Christian Apologetics; Full Gospel or Fool's Gospel

[saint701]

Greetings Christianity Oasis!

I hope you all have a great week!


Blessings!


http://www.examiner.com/article/christian-apologetics-full-gospel-or-fool-s-gospel

In a way I would like to apologize for my overzealous approach challenging your pastor's level of understanding, but then again when I see the tag "Full Gospel" it strikes a nerve. After all, the branch of the movement robbing you of your money could very well be called, “The Fool’s Gospel.”
The "Full Gospel" branch of Christianity began on Azusa Street somewhere in California (Los Angeles I think) around the year 1906. Several men and women came together to fast and pray for the Holy Spirit to fall on them as it did on the Apostles, etc. They fasted and prayed as did the Apostles and the Spirit came, fell upon them and they all began to speak in tongues just the same as they did in the Apostle’s “Upper Room.”
The movement gained momentum with such notable members like John G. Lake and Smith Wigglesworth. Of Lake it was said that the healing anointing in his hands was so powerful germs died at his touch. Wigglesworth was a bold and daunting figure. He didn’t care who was around him. He prayed before his meals out loud in restaurants wherever he went and held impromptu meetings in odd places like the deck of a cruise ship. It was said of him. “If the Spirit doesn’t move, I move the Spirit.” , From the beginning the emphasis was upon speaking in tongues and the gifts of the Spirit, particularly speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophecy, and gifts of healings. Miracles were not uncommon either.
After Lake and Wigglesworth came E.W. Kenyon. Kenyon was often maligned because of his spiritual vision. He opened up one’s understanding of the gospel by expanding on the revelations of St. Paul through insights given him by the Spirit of God. His teachings were virtually so mind boggling and revolutionary in his day that his family members attempted to have him committed to a mental institution. Thankfully they failed and to this day he remains the Father of revelation knowledge in the Full Gospel movement. His family finally accepted his teachings and have seen to it that his books remain in print. Here are the titles of 3 of his classic works…The Father and His Family, The Bible in Light of Redemption, and What Happened from the Cross to the Throne.
During the same general period of time Wigglesworth, Lake, and Kenyon were making their impact felt in the Full Gospel movement another gentleman by the name of Watchman Nee was making great strides in China teaching about the workings of the Holy Spirit within us. His most famous work is The Spiritual Man. AS a prolific soul winner and minister of the Spirit it is said of some of his converts to Christianity that they were delivered from serious addictions like the abuse of alcohol, one man even complaining that, “resident boss” will not let me drink!” Of course resident boss is none other than Christ within our great hope of glory! Although Watchman Nee is viewed by some around the world as a deranged cult leader, anyone reading his great books that have been a partaker of Christ within knows those so opposed are merely ignorant of what eternal life is.
Then came the faith healers of the 50s which included notable forerunners Kenneth E. Hagin, Oral Roberts, and Paul Yongi Cho of South Korea. Another notable of that time was Dr Lester Summeral. Summeral spent much of his ministry as an evangelist in the Far East. These were the first to birth Full Gospel mega churches found in large cities here in the U.S. and abroad. These preached what they called "the full gospel message," but as their wealth increased, and their need to add buildings, additional staff, and in the case of Hagin and Roberts, colleges, the emphasis of the Full Gospel movement began to change toward fund raising and the sewing of faith seeds. These so called "faith seeds" followers of Hagin and others were to plant were gifts of money.
While some graduates of Hagin and Robert’s schools spread the Full Gospel message of God, the gifts of the Spirit of God, and Prosperity Theology around the world, the majority entering the ministry expanded upon their teachings here. However, an off shoot of the 1906 Pentecostal awakening, The Assemblies of God, founded in 1914 focused more on spreading the pure gospel message around the world.
While the Full Gospel message focused on the great works of Lake, Wigglesworth, Kenyon, Hagin, Roberts, Cho and others, The Assemblies of God were quietly becoming the largest Pentecostal movement around the world because of their focus on the Great Commission. Historically, The Assemblies of God trace their roots to Charles Parham, a Kansas preacher of the 1890s and on into the 20th century. It seems his teachings actually led to the Azusa Street Revival in 1906, which, by the way, lasted 3 years, all the way into 1909.
Another prominent player in the Assemblies of God movement was Eudorus N. Bell. It can be said of Bell that he was the first to organize the Assemblies of God churches into a denomination. This was done in 1914 at a convention held in Hot Springs, Arkansas. In 1916, the governing body of the Assemblies of God gathered to create their Statement of Fundamental Truths which solidified their belief that speaking in tongues was the primary evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and established their pursuit of fulfilling their primary role as heirs of the promise by obeying our Lord’s commandment to go into all the world and preach the gospel, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Although the same differences exist between the Assemblies of God and Full Gospel people today, it must be recognized that the Full Gospel movement has produced many magnificent books widely read around the world that are not Prosperity Theology based and as such well worth the time to feed upon them.


Blessings!
Love, In Christ Jesus, Saint701.