Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #789344 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 180 pages

Customer Reviews

Does Subjective Experience Determine Revivals?
Vinson Synan is often called the leading Pentecostal/Charismatic historian for his books on the movement and his understanding of the history of the movement. He also is quite an educated man which allows him to frequent both Pentecostal and non-Pentecostal circles thus giving him more volume to speak from.

In this work Dr. Synan uses his vast amount of Pentecostal history to give the reader bits and pieces of the move of the Holy Spirit in the 20th century. He actually begins with the late 19th century holiness movement which in turn birthed the modern Pentecostal movement especially with the Azusa Street revival of 1906 in Los Angeles, CA. Out of this revival came most of the modern Pentecostal denominations including the Pentecostal Holiness (Dr. Synan's own denomination), the Assemblies of God, the Church of God (Cleveland, TN) and the Church of God in Christ (COGIC). From there spread the Pentecostal movement to the entire nations as well as pouring into mainline denominations such as the Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists during the 1960's charismatic movement. This in turn birthed the "third wave" movement with the Vineyard leading the charge.

Overall the book is not a theology book on the person and work of the Holy Spirit. I found this very disappointing. I would have hoped that a man of knowledge such as Dr. Synan would have stated the book out with a biblical understanding of the person and work of the Spirit. He did not. Furthemore, the book essentially uses experience (baptism with the Spirit, speaking in tongues, manifestation gifts) to validate the ministry of the Spirit. In the book it does not matter if the "believer" is Pentecostal, Charismatic, liberal Methodist, fundamentalist Baptist, or even a Mary worshiping Roman Catholic so long as they have "received the Holy Spirit." Revival is not measured in this book as a genuine repentance toward God or a move toward biblical holiness but rather a subjective, personal encounter with the Holy Spirit.

In conclusion, this book does little to help the reader understand the true work of the Holy Spirit from a biblical perspective. There are many other works out there (even from Pentecostals such as Stanley Horton, French Arrington, or Anthony Palma) that give a biblical view. The book focuses way too much on experience and little on sound doctrine (Titus 2:1). Keep in mind that we must test the spirits (1 John 4:1) and we can only do this with God's one and final Word, the Bible (2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:16-21).