Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a sect of Charismatic Christianity that emerged in the early 1900s in the United States. Though most Pentecostals refer to the Biblical Day of Pentecost as their origin, most historians would agree that modern Pentecostalism was largely influenced by more recent holiness sects and that the 1906 Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles was the birthplace of the religion.
Pentecostalism is a sect of Charismatic Christianity that emerged in the early 1900s in the United States. Though most Pentecostals refer to the Biblical Day of Pentecost as their origin, most historians would agree that modern Pentecostalism was largely influenced by more recent holiness sects and that the 1906 Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles was the birthplace of the religion.[1]
Pentecostalism was largely influenced by three major holiness sects:
Parhamites:
Charles Fox Parham, founder of the Apostolic Faith Movement or "Parhamites", is often considered to be the father of modern Pentecostalism.[2] Parham attempted to replicate the cult strategy of Frank Sandford's "Holy Ghost and Us Society"[3] and John Alexander Dowie's "Christian Catholic Church". When Dowie lost control of Zion, Parham attempted to seize control of Dowie's religious empire.[4] Both Sandford and Dowie claimed to be reincarnations of Elijah the Prophet from the Old Testament, and Parham used the "Elijah" claim to gain power.[5] Parham's greatest influence, however, was glossolalia. Many Pentecostals claim that "speaking in tongues" originated with Charles Fox Parham.
Christian and Missionary Alliance
A. B. Simpson founded the Christian and Missionary Alliance as a means to organize and fund missionaries overseas. The C&MA based its doctrinal teachings upon a modified form of Keswickian theology,[6] claiming the need for a "second work" or "second touch" in one's life. Over time this transitioned to become the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit", the notion that God will give a second blessing upon an individual to achieve a more holy, less sinful life. When this theology merged with Parham's "speaking in tongues" doctrine, Pentecostal leaders began to claim that the evidence of the "baptism of the Holy Spirit" was glossolalia.
Christian Catholic Church
John Alexander Dowie was a Scottish evangelist and faith healer that migrated to the United States from Australia in the late 1800s and eventually founded Zion City, Illinois as a religious commune. Dowie's wealth and religious empire were so vast that he became the prototype for many modern "faith healers". Some, like Parham, tried to seize control of that empire after Dowie's death, while countless others attempted to replicate it.
Many leaders in the Second Wave of Pentecostalism were either members of Dowie's sect or were heavily influenced by it. Gordon Lindsay, William Branham's campaign manager and leader of the Voice of Healing organization (later renamed Christ For the Nations) was born in Zion City and trained under the mentoring of John G. Lake who also was a member of the sect in Zion. F. F. Bosworth, who mentored William Branham in the Voice of Healing and Latter Rain Revivals, was a ranking member of the Zion commune.[7]
It should be noted that both Bosworth and Lake were also Parhamites after Dowie lost control of the sect. Bosworth was at the Azusa Street Revival[8] and helped found the Pentecostal Assemblies of God.[9]