Becoming An Ex-Pentecostal

Rico · #1 07-19-2008, 11:16 AM

What do you think are the stages one goes through in becoming an ex-pentecostal? We've all heard about the slippery, and I think we can agree it all starts with questioning things one has been taught. What do you think is the path one takes to becoming an ex-pentecostal. For clarity, by ex-pentecostal I mean someone who gets to the point of not believing in the infilling of the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues, baptism, and other apostolic doctrine. I am not referring to those who let dress standards go, but I will say that for some folks letting go of traditional OP dress standards is one of the first steps they take in becoming ex-pentecostal.

Rico · #2 07-19-2008, 01:47 PM

Wow. Twenty five views and no comments? Is this not something y'all want to talk about? Bummer. That makes two threads in the last two days I've started that have gone nowhere. Oh well. I guess it is more fun to chase down Vaughn and argue over some article posted on a blog. LOL!

jaxfam6 · #3 07-19-2008, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rico

Wow. Twenty five views and no comments? Is this not something y'all want to talk about? Bummer. That makes two threads in the last two days I've started that have gone nowhere. Oh well. I guess it is more fun to chase down Vaughn and argue over some article posted on a blog. LOL!

Did you have to bring that name into it?

Gezzzzz Rico ruin your own thread.

=)

jaxfam6 · #4 07-19-2008, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rico

What do you think are the stages one goes through in becoming an ex-pentecostal? We've all heard about the slippery, and I think we can agree it all starts with questioning things one has been taught. What do you think is the path one takes to becoming an ex-pentecostal. For clarity, by ex-pentecostal I mean someone who gets to the point of not believing in the infilling of the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues, baptism, and other apostolic doctrine. I am not referring to those who let dress standards go, but I will say that for some folks letting go of traditional OP dress standards is one of the first steps they take in becoming ex-pentecostal.

I think they start doubting God. They start doubting what God has done for them and through them. They then start allowing false teaching to affect them. Then they start believing false teaching.
I don't really know but it has to do with not believing in God any longer in my opinion. They start believing in man made ideas and doctrine. They start exalting a man above God.

deltaguitar · #5 07-19-2008, 03:22 PM

Well, sometimes I wonder if I am headed to becoming ex-pentecostal. While I believe in speaking in tongues I haven't actually seen the benefits of it. This is how it has started with me. Plus, I feel more at home in a Baptist type church but I believe that the gifts of the spirit are important for the church if used properly. My problem comes from hype that I have experienced so much in my life.

Reasons -
1) I would be at an altar and folks would be going crazy and I wouldn't feel anything other than the same thing I might feel at a rock concert. Just emotionalism. I feel more of God in a quiet setting when no one is around.

2) I have had preachers lay hands on me and wonder why in the world I didn't feel anything. Now, some of this might just be my own personal anxiety and nervousness at how people are expecting me to react.

I have more but this is all I can post at the moment.

Brad Murphy · #6 07-19-2008, 03:30 PM

I don't know that I believe in false teaching... I just don't believe in any teaching or any absolute truth...

RevDWW · #7 07-19-2008, 03:34 PM

Stages? I thought there was just an application to fill out and dues to pay.......

A_PoMo · #8 07-19-2008, 04:13 PM

For most people I think it boils down to personal taste and an honest attempt to interprete scripture the best they are able. Really, isn't that why there are so many different flavors and brands of Christianity. Christianity has become a niche market with every spin-off denomination and group that has it's own distinctives. Kind of like 7-UP. You can buy regular, diet, cherry, dark cherry, and today I even saw pomegranate 7-UP. Pomegranate? Huh? Who would like pomegranate 7-UP? Not me, but I'm sure somebody will like it. Churches are like that too aren't they? All churches cater to their base in terms of style/liturgy/ecclessiology. Birds of a feather like to flock together.

Plus, the Bible is more open to interpreation than most OP's want to admit. Not to mention lack of education and knowledge illogical logic, bad hermeneutic that result in faulty conclusions that go into formulating doctrinal positions. I believe there is absolute truth, but I doubt that any of us have it all figured out exactly right. So, sincere people attempt to be intellectually honest and due to their humanity come to different conclusions about biblical interpretation and over time they move away from each other in terms of regular fellowship and association. Once they do they find other people who agree with their theology and whose worship style/liturgy/ecclessiology they prefer and they become ex-whatever they were before.

I don't think that's a bad thing necessarily.

ReformedDave · #9 07-19-2008, 05:28 PM

PoMo- you hit it 100%- In my case it was through study and was not a sudden thing. It took years. It started with the inability to defend my 'faith' and not agreeing(Biblically) with much that I saw around me. Actually it came with a quest for objective Truth (PoMo- you might disagree here) that was defendable.

RandyWayne · #10 07-19-2008, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A_PoMo

For most people I think it boils down to personal taste and an honest attempt to interprete scripture the best they are able. Really, isn't that why there are so many different flavors and brands of Christianity. Christianity has become a niche market with every spin-off denomination and group that has it's own distinctives. Kind of like 7-UP. You can buy regular, diet, cherry, dark cherry, and today I even saw pomegranate 7-UP. Pomegranate? Huh? Who would like pomegranate 7-UP? Not me, but I'm sure somebody will like it. Churches are like that too aren't they? All churches cater to their base in terms of style/liturgy/ecclessiology. Birds of a feather like to flock together.

Plus, the Bible is more open to interpreation than most OP's want to admit. Not to mention lack of education and knowledge illogical logic, bad hermeneutic that result in faulty conclusions that go into formulating doctrinal positions. I believe there is absolute truth, but I doubt that any of us have it all figured out exactly right. So, sincere people attempt to be intellectually honest and due to their humanity come to different conclusions about biblical interpretation and over time they move away from each other in terms of regular fellowship and association. Once they do they find other people who agree with their theology and whose worship style/liturgy/ecclessiology they prefer and they become ex-whatever they were before.

I don't think that's a bad thing necessarily.

I've always thought of a scenario where 50 people who had no bible knowledge were each given one and told to read it. A month or two later, you would no doubt see 50 different doctrines adopted (granted, with the bulk falling into a couple of general groups).