One of the reasons for this oversight is that most historians have viewed Seymour as a pastor, rather than a theologian. Further, nonintellectual factors were paramount to Seymour’s doctrine, for the Azusa leader’s theology was shaped, primarily, by his personal and religious experiences and pragmatic concerns that developed within the early movement. However, although Seymour was a self-educated black man, and not a scholar by contemporary standards, these historians overlooked his theological aptitude due to a perceived lack of intellectual foundation, and have failed to recognize Seymour’s competency in theological matters. Because of such attitudes, his writings and sermons reflect a hermeneutical soundness and theological depth that is often missed.

This dissertation examines Seymour’s theology, as well as the experiences that aided in his theological formation in the context of the early Pentecostal movement. Accordingly, the first objective is to examine the antecedents that shaped Seymour’s theology. The second goal is to elucidate his theology as it played out at the Azusa Street Mission and Revival and the ensuing pivotal early controversies that surrounded them. Finally, it will consider the implications of Seymour’s theology for the Twenty-first Century Pentecostal Charismatic movement

A "New Issue," baptism in the name of Jesus only, soon challenged the organizing principles of the Assemblies of God. Goss embraced the New Issue, left the AG, and affiliated with what would become known as Oneness Pentecostalism. He applied his considerable organizing gifts to the Oneness movement and for the next five decades was a key player in the development of the movement. Although Goss was not the primary theological influence behind Oneness Pentecostalism, his leadership gifts brought stability and growth to the movement, which now has in excess of twenty million adherents worldwide.

This dissertation will employ Grant Wacker's primitive/pragmatic dichotomy as a means to better understand Goss. Wacker has suggested the genius of the Pentecostal movement—the reason it has succeeded in spite of difficult odds—is the way in which it balances its primitive impulse with its pragmatic impulse. The primitive or restorationist impulse calls the movement back to the earliest roots of the Christian faith. The pragmatic impulse is evident in the way in which Pentecostalism adapts to develop better ways to accomplish its missions.

This dissertation will suggest that the primitive/pragmatic dichotomy offers a helpful window through which to examine the rise of Pentecostalism in general and Oneness Pentecostalism in particular. The way Goss managed the primitive/pragmatic dichotomy suggests that he could be considered a prototypical Pentecostal.

After marginal growth, Hayford reported seeing “God’s glory” in the church sanctuary in 1971. Soon the church began to grow remarkably, gaining national attention. Hayford’s communication skills garnered him influence in the charismatic renewal and TCOTW found a constituency including classical Pentecostals, charismatics, hippies, professionals, and Hollywood personalities. In 1999, Hayford stepped aside as pastor of TCOTW, devoting his attention to developing King’s College and Seminary, founded in 1996. In 2004 he was elected president of the ICFG.

Hayford’s public ministry defies Pentecostal stereotypes, according him respect in the broader Christian community, with Christianity Today, calling him “the Pentecostal Gold Standard.” He avoids the strident insistence that glossolalia is the initial evidence of Spirit baptism, instead arguing for the “value of spiritual language” in personal devotion. Fundamentally, it is his integrative Pentecostal spirituality with its emphasis on the kingdom of God, integrity, prayer, the dynamic presence of the Spirit, wherein he contends God speaks to him, that most shape his life and ministry. Hayfords story reflects the changing complexity of North American Pentecostalism.

This dissertation reflects on the methodological shift in historiography- from modernity’s Eurocentric pattern to a Polycentric paradigm in order for a particular history of Christians in Latin America to be situated in time and space. Although Christianity in Ecuador exemplifies a conservatism inherited from Europe and North America, some Ecuadorian believers have opened their eyes to their reality and consequently are moving away from this inheritance toward a contextual model of indigenous Christianity. The newer emphasis points to the aspiration for an indigenous hermeneutic in order to go mas alla (beyond) a Western ontology.

In light of the above, there are positive signs that open Ecuadorian Christianity to the discovery of multiple understandings and a future they can direct.  Within this new horizon of Ecuadorian church history, a faithful account of the Quichua Christian tradition is presented. This study examines the indigenous discovery of Christianity through Catholic, Protestant, and Pentecostal evangelizations. At first the Quichua encountered the Christian God with western help but recently their Andean context was the appropriate reservoir for a “Quichua Pentecost.” The renewal has been transmitted mainly in oral form and no written account exists. Through the recounting of Quichua Christianity’s narrative, historical, missiological, and pneumatological implications can be critically explored.

During the author’s undergraduate and graduate studies, he noticed a lack of sources pertaining to the history of the AGBF. The author, a native of Burkina Faso who understands the culture, attributes the lack of these historical documents in his own country to the fact that in African countries, history is preserved orally rather than on paper. As the oral tradition is passed from generation to generation, the historical accounts either become obscured or they disappear altogether as the storytellers die.Thus, when the first generation of AGBF Christians in Burkina Faso died, much of their church’s history was lost.

The only written sources of the AGBF’s history were kept in the archives of the Assemblies of God Headquarters in Springfield, MO. The author spent two weeks searching these sources. In addition, this research is based on interviews with second and third generation believers in Burkina Faso; shortly after these interviews, these elderly individuals passed away.

The ultimate goal of this project is to publish a book on the history of the AGBF in order to provide a written account for the present and future believers of Burkina Faso. This dissertation will provide both a global and contextual perspective of the history and theology of AGBF.

This dissertation contains into four specific periods of his life and seven chapters. The Magnolia section reviews Taylor's early life on the farm, early educational opportunities, introduction to the Holiness movement, and his work as a holiness educator. The Falcon section looks at the continued role of an educator and early leader in the union of the Fire Baptized Holiness Church and The Pentecostal Holiness Church in 1911. The Falcon section continues to the move of Taylor to Franklin Springs. The Franklin Springs section provides an in depth look at the depth review of Taylor's role in establishing the Franklin Springs Institute, the early funding issues of payment for the land and church programs through his departure to the University of North Carolina in 1926. The Chapel Hill years attempts to look at Taylor's early ideas of Sunday School education, his work at Chapel Hill, and his eventual reception back to Franklin Springs as editor of The Pentecostal Holiness Advocate and headmaster of the Franklin Springs Institute. The Final Years reconstructs the vision of Taylor for a holiness college and the internal struggle between Taylor and J. H. King until his death in 1934. Finally, the Appendices contain two works on Taylor's hermeneutic and communication methods. These two papers reveal Taylor's theological mind and his ability to spread the Gospel and Pentecostal/Holiness message among all members and readers of The Advocate. The Taylor family destroyed a four drawer metal cabinet of his material in 1955 due to certain materials dealt with sensitive church issues. This dissertation is constructed from various surviving letters, family notes and interviews, his books, diaries, and his work as Editor of The Pentecostal Holiness Advocate. I use a chronological order for reconstructing Taylor's life.

He can be credited with being one of the first Pentecostal healing evangelists leaving a significant legacy for those who followed in his path, such as William Branham, Jack Coe, Oral Roberts, and Kathryn Kuhlman. This dissertation is an interpretive biography studying Richey. The thesis is that Raymond T. Richey functioned as a pioneer in the role of the healing evangelist and served as an important transitional figure from the Azusa Street revival (1906 to 1908) to the post World War II healing revivals (1947 to 1958). He played a leading role in the expansion of Pentecostalism in America. Born in Atwood, Illinois, he suffered an accidental injury to his eyes that eventually led to near blindness. But a miracle healing in 1911 fully restored his vision. This important event was to shape much of his remaining life and ministry. His family was a part of John Alexander Dowie's utopian city of Zion, Illinois. Here the message of divine healing as a benefit of salvation (the Full Gospel) became deeply ingrained within him. By 1917, his family relocated in Houston, Texas. Raymond T. Richey became an evangelist (and sometime pastor) with a twofold message of salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ and physical healing in the atonement. He spread his dual message through relentless evangelistic crusades, publications, and radio broadcasts. Richey financed these campaigns through aggressive free-will offerings until the Great Depression curtailed his activities. He led soldiers to Christ during WWII as he campaigned with a red, white, and blue tent. Richey had the remarkable ability to reinvent himself in order to adapt to changing economic times and world wars. He prayed the dedicatory prayer at the founding of the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship, International (1953) and participated in the National Association of Evangelicals (1943-). He was an important member of Gordon Lindsay's Voice of Healing Network (1949 to 1968). Twentieth-century healing revivalists such as Richey helped bring Pentecostal theology and praxis into mainstream Protestantism through the charismatic renewal that grew out of Pentecostalism. David Harrell (1975), the leading scholar of the post World War II healing revivals, draws a clear connection back to Richey noting that he was one of the few revivalists in the early period who also had a major ministry in the post World War II revivals. This dissertation makes a significant contribution to renewal studies in that it is the first interpretive biography to assess Richey's influence upon the Pentecostal movement.

Five major issues are analyzed. First, the feminism of Elizabeth V. Baker, defined as birthed from Pentecostal origin, is compared to the antecedent influences of nineteenth century feminism. Nineteenth century secular feminism is defined as equal rights for women, including the right to vote, equal pay for equal work, and the removal of gender restrictions from employment and education. In contrast, nineteenth century biblical feminism is extended to include the equal opportunity for women to hold any clergy or ministerial position and this stance was defended from biblical proof texts. This thesis considers how the twentieth century Pentecostal ministry and feminism can be defined and demonstrated by those women who responded to a divine calling from the Spirit of God. They held positions of leadership without the approval of men.

Second, the effects of Pentecostal mysticism influencing Baker's view of feminism are studied. Third, from Baker’s accounts evidence is gathered to demonstrate how she sidestepped the gender bias in the church's denominational structure. Fourth, the integration of the Scofield Bible, dispensational eschatology, and Baker's Pentecostal perspective of feminism supported her practices. Fifth, the impact of Baker's Pentecostal and feminist beliefs are gathered from her students and their eventual ministries. Their influences were evident in the formation of the Assemblies of God denomination, in the formation of the Elim Fellowship, and in foreign missions throughout the twentieth century.

This thesis, in seeking to explain the origins of the Assemblies of God, examines the heritage of the three groups that merged to form the denomination and develop its theology. Based on the belief that the Pentecostal movement has strong roots in the evangelical tradition, I first examine the historic characteristics of the First and Second Great Awakenings to discover the heritage of Pentecostalism from these renewal movements before examining the specific associations that amalgamated to form the Assemblies of God denomination.

Additionally, most interpreters of Pentecostal history have attributed the origins of the Assemblies of God to the historic Azusa Street revival in 1906. Even though this revival is a significant figurative element of the movement, I contend that Pentecostalism can affirm its basic continuity with the Evangelical awakening stream of church renewalism rather than identifying a single event as its origin. The Azusa Street revival symbolized the initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit and became a model for the Assemblies of God worship practices, but the purpose of the church's institutionalization was to protect its teachings from misinterpretations and to better propagate its message internationally. The Assembly's first organizational council was for the purpose of clarifying doctrine, assuring ministerial integrity, properly regulating missionary finances, legally chartering local churches, and training the ministry. This paper will discover the aspects of the denomination’s unity and wholeness so a more complete picture of the Assemblies of God may be acquired.

Five areas of interest will provide important missiological and contextual shading of the portraits of the AG men and women who served in North India.  First, there is the contextual issue of missions work in British India.  The languages, religions, politics, and climate of North India offered many challenges to missionaries.  Second, Pentecostal and AG missions theory and practices in North India are examined.  Institutional work of a humanitarian nature provided a primary outlet for NIDC missionaries in their attempt to evangelize and establish churches.  Third, AG missionaries developed their own administrative and district organization from the earlier networks of Pentecostal missionaries in India.  Moving from independent to collaborative efforts was a continuous point of tension.  Fourth, methods and sources for funding NIDC missions are studied.  A tradition of independent “faith” missions had both advantages and disadvantages.  Fifth, there are gender aspects in the NIDC story since the majority of early Pentecostal missionaries were women.

The Charismatic Movement, and its claim that a renewed outpouring of the Holy Spirit and His charisms were taking place, affected millions of Roman Catholics and Protestants of all denominations around the world. At the same time, the Charismatic Movement's effect upon the Eastern Orthodox Churches was negligible, comparatively speaking. Instead of millions, only a few thousand people within the Orthodox Church embraced the Movement and its defining experience, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. While the wider Charismatic Renewal's influence is seen around the globe, its manifestation among Orthodox Christians has been felt almost exclusively in North America.

Thousands of dissertations, articles and monographs have been written about the Charismatic Renewal Movement from the perspectives of Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. Some have sought to analyze the Movement from a theological or historical perspective, others from a sociological and psychological viewpoint. Likewise many individuals have penned personal reflections and memoirs of their involvement in the Movement, most being written at the height of the Movement in the 1970s and 1980s. While the Charismatic Movement, in the opinion of certain religious "experts," is over, it has not totally disappeared; however, it has certainly abated, especially in North America, and in some cases morphed into a general emphasis upon spiritual renewal, shedding some of its emphasis upon "charismatic" spirituality.

No studies of the Charismatic Movement in the Orthodox Church have been undertaken. This is a glaring hole in the field of research of Church history in general and of the Charismatic Movement in particular. Why, when millions of Roman Catholics and mainline Protestant laypeople and leaders embraced the Charismatic Movement, did so few Orthodox Christians embrace the Movement, and the leadership of the Orthodox Church fail to fully engage the spiritual and theological questions raised by the Charismatic Renewal? Throughout the world, the bishops of various Roman Catholic national conferences as well as the leaders of regional Protestant bodies studied the theological claims of the Charismatic Movement - critiquing those elements that were problematic, embracing the positive aspects of the Movement and giving pastoral and theological guidance to their pastors and lay members on how to glean from its genuine spiritual fruits. In contrast, the international Orthodox Church ignored the Movement, giving but cursory and dismissive attention to this spiritual Renewal Movement.

In spite of the negative attitude of the leadership of the Orthodox Church in North America, Orthodox clergymen and laypeople did embrace the Charismatic Renewal. Orthodox priests in several different Orthodox jurisdictions in the United States and Canada provided leadership for the Movement among the Orthodox laity. Both lay and clergy members sought to defend the Charismatic Renewal by showing its compatibility with Orthodox theology and spirituality and attempted to convince the ecclesiastical authorities that the Movement actually enabled them to be better Orthodox Christians. However, in spite of these attempts, the Bishops of the Orthodox Church labeled the Movement as Protestant in origin, theology and spirituality and therefore incompatible with Orthodoxy. Nonetheless, in the 1970s and 1980s, a small number of Orthodox Christians in North America continued to affiliate themselves with the Charismatic Movement, giving rise to at least two Charismatic Orthodox periodicals and ministries, and gathering Orthodox clergy and laity to national and regional conferences.

In the 1980s, the leadership of the Orthodox Church, especially of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, sought to neutralize the voices calling for Charismatic Renewal within the ranks by ignoring, marginalizing and finally neutralizing those voices, while at the same time forming a Committee on Orthodox Spiritual Renewal and sponsoring several conferences on Spiritual Renewal that sought to bypass the "Charismatic" nature of the Renewal. By the 1990s, the leadership of the Orthodox Charismatic Movement had repudiated their involvement in the Movement, retired, died or ceased to actively participate in what could be characterized as Charismatic activities.

While the Charismatic Renewal in the Orthodox Church did not meet with the same welcome as it did in the Roman Catholic and mainline Protestant Churches, and has for all intents and purposes ceased to exist, those participants in the Renewal who later converted to the Orthodox Church, as well as Orthodox Charismatics, continue to serve Christ and the Church and are vehicles for spiritual renewal within Orthodoxy in North America.

The main goal of this dissertation is to provide an organized and comprehensive historical account of the IPC in Andhra Pradesh in one volume that will be easily accessible to those who are interested in indigenous Pentecostal movements in India. This investigation also involved an exploration and documentation of various contributions of the Dalit people pertaining to the origin and expansion of the IPC, as well as the impact of this movement on Indian society.

This investigation represents a qualitative research study, using a historical research method. The result is a chronological and critical history of the IPC in Andhra Pradesh. Data collection involved the systematic and objective location, evaluation, analysis, and synthesis of relevant primary and secondary sources. Personal interviews were conducted on site with sixty select individuals in India. The data collected was utilized to establish an inclusive historical picture of the IPC through the process of analyzing and reporting the written sources, along with detailed views of the primary subjects. This study examined existing documentation to determine how the organization was founded and grew into a major Pentecostal indigenous movement. 

Research questions addressed the following: (a) the events that led to the formation of the IPC in Andhra; (b) the major contributors to the origin and development of the IPC in Andhra; (c) the key players in the schism of the IPC; (d) the most significant events that occurred from 1932 to 2010; (e) the main factors that influenced the growth of the IPC; (f) the important factors which led to the division of the IPC; and (g) the impact of the IPC on society.

The history of the IPC in Andhra is presented in three sections. The first section covers the early history of the IPC (1932 to 1959), beginning with its establishment in 1932. The second section discusses the transition years (1960 to 1981) beginning with the schism in the IPC and the formation of World Missionary Evangelism (WME) and Manna Ministries. The third section addresses the latter period (1982 to 2010) which began with the golden jubilee of the IPC in Andhra Pradesh. 

Chapter two analyzes Oliver Davies’ trinitarian theology, which contributes the following insight: the Trinity is a dialogical fellowship of dynamic, effulgent, infinite, and overflowing address and response. An appropriate trinitarian analogy posits Father as peaker, Son as Speech, and Spirit as Breath. Chapter three explores David Bentley Hart’s cosmological theology, which advances the thesis that since God spoke all things into existence, theology may grasp creation as language. Chapter four investigates Hans-Georg Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics mining it for the following crucial concept: human life unfolds within one’s navigating through the world via language. The insights obtained from Davies, Hart, and Gadamer are synthesized around the major theme, Christian proclamation, in chapter five, which comprises the heart of the essay. Chapter five proposes the Spirit as the (pre)condition for language, speech, and preaching, and further offers perspectives on Christian proclamation as new creation, hermeneutic and kenotic word-event, and site of the in-between. Chapter six concludes exploring a few unaddressed questions. The grand movement takes us from Trinity to creation to human existence and finally to Christian proclamation.

It finds that Western thought on election concentrated on the Father's work to the near exclusion of the Holy Spirit. Chapter 2 examines a seminal Augustinian biblical text to see if the pericope can support an alternate reading. It argues that Rom 5:12–21 supports the idea that the possibility of the gift of life comes to every human being, although not everyone receives this life. Chapter 3 formulates a view of how the Holy Spirit works to empower an eschatological choice in each person, the choice passively to believe or actively to disbelieve. "Electing" grace is the work of the Holy Spirit within one that provides one with an empowerment to make an eschatological choice. Chapter 4 places "electing" grace, and the Holy Spirit's work of empowering the passive choice of faith, within the "order of salvation" (ordo salutis). It locates "electing" grace in the pattern of this order and discusses what implications the idea of "electing" grace has for constructing an order of salvation. The conclusion discusses some implications of "electing" grace, especially for the idea of a worldwide mission proper to the Holy Spirit.

Although he resisted separation from the Assemblies of God, when forced to declare himself, Urshan claimed that when he was filled with the Holy Spirit in 1908 he immediately began to understand the Oneness of God. Urshan began baptizing in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in 1910 although he himself was not so baptized until 1915 during a ministry trip to Russia.  He claimed to have been warned by William Durham and Frank Ewart not to preach and teach water baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for remission of sins as the new birth of water, baptism of the Holy Spirit with tongues as the new birth of the Spirit, and the oneness of God in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.  But while in Persia in 1914, Urshan received mail from G. T. Haywood and Frank Ewart indicating that they had embraced baptism into the name of Jesus Christ.

Urshan’s influence in the Pentecostal movement was largely due to his writing ministry, which included some eight books, the monthly periodical The Witness of God, songs, and tracts.

This dissertation traces the biography of Andrew D. Urshan and examines the development of his understanding of theology, Christology, and soteriology.

In the six chapters of this dissertation, the introduction will present to the reader a critical review of the significant literature addressing Divine Presence, withdrawing of Divine Presence and a justification of terminology to be used in the work. Chapter two will explore the semantic and theological fields of "presence," and "withdrawing of presence" found in the Hebrew Bible. Chapters three and four will be the heart of the research, examining the Book of Hosea for instances of the Withdrawing of Divine Presence as cause for human suffering, and Divine Presence as a cause for resolve of human suffering. Also, human sin which results in a rejection of Divine presence, as an occasion for Divine suffering, and the return of human presence (repentance/atonement) as an occasion for the resolve of Divine suffering, will be considered. Chapter five will put the research from Hosea in context/conversation with the remaining pre-exilic prophets (Amos, Micah and Isaiah) who also use the motif of hidden-ness and/or withdrawing of Divine Presence.

The purpose of this study is to construct an ecumenical theology of the charisms that builds on complementary themes and concepts in the Pentecostal, Mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox traditions. This endeavor begins with an overview of current issues related to the study of the charisms followed by an historical survey of their significance in different Christian traditions. Next, special attention is given to the insights and trialectical dimension of select representative thinkers such as Miroslav Volf, Frank Macchia, and Amos Yong in the Pentecostal tradition, John Calvin in the Reformed tradition, and Thomas Aquinas in the Roman Catholic tradition. In conclusion, a renewed ecumenical discussion of spiritual discernment, ecclesiology, soteriology, and eschatology is provided in light of the charisms and Trinitarian theology.

The moral character of those spirits best reveals their presence, agenda, and dialogue by the moral elements of consolation and desolation, and how they grace or tempt human beings to consent with them to manifest holiness or sin. John Cassian, Jacobus de Voragine, Ludolph of Saxony, and Thomas à Kempis preceded and influenced Ignatius' understanding of the gift. Ignatius' Rules are exegeted, then analyzed for interdependency with ecclesial ethics in dialogue with contemporary scholars Karl Rahner, Hugo Rahner, Piet Penning de Vries, Jules Toner, and Timothy Gallagher, who have each considered how morality interacts with spiritual discernment. Arguments for and against interdependency are evaluated and resolved, showing how discernment in ecclesial ethics depends on proper discernment of the non-human spirits that influence human moral choice, and conversely the practice of good ecclesial ethics synergistically enhances our ability to properly discern the spirits. Spiritual Discernment is then applied to one contemporary example of Ecclesial Ethics, Improvisation by Samuel Wells in the context of dramatic, narrative theology. A four-step Ignatian pneumato-ethical method is developed, explaining how non-human spirits are ethically revealed and can be discerned through human morality by consolation/desolation, consent, manifestation, and pneumato-ethics. This four-step method is applied, allowing us to ethically discern the spirits behind several fields of ecclesiology: soteriology, missiology/world religions, liturgy, worship, Eucharist, hermeneutics, homiletics, pastoral counseling, church history, and politics. This study concludes that ecclesial ethics is interdependent with pneumatology, or in simple terms, if the church cannot discern the Holy Spirit from the devil, neither can the church authoritatively define right from wrong, and vice-versa.

In this study, exclusion as impediment to conversion, an experience drawn from the history of African enslavement in America, will inform the author's reading of Philemon. Because this study proffers an African American reading of Philemon, the dissertation will examine the historical and theological significance of slavery in Black Religion and African American Biblical Interpretation, Eurocentric interpretations of Philemon in Christian history, and contemporary interpretations of Philemon. Given this approach, the author will provide a contextual reading of the letter to Philemon examining the exclusion of Onesimus. The lens of exclusion offers a viable explanation for the departure of Onesimus and demonstrates the unique contribution of Black religious thought to contemporary hermeneutics.

They are also constructed from the five Pauline criteria for the functioning of the charismata that have been determined by Marthinus Bezuidenhout. Chapter 4 addresses the confessional criterion (1 Cor 12:1-3), the criterion of common benefit (1 Cor 12:4-11), and the criterion of service (1 Cor 12:12-30). Between the first two criteria, one of three hermeneutical considerations relative to how Paul communicates his message is described as Paul's "Trinitarian" theology. Chapter five focuses on the criterion of love (1 Cor 13:1-13), and includes the second hermeneutical consideration which focuses on Paul's contextual theology. Chapter six concerns the criterion of edification (1 Cor 14:1-40), and includes the final hermeneutical consideration, which highlights various historical and traditional tools of discourse that Paul employs. Chapter seven indicates major similarities between the Ancient and contemporary contexts, providing justification for the ensuing contemporary implications of the criteria gleaned from Paul's thinking. Chapter eight explores implications for the contemporary church and chapter nine deals with implications for the contemporary worship service--including an analysis of Reformed interpretations of criteria for the functioning of the charismata. The final chapter provides constructive comments on discerning the authenticity in claims of revelatory experiences. That being said, the thesis of this work is that authentic revelatory experiences include manifestations of the Spirit, love, and are edifying to the Church. Moreover, theological communication should be sensitively Trinitarian, contextual, and considerate of traditions in order to speak effectively to a pluralistic context.