2006年VOA标准英语-Survey Sees Pentecostalism Growing, Pentecostal

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
11 October 2006

A new 10-nation survey says Christian¹ Pentecostalism is growing, and that Pentecostals, known for their exuberant² style of worship, are also becoming more active in politics. Mike O'Sullivan reports from Los Angeles, where modern Pentecostalism was born 100 years ago, and where scholars met at the University of Southern California to assess the movement's impact.

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Pentecostal believers in Detroit, Michigan   
  
There have been times in Christian history when believers experienced what they said were gifts of the Holy Spirit -- an ecstatic form of expression called speaking in tongues, divine healing, and utterances³ of prophecy, which are messages they believe come directly from God.

The prototype for the experience is seen in the New Testament⁴ Book of Acts, which says the spirit of God descended⁵ on the followers⁶ of Jesus on the feast of Pentecost.

In the early 1900s, there were scattered⁷ episodes of Pentecostal enthusiasm -- in Wales in southwest Britain and near Pune, India. But in 1906, a major movement erupted in Los Angeles to which historians trace the rise of modern Pentecostalism.

An African-American preacher named William Seymour held meetings in a building on Azusa Street.

There, many experienced what they described as gifts of the Holy Spirit, says Cecil Mel Robeck, Junior, a third-generation Pentecostal minister and professor of church history at Fuller Theological Seminary. He says the dirt-floor meeting room had been used to house horses, was filled with flies and smelled bad.

He said, "It was hot. It was noisy. It was not in the best part of town. And yet there were 15,00 people that came there consistently over the next three years or so."

People of all races took part in what came to be called the Azusa Street revival⁸.

In the excitement, people would fall and roll on the floor and speak in what seemed an unintelligible⁹ babble¹⁰. The behavior drew ridicule¹¹ in the press, but word also spread through sympathetic Christians¹² in churches and missionary¹³ societies.

The Azusa Street church sent emissaries abroad to preach the Pentecostal message as far as Liberia, where they planted the seeds of a now-thriving Pentecostalism in Africa.

Allan Anderson of the University of Birmingham in England says there were soon multiple centers of the excitement.

He said, "There were revival movements in Korea, Manchuria, all of this within a few years of each other. And of course the first one was in Wales in 1904."

But most analysts¹⁴ trace the modern movement to the Azusa Street revival two years later. 

 
Eastwood Pentecostal Choir¹⁵ sings during an interfaith church service in Lake Charles, La., Sept. 24, 2006
  
Pentecostal denominations¹⁶ were soon founded, such as the Assemblies of God. Many decades later, a Pentecostal-like movement emerged in the Catholic and Protestant churches. This movement is often termed "charismatic."

On the 100th anniversary of the birth of the modern movement, the new study of Pentecostals shows they are numerous. Together with charismatics, they may make up one-quarter of all Christians. They are nearly one-fourth of the U.S. population, according to the study, and almost half the population of Brazil.

The study of the Pentecostal movement was conducted by the Pew Forum¹⁷ on Religion and Public Life. It suggests that more than half of the people of Kenya are Pentecostals or charismatics, and 60 percent of the people of Guatemala.

Pew Forum Director Luis Lugo says the study has some surprises.

He said, "One, to me, was the extent to which Pentecostal beliefs and practices had made their way into these non-Pentecostal churches. In several of these countries, the percentage of charismatics was at least double that of Pentecostals."

Those countries include Chile, South Africa, and South Korea.

In the Philippines, the number of charismatics, most of them Catholic, is 10 times the number of Pentecostals. The study groups all of them together under the term renewalists.

John Green of the Pew Forum, says Pentecostals and charismatics, like other traditional Christians, have a high regard for the Bible and attend church often. Surprisingly, he says, they are also interested in worldly matters.

"They are very interested in politics. They are very interested in the free market. They are very interested in social welfare programs," he said. "These are very different than the common stereotype¹⁸ of Pentecostals as being other-worldly."

Harold Caballeros, a former lawyer in Guatemala, is the founder¹⁹ of El Shaddai Pentecostal ministries²⁰ in Guatemala City. He is now retiring from active church work to establish a university and create a political movement.

He notes that Guatemala suffered from a bloody²¹ civil war from 1960 to 1996, and that the Central American nation still has social problems.

"Such as very high crime and violence and poverty, and that has created a conscience, so to speak, in many of us to get involved, to engage society instead of the traditional position, which was be just inside the church," he said.

Analysts point to an obvious difficulty when religion crosses the line into politics. Not all practitioners²² of a religion live up to its precepts²³.

Guatemala has had two Pentecostal presidents, and the one who took power in a 1982 military coup²⁴, Efrain Rios Montt, has been accused of widespread human-rights abuses. Prominent Pentecostals have been the subject of scandals in Brazil.

But some scholars see social benefits in Pentecostalism. Ann Bernstein of the Center for Development and Enterprise has studied the movement in her native South Africa.

She said, "Our research has revealed the phenomenal entrepreneurial energy that Pentecostal pastors²⁵ have in establishing new institutions, often in very poor, difficult circumstances, and surviving a very competitive environment."

She says Pentecostal churches provide opportunities for leadership and instill discipline, helping²⁶ people improve their prospects²⁷ in a complex economy.

The Pew Forum's Luis Lugo says the study gives hints as to why Pentecostalism is growing. He says renewalist churches offer a joyful²⁸ form of worship and the sense that God is really present.

Pentecostalism has also adapted to local cultures, blending its enthusiastic form of expression with Christian beliefs and practices in indigenous²⁹ African churches. Through the charismatic movement, it has also enlivened the ritual of older denominations.

Finally, he says Pentecostals are building a sense of community by reaching out to the displaced, including migrants to the city, providing a spiritual home in a world that is quickly changing.

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 exuberant   

adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的

参考例句：

• Hothouse plants do not possess exuberant vitality.在温室里培养出来的东西，不会有强大的生命力。
• All those mother trees in the garden are exuberant.果园里的那些母树都长得十分茂盛。

3 utterances   

n.发声( utterance的名词复数 )；说话方式；语调；言论

参考例句：

• John Maynard Keynes used somewhat gnomic utterances in his General Theory. 约翰·梅纳德·凯恩斯在其《通论》中用了许多精辟言辞。 来自辞典例句
• Elsewhere, particularly in his more public utterances, Hawthorne speaks very differently. 在别的地方，特别是在比较公开的谈话里，霍桑讲的话则完全不同。 来自辞典例句

4 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

5 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

6 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

7 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

8 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

9 unintelligible   

adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的

参考例句：

• If a computer is given unintelligible data, it returns unintelligible results.如果计算机得到的是难以理解的数据，它给出的也将是难以理解的结果。
• The terms were unintelligible to ordinary folk.这些术语一般人是不懂的。

10 babble   

v.含糊不清地说，胡言乱语地说，儿语

参考例句：

• No one could understand the little baby's babble. 没人能听懂这个小婴孩的话。
• The babble of voices in the next compartment annoyed all of us.隔壁的车厢隔间里不间歇的嘈杂谈话声让我们都很气恼。

11 ridicule   

v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄

参考例句：

• You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。
• Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。

12 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

13 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

14 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

15 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

16 denominations   

n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• The service was attended by Christians of all denominations. 这次礼拜仪式各教派的基督徒都参加了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

18 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

19 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

20 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

21 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

22 practitioners   

n.习艺者，实习者( practitioner的名词复数 )；从业者（尤指医师）

参考例句：

• one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction 最了不起的科幻小说家之一
• The technique is experimental, but the list of its practitioners is growing. 这种技术是试验性的，但是采用它的人正在增加。 来自辞典例句

23 precepts   

n.规诫，戒律，箴言( precept的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They accept the Prophet's precepts but reject some of his strictures. 他们接受先知的教训，但拒绝他的种种约束。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The legal philosopher's concern is to ascertain the true nature of all the precepts and norms. 法哲学家的兴趣在于探寻所有规范和准则的性质。 来自辞典例句

24 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

25 pastors   

n.（基督教的）牧师( pastor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do we show respect to our pastors, missionaries, Sunday school teachers? 我们有没有尊敬牧师、宣教士，以及主日学的老师？ 来自互联网
• Should pastors or elders be paid, or serve as a volunteer? 牧师或长老需要付给酬劳，还是志愿的事奉呢？ 来自互联网

26 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

27 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

28 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

29 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。