Pentecostal Hermeneutics A Reader Edited by Lee Roy Martin LEIDEN * BOSTON 2013ul brary of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Pentecostal hermeneutics : a reader / edited by Lee Roy Martin. pages em Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-25729-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-25825-9 (e-book) 1. Pentecostal churches—Doctrines. 2. Bible-—Hermencutics. 3. Bible—Criticism, interpretation, ete 4. Pentecostalism. IL Martin, Lee Roy. BX8762.25P46 2013 220.601—deas, 2013028015 ‘This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, IPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see www.brill.com /brill-typeface. 5729-0 (paperback) 9 (e-book) Copyright 2013 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates thi Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publis 1DC Publishers and Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. ‘This book is printed on acid-free paper.CONTENTS Preface 1. Introduction to Pentecostal Hermeneutics Lee Roy Martin 2, A Pentecostal Approach to Scripture Rickie D. Moore Canon and Charisma in the Book of Deuteronomy Rickie D. Moore 4. Yielding to the Spirit: A Pentecostal Approach to Group le Study Jackie David Johns and Cheryl Bridges Johns 5. When the Vei Experience on Bibli John W. McKay is Taken Away: The Impact of Prophetic | Interpretation 6. Women, Pentecostalism, a Pentecostal Hermeneutics John Christopher Thomas nd the Bible: An Experiment in Robert O. Baker 8. Deuteronomy and the Fire of God: A Critical Cha Interpretation Rickie D. Moore |. Pentecostal Hermeneutics: Retrospect and Prospect Kenneth J. Archer e vii 109 131vi CONTENTS 1. Pentecostalism and the Authority of Scripture 149 u. Hearing What the Spirit Says to the Churches: Profile of a Pentecostal Reader of the Apoc: 471 Robby Waddell 12, Hearing the Voice of God: Pentecostal Hermeneutics and ‘The Book of Judges 205 Lee Roy Martin 1g. The Work of the Spirit in the Interpretation of Holy Scripture from the Perspective of a Charismatic Biblical Theologian 233 Clark H. Pinnock 14. What Does It Mean to Read the Bible as a Pentecostal? 249 Andrew Davies 15. Psalm 63 and Pentecostal Spirituality: An Exercise in Affective Hermeneutics 263 Lee Roy Martin Bibliography of Works on Pentecostal Hermeneutics 285 Index of Biblical References 291 Index of AuthorsPREFACE, This collection of essays brings together many of the most important con- tributions to the recent discussion of Pente biblical hermeneutics. ‘This volume provides easy access for the classroom and for researchers who are investigating Pentecostal hermeneutics. Those researchers may be established scholars seeking to bring themselves up-to-date or young scholars who had not yet begun their academic journeys when many of the essays were originally written. Most of the chapters of this reader are reprinted from the Journal of Pentecostal Theology. From its first issue until now, /PT has been in the forefront of publishing constructive scholarship on the topic of Pentecos- tal hermeneutics. The first issue of /PT, in the Fall of 1992, included two significant articles on hermeneutics: Rickie D. Moore, ‘Canon and Cha- risma in the Book of Deuteronomy’, and Jackie Johns and Cheryl Bi Johns, ‘Yielding to the A Pentecostal Approach to Group Bible Study’. The publication of Scott A. Ellington's ‘Locating Pentecostals at the Hermeneutical Round Table’ in the Fall 201 issue means that, in its short history, PT has published more than 30 pieces that contribute to the development of Pentecostal biblical hermeneutic as it would have been to republish all of the JPY articles on hermeneutics (as well as those from other academic journals), consid- erations of cost and space would not allow it. Therefore, the following c: teria guided the composition of this volume. First, each essay must have made a significant contribution to the discussion of Pentecostal herme- ics. Second, each piece must fit into the volume’s overall design in demonstrating the chronological development of the discipline. Third, an attempt was made to represent the variety of components that may cor stitute a Pentecostal hermeneutic, Fourth, it was important to include as many different writers as possible. Fifth, there was an attempt explore both the theory and the practice of Pentecostal hermeneutics. Therefore, while a number of the chapters are purely theoretical, other chapters engage in the interpretation of specific biblical texts. Each writer in this compilation argues that a distinctively Pentecostal hermeneutic is needed. It is acknowledged, however, that not all Pente- costal scholars are convinced that a Pentecostal hermeneutic is necessary or legitimate. Some scholars are content to utilize either historical-criticalviii CONTENTS or Evangelical approaches, both of which are founded upon the moderr notion of rational objective criteria for truth. It is also acknowledged that the Journal of Pentecostal Theology is not the only significant source for researching Pentecostal hermencutics. Many important contributions to the discussion have been published other journals and in monographs. Therefore, an extensive bibliography s included here. I would like to offer my thanks to the authors who have agreed to have their writings republished in this collection. | would also express my deep appreciation to the all of those Pentecostal readers of the Bible whose love for the Word of God has stimulated the recent quest for a Pentecostal hermeneutic. The developments represented in this volume did not occur in a vacuum. We are particularly indebted to the Pentecostal communi- ties in which we participate: the local churches, the faculties and students of Pentecostal colleges and seminaries, and the Society for Pentecostal Studies. I have been privileged to serve for 21 years at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary, the home to many who have published seminal works in the field of Pentecostal hermeneutics. I give thanks daily for my context, which affords me the opportunity to study the Bible alongside dedicated Pentecostal colleagues and to teach the Bible to enthusiastic Pentecostal students. The ‘word of God is living and powerful’ (Heb. 4.12), and its interpreta~ tion requires a hermeneutic that takes seriously its dynamic and trans- forming capacity. It is my hope, therefore, that this volume will provide fuel for continued development and refining of Pentecostal biblical hermeneuti¢ Lee Roy Martin Cleveland, TN May 2013CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION TO PI ENTECOSTAL BIBLICAL HERMENEUTICS, Lee Roy Martin* Only recently have Pentecostal scholars begun to reflect critically upon their practices of biblical interpretation, but ctive hermeneuti- cal approaches were present from the beginning of the movement. The dynamic Pentecostal revival created a unique interpretive matrix from which emerged fresh interpretive strategies, The old hermeneutical wine skins were incapable of containing the new wine of the Holy Spirit that God was pouring out on all people. Early Pentecostals found themselves in a position similar to that of the early Church in the book of Acts. Before the Day of Pentecost, the dis- ciples had operated under the assumption that Jesus the Messiah would restore Israel to its proper position in the world (Acts 1.6). The outpour~ ing of the Spirit, however, gave them an alternative vision of God's plan, which was supported by a new understanding of Scripture. In the early church, we find ‘a perplexing tension between a breaking into this world of the kingdom of God, in which Christian believers act as servants in God's redemption of the world, and the need to wait for God to fulfill the promises of the Old Testament according to God’s own timing’! Pentecost produced a radical transformation of the epistemology, worldview, and hermeneutics of the early believers. Before Pentecost, the disciples would have subscribed to the common worldview and interpre- tive assumptions of first-century Judaism (though Judaism itself was not monolithic). They also would have been influenced by the spread of Greek philosophy, which was not only ubiquitous in secular contexts but also was subtly interjected into Judaism through the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures. * Lee Roy Martin (D1, University of South Africa) Biblical Languages at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary in Cleveland, TN US. serves as Editor of the Journal of Pentecostal Theology. Gerald T. Sheppard, ‘Biblical Interpretation after Gadamer’, PNEUMA: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 6 (1984), pp. 121-41 (139).LEE ROY MARTIN The hermeneutics of the apostles changed on the Day of Pentecost. Although they continued to utilize many standard Jewish exegetical pr tices, their approach to biblical interpretation was altered by at least four new contextual factors: 1. the life, teachings, and resurrection of Jesus; 2. the gift of the Holy Spirit poured out on the Day of Pentecost; 3. the mission of the spreading the gospel, which demanded that the disciples go with haste into the world; 4. the eschatological nature of Jesus’ kingdom, which required the disciples to wait patiently for the return of Jesus.* In its radical re-ordering of reality, Pentecost might be compared to the divine encounters of the Old Testament prophets in their call narratives. ‘The prophetic experience was an apocalyptic event that deconstructed previously held assumptions and created new theological perceptions and new possibilities for God’s people.* Just as Moses was reborn at the burn- ing bush, just as Israel was transformed at Mt. Sinai, and just as Isaiah was reshaped by his vision, so also the early disciples were changed at Pentecost. The comparison between Pentecost and the prophetic calling, is strengthened further by Peter’s interpretation of Pentecost as the fulfill- ment of Joel's promise that servants, sons, daughters, old, and young ‘will prophesy’ (Acts 2.17). Therefore, the gift of the Spirit is the gift of proph- ecy; and, consequently, Pentecost creates a community of prophets.* As John McKay has argued, the prophetic gift of the Spirit naturally leads to the prophetic interpretation of Scripture.® The sermons in the book of Acts as well as the New Testament documents demonstrate the outwork- ing of that prophetic hermeneutic. c the early church, the first Pentecostals inherited a set of inter uppositions; but while the apostles had been shaped by the al assumptions of Judaism, the early Pentecostal movement was indebted to the conservative hermeneutical approaches of the late 2 Ck Sheppard, ‘Biblical Interpretation after Gadamer, p. 132. 3 Sheppard secs the tension between "hurrying and waiting’ along with the ‘passion ate personal experiences of the Holy Spirit, as the two features that form the ‘heart of the Pentecostal tradition’ (Sheppard, ‘Biblical Interpretation after Gadamer, p. 140) See Rick D. Moore, “The Prophetic Calling: An Old Testament Profile and Its Rele- vance for Today’, Journal of the European Pentecostal Theological Association 24 (2004), pp. 16-29 (esp. pp. 18-21) 3"Sce Roger Stronstad, The Prophethood of All Believers: A Study in Luke's Charismatic Theology (Cleveland, TN: CPT Press, 2010). 8" John W. McKay, ‘When the Veil Is Taken Away: The Impact of Prophetic Experience on Biblical Interpretation’, Journal of Pentecostal Theology 5 (3994), pp. 17-40 (24-32). CE Lanry Ro MeQueen, Joel and the Spint: The Cry of a Prophetic Hermeneutic (Cleveland, TN: PT Press, 2009).INTRODUCTION TO PENTECOSTAL HERMENEUTICS nineteenth century. The Pentecostal movement emerged from a religious context that included the holiness movement, the healing movement, restorationist movements, revivalism, and millenarian movements,” all of which carried ramifications for biblical interpretation. Pentecostals, for the most part, practiced the common populist ‘common. sense approach’ that took the Bible at face value, They read the Bible literally,? collapsing the distance between the original context of Scripture and the context of the reader. Kenneth Archer identifies this early Penteco: tal approach as ‘the Bible reading method’,! a method that consisted in searching the Bible for all Scripture references to a particular subject and then synthesizing those references into a theological statement. It is a harmonizing and deductive method. Also like the early church, the first Pentecostals found it necessary to revise their hermeneutics in light of their Pentecostal experience of the Spirit? The baptism in the Holy Spirit was an apocalyptic inbreaking of God that altered their worldview. Jackie Johns writes, ‘At the core of the 7 Kenneth]. Archer, A Pentecostal Hermeneutic: Spirit, Scripture and Community (Clev {, TN: CPT Press, 2009), p. 99. CE Jean-Daniel Phiss, ‘Azusa and Other Myths: The Long ‘Winding Road from Experience to Stated Belief and Back Again’, Pnouma 15.2 (1983). pp. 189-201 (191). For the impact of millenarian movements on Pentecostalism, see Grant Wacker, ‘Functions of Faith in Primitive Pentecostalism’, Harvard Theological Review 7 (4984), pp. 353-75 (369-73). ® Stephen R. Graham, “*Thus Saith the Lord’: Biblical Hermeneutics in the Early Pei tecostal Movement’, Ex audit 12 (1996), pp. 12 ® Russell P. Spittler, ‘Are Pentecostals and Charismatics Fundamentalists? A Review of American Uses of These Categories’, in Karla Poewe (ed.) Charismatic Christianity as a Global Culture (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1994), Cf. Wacker, ‘Functions of Faith’, who observes that the practice of oflliteralism (p. 366). Early Pentecostal interpretation is described as ‘precritical’ by Archer, A Pentecostal Hermeneutic, p. x25; and by Timothy B. Cargal, ‘Beyond the Fundamentalist- d Hermencutics in a Postmode IMA: Society for Pentecostal Studies 1g (1993), pp- 163-87 (365, 170~71). Archer, ntecostals as ‘paramodern’ (A Pentecostal Hermeneutic, pp. sheppard, however, Bs The Journal of the however, prefers to describe P 28-45), a term that Archer attributes to Jackie Johns (p. 45, n. 137, Suggests the term ‘sub modern’ (Biblical Interpretation after Gadame © Archer, A Pentecostal Hermeneutic, pp. 99-127. ™ Archer, A Pentecostal Hermeneutic, p. 102. Although a concordance was often used to gather the biblical references, the method was simplified by the use of ‘chain refer- ence’ study Bibles that linked one verse to another through the use of marginal notation systems, The Bible reading method also formed the basis of reference works in which the Bible verses had already been collected into topical categories. One of the most popular of these was Orville J. Nave, Nave's Topical Bible: A Digest of the Holy Scriptures (Lincoln, NE: Topical Bible Publishing Co., 1903). © Cf Steven Jack Land, Pentecostal Spirituality: A Passion for the Kingdom (Clev. ‘TIN: CPT Press, 2010), pp. 1-9. land,4 LEE ROY MARTIN Pentecostal worldview is affective experience of God which generates an apocalyptic horizon for reading reality’ Consequently, the addition of the baptism in the Holy Spirit to the aforementioned context of beliefs and experiences produced more than an addendum to conservative the- ology and hermeneutics; it transformed every element and shaped them into a new whole, which has been called the ‘Full Gospel’ or the ‘Five- fold Gospel’# As the ‘central defining characteristic of the Pentecostal movement’, the Five-fold Gospel places Jesus at the center of Pentecostal theology and insists that Jesus is savior, sanctifier, Spirit baptizer, healer, and soon coming king." The Five-fold Gospel is ‘the theological grid’ that ‘provided a firm interpretive lens for the fluid Pentecostal community and their reading of Scripture’.!7 Spirit baptism and the resultant Five-fold Gospel did not entirely negate the previously held theological commitments and hermeneutical assump- tions of the early Pentecostals, but the new formulation of beliefs and affections generated subtle (and not so subtle) alterations of older, estab- ished paradigms. Although early Pentecostals were by no means monolithic in their approaches, there was a ‘fundamental’ difference between Pente costal and non-Pentecostal hermeneutics. The hermeneutical paradigm that developed in early Pentecostalism can be described in a variety of ways, but I would suggest several significant characteristics. st, early Pentecostals viewed the Bible as a single unified narrative of God's redemptive plan, whose central message may be summarized in the Five-fold Gospel. Herholdt explains: 8 Jackie David Johns, Pentecost tecostal Theology 7 (1995), PP- 73-96 (87) Land, Pentecostal Spirituality, pp. 6,38. S cation from the formulation, which results in a 15 M, Nel, ‘Pentecostals’ Reading of the Old pp. 52441 (526 's Marius D, Herholdt, ‘Pentecostal and Charismatic Hermeneuties, in Adio Kénig and SS. Maimela (cds,), Initiation into Theology: The Rich Variety of Theology and Hermeneutics (Pretoria: Van Schatk, 1998), pp. 41731 1 “Archer, A Pentecostal Hermeneutic, p. xg7. Herholdt remarks that the elements of the Pull Gospel serve as broad herme ‘which Pentecostals will int pret everything that they read in Seripture’ (Pentecostal and Charismatic Hermeneutics’ p. 426). iS Nel, ‘Pentecostals’ Reading of the Old Testament’, p. 535 19 Like all conservative groups, Pentecostals assumed the inspiration and authority of Scripture, Sce Renea Brathwaite, Seymour on Scripture’ (38th Annual Meeting of the Soc ty for Pentecostal Studies; Virginia Beach, VA; Feb. 29-Mat. 3, 2012), pp. 12-17. lism and the Postmodern Worldview’, Journal of Pen- non-Wesleyan Pentecostals omit sai ‘our-fold Gospel’ or a ‘Foursquare Gospel’ restament’, Verbun et Feclesia 28.2 (2007),