§6FJ"F4H IN
NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY
BY
M S CLARK, Ph.D.
Abstract:
This article has been provoked by a renewed promotion of involuntary
physical manifestations in the churches, as epitomised in the so-called
'Toronto Blessing'. The difference in mode of experiencing the Spirit in the
Old and New Testaments is considered, and the nature of §6FJ"F4H and
its equivalents in the NT text discussed. The ecstatic nature of the
charisms of the Spirit comes under discussion. Finally, the NT emphasis on
self-control and clear-headedness is compared with the anti-intellectualism
and emotionalism of the new movement.
Mathew Spencer Clark is lecturer in New Testament at the Apostolic Faith
Mission Theological College in Auckland Park, Johannesburg. This college
offers the theology courses accredited by the RAU as major subjects for
their degree BA (Theology), and the post-graduate courses based upon it. He
holds the degrees BA (in Greek and Hebrew), BD and DTh from the University
of South Africa, and is presently completing a second DTh (in NT
hermeneutics) at the same University. He is part-time lecturer in Classical
Culture at RAU.
§6FJ"F4H IN
NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY
BY
M S CLARK
The role of ecstatic experience in the church has once again become an
issue. Where recent debate concerning this matter has been limited largely
to the Pentecostal / charismatic community, the current impact of the
so-called 'Toronto blessing' appears to have exceeded these boundaries, and
many mainstream historical churches are now being faced with the theological
challenge posed by this phenomenon. The secular media have taken note of the
events at the Toronto Airport Vineyard, which has become the centre of
international dissemination of the experience (eg. Time
Magazine, Aug. 15th, 1994). It has become one of the most discussed
subjects among churches and churchmen of all denominations.
Characteristic of the Toronto movement is the insistence that normal
Christian experience can include physical manifestations which are
uncontrollable: groups of people participate in uncontrollable laughter;
some appear to be 'stuck to the floor'; others make animal noises. Shaking,
screaming, laughing, 'pogo-ing' (jumping up and down on the same spot) - all
of these not only occur, but those who experience them are apparently unable
to control the effects. They claim to be 'overwhelmed' by the Spirit, to
'lose control'. Some who were initially sceptical of the manifestations even
testify to having been 'hi-jacked' by the Spirit into these effects. A truly
ecstatic movement has burst upon the scene.
The following research into ecstatic elements in New Testament Christianity
has been done made by a Pentecostal New Testament scholar. The Pentecostal
movement, like many revival movements before it, is a conscious attempt to
identify with the Spirit and experience of the early church community. For
the Pentecostal movement the findings of New Testament theology often
operate normatively (Hollenweger 1972:427-429). This article is thus an
attempt to contribute to Pentecostal and charismatic self-understanding, as
well as to share with the wider church the importance of the New Testament
community's understanding in this area. This in the light of the challenges
posed by the Toronto movement. The research is concerned primarily with the
witness of the New Testament text, although non-canonical historical
perspectives upon the earliest Christian communities has not been ignored.
Of particular concern is not the trance-and-revelation aspect of ecstacy,
but the associated physical mainifestations which may appear hysterical and
frenzied, and which the subjects claim are involuntary.
Eichrodt (1961:309-328) gives a concise description of the ecstatic elements
in the religious expression of the early Israelite prophetic bands. It is
clear from the experience of Saul in I Sam 10:10-12 (and its parallel in the
life of the later Saul, I Sam 19:23-24) that in the early Israelite period
'to prophesy' involved ecstatic elements associated with the descent of the (&9 upon
the prophet. Ecstasy (as religious frenzy) appears to have been associated
primarily with music and dance, but does not appear to have been a
significant element in the process of material revelation: neither in the
life of Samuel the seer, nor in the prophetic utterances of the literary
prophets, is the state explicitly described. Of only the non-Israelite seer
Balaam is it expressly stated that he received his communication 'falling (-51),
but having his eyes open'. The KJV elaborates here with an italic insert:
'falling into a trance'(Num
24:16). Although there is a strong visionary element in the revelations
received by particularly the later prophets, this does not automatically
equate with a condition of ecstasy, even of the non-frenzied sort.
Significantly it is the rejected Saul who is 'overwhelmed' by the Spirit, to
the extent that in an uncontrollable frenzy he strips off his clothes and
lies naked, prophesying (I Sam 19:23-24). When one considers the experience
of the yet unregenerate Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road, and the curse
of unlooked-for blindness upon Elymas, as well as the death of the wilful
Ananias and Sapphira, it would appear that in the Christian canon the
uncontrollable physical manifestations associated with the descent of the
Spirit were reserved largely for those who stood in opposition to the
Spirit.
Moses' exasperated exclamation in Num 11:29 (Would that all the Lord's
people were prophets!) finds fulfilment in the new covenant, as cited by
Peter from the prophet Joel on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16-18). However,
the primary expression now is no longer the Spirit's 'descent upon' a
particular individual, but the Spirit's 'filling' of every believer, as
fulfilment of prophecies such as Ezek 36:27 concerning the new covenant.
There is a sharp contrast made between a people who need prophetic guidance
from the inspiration of a handful of individuals upon whom the (&9 periodically
rests, and a new covenant fellowship in which sons and daughters, old and
young men, shall receive divine revelation. Paul is disapproving of conduct
rather than content when he exclaims: Every one of you has a psalm, has a
doctrine, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let
everything be done with the purpose of edifying (I Cor 14:26). He then
expressly states: You may all prophesy one by one .... (:31). He has assured
these same Corinthians: Don't you know your body is the temple of the Holy
Spirit who is in you, which you have received from God ...? (I Cor 6:19).
Since the presence of the Spirit is now an ongoing, inner reality, and no
longer a periodic and temporary occurrence, the conditions associated with
it must necessarily be different. If ecstasy and ecstatic frenzy were
associated at times with the activity of the Spirit in the Old Testament, to
what extent would this still be true in the New?
Ecstasy is understood today in the English language to mean displacement of
the individual's will and control over their members or faculties. In the
world of comparative religion and of modern psychology it is generally
associated with the notion 'trance'. §6FJ"F4H is
used sparingly in the New Testament: in the gospel accounts it is linked
solely to the idea of amazement and astonishment (eg. Luke 5:26; from the
stem ¦>\FJ0:4 Mark
2:12, 6:51 et al). This is true also of the accounts of the Jerusalem church
in the Lukan account of Acts 1-9. ¦>\FJ0:4 is
attributed in a derogatory sense to Jesus by his kin (Mk 3:21), but is used
in a more enigmatic sense by Paul (2 Cor 5:13), which will be discussed
below. §6FJ"F4H is
used in the second part of Acts only three times: twice in conjunction with
the vision received by Peter in Acts 10 (Acts 10:10; 11;5), and once by Paul
in connection with a vision he received in the temple (Acts 22:17). It would
appear then that, as Luke records it, §6FJ"F4H as
used in any sense close to that of the modern term 'ecstasy' was linked
primarily, if not solely, to the condition in which a divine vision was
received. In both cases, the vision was connected with the commission to
proclaim the gospel beyond the confines of ethnic Israel. In both cases the
trance is associated with prayer, although in Peter's case the faintness of
hunger may also have been a contributing factor. The text gives no
indication of any unusual physical manifestations linked to these occasions,
neither as having induced the trance, nor as an effect.
In the second epistle to the Corinthian church Paul appears reluctant to
comment upon the nature of his own spiritual experiences. Apparently the
trouble-makers in that congregation had been overawing the church by
recounting their rich experience of divine revelation (II Cor 5:12;
11:12-13; 12:6,11). In an oblique way he recounts an experience which was
apparently his own, and uses two interesting terms: ¦6J@H J@L FT:"J@H and PTD4H J@L FT:"J@H.
These terms are associated with far more than a mere 'seeing' (ÏBJ"FÂ",
II Cor 12:1; ÓD":",
Acts 10:3; or ÓD"F4H as
used in translating Joel, Acts 2:17). They appear to be associated with an
actual entrance into a spiritual realm, termed 'third heaven' and
'paradise'. In fact, the experience was so intense that the apostle is not
sure whether it did not in fact involve actual corporeal transport. This
would appear to be an exceptional experience, involving revelations which
the recipient was not able to communicate, bringing it in line with some
aspects of the exceptional visionary experience recorded in John's
Apocalypse (Rev 10:4 - John also refers to his revelation as being received ¦< B<,L:"J4,
an apparent equivalent to being in §6FJ"F4H).
What is essential to our discussion is precisely this exceptionality: in a
church where spiritual experience was plentiful, it took exceptional
testimonies of revelations to impress the Corinthian membership of the bona
fides of the false leaders: Paul feels he is stooping to the level of these
agitators in recounting his own exceptional experiences. The exceptionality
appears to lie precisely here: the experiences were ecstatic (although not
necessarily accompanied by involuntary physical manifestations). This makes
it probable that normal experience of the activity and ministry of the
Spirit was not.
In II Cor 5:13, Paul refers to apparently ecstatic experience (¦>\FJ0:4).
The context is similar to that of II Cor 12 - the apostle does not believe
that his experience or lack of experience in the ecstatic realm is of
consequence to his ministry. When he is in §6FJ"F4H,
it is part of his relationship with God. (In fact, if the earlier context is
taken into account, Paul may well be comparing or even equating §6FJ"F4H here
with death - cf. II Cor 5:1ff). When he is in full possession of every
faculty, that is
the state in which he addresses the needs of his converts. Yet this
distinction is not observed when he addresses the subject of tongues,
interpretation and prophecy in I Cor 14. These experiences are therefore
apparently normal, and do not seem to rely upon the ecstatic condition of
their subject to be manifested.
This point of view was apparently not held by the translators of some of the
newer Bible translations. The New English Bible consistently refers to (8äFF"4H 8"8,Ã< as
'ecstatic speech'. The notes to the German translation entitled Die Gute
Nachricht point out that the choice of 'unbekannten Sprachen' in their text
actually refers to 'einem ekstatischen Sprechen', the 'sogenannten
<Zungenreden>'. The New Afrikaans Bible refers somewhat enigmatically to
'ongewone tale en klanke gebruik'. Perhaps it is because the term 'speaking
in tongues' has become more commonly current since the neo-pentecostal
movement of the 1960's and 70's introduced it to the mainstream historical
churches that many newer translations are happier to literally translate the
phrase rather than attempt an interpretation by paraphrasing it.
M`ller adequately presents the
Pentecostal objection to the presuppositions entailed by such
interpretations. He does this in a comprehensive discussion of the secular
psychological and linguistic evaluations of modern day tongues speaking by
Pentecostals and charismatics (M`ller
1975:151-191). Central to such objections is that most secular evaluations
treat tongues-speaking as an ecstatic phenomenon, whereas Pentecostals do
not experience it as such (eg. the illuminating findings of a secular
researcher, Malony 1985:109: 'There is no indication that glossolalics go
into a trance during the experience'). If the theological objection were to
be raised that what Pentecostals experience today may not be what the New
Testament describes in Acts and Corinthians, then it must be argued that the
language of the New Testament itself does not imply that a condition of
ecstasy is necessary for tongues, interpretation of tongues, or prophecy to
occur as P"D4F:"J".
In fact, a careful study of I Cor 14 may show that precisely the opposite is
implied.
I Cor 14:27-33 contains Paul's famous 'order' concerning the use of tongues
and prophecy in the congregation of believers. The fact that the numbers of
those speaking in tongues, and those prophesying, is limited ; that they can
be quiet if there is no interpretation, or if another person receives a
revelation; that the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet - these
would be meaningless if it were not understood that the speaker in tongues
and the prophesier were in full control of their faculties. Paul's earlier
references to meaningless prayer in tongues (vs. 16), and to prayer in the
Spirit being accompanied by prayer with the understanding (vs. 15), appear
to indicate the same.
The New Testament itself is silent concerning involuntary physical
manifestations in the New Testament community. Although mention is made of
'inexpressible joy, full of glory' (I Pet 1:8), the physical implications of
this are probably similar to the reaction of the healed cripple in Acts 3:8
- walking, and leaping, and praising God. These reactions are totally
understandable, but also perfectly voluntary! Individuals will give physical
expression to their encounter with a loving, redeeming, saving, healing God
according to their own particular temperament, culture and volition. Those
exuberant physical activities which accompanied the ecstatic veneration of
pagan deities such as Dionysus and Apollo were shunned by the early church
community. The history of music informs us that although singing was a
normal part of early Christian worship, it was not until some time after
Constantine that musical instruments were introduced into general Christian
worship . The rationale behind this exclusion was apparently that while
musical instruments were used in cults such as that of Apollo to induce a
state of hysteria and ecstasy in which divination might be received, as well
as at state festivals and entertainment, converts needed to be separated
from such expressions of the their pagan past (Grout 1960:19-20). While
practising prophecy and receiving revelation in the form of dreams and
visions, the early church radically distantiated these charisms from the
modes and methods of contemporary pagan divination.
This is not to say that the worship and life of the early Christian
community was not exuberant. It is not only Pentecostals and charismatics
who insist that the religious expression of the earliest communities was a
strong contrast to the cold formalism that dominates many modern liturgies.
Johannes Weiss (1959:41) and James Dunn (1983:192-194) make it clear that
they discovered in their research into the earliest Christian community a
vibrant, enthusiastic, jubilant, victorious charismatic community whose
point of personal and communal integration was not intellectual assent to
the great confessions, or participation in formal liturgies, but an ongoing
experience of the presence of the living God. It would be reasonable to
imagine that such a community would give expression to its experience in a
variety of extrovert emotional and physical forms. I have discussed this
aspect as revealed in contemporary Pentecostalism in greater detail
elsewhere (Clark & Lederle 1989:60-63). However, the silence of the New
Testament text can only lead us to believe that it was not these forms which
were central, nor propagated, but a more concrete content which was subject
to testing and evaluation (I Cor 14:29; I John 4:1-3). Even the concrete
expressions of the Spirit's presence were subject to such objective testing
- I Cor 13:1-3 subjects charismatic manifestations to the test of the
presence of ("B0 in
the subject's life; and then provides a full list of concrete criteria by
which the presence or absence of that love might be discerned. As for
involuntary physical manifestations, in seeking a Biblical foundation the
Toronto movement is driven to such forced exegesis as the following: Psalm
23:2, claims Toronto apologete Guy Chevreau, tells us: He makes me
lie down .... ! (Chevreau 1994:51). While Chevreau may be excused as making
what appears to be a tongue-in-the-cheek statement, this cannot be said of
many of the exponents of the Toronto Blessing who proclaim this verse as
normative for 'falling down under the Spirit'.
It might be argued that one of the reasons for the perpetuation of the
Pentecostal revival of the twentieth century into its tenth decade has been
the understanding that the presence and work of the Spirit among the
community of believers can be objectively tested. The proof of such power is
not subjective, i.e. in emotional intensity and accompanying physical
manifestations, but can be concretely tested against accepted 'lists' of
charismata such as that of I Cor 12:8-10 - speaking in tongues,
interpretation of tongues, gifts of healings, etc. This understanding has
been tested many times during the last 90 years by the classical Pentecostal
denominations, and invariably reconfirmed. More transitory or faddish
criteria such as involuntary physical manifestations or liturgical dance or
frenzied hand-clapping have been rejected on numerous occasions, such as the
Latter Rain schisms of the 1920's and 1950's.
One of the most strongly stressed qualities of character in the New
Testament is self-control. This is expressed in various forms, some
accenting vigilant control over one's desires and choices (based on FTND@<,T),
some emphasising restraint (based on ¦(6D"J0H),
some clear-headedness (based on <0NT).
In fact, it is stressed in II Tim 1:7 that it is precisely the Spirit which
engenders in us FTND@<4F:@H,
the ability to apply our minds clearly. The New Testament knows nothing of
the neo-gnostic dualism between an evil mind (as part of the flesh) and a
perfected spirit, which one finds underlying the Toronto movement. Although
the Vineyard movement, which finds its origin in the teachings of John
Wimber, has not flirted with the grosser tendencies toward dualism found in
the Word-Faith movement of E W Kenyon's disciples (McConnell 1988:103-115),
it nevertheless reveals a strong anti-intellectual bias which implies the
same type of distinction between mind and spirit (Lewis 1989:56-57). Opposed
to this, the New Testament Christian imperative is to be wide-awake to every
possibility of seduction from the pathway of genuine discipleship. While it
is true that the believer is obliged to lose control of much of his life,
this is not to be seen in terms of a mindless and uncritical pursuit of
ecstatic experience, but rather in terms of subjection of the self to the
Master: giving up control as a *@L8@H of
Christ, rather than losing control of one's mind and body.
A final word may be added concerning Christian and non-Christian revelatory
experience. The student of non-Christian revelatory religions, whether of
the shamanistic type, or of the more sophisticated eastern religions, will
notice the centrality of the trance to the process of communicating with the
spirit-world. The trance might be induced by music and rhythm, by
meditation, or by a combination of either of these and some form of
narcotic. In this trance situation the subject may take on another
personality, becoming 'possessed' by a spiritual entity. They may then speak
in tongues or a known language; they might change their voices ludicrously;
they might make animal noises, even act like animals. In this process, the
persona of the subject is overwhelmed by the spirit they are hosting.
In contrast, the New Testament understanding was that the human persona
entered into willing cooperation with the Spirit of God. Hence Paul could
refer to himself as FL<,D(@H with
God. Thus the Scriptures could be inspired, and yet the work of men. A
prophecy could be inspired, and yet subject to testing. Revelation consists
of a divine element and a human, working together to confront the listener
with the speaking of God. There was no element of coercion in this
partnership. It was not necessary for the human partner to submit the mind
and body to 'emptying' or external control: the divine Spirit and the
regenerate human spirit could 'work together' in the purposes of God.
In the light of the challenges created by the emphasis upon ecstatic,
involuntary physical manifestations in the Toronto movement, as well as the
ongoing religious syncretism which is so much part of the post-modern era,
this article is an attempt to re-assert the values of the New Testament
community. Without decrying the cathartic affect the intense emotional
content of the Toronto Blessing appears to afford certain individuals, an
exegetical Christian theology could only with difficulty encourage
communities or individuals to base their understanding of God and his
presence upon such an uncertain foundation.
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