I need some help with the Pentecostal religion maybe some pros and cons?
916039
"I was born a Baptist and I shall remain a Baptist" (Aunt Esther said to Fred Sanford in SANFORD AND SON)\n\nI have never been impressed by the Pentecostal-movement in the US.\nTo me (and this is my personal opinion), it appears to be a bunch of hypocritical nonsense.\nWe have thousands of Pentecostal churches in Birmingham, Alabama and anytime I'm invited to one, I politely decline to worship there.\nIt has been my experience that in addition to a convoluted Gospel being preached, the worship service itself is too, too long!\nI don't think it takes all day to worship...not if everything is done decently and in order!\nSome of these churches do encourage their women to belong to what I call THE SKIRT POSSE'....and...the purpose of dressing in such a plain and unattractive manner is beyond me!\nBUT...ultimately the final decision is yours.\nI suggest you do your homework and see if this is really for you; before you 'dive in' completely!
1077626
Find a Spirit filled church. One that uses the Holy Bible (only) and one that urges relationship and not "religion."\n\nReligion is how man tries to reach God/Jesus.\n\nRelationship is how God reaches us through Jesus Christ.\n\nGrace to you and God Bless...
641561
I used to be pentecostal and I still go to a pentecostal church but have since fallen.What intrigued me to their church is that they dont condemn you when you want to shout or raise your hands or dance in worshiping the Lord.They believe in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues which I have done.Im not condeming other churches im just speaking of why i like mine.When the preacher preaches it is not boring but interesting and lively.They get excited in praising God and spreading his word.When I went it made my adrenaline pump and I was happy.
306004
The key to any religion is FEAR. You must make sure that you explain that something bad will happen if you don't worship bogi. The more supernatural and irrational the better.  Throw in some guilt and make sure that you convey a overall feeling of shame and sense of self loathing.\n\nPeople will come flocking!!!\n\nOh yeah, get a cool Logo. Cross and Star have been used.
711299
Try this website for starters:\n\nwww.religoustolerance.org
68922
You should have a daily Bible reading to learn and understand the ways of God so you can gain wisdom and strength in your walk with the Lord. Also if you are not baptized yet it would be a Very good thing to do along with obeying God no matter how hard it is (personal lesson I have had to learn).\n\nI will keep you in my prayers and hope this answers your question
398241
Alright... welcome tony_copeland to Theos Mart! Here, we have a large selection of religions for you to believe in. Personally, my favorite would have to be the Pagan Religion. Now, with this religious group, you have a lot of choices! You could be a Druid, a Shaman, a Voodoo practicioner, a Witch, a Priestess, a Priest, or any number of other things! You have the freedom to pick and choose your Gods and Goddesses at will, though, they might not always get along. Should you join this religion, there will be a need for intensive study, such as reading books and finding things out on your own. I suggest that you find a spirit guide, should you choose Paganism. A spirit guide -- whether it be a fae, an animal, a dragon, a unicorn, a demon, an angel, a God, a Goddess, Buddha, whatever -- will help you through life and help you make the right choices! But wait, there's more! If you choose Paganism, you get a one-way ticket AWAY from Hell because they don't believe in it! So, what will it be?
456138
check out a few of these"PRO" pages\n\nhttp://www.lightplanet.com/response/answers/contents.htm\nhttp://www.fairlds.org/apol/morm201/m20100a.html\nhttp://www.geocities.com/promormon/index.html\nhttp://www2.ida.net/graphics/shirtail/linksto.htm\nhttp://www.aros.net/~wenglund/Point.htm\nhttp://www.adherents.com/people/pt/Jerald_Sandra_Tanner.html\nhttp://www.jefflindsay.com/LDSFAQ/FQ_BMProb2.shtml\nhttp://www.jefflindsay.com/myturn.shtml
956748
Here is a small segment of Pentecostal beliefs:\n \nPentecostals believe that one must be saved by believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior for the forgiveness of sins and to be made acceptable to God. Being descended from Methodism and the Methodist Holiness Movement, Pentecostal soteriology is thoroughly Arminian rather than Calvinist, believing that the ability to believe in Jesus is a power of the human free will.\n\nThis is in fact one of the distinctives which seperates Pentecostal Traditions from those of the Second Wave Charismatic and Evangelical Churches which tend toward a calvinistic soteriology. One of the main points of division is the definition of eternal security which is thoroughly Calvinist in the later Evangelical denominations and follows the Arminian tract in Pentecostal churches and denominations. This is most clearly illustrated by the belief, held in Pentecostal groups, that crediting the charismatic gifts and expressions to demonic or carnal motives and spirits, qualifies as an unpardonable sin {Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit). In Charismatic and Evangelical churches this view is marginalized or replaced with the belief that refusing to convert to Christianity before death is the only unpardonable sin.\n\nYou can read this and more at the site below.\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentecostal
108456
You might want to check with some of the local churches.  Even if you are not a member, they are likely to help.  Best of luck.
709859
You will need to check all directions and guidance from what the Bible teaches anyway so one of the best things you can do is to read and study and familiarise yourself with The Bible - a bit like the Bereans in Acts17/11.\n\nGod through the Holy Spirit is able to guide and lead and open your understanding, especially through The Bible. Just ask Him, and watch and pray.\n\nHaving said that it can be very helpful to have someone who can help spiritually and I strongly suggest you pray to God Himself to provide you with someone suitable. He is well able and it would be a good spiritual excercise to place it in His hands and wait on Him for His answer while you look.\n\nIn addition, if you are able to meet with other Christians that can be very encouraging and helpful and probably it is best to take time to get to know them to find out who is trusworthy and Biblically sound.\n\nMay God's provision prevail.
580531
Pentecostals - Believe in the Bible as the authority of Godly wisdom and right living\n\nCatholics - Believe the Magisterium, then the Bible\n\nPentecostals - One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism\n\nCatholics - Trinity, changed the faith, changed the baptism\n\nPentecostals - Believe that Mary was an example of a godly woman who lived her life in submission to God, but like every one else in creation, she was of a sinful nature and in need of her Saviour.\n\nCatholics - Believe Mary was concieved with out sin.\n\nPentecostals - Believe there is but one Mediator between God and man.\n\nCatholics - Believe that Mary is Co-mediatrix with Jesus, and some claim that the dead saints also make mediation between mankind and God.\n\nPentecostals - believe the plan of Salvation can be found in obedience to Acts 2:38\n\nCatholics - Believe that Salvation Grace is found in the Eucarist\n\nand the list can go on infinitum
5587
I don't admire your position.  My suggestion would be to first do some soul searching; decide what you truly believe God or The Divine is and how you relate to Him/Her.  Is God merciful and kind?  Vengeful and Angry?  Is He simply a Creator that allows man to choose his own path or does he have our destiny mapped out for us?\nAfter that- another hard choice- the afterlife.  Do you believe in one at all?  Is there a heaven?  if so, is there a hell?  Do you believe a soul can be reincarnated?\nMy suggestion is to actually write these questions and answers down on paper to give yourself a very clear picture of your beliefs.  Think of as many theological questions and theories that are important to you and actually put them into words.  Then- RESEARCH.  I would say go to a clergy member, pastor etc but if you do remember they are only going to give you THEIR beliefs and teachings, not what you may consider your own.  So if you seek advice from a third party, take everything from a skeptics point of view unless you find someone that says EVERYTHING you've written down as your core beliefs. (Chances are- you won't)\nTry the internet, library, bookstore- whatever nonpartial resources you can find.\nLastly, keep an open mind.  Don't write down "I believe in the Bible so I must be Christian".  Judaism believes in the Old Testament of the Bible; Mormons believe in both the Old and the New Testamants but have a Third testament as well.  Wiccans don't believe in the Christian Bible, but have many of the same core beliefs as "love thy neighbor".  Here's a good web site that has a lot of information on a variety of religions   http://www.religioustolerance.org/  \nThere's no easy way out of this one.  You've got a long road ahead of you and I wish you luck.
320055
Pentecostals believe that Gods power has not passed away on the earth, but is ever present in the time of need. We, I am one, believe in the Baptism in the Holy Spirit which empowers you to live a Christian life and be His witness. Hope this helps, if not email me. God Bless
555874
The first "Pentecostals" in the modern sense appeared on the scene in 1901 in the city of Topeka, Kansas in a Bible school conducted by Charles Fox Parham, a holiness teacher and former Methodist pastor. In spite of controversy over the origins and timing of Parham's emphasis on glossolalia, all historians agree that the movement began during the first days of 1901 just as the world entered the Twentieth Century. The first person to be baptized in the Holy Spirit accompanied by speaking in tongues was Agnes Ozman, one of Parham's Bible School students, who spoke in tongues on the very first day of the new century, January 1, 1901. According to J. Roswell Flower, the founding Secretary of the Assemblies of God, Ozman's experience was the "touch felt round the world," an event which "made the Pentecostal Movement of the Twentieth Century." \n\nAs a result of this Topeka Pentecost, Parham formulated the doctrine that tongues was the "Bible evidence" of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He also taught that tongues was a supernatural impartation of human languages (xenoglossolalia) for the purpose of world evangelization. Henceforth, he taught, missionaries need not study foreign languages since they would be able to preach in miraculous tongues all over the world. Armed with this new theology, Parham founded a church movement which he called the "Apostolic Faith" and began a whirlwind revival tour of the American middle west to promote his exciting new experience. \n\nIt was not until 1906, however, that Pentecostalism achieved worldwide attention through the Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles led by the African-American preacher William Joseph Seymour. He learned about the tongues-attested baptism in a Bible school that Parham conducted in Houston, Texas in 1905. Invited to pastor a black holiness church in Los Angeles in 1906, Seymour opened the historic meeting in April, 1906 in a former African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church building at 312 Azusa Street in downtown Los Angeles. \n\nWhat happened at Azusa Street has fascinated church historians for decades and has yet to be fully understood and explained. For over three years, the Azusa Street "Apostolic Faith Mission" conducted three services a day, seven days a week, where thousands of seekers received the tongues baptism. Word of the revival was spread abroad through The Apostolic Faith, a paper that Seymour sent free of charge to some 50,000 subscribers. From Azusa Street Pentecostalism spread rapidly around the world and began its advance toward becoming a major force in Christendom. \n\nThe Azusa Street movement seems to have been a merger of white American holiness religion with worship styles derived from the African-American Christian tradition which had developed since the days of chattel slavery in the South. The expressive worship and praise at Azusa Street, which included shouting and dancing, had been common among Appalachian whites as well as Southern blacks. The admixture of tongues and other charisms with black music and worship styles created a new and indigenous form of Pentecostalism that was to prove extremely attractive to disinherited and deprived people, both in America and other nations of the world. \n\nThe interracial aspects of the movement in Los Angeles were a striking exception to the racism and segregation of the times. The phenomenon of blacks and whites worshipping together under a black pastor seemed incredible to many observers. The ethos of the meeting was captured by Frank Bartleman, a white Azusa participant, when he said of Azusa Street, "The color line was washed away in the blood." Indeed, people from all the ethnic minorities of Los Angeles, a city which Bartleman called "the American Jerusalem," were represented at Azusa Steet. \n\nThe place of William Seymour as an important religious leader now seems to be assured. As early as 1972 Sidney Ah
484275
The reason for all the different denominations is differing opinion over certain parts of the Bible.\nOne of the biggest bones of contention is speaking in tongues.\nMy Uncle, an ordained Baptist preacher didn't believe in speaking in tongues as it is applied today.\nThe Pentecostal religion is real strong on speaking in tongues.\nThat's just one example.\nRemember religion as we know it today is man made.\nIt's all about faith in  GOD and acceptance of Jesus Christ.
413761
Pentecostal women are no different than anyother woman in the workplace. They are protected by laws that state they cannot be discriminated against. I work with many Pentecostals, and have not noticed that they are held to any stricture besides modesty. \n\nFurthermore, there are Pentecostal women that are employed in many professional areas. Religious preference does not mean you are poor, uneducated, and have thirty kids hanging around your skirts. \n\nMy boss, a doctor, is a very nice woman. She was a Pentecostal when she went to school, and still is. She still dresses modestly and in dresses or skirts, even in the O.R., and it doesn't seem to have destroyed her possibility of getting a high pay job...