.L. Arrington, Hermeneutics: Historical Perspectives on Pentecostals and Charismatic, in Stanley

M. Burgess, ed., Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic movements (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1988), 376.

12 David Jones, Yielding to the Spirit: The Dynamics of Pentecostal Praxis, in The Globalization of
Pentecostalism: A Religion Made to Travel, eds. Murray W. Dempster (Oxford: Regnum Books, 1993) 83

like inspiration was seen to be primarily the work of the Holy Spirit. Individual reading
of the Bible was highly encouraged. Pentecostal hermeneutists at this era argued that
one did not need to be a Bible scholar to be able to understand the Bible.13
The risk of misinterpretation led Pentecostal leaders and Bible scholars to introduce
the inductive-synthetic method of Bible study. This approach emphasized the
importance of approaching the Bible as one whole book, built on one theme, whose
message is mediated through language and thus considered, the grammatical
formation of the scripture.14 It is important to observe here is that Pentecostals in that
era stressed a literal understanding of scripture that led to responsible living and a
good relationship with God. Having an articulate, intellectual understanding of God or
the scriptures was not of prime importance to them. The authority of scripture and
practical experience were both set on par and seen as the centre for Christian living.
This was all established by early Pentecostal fathers and has remained their key to
interpretation. Their theological formulation were faced with a lot of criticism from the
rest of the Christian fraternity, thus as Arrington observes, the resulting Pentecostal
study of scripture was approached with a view to defend the doctrines espoused by
the earliest Pentecostals.15 Even with the development of Pentecostal scholarship and
theological training of Pentecostal leaders, the Pentecostal community has continued
to read the scripture from a Pentecostal perspective. That way a dialect encounter
between the text and the community help produce meaning in their interpretative
methodology.16
Considering their theology and the nature of their communal formation, Pentecostal
hermeneutical approach is said to have two major dimensions: Pneumatic and
experiential.
Conclusion
The question was asked: Why do Pentecostal people reach different conclusions when
they read the Bible compared to believers in other Christian traditions, such as the
Catholic and Reformed traditions? And how does their hermeneutics inform
Pentecostals' practice? It has been argued that a Pentecostal hermeneutics
emphasises three elements: the interrelationship between the Holy Spirit as the One
animating Scriptures and empowering the believing community. For them, the
experience of an encounter with God through his Spirit is imperative, and
interpretation of the information contained in the Bible is determined by their praxis.
13 Kenneth J. Archer, Opcit., 11.
14 Milton S. Terry, opcit., 20.
15 Kevin J Vanhoozer, Is There a Meaning in this Text? (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing
House, 1998) 148

16 Berkeley Mickelsen, Interpreting the Bible. (Michigan: William. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
1989), 98

Bibliography
Archer, Kenneth J. A Pentecostal Hermeneutics for the Twenty-first Century: Spirit,
Scripture and Community. New York: T&T Clark International, 2004.
Arrington, F.L Hermeneutics: Historical Perspectives on Pentecostals and
Charismatic, in Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, eds. Stanley
M. Burgess. Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1988.
Joel B. Green and Max Turner Eds, Between Two Horizon Spanning New testament
studies and systematic Theology. Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
2000
Jones, David. Yielding to the Spirit: The Dynamics of Pentecostal Praxis, in The
Globalization of Pentecostalism: A Religion Made to Travel, eds. Murray W. Dempster.
Oxford: Regnum Books, 1993.
Mickelsen, Berkeley. Interpreting the Bible. Michigan: William. Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 1989.
Ramm, Bernard. Protestant Biblical Interpretation. Boston: W.A. Wilde Company, 1950.
Tate, Randolph. Biblical Interpretation: An Integrated Approach. Peabody,
Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1991.
Terry, Milton S. Biblical Hermeneutics. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House,
1981.
Vanhoozer, Kevin J. Is There a Meaning in this Text? Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1998.
Webliography:
http://webjournals.ac.edu.au/ojs/index.php/PCBC/article/view/8912/8909
http://pneumareview.com/pentecostal-hermeneutics-approach-and-methodology/7/
http:/www.theologyinafrica.com/confrence/ppfconf/ppfconf.php (accessed on October
13, 2010)