wfn.org | ALC News Service 22 June 2003

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

ALC NEWS SERVICE
E-mail: director@alcnoticias.org

ALC HEADLINES:
COLOMBIA: Baptist theologian evaluates contributions and dangers of 
Charismatic Pentecostalism
ARGENTINA: Reformed Churches of Argentine reject neoliberal model
PERU: CONEP rejects divisive manoeuvres
CHILE: Evangelical REDES corporation initiates campaign in favour of poor 
children
URUGUAY: SEDHU lobbies for special law to protect refugees

COLOMBIA
Baptist theologian evaluates contributions and dangers of Charismatic 
Pentecostalism

CALI, June 17, 2003 (alc). When we speak of Pentecostalism and the 
neo-Pentecostal charismatic movement we are referring to one of the most 
significant socio-religious phenomenon in Latin America in the past 25 
years said Colombian Baptist theologian Harold Segura Carmona and the head 
of Church Relations for World Vision.

Its rapid growth, its Evangelising enthusiasm, its assimilation in popular 
culture within its liturgy and its undeniable ministerial dynamism, explain 
the importance of its presence in todays Evangelical world, wrote Segura 
in an article published in the Pentecostal Magazine. The article is 
entitled: The charismatic Pentecostal Movement: Evaluation from a pastoral 
perspective.

According to Segura, Evangelicals and Protestants make up 18 percent of the 
Brazilian population or 22 million people. In Chile, they are estimated to 
make up 25 percent. He also stated that since 1960 they have doubled their 
demographic presence in Paraguay, Venezuela, Panama and Haiti.

In the same period, Evangelicals have tripled their demographic presence in 
Argentina, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic and their numbers have 
increased four times in Brazil and Puerto Rico, six times in Colombia and 
Ecuador and seven times in Guatemala.

However, it is important not to be overly triumphant, he said. Behind these 
numbers lie a mix of risks, dangers and threats. Together with groups that 
seek a true Evangelical faith there are exotic movements, irrational 
fanaticism, authoritarianism and groups that seek to manipulate peoples 
emotions.

There is a worrying tendency to convert spiritual expressions into excesses 
and a religiosity that converts a radical following of Jesus into a simple 
market consumerism.

According to Jose Miguez Bonino, said Segura, Pentecostalism is 
quantitatively the most significant manifestation and qualitatively the 
most vigorous expression of Latin American Protestantism.

When we refer to this force, we cannot treat it as if it were a small 
movement that arrives, has an impact, confuses people and disappears as 
swiftly as it came, he said.

Charismatic Pentecostal Christianity is much more than that. The World 
Christian Encyclopaedia estimates that its membership is around 51 million. 
Others, including charismatic Anglicans, Catholics and Protestants, 
estimate 100 million.

These figures are surprising if we take into account that in 1900 there was 
not a single Pentecostal Church in the world, said Segura.

Much more importantly is the way they have managed to penetrate the rest of 
Christianity with their enthusiasm, their doctrinal emphasis, their 
ministry styles, their spiritual concerns and also their excesses. This is 
true in the Catholic sector, where there are an estimated 50 million 
charismatic and in Evangelical and Protestant sectors in general.

He said that in a survey held in the United States in 1979, 20 percent of 
Baptists, 18 percent of Methodists, 20 percent of Lutherans and 16 percent 
of Presbyterians declared themselves to be charismatic Pentecostals.

For these reasons the Charismatic-Pentecostal movement is considered a 
third force, together with Catholicism and traditional Protestantism, 
said Segura.

Many of our Evangelical congregations, he said, have incorporated a series 
of extraordinary manifestations into their faith lives such as signs and 
miracles, among others.

While some people believe that this Pentecostalization is the best thing 
that could have happened and call it a Second Pentecost others fight to 
stop it and treat it as the worse of heresies or the most damaging of 
influences, said Segura.

Segura cites Peruvian Pentecostal theologian Bernardo Campos as stating 
that the sociological foundation of the movement lies in poverty, 
affliction and suffering, as well as the construction of a grassroots 
subjectivity and a form of religious satisfaction in the face of the 
Spanish conquest and colonization and subsequent colonizations.

Regarding Catholic opinion about Pentecostalism, he quotes the June 1996 
magazine Concilium that stated in an editorial For too long Catholic, 
Protestant and Orthodox theology has failed to address the fact that 
Pentecostal movements have become an intellectual and political power. 
While numbers decline in traditional Churches, they are increasing in 
Pentecostal Churches around the world.

The analysis of the Pentecostal Charismatic movement, he said, should lead 
us all to self-criticism and reflection. All Christian Churches need to 
hear the Pentecostal voice that calls for an honest examination of the 
traditional manner to live Christian faith.

There is also a need to address the major issues emphasized by Pentecostal 
movements. These include a new awareness of community, trust that God does 
miracles, the importance of spiritual gifts for the Churchs ministry, 
spontaneous prayer and the experience of a life guided by the Spirit of 
God, among others.

Finally, Segura mentions some of the riches of the movement. These include 
its Evangelising and missionary dynamic, the assimilation of grassroots 
culture, its liturgy, the recovery of worship as a glorious, enjoyable and 
enthusiastic celebration.

However, he also said that the Charismatic Pentecostal movement presents 
some risks. Some people believe that Latin America is not becoming 
Protestant, as David Stoll would say but rather a new religious movement 
has arisen that accommodates grassroots religiosity and strengthens the 
traditional mechanisms of social control.

He points to the aim to directly relate numerical growth to the power of 
the Spirit, its strong organizational stratification and power 
determination, accompanied by manipulation, authority and a rigid 
structure, a lack of balance between the emphasis placed on gifts and the 
power of the Spirit and a lack of social and ethical reflection.

They also tend to scorn other ways of living out the Christian faith, have 
scarce theological arguments and place a disproportionate emphasis on 
demonology, glossolalia among others.

In conclusion, Segura emphasizes that the Pentecostal-Charismatic movement 
is a significant force within the Evangelical gamut in Latin America. They 
are important not only because of their numbers but because they also raise 
a valid judgement on the established Church that appears to languish and 
sleep in a period of major changes.

We Latin American Evangelicals have reacted with an ingenuous triumphant 
attitude in the face of the fantastic numerical growth of our Churches. We 
must ask ourselves what type of faith is being proliferated in Latin 
America. The issue should not remain in reduced circles of believers. 
Reflection and concern should be shared with all believers who seek to 
serve the Lord and be faithful to his kingdom.

ARGENTINA
Reformed Churches of Argentine reject neoliberal model

BUENOS AIRES, June 18, 2003 (alc). We reject all economic, political, 
social and cultural projects that seek to displace God as sovereign, 
affirmed a declaration of faith approved at the XXXV Synod of Reformed 
Churches of Argentina, meeting June 14 - 16 in the city of Tandil, 400 kms. 
south of Buenos Aires.

The statement, entitled, Against Economic Injustice and the Destruction of 
the Earth also states We reject everything that destroys the 
inter-relationship desired by God and which is affirmed in selfishness and 
all types of individuality.

The theme of the Synod, which brought together delegates from around the 
world and representatives from sister Churches, was Celebration and 
Service. The event was presided by Pastor Roberto Jordan. Pastor Gerardo 
Oberman was secretary and Antonio Millenaar was advisor.

The assembly elected new members of the Synod Board, Pastor German Zijlstra 
as president,  Gerardo Oberman as vice president, Mauricio Maly, secretary, 
members Karin Schnel, Gabriela Mulder, Eduador Olthoff and Jacobo van 
Strien and Gustavo Garcma Escards and Ana Martmn as substitutes.

The Synod also agreed to carry out a study about the possibility of 
children participating in the Holy Supper, possible access of pastors to 
political positions and it approved initiating talks with other Churches in 
order to construct a United Protestant Church in the River Plate. It also 
agreed to place emphasis on communications in collaboration with sister 
Churches.

Regarding the neoliberal system, participants stated that it allows a few 
people to accumulate enormous wealth while the vast majority of the 
population is condemned to hunger, illness, ignorance, exploitation and is 
marginalized. In other words, rather than having access to the fullness of 
life, as Christ promised, they are barely surviving.

The same economic project also abuses nature in the indiscriminate 
exploitation of land, water and air, it stated.

We express our solidarity with all women, men, elderly, young people and 
children who survive in a reality of death, expressed the statement from 
the Reformed Churches of Argentina.

After stating that God took joy in His creation, the Reformed Churches 
sustained that the totality of Gods work is aimed at full 
inter-relationships and interdependence for mutual benefit and growth and 
the only way for Gods creative work to not lose its original sense is to 
live the justice of the Kingdom.

However, stated the document, the human ambition to want to be like God 
leads to disobedience. As a result, the full relationship that God wants 
breaks down and men and women turn against men and women, nature and God, 
leading to alienation, destruction, war, invasion and violence as a means 
to resolve conflicts.

The Reformed Churches of Argentine affirm our hope in Gods will for this 
world and for this time and we denounce everything that impedes the 
development of life in all its fullness.

The statement concludes by affirming the commitment of participants to 
faithfully live Gods will in their personal, social, religious, cultural 
and political life and to firmly raise their voices in the face of 
injustice in all its expressions.

PERU
CONEP rejects divisive manoeuvres

LIMA, June 19, 2003 (alc). We emphatically reject the behaviour of some 
pastors who seek personal benefits at the cost of provoking a schism that 
they feed with misinformation or distorted information, stated a 
communique from the National Evangelical Council of Peru (CONEP).

We consider any individual or group of believers has the right to adopt 
the organizational form they consider most convenient, as long as it is 
aimed at strengthening the body of Christ. However, this organization 
should not be encouraged by mechanisms and arguments that collide with 
truth, ethics and the values of the Gospel, stated the communiqui.

The document noted that last April 22, a group of pastors from some 
Churches that are not affiliated with the CONEP agreed to put together an 
entity they called Union of Christian Evangelical Churches of Peru 
(UNICEP). Their excuse, according to CONEP, was the parliamentary approval 
of an article in the Constitutional reform project that touches on 
Church-State relations.

While the UNICEP documents and their representatives, added the communique, 
have a conciliatory discourse it is important to note that this 
organization has essentially the same objectives as the Council and has 
launched a strategy that seeks to divide and weaken the CONEP.

The communique accuses pastor members of the new organization of going to 
Churches and affirming that CONEP has been dissolved and will be replaced 
by UNICEP. This behaviour denies the principles and values of the Kingdom 
of God and will produce very negative effects both within the Evangelical 
community and in society, said CONEP.

Last week, the Assemblies of God of Peru, member of CONEP, also denounced 
that members of UNCIEP are misinforming and confusing the Evangelical 
people and in particular its membership, by stating that CONEP has been 
dissolved and UNICEP has assumed the representation of the Evangelical 
sector in the country.

CONEP, founded 63 years ago, groups together the majority of Evangelical 
Churches in the country and is the legal representative before authorities 
and civil society. In the past two decades it has increased the public 
visibility of Evangelicals thanks to its defence of human rights, its 
participation in the Working Group to Combat Poverty and its contribution 
to the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It has also 
participated in the National Agreement Forum, in the National Human Rights 
Council and in the Education For All Forum.

Article 71 of the Constitutional Reform project, approved by Congress, 
reiterated that the State recognizes the important role carried out by the 
Catholic Church in forming the nation and offers its collaboration with the 
Church.  It also recognizes other confessions and establishes cooperation 
with them through their representative bodies.

This version was approved in Congress after representatives from the 
Inter-Confessional Committee (that includes the Episcopal Conference, 
CONEP, the Jewish Community and Evangelical Churches) affirmed that it 
reflected the consensus of the Churches.

The new CONEP communique expresses that an Extraordinary General Council 
Assembly, held last May, agreed to reject the article in question and 
reaffirmed the commitment of the National Evangelical Council of Peru to 
continue struggling, using the legitimate instruments it has, to achieve a 
regime of religious equality in the framework of the construction of 
democracy in the country.

CONEPs struggle in the Constitutional reform, it added, does not only 
refer to the Church-State relationship, but to all those articles that 
express concepts that are incompatible with Gods aim for human life.

According to the CONEP statement, the above-mentioned General Assembly 
reaffirmed the institutional and representative nature of the body and a 
commission formed in February of this year is in a process of diagnosing 
and proposing an organization redesign of CONEP.

CHILE
Evangelical REDES corporation initiates campaign in favour of poor children

SANTIAGO , June 20, 2003 (alc). The Evangelical REDES corporation launched 
a campaign called For a New Dream aimed at collecting 200,000 sets of 
sheets for boys and girls living in extreme poverty and do not have an 
adequate place to sleep.

The Evangelical Development and Services Network (REDES) made a public 
presentation at an artistic event held June 14 in the Christian and 
Missionary Church Alliance in Providence, Santiago.

REDES is a non-profit private institutions that works in the social field. 
Its president is Pentecostal Pastor Juana Albornoz G and its executive 
secretary is Sociologist Samuel Palma.

The For a New Dream campaign is being carried out in coordination with 
the Chilean Solidarity System Bridge Program and the Solidarity and Social 
Investment Fund (FOSIS), which depends on the Ministry of Planning and 
Cooperation, aimed at eradicating extreme poverty.

Other institutions are working to give children living in extreme poverty 
the necessary elements to have an adequate place to sleep and to try and 
overcome the overcrowding many of them face.

REDES seeks to create and develop a system that makes it possible to carry 
out social and community projects that are supported and sustained by 
Evangelical Churches as part of their testimony of Christian faith.

The proposed system includes mobilizing Evangelical human resources, 
professionals, technicians, and specialized workers, in a major national 
network of volunteers, as well as financial resources, to implement social 
service and community development projects.

URUGUAY
SEDHU lobbies for special law to protect refugees

MONTEVIDEO, June 20, 2003 (alc).  On International Day of the Refugee the 
Ecumenical Service for Human Dignity (SEDHU) of Uruguay reiterated its 
request that the government and Congress approve a Refugee Law in order 
to create a clear legal framework to apply international agreements that 
the country has signed.

SEDHU is the delegate South American Agency for the UN High Commissioner on 
Refugees (ACNUR). SEDHU members include the Anglican Church, the 
Evangelical Church of the River Plate, the Waldensian Evangelical Church of 
the River Plate, the Archbishop of Montevideo, the Young Christians 
Association. The Methodist Church of Uruguay is a fraternal member.

SEDHU called on everyone to support the integration of refugees, in 
particular young people, to whom this International Day of the Refugee is 
dedicated.  Of 22 million people (refugees, repatriated and displaced 
within their own country) that ACNUR attends, 35 percent are 13 to 25 years 
old.

Around 1 million children and young refugees are registered in the ACNUR 
education programs. Young girls and women make up 40 percent of the 
beneficiaries of the programme. Of the total, 10 percent are pre-school, 76 
percent are in primary school, and 5 percent in secondary school and 6 
percent in non-formal education while 3 percent are at post-secondary 
institutes.

Regarding the decision to dedicate this years International Day of the 
Refugee to young people, UN General Secretary Kofi Annan said, young 
people can play a fundamental role in development and peace. If they are 
left on the margins of society we are all impoverished.

In South America, which includes Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay 
and Paraguay, all countries that have approved the 1951 Convention and the 
1967 Additional Protocol in favour of refugees, but only Brazil and 
Paraguay have specific laws.

There are 6,500 refugees in the region coming from 45 different countries, 
in particular from Angola in Brazil. In the rest of Latin America there are 
few refugees but the displaced due to internal violence number in the 
millions, in particular in Colombia and Peru, while in Central America 
there are millions of illegal immigrants heading for the United States.

------------------------
Agencia Latinoamericana y Caribeqa de Comunicacisn (ALC)
P.O. Box 14-225 Lima 14 Peru
Tel. (51 1) 462 0142  Telefax (51 1) 463 2496
Cell Phone (51 1) 9724 3959 / E-Mail: director@alcnoticias.org
Visit our web site: http://www.alcnoticias.org
To stop emails, please visit http://www.alcpress.org/StopNews.asp?lanCode=1