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69
del pueblo
Eduardo pentecostal
Valencia,
chileno
(Santiago:
et al., En Tierra Extrana. Itinerario
282
pps.
Reviewed
by David Bundy
Chile. It begins by
suggesting ment of the movement
groups
of
Amerinda, 1988.
Churches of
Tbi$
volume is a compilation of testimonies
produced
under the aus- pices
of the Servicio
Evang6lico para
el Desarrollo
(SEPADE) during a
study
of
popular religion focusing on
the Pentecostal
the
problem posed by
the
rapid develop-
as reflected in two
newspaper
articles. In 1909, the
newspaper,
El Mercurio described the “fanaticism” of the
“splinter
a Methodist Church” as a “scandal” which
“exploited
the credulity
of the
poor people.”
On October
18, 1987,
the same news- paper
described the
rapid growth
of the movement in the
metropolitan areas and rural southern Chile,
noting
that it is
(1)
the
largest protestant
a
theological
structure which cannot be
as either “liberal” or “fundamentalist.”
allow the reader to understand what has
transpired
in the 78 interven-
from sect to church and to articulate a Pente-
denomination, characterized
and
(2)
has
ing years
of development costal ethos.
The twelve contributors Chilean Pentecostal (Pastor, Iglesia Evangelica (Pastor, Iglesia
Metodista (Layman, Iglesia
Metodista
The book seeks to
Iglesia
The method is to allow the Pentecostals to narrate their
experience.
include one
layman
and
represent eight
denominations. are: Eduardo Valencia
Pentecostal,
Pentecostal,
Pentecostal,
(Pastor, Iglesia Wesleyana, pp. 77-111);
Corporaci6n
Vitacura, pp. 113-127);
sia Pentecostal
Apost61ica, pp. 129-156); Enrique
Pentecostal de Chile,
pp. 157-171);
Jose Guerra
(Pastor, Iglesia
NEsi6n
Iglesia Pentecostal, Iglesia
(Bishop, Iglesia
expect
,
tianity, 54; description
of
They
pp. 11-29);
Samuel Grandon
pp. 31-43); Miguel
Guerro
pp. 45-76); Edgardo
Toro
Juan Osorio
(Pastor, Iglesia Francisco Anabalon
(Pastor, Igle-
Chavez
(Bishop,
Narcisco
Sepulveda
Arturo Palma
(Pastor, (Pastor,
Pentecostal de
Chile, pp. 173-198);
Misifin
Iglesia Pentecostal, pp. 219-218);
pp. 219-241);
Fernando Mella
(Bishop,
Pentecostal
Eben-Ezer, pp. 243-263); and,
Javier
Vasquez
Metodista
Pentecostal, pp. 265-275).
The structures of the contributions are
quite consistent,
as one would
from the
study
of Jean-Daniel Plfss,
Therapeutic
and
Prophetic Narratives in
Worship (Studies
in the Intercultural
History
of Chris-
Frankfurt a. M.: Peter
Lang, 1988).
Each
begins
with a
the
person’s youth,
moves to conversion and
ministry and ends with reflection on the
present.
Within that
structure, however, the reader is introduced to the
differing histories, ecclesiologies, social
experiences
as well as to the ethos of the
eight
churches
repre- sented. An
appendix
devoted to Pentecostal
theological terminology will be of interest to both Pentecostal and non-Pentecostal readers.
provide explanations
Notes and documentation
and
and some
published
1
70
points
of contact with a past that is largely oral.
The volume
suggests
that the commonalities between the
eight churches are
quite strong, despite
the
historical,
social and
personal reasons for the existence of divergent Pentecostal traditions. Each in its own
way
stands over
against
the
larger
cultural
context,
but
recognizes the other Pentecostal churches as
partners
in a
joint
venture. In responding
to a
question
about
“division,” Bishop
Javier
Vasquez responded:
In my judgement, we are not divided evangelicals, but separated. For
different reasons, some
perhaps permitted by
the Lord, different
churches were created, but we are joined united in uplifting the biblical
As the Catholics have different orders and congregations, such
as Jesuits, Salesians, Franciscans, Dominicans, and Redemptorists, but
message.
are all Catholics, we have different denominations, some traditional and
others Pentecostal. The issue is that through all of them, they
know the message of the important Gospel and that people are saved
(p. 273) This volume is
important
not
only
as a source for
understanding Pentecostalism in Chile. It also
provides
a model for narrative
history, a historiography which allows an oral culture to retain the
genius
of their own traditions and to contribute to their
interpretation
without being
forced to use
categories foreign
to their own
experience.
It is hoped that other
Pentecostal traditions will
experiment
with this and related methods. For Pentecostalism in
Chile,
this volume takes its place
as an essential text
alongside
works such as J. B. A. Kessler, A Study of
the Older Protestant Missions and Churches in Peru and Chile
(Goes:
Oosterbaan & Le Cointre,
1967)
and C. Lalive
d’Epinay, Haven.
of
the
Masses,
A
Study of
the Pentecostal Movement in Chile (London: Lutterworth, 1969).
David
Bundy,
A United Methodist
Layperson,
is Associate Professor of Christian
Origins
and Collection
Department
and Librarian at Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore,
KY 40390
2
