In the ultra competitive church rackets, some outfits have chosen to "give them what they want" as their theology. Praying for health and wealth in this world seems better than hoping to get into heaven in the next one.
Has anyone asked them why they make the switch instead of just making an observation...We can all make an observation...
There’s no doubt in my mind that they make the switch to a non Catholic religion for the same reasons Americans make the switch from Catholicism to Protestantism...
And in my view, that would be that those folks found out they could have a one on one personal relationship with Jesus
There are plenty of people on these FR pages who have told the world why they switched...
If it makes them want to stay in their home country I’m all for them switching.
Neither Romanists nor Pentecostals root their strength in reliance of the individual in discernment of true faith through personal study of the Bible.
But for the independent, fundamental, immersionist assemblies, expositional preaching and a missionary spirit from the beginning of planting a congregation is the key to life in the Spirit. The autonomous local baptist assembly focuses on ministry to each other through applying Biblical life principles, rather than worshiping the accoutrements of ritualistic religion, or supposed material benefits of a voodoo-like exhibition of charismatism.
Walk into any independent Bible-based assembly in the US, and you will find that congregation supporting at least a dozen church-planting trained and ordained missionaries, who are active across the world. Of a dozen, you will likely find two or three laboring in Central or South America.
The government of these local churches does not filter through some distant, monolithic religious organization with irresponsive headquarters half-a-world away. The only visible polity is right in their own assembly, where the goal of the missionary is to develop spiritually mature men and women to operate their own assembly under the leading of the Holy Ghost, with the Lord Jesus Christ as their only intercessor with The God, The Father.
In such a setting, the individual becomes uplifted by experiencing his/her own value to a very personal Christ Jesus, as well as to the surrounding fellow followers, in life, joy, sickness, or death of the body.
It is the only true faith worth following, and is also prevalent throughout the previous colonies of Romanist Iberia. In such assembled local bodies, through personal instruction the members gain sufficient spiritual knowledge of God's Word to resist the cults of Romanism, Pentecostalism, Mormonism, and Russelism (JWs), which are all also very ubiquitous and pernicious in all the Americas.
Another question may be why is it Pentecostal rather than some other protestant denomination that people are leaving the Catholic Church for.
In the U.S there are many different views of scripture which brings attention to what many people believe to be fallacies of the Pentecostal doctrine.
But how many were there in Latin America before the Pentecostals got there and being Catholic how many people actually read the Bible.
I attended many Pentecostal churches growing up. Every one taught from the Bible, verse by verse. Maybe, in this world gone mad, people need God and they did not find Him in their previous churches.
Latinos are very passionate people. They are also not the most academic in religious matters. The culture is set on the masses being fed what the Scripture says (from the Catholic tradition), rather than the congregants checking for themselves.
As such, Pentecostalism appeals to their culture of not having to study, and celebrating emotion over objective truth.
This ain't rocket science, folks.
Oh I can help them with that!
Andrew Chesnut: I don't really know anything about Pentecostalism in South America but I stayed at a Holiday Inn three years ago.
Take this interview with several tons of salt
Protestantism, teaching error for over 500 years. For this and this alone, Jesus weeps.