The Apostolic Dialogue with Catholics 5

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Christian Unity and Diversity (continued)

Christians are united in  experiencing the salvation of God in Jesus
Christ, in allowing their experiences to be interpreted and informed by
Holy Scripture, and desiring to be disciples of Jesus Christ.  But
Christian unity does not mean uniformity.  Within the parameters of
Christianity there is great diversity. This diversity is frequently
viewed by Conservatives as a scandal, an apostasy or falling away from
an original "pure" faith  and theology which was embraced by all.  In
contrast, Liberals point to this diversity and utilize it to challenge
the veracity of the Christian faith.  How can Christianity be the one
true religion if its devotees can not agree on a single Christian
theology?  Both conservatives and Liberals fail to understand the basis
for Christian diversity.

Christian diversity has its source in the Christian experience of Jesus
Christ.  To put it simply, Christians experience Jesus Christ in
different ways.  This was highlighted to me during a recent seminar
populated by "mainliners" I attended in Indiana.  The Lutherans,
Catholics, and Episcopalians at this conference spent hours talking
about sacramental theology and their experience of the "real presence"
of Christ in the sacrament of the Lord's supper.  Their Christian faith
revolves around communion which is performed every Sunday. It was very
difficult for them to understand why Pentecostals do not celebrate
communion every Sunday. For them, not celebrating communion meant that
you were not experiencing Christ in a Christian way.

It took a great deal of time and effort to explain and justify to my
mainline friends how Pentecostals experience Christ in a different way. 
For Pentecostals the "real presence" of Christ is found in the
experience of the Holy Spirit in the Pentecostal community.  The Spirit
is the presence of the risen Lord in the Pentecostal community.  The
signs and wonders wrought by the Spirit testify to the presence,
reality, and continuing ministry, of Jesus Christ.  Pentecostal worship
services do not reenact the crucifixion of Jesus, the Lords supper, but
the coming of Jesus in the Holy Spirit, the day of Pentecost.  This is
consistent with the Lukan theology through whose eyes Pentecostals see
Jesus.  Luke, especially in Acts, does not emphasize the celebration of
the Lord's Supper as the foundation of  Christian worship and life.  For
Luke, the experience of the Spirit which brings salvation and creates
disciples who continue the ministry of Jesus is the foundation of
Christian worship and life.

Reluctantly, my mainline friends conceded my point, and then proceeded
to continue their discussion of sacramental theology among themselves. 
But, the point had been made, Pentecostals experience Christ in a
different way and give a unique expression to their faith.

Christian experience gives rise to Christian theology.  Experience
provides the lenses through which Christians express their faith.  In
fact, one theologian has described Christian theology as biography, the
story of how differing Christians experience Jesus Christ.  As an
Apostolic Pentecostal my faith has its source and foundation in the
Apostolic Pentecostal experience of Jesus.  My theology, therefore, will
be quite different from a Catholic, who experiences God in communion, or
an Evangelical, who experiences God in the proclamation of the Word. 
Apostolic Pentecostal theology, while being similar to other Christian
theologies, is unique.

As a Christian's experience of Jesus Christ changes so does their
understanding of the Christian faith, their theology.  The Pentecostal
experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit necessitated  a
representation of Christian theology from a Pentecostal perspective. 
And does not the Christ centered worship of Pentecostal communities call
for a representation of the doctrine of God, the Trinity?  Apostolic
theology is credible because it is an expression of the Pentecostal
experience of Jesus!  

Perhaps another way to understand the influence of experience on
theology is from the perspective of the work of the Holy Spirit.  The
Holy Spirit leads and guides believers into all truth.  This is a
continual process. If the Spirit is leading and guiding then Christians
should be following and giving new expressions to their faith as the
Spirit reveals more truth.  This is the pattern followed by the founders
of the Apostolic movement, a pattern all Apostolics should be following
today!

Different experiences give rise to differing theologies.  But these
theologies are interpreted and informed by Holy Scripture.  In my next
post I will explain the relationship between Christian diversity and the
diversity present in Holy Scripture.