Thinking in the Spirit Theologies of the Early Pentecostal Movement [Paperback]

This book is about the boisterous beginnings of the American Pentecostal movement and the ideas that defined that movement during those formative years. It follows a group of men who rethought the Christian faith in light of their new experience of God. Thinking in the Spirit aims to provide scholars and general readers who know little or nothing about Pentecostalism with an introduction to the ideas of the movements most articulate early spokespersons, and to provide Pentecostals with a non-judgmental historical source to help them in their theological reflections. Douglas Jacobsen focuses on the individuals who formed the original brain trust of this now gigantic religious movement. In a 25-year burst of creative energy at the beginning of the 20th century, these leaders articulated almost all the basic theological ideas that continue to define the Pentecostal message in the United States and around the world.

2004 Pneuma Book Award, from the Society for Pentecostal Studies

Preliminary Table of Contents:
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: What is Pentecostal Theology?
1. Original Visions
2. Theologies of the Azusa Era
3. Holiness and Finished-Work Options
4. Oneness Options
5. Theology and Race
6. Theology at the Boundaries of the Pentecostal Movement
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Douglas Jacobsen is Distinguished Professor of Church History and Theology at Messiah College.

The American Pentecostal movement transformed church history in the 20th century. With roots in the 19th-century holiness revival, which taught believers to seek a second work of sanctification after their conversion, Pentecostalism added speaking in tongues as the necessary evidence of Holy Spirit baptism. Jacobsen (Messiah College) describes theological ideas from the first generation of Pentecostals, c. 1900, 1925, by closely analyzing the published writings of 12 of the most interesting and articulate leaders. Some choices arl“õ