Posted on 10/07/2006 6:40:10 AM PDT by NYer
NEW YORK - A new 10-nation survey of Pentecostal and charismatic Christians, considered the fastest-growing stream of Christianity worldwide, shows they are deeply influencing the Roman Catholic and mainstream Protestant churches and are poised to make a big impact on global affairs. p>The poll released Thursday by the Washington-based Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found that "spirit-filled" Christians, who speak in tongues and believe in healing through prayer, comprise at least 10 percent of the population in nine of the 10 surveyed countries.
The study also found that followers are more willing than previously thought to bring their traditional values into public debates, potentially shaping government policies in the years ahead.
The surveys were conducted over the spring and summer in Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, India, the Philippines, South Korea" /> Researchers polled both Pentecostals, who form their own denominations such as the Assemblies of God, and charismatics, who have adopted some Pentecostal beliefs but remain members of traditional Protestant and Catholic churches.
The survey estimated that Pentecostals and charismatics together comprise at least half the population of Brazil, Guatemala and Kenya, and 44 percent of the Philippines.
They make up about one-third of the population of South Africa and Chile and nearly one-quarter of Nigerians and U.S. residents. The figure for South Korea is smaller, at 11 percent. In India, the poll was limited to three states with large Christian populations, so a national estimate could not be made.
The study found Pentecostal beliefs have a strong hold in major churches in many countries.
In the traditionally Catholic nations of Brazil, Guatemala and the Philippines, charismatics are a larger share of the population than Pentecostals.
In six of the 10 countries, Pentecostals and charismatics together make up the majority of the overall Protestant population, according to the survey.
The Pentecostal movement, which began a century ago in Los Angeles, spread quickly overseas because of its adaptability to local cultures, whose indigenous beliefs often include healings and casting out of evil spirits, and because of the exuberance of its worship.
While Pentecostals and charismatics are known for speaking in tongues, the survey found respondents were more likely to say that they had personally witnessed or experienced other signs of the Holy Spirit, such as a healing through prayer or a direct revelation from God.
The majority of Pentecostals in every nation surveyed except South Korea and India believed religious groups should express their views on social and political issues. In seven of the 10 countries, 70 percent of charismatics agreed.
"These are folks for whom the world of spirit is remarkably alive ... but that in no way diminishes their commitment to social justice for the poor, for instance, or a role for government in meeting those needs," said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum.
The polls were conducted by phone in the U.S., and in person overseas, with margins of error ranging from plus or minus 4 percentage points to 9 percentage points for some subgroups.
The polls in Brazil, South Africa and South Korea focused on urban areas.
Ooohh...two terrible examples. They got punished from what I recall. Solomon's riches enabled him to collect wives which seemed to displease God.
True.
But they also helped a LOT of poor people.
Guess the other part of that post of mine was not worthy comment?
God does not give us things so we can give part of them away to help people and keep the rest for ourselves. That idea seems counter-productive.
When we pray for prosperity, Satan's eyes light up. He knows that pretty soon, we will begin measuring our spiritual "success" by his standards. We begin to feel we "deserve" earthly treasures because we are "good". When we receive those earthly treasures, we declare "victory". Then he yanks the money away and we are defeated.
We lke to have a little jingle in our pocket to feel "blessed". The only thing Jesus ever carried with Him was a Cross.
Helped them do what?
Live.
"God will still have a remnant doing His bidding and He will orchestrate taking full control of the planet from the evil one(s) . . . and a lot of that plan is still secret. But it will be interesting . . . and very bloody. "
Interesting world you live in. But certainly not the same one I occupy.
Interesting world you live in. But certainly not the same one I occupy.
= = = = =
The interesting thing will be at what point in the time line in this time/space dimension
will the two worlds merge.
Seems to me my extrapolated brief summary is fairly straightforward from a number of pretty basic prophetic Scriptures about the end times.
We shall see.
When you reference something in Scripture, it helps to post the Scripture. The rich young ruler was not included in the Kingdon because he loved money more than his own Soul.
Mat 19:22-26 MKJV (22) But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. (23) Then Jesus said to His disciples, Truly I say to you that a rich man will with great difficulty enter into the kingdom of Heaven. (24) And again I say to you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (25) When His disciples heard, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? (26) But Jesus looked on them and said to them, With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Mat 13:22 MKJV (22) And that sown into the thorns is this: he who hears the Word; and the anxiety of this world, and the deceit of riches, choke the Word, and he becomes unfruitful.
Mat 6:19-21 GNB (19) "Do not store up riches for yourselves here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and robbers break in and steal. (20) Instead, store up riches for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal. (21) For your heart will always be where your riches are.
Appy, by God's grace, I live overwhelmingly as you teach. Things have long ago lost their allure. If it's functional somehow toward my aiding The Kingdom or helpful to someone in a Kingdom ministry way, fine. Otherwise, I'm just not that interested any more.
Certainly all those verses--that's Scripture and Truth.
But it's not quite the whole counsel of Scripture, imho.
And, I even think that we've lost sight of some very key parts of authentic Christianity when we fail to notify folks that God calls us to take up our cross daily . . . that it's no bed of roses but more a road of suffering in a list of respects . . .
But that's not the whole story, either.
Abandonment is a key spiritual quality too few know much about in our era . . . though I'm finding more whom God has pressed through or is pressing through such a sieve.
Jesus also calls us to HIS ABUNDANT LIFE in all the respects that can mean IN HIM AND IN HIS PRIORITIES FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL.
Making it sound like Christ said MONEY was the root of all evil
INSTEAD OF: THE LOVE OF money is the root of all evil is a distortion of the truth . . . a deception, too.
His abundance is not the abundance of this world. It is the abundance of a joyful life. As Paul says, I have learned to be satisfied in want and in plenty. Too many Christians only seem to find satisfaction in plenty.
In reality, Satan makes a much better Santa Claus IMHO. He decieves us into loving the things of this world and measuring our success by them. I made a lot more money and had a lot nicer stuff when I lived in Satan's back pocket.
Your points are well made and accurate, Scriptural truth, imho.
I mean that.
I still find them overly lop-sided for my preference.
BTW, I don't think Christ has a lot of restrictions on what ABUNDANT LIFE can mean to individuals . . . other than to limit whatever would detract from the individual's relationship with Himself, The Father, The Spirit.
I spent ten years in the movement. Very little meat was my experience -- lots of cookies & cream though. Babes love cookies & cream, can't handle the strong meat. Many of them remain childish for a lifetime.
And many naive babes are falling at their feet.
I spent ten years in the movement. Very little meat was my experience -- lots of cookies & cream though. Babes love cookies & cream, can't handle the strong meat. Many of them remain childish for a lifetime.
= = = =
I've seen that phenomenon in every denomination I've been a part of or observed significantly.
It's just that different things are cookies and cream and different things are meat in different groups.
The Scriptures cover a lot of ground. In a complex world and life . . . there's plenty of opportunity to get sidelined on different flavors of cookies and cream and proclaim it as meat.
If it will make you feel more at ease, the thief on the cross next to Jesus wasn't baptized either, but Jesus told him He would see him in paradise. So that kind of negates that belief. What saves you from hell is accepting Christ as your Savior, nothing else will save you.
I know a prophetic type who believes himself to be God's number one General for the end times in the world. I'm not convinced of that either but the thing that I was particularly incredulous about is his insistenc that even if someone died in a car wreck on the way to their baptism . . . well, "God wouldn't allow that to happen" when I knew of a case exactly like that.
Sometimes our biases leave God and His sovereignty out rather wholesale.
And the efforts to pack him away in human built tidy little boxes seem endless.
I'm not altogether sure what you mean? Are you talking about the fact that some people think you have to be baptized to be saved? Humans can try to put God in a tidy little box, but that's not possible. There's no escaping God.
My point is that the riches and things of this world do exactly that. Time and time again. If you read the Gospels. you'll see that Jesus never gave anyone money or houses or vehicles. The only "earthly" thing he gave to anyone was wine.
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