A Review of Amos Yong’s The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh: Pentecostalism and the Possibility of Global Theology by Pastor Rony Reyes.

Amos Yong, The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh: Pentecostalism and the Possibility of Global Theology (Baker Academic, 2005).

Amos Yong is an adroit theologian and a role model for young Pentecostal theologians in the twenty-first century. As Pentecostals seek to define their identity, Yong describes a Pentecostal theology from a pneumatalogical perspective. The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh: Pentecostalism and the Possibility of Global Theology¹  seeks to develop a Pentecostal theology by revisiting traditional views on Soteriology, Ecclesiology, Ecumenism, World Theology, Discernment, and Theology of Creation from a fresh perspective of the person and work of the Spirit. This book surveys how the Spirit works in different Pentecostal context around our globe. The title of his book emphasizes the new inclusiveness that is in distinctive Pentecostal Theological traditions. Throughout the book, I found Yong asking the overarching question, what does salvation mean to Pentecostals (in Latin America, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and the African Diaspora), and how has this been manifested and experienced.

Yong survey of Pentecostalism across the globe, it was interesting to discover how Latin American Pentecostalism engages social issues. Yong praises the efforts of two former Guatemalan Pentecostal/Evangelical presidents, Efrain Rios Montt, and Jorge Serrano (pp. 35-36). Although, I agree with Yong that Pentecostals need to be involved in politics, the question still remains how involved should the Pentecostal believer be in his/her motivation to social justice. In addition, how sensitive should they be toward others who have a different political and religious view?

In the case of Rios Montt, his political and religious views caused a great deal of disunity and conflict against Catholic believers. His views were so divisive that the Guatemalan army ended his presidency. Montt’s political motivations did not respect fellow human beings. Should not Pentecostal political involvement be an act of love that respects other human beings?

President Jorge Serrano was also disrespectful to his fellow citizen. He was not religiously sensitive to the natives of Guatemala. Serrano came into his presidency with his Pentecostal/Evangelical views declaring “Christ Jesus Lord of Guatemala.” In his political campaign he sought “to free the country from a curse relating to pre-Christian religion,” [Mayan Religion] (pp. 36). Based upon these examples, how can we balance Pentecostal political involvement and Pneumatological theology of religions in order to avoid demonizing other religions for political reasons?

Amos Yong

In chapter 2, Yong further develops his Pneumatological soteriology discussing the saving work of the Spirit in transforming human lives, and “restoring humans to a relationship with God, to each other, and to their habitats” (pp. 117). The second explanation of his Pneumatological soteriology is that salvation is “a holistic and dynamic process: I was saved (justification), I am being saved (sanctification), and I will be saved (glorification)” (pp. 118). The third explanation is “the ongoing debate about whether the baptism in the Holy Spirit is understood as a conversion-initiation experience or a second (sanctifying) or even third (empowering) work of grace” (pp. 118). These three main explanations of his Pneumatological soteriology, can be summarized, “Salvation is a holistic transforming work of the Spirit on the human being that brings healthy relationships together by God’s Spirit.” Is this explanation of salvation sufficient and the only one within the Pentecostal experience? Could there be another manifestation of the Spirit by which salvation can be known?

The Power of the Cross: The Biblical Place of Healing and Gift-Based Ministry in Proclaiming the Gospel

Understanding the Hebrew Scriptures and Hebrew culture is crucial to understanding how Jesus and the early church viewed sin, the demonic, and the fallen world they lived in.

Introduction

Christ’s death on the Cross atones for and cleanses us from all sin, and the atonement of the Cross provides the basis for God’s work to sanctify us and restore us from the brokenness which sin brought into our lives (Isa 53:4-6; Mk 10:45; Rom 3:22-25; 5:8-9; II Cor 5:21; Gal 3:13; Col 1:21-22; I Tim 2:6; Heb 2:14; 9:14, 26-28; 10:10; I Pet 1:18-21; 2:24; 3:18; I Jn 2:2; 3:5, 8). How is sin related to healing and wholeness in the Bible, and how is personal sin related to praying for someone’s healing as prescribed in James 5?

The problem with the human race is, according to Scripture, sin, and the problem with sin is that it has effects. What is more, the effects are not simply the immediate results of the sinful act, but also the long-term consequences of the act, sometimes affecting only the individual and at times engulfing the whole of the human race.¹ In this chapter we want to look at what parts of the human experience are traceable to sin, as well as examine the biblical solution to these consequences.

Sin and the Fruit of Sin in the Old Testament

The history of sin in the Old Testament begins with the introduction of sin in Genesis 3. The human beings (both the woman and the man, “who was with her,” Gen 3:6) desired to “be like God,” disobeyed and so sinned. The results are portrayed immediately: shame at their nakedness (3:7; perhaps shame is a symbol for their vulnerability); fear of the presence of God (3:8); disorder in the natural world (3:14,17); disruption of human relationships (3:16); disturbance of the generative process (3:16);² loss of sovereignty (3:15;18); and death (3:19).

The flood narrative itself indicates the pervasiveness of sin. At both ends of the narrative the writer declares that “every thought (or, thing formed in the thought) of a human being was only evil from youth.” (Gen 6:6; cf. 8:21) While on the one end of the narrative this inner evil is the reason for the destruction of the created order, a return to watery chaos, from which only Noah and his family are saved, on the other, it results in a type of resigned understanding on the part of God. Yet the next chapter places some limitations on violence in that, unlike the penalty exacted on Cain, now murderers will be executed. Law, then, becomes a result of sin.⁴

The rest of the Old Testament amplifies these positions about the results of sin. That sin can lead to judgment and death is almost cliché in terms of the Old Testament. The cycle of sin and oppression (which included death in battle and death through the oppression) is the theme of Judges. The prophets are concerned about impending judgment which they speak about in terms of various forms of death (sword, plague, etc.).

Sin Can Lead to Broken Relationships and Poverty

Another mark of sin seen in all of these narratives is the destruction of the social fabric of the people. One sees this graphically in the case of Lot in Gen. 19. On the one hand, the sin of Sodom (lack of hospitality to the extent of the abuse of foreigners) leads to the destruction of the city, for it confirms the “outcry against Sodom” (Gen 18:20 NIV) and thus seals its doom, especially since every man in Sodom is involved and Lot has only four people with him (thus less than the ten righteous needed to save the city). On the other hand, the narrative ends with incest by Lot’s daughters because society as they knew it was gone. Here is a destroyed social fabric to the extent that the incest taboo is broken. The author of Genesis appears to contrast this fate with that of Abraham. Lot may have been righteous, but he is not as righteous as Abraham.