The Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition: Charismatic Movements in the Twentieth Century

This revision of a book originally published in 1971 (as Holiness-Pentecostal Movements in the United States) incorporates five new chapters and further strengthens Synan's detailed and highly readable history of the various ""second-blessing"" movements that form a major branch of Christianity. The book begins with Methodism founder John Wesley's early reliance on Christian mystical tradition and his teachings on second-blessing sanctification; it ends with an analysis of contemporary Pentecostal practice and speculation about the future. Synan, Dean of Regent University's Divinity School, Virginia Beach, Va., traces the development of a uniquely American religious movement that has spread across cultures and faith groups. From the earliest Pentecostal in Cane Ridge, Kentucky (1801), and in L.A.'s Azusa Street (1906) to Catholic charismatic renewal, Synan provides an authoritative, highly documented and nuanced survey of a tradition that continues to thrive worldwide. By the end of the century, he writes, Pentecostals and charismatic mainline Protestants and Catholics could make up half of the world's Christians. So powerful are the Pentecostal and charismatic movements that, Synan believes, ""it is altogether possible that the future of Christianity will be molded by the developing Pentecostal churches of the Third World interacting with the vigorous charismatic elements in traditional churches."" (July)