Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Mar/74

Contributor - J. Opmeer

Title - Charismatics, Catholics and Protestants

Topic - Church In Canada

In recent years the charismatic renewal movement has been gaining great momentum among Roman Catholics. The annual gatherings of charismatic Catholics at Notre Dame in the U.S. are evidence of this. The first meeting held in 1967, was attended by only 90 persons. Last year, no less than 25,000 gathered, including Cardinal Suenens, of Belgium.

In Canada, too, the movement has been growing among Roman Catholics. It has received semiofficial status now that some bishops and archbishops have openly declared their sympathy. One of these is Archbishop James Hayes, of Halifax, Nova Scotia. At a recent meeting of some 450 priests and nuns, he declared that charismatic renewal of Catholics has led to a deeper understanding of the role of the Christian in the church, to a new sense of prayer, especially the prayer of praise, and a renewed spirit of joy. He mentioned that the charismatic movement, which teaches the fullness of life in the Holy Spirit, is a permanent and essential part of the church. He also said that the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit must be exercised within the church itself. Among such gifts he included healing of spirit, mind and body, the discernment of spirits, and prophecy.

In many areas of Canada, Catholic prayer meetings have sprung up where the gifts of the Holy Spirit are manifested. Often such meetings are open to Protestants. In the Vancouver area there are many such charismatic meetings, even though the bishop does not encourage them.

You may perhaps wonder how the charismatic renewal can have, such success in the Roman Catholic church, whereas in Protestant churches it has often led to, division. Although it is too early yet to tell how permanent the 'laissez faire' attitude to charismatic renewal in the Roman Catholic church will be. David Wilkerson claims to have had a recent vision which warns of coming persecution there are reasons for the present open attitude. As explained by Dr. J. Rodman Williams, a Presbyterian writer, in "The Pentecostal Reality", the Catholic church has always held in high regard the supernatural. It is therefore by no means closed to the idea of a miraculous intervention by God in human life. Furthermore, throughout Catholic history there has been sensitivity to a special empowering work of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands by the bishops. From the fifth century on there has been the rite of confirmation, wherein the Holy Spirit is given for strengthening the believer in his dedication to Christ.

For these and other reasons, 'charismatic Catholics' have usually been allowed greater freedom within their churches than "charismatic Protestants'. In the case of Protestants, there are no such traditional bridges for understanding and openness. Rather the reverse. From the beginning on the Reformers fought a running battle against what they considered 'fanatics', who claimed that they were moved directly by the Holy Spirit (e.g. the Anabaptists). In spite of the fact that there was a genuine New Testament revival among the Anabaptists, there were so many excesses that the criticism by the Reformers was justified, although overgeneralized.

More important than this historic objection to the charismatic dimension is the Protestant claim that the teaching of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a distortion of the Gospel, taking away from the centrality of Jesus Christ and His saving work. I believe that originally this fear was justified, partly by the lack of theology on Pentecostal side, and partly by the attitudes of a number of confused charismatic Protestants.

However, as the charismatic honeymoon is over, and the movement begins to mature in Europe, the U.S. and Canada, we may hope to see increased openness towards charismatic teaching and experience also on Protestant side. There is no biblical reason to fear the genuine charismatic emphasis. I have read a small library on the subject, and have come across a lot of emotional, psychological, historical and doctrinal objections but none biblical. Charismatic theology is just as Christ-centered as the traditional Protestant theology. And so is charismatic life (I really don't like the terminology 'charismatic', but use it for the sake of convenience). Jesus Christ is not left behind for a different centering in the Holy Spirit, for it is precisely through Christ that the baptism in the Spirit occurs. In line with this, the charismatic movement now de-emphasizes the 'charismatic', and focuses on the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and the oneness of the Body of Christ.

Thus, an old prediction by bishop Lesslie Newbigin of the Church of South India may yet come true: the fullness of the Body of Christ will be found when all three streams within Christianity, the Catholic, the Protestant, and the charismatic, merge into one, leaving behind the distortions. "The Household of God", published in 1953). Or, as cardinal Suenens said last year at Notre Dame, in answer to a question whether there will be a Vatican III, to further update the Roman Catholic church: "There might be something much better Jerusalem II ... I see the heads of the Christian churches coming together where we started, in the upper room of Pentecost. There we were baptized in the Spirit. There Christianity was born. Let us come home."

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