Experiencing God: An Examination of the Place of Religious Experience in Pentecostalism

Abstract

Religious experience has played a large role in the development of theology over the course of history. This particular avenue of understanding God and the Bible is centered in the human ability to experience Him, or believing by means of ‘feeling’. This has been a defining feature of Pentecostal doctrine since its beginnings. There is, however, more to understand about doctrine and experience, and how the human ability to understand through reason is foundational to faith and belief. The importance of religious experience should be evaluated in light of its advantages and disadvantages to the church’s general and historical doctrine and practice. Christians and theologians alike need to examine the place of experience in the church, and where it could be aiding or damaging their practice of theological doctrine.