17 - Pentecostal Theology

Summary

This chapter explores the subject of Pentecostal theology. It makes a quick cursory look at the story of the development of Pentecostal theology in the past 120 years since the birth of the Pentecostal movement in the early years of the twentieth century. The purpose of the endeavour is to try to understand the emergence of a distinct Pentecostal theology that today caters to the theological needs of more than a quarter of the world’s Christians. It will attempt to map the evolution of Pentecostal theological discourse over the closing decades of the twentieth century when the Pentecostal movement has spread to all parts of the world and has, in the process, developed its identity and claimed its place in the global Christian landscape. Before exploring some of the key contemporary themes in Pentecostal theology, the chapter offers a short discussion of what Pentecostal theology is and what it is not. To do this well, it is necessary to also discuss, even in cursory manner, the history of Pentecostal Christianity. The essay intentionally takes a world Christianity perspective in telling both the history of the movement and the narrative of its theological development. This is to situate this discussion of Pentecostal theology in the wider and growing discourse of global theologies, which then will allow us to see the growing influence of Pentecostal thought on world Christianity and vice versa. The global nature of Pentecostal theology itself informs the second half of the chapter in which it engages some of the key Pentecostal voices in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, in addition to those in Europe and North America, to help us understand the current theological concerns of Pentecostal Christians in the world. In the end, I explore some pressing themes in Pentecostal theology, hoping to build bridges between Pentecostal theologians and those of mainline traditions.