Assembly of God

[tobinatorstark]

Thanks for all replies. Many of you have not had bad experiences of A/G being anti Catholic. The only people from the A/G that I have met, have all been quite anti Catholic. From the sounds of it that the A/G and Pentecostalism has many good/ugly faces to it. I would just assume to stay away from A/G

 

[sambos671]

I think the University of Stubenville has a charasmatic slant. I visited them years ago and I think there were some who were Catholic Charasmatics. Don Fransico was a singer entertainer performing there while I visited. My Aunt was involved in the Catholic Charasmatic movement for a while before leaving the Church and become a pentecostal protestant.

 

[prodigal-sun]

dougwead.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/has-sarah-palin-spoken-in-tongues/
This is Doug Wead’s blog where he states 33% of Catholics are charismatic and 36% of Americans are. This is not where I got my info though. I’m searching for it, and if and when I find it I’ll post it for you.

Oh yes I can almost believe that stat as it isn’t to far out there but just because one claimns to be a charismatic catholic does not mean that they are saying they speak in tounges. THat is a total differnt issue.

Anyway if you can find this source it wouold still be appreciated but for now I would have to say this is speaking in tounges stat is a bit far fetched.

Peace!

 

[Bastoune]

The A/Gs run a wide range, those who live/act/dress like any other evangelical Christian to the strong holiness/pentecostal. Sounds as if your relatives are on the holiness/pentecostal side of the curve.

Love them, let them see that you Love God and that you DO know your Bible. That will be the best witness to them.

This is the best advice!!!

AG’s are a wide range – I’d say a good 3,000 denominations in one! Just like Baptists, they believe that each individual church assembly should be locally administered, therefore there is no central authority to govern what goes on in each church. I have known many AG members who have moved to another town, gone to the AG church there and found that the beliefs and practices in their new community were incompatible with their personal beliefs (and those with their old community).

In fact, on their own website they call “Arminianism” and “Calvinish” as “very old” traditions that are both “acceptable” as “both are Biblical.”

 

[CB_Catholic]

The Assemblies of God are very big around here, and a large part of their memberships are ex-Catholics. I used to attend their services and a Bible study while I was “wandering”. I never saw any outlandish behavior in their services, because in the churches I attended, the Pastors insisted the services be orderly. They spoke in tongues and interpreted the tongues or prayed in tongues. Sometimes, if people went up for prayer or healing at the end of the service they would be “slain in the spirit”, but there was never any rolling on the floor, barking, laughter, like in the “Toronto Movement.” They sing mightily, and produce some of the best Christmas and Easter plays around, with a lot of talented people and very professionally done. They have an enormous outreach to youth and young people are very involved in their churches. They are also very friendly and very pro-life and pro-family and marriage. They do not believe in divorce. They also believe in the “Rapture”. Some of the members personally believe in the Real Presence, but I don’t think they believe in Transubstantiation like Catholics do. They are heavily evangelistic. They do not believe in OSAS generally, they believe you can lose your salvation if you backslide and don’t repent.

Having said that, I personally found most of them to be rather anti-Catholic, the worst being the ex-Catholics. My Bil and SIL left the Church and joined the AOG, and were very anti-Catholic which caused a lot of family problems. I have a few friends who left the Church and joined them, and they too, were very anti-Catholic, while the wife of one of them, who was born into the denomination, was much more tolerant. However I did hear some anti-Catholicism from the pulpit at times. The women’s Bible Study I attended was full of practicing Catholics, but many of them, like me, quit attending because of the anti-Catholicism. Surprisingly, there were a few Orthodox who had converted to the AOG.

I came back to the Church because of the Eucharist, the anti-Catholicism, which I could not take any more, and I did not believe in some of their doctrinal statements. Overall, they left a bad taste in my mouth, and some hard feelings, which I have battled to overcome. MY BIL and SIL left the AOG because of the extreme judgementalism that was occuring in their church, but they did not come back to the CC. My BIL gave a fulll 10% of his income to their church, but only my SIL was allowed to be a member because my BIL smoked Yet their parking lot was littered with cigarette butts–I saw this for myself.

But most of the people I knew sincerely loved Jesus, and tried to live God-fearing and holy lives, and put up with a lot of ridicule for their beliefs also. They were more than willing to share Jesus with others and stand up for what they believed, and were lovely people. I cannot deny their love of God, nor can I deny their enthusiasm for the Gospel and willingness to bring others to Christ. That has been my experience with the AOG.

 

[With_Questions]

I have been involved in three Assembly of God churches in my lifetime (including my current church).

All of them have seemed to have the general philosophy of minding their own business and not commenting on other churches in their city either way. I can’t remember of ever hearing anything in the pulpit negative against Catholics or any other Protestant denomination…wait a minute…I do recall something on mainline Protestants and gay ministers.

In my current church, to the extent that they do talk about Catholics, it has been positive (Mother Thersa, St. Patrick).

All of the Assembly of God churches that I have been involved have cooperated with the Catholic churches and other denominational churches in community outreaches (food banks, homeless shelters and the like).

Of course when you get into church membership, that is a different issue. There are all types of church members. Yes I have encountered church members saying biased, stupid, and misinformed things about Catcholics.

But nobody has a corner on stupidity. I know that I have to remind myself that just because I read a post by a Catholic that is biased, stupid, and misinformed about Protestants, that it does not necessarily follow that Catholicism is necessarily an “anti-Protestant” denomination.

For the record, Assembly of God from what I have seen is not into the wierdness and “name-it / claim-it” garbage you might encounter in other Pentecostal and Charismatic groups.

 

[4Squarebaby]

I have been involved in three Assembly of God churches in my lifetime (including my current church).

All of them have seemed to have the general philosophy of minding their own business and not commenting on other churches in their city either way. I can’t remember of ever hearing anything in the pulpit negative against Catholics or any other Protestant denomination…wait a minute…I do recall something on mainline Protestants and gay ministers.

In my current church, to the extent that they do talk about Catholics, it has been positive (Mother Thersa, St. Patrick).

All of the Assembly of God churches that I have been involved have cooperated with the Catholic churches and other denominational churches in community outreaches (food banks, homeless shelters and the like).

Of course when you get into church membership, that is a different issue. There are all types of church members. Yes I have encountered church members saying biased, stupid, and misinformed things about Catcholics.

But nobody has a corner on stupidity. I know that I have to remind myself that just because I read a post by a Catholic that is biased, stupid, and misinformed about Protestants, that it does not necessarily follow that Catholicism is necessarily an “anti-Protestant” denomination.

For the record, Assembly of God from what I have seen is not into the wierdness and “name-it / claim-it” garbage you might encounter in other Pentecostal and Charismatic groups.

That’s my experience in the cousin Foursquare Church. I know that when word got out that Sarah Palin had been AoG the reporters went on a search and destroy mission to find the “Borat” scene with her church all screaming in tongue and rolling along the floors. My only experience with “anti” statements were from ex members of the target faith. Well they did leave and choose to walk another path for a reason. I am sure that most anti-pentecostal statements in Catholic and mainline Protestant
Chuches come from the mouths of those raised in a Pentecostal fellowship.

 

[LegoGE1947]

What is it about the situation that antagonizes you? Are they pushy about religion, is it the diferences in beliefs or are you uncomfortable with charismatic Christianity? If it’s the last, you might check with your parish or diocese to see if there’s a Catholic charismatic prayer group you could attend to learn more about it from a Catholic perspective.

My closest friend is Assembly of God and her husband is a minister. She answered an altar call and gave her life to Jesus at the age of 7. She’s an outstanding example of Christianity, very involved in works of mercy and charity even though her health problems make it very difficult. If she takes exception to something in Catholicism, it’s not what you might expect (Marianism, The Eucharist, the Pope); her difference of opinion is on levels of sin. To Protestants, sin is sin; one sin is not more damning than another since she believes a professed Christian is “once saved, always saved.”

Although I was Assemblies of God before I became Catholic and there are AG’s that do NOT believe in “once saved, always saved.” YOu would be right in saying that they believe that sin is sin and there no levels like Catholics believe. Also one AG minister I know of says Christian Science is like Grape Nuts. Whereas Grape Nuts is neither Grape nor Nuts, Christian Science is neither Christian nor Science!

 

[LegoGE1947]

I have been involved in three Assembly of God churches in my lifetime (including my current church).

All of them have seemed to have the general philosophy of minding their own business and not commenting on other churches in their city either way. I can’t remember of ever hearing anything in the pulpit negative against Catholics or any other Protestant denomination…wait a minute…I do recall something on mainline Protestants and gay ministers.

In my current church, to the extent that they do talk about Catholics, it has been positive (Mother Thersa, St. Patrick).

All of the Assembly of God churches that I have been involved have cooperated with the Catholic churches and other denominational churches in community outreaches (food banks, homeless shelters and the like).

Of course when you get into church membership, that is a different issue. There are all types of church members. Yes I have encountered church members saying biased, stupid, and misinformed things about Catcholics.

But nobody has a corner on stupidity. I know that I have to remind myself that just because I read a post by a Catholic that is biased, stupid, and misinformed about Protestants, that it does not necessarily follow that Catholicism is necessarily an “anti-Protestant” denomination.

For the record, Assembly of God from what I have seen is not into the wierdness and “name-it / claim-it” garbage you might encounter in other Pentecostal and Charismatic groups.

In fact I believe as far as Protestant fellowships go Assemblies of God is one of the best!

 

[awantz]

I used to go to an Assembly of God church. Until, they told me that I am not saved, because I can’t speak in tongues. That is contradictory to scripture. They also told me that I am demon possessed, because I am and have been Epileptic since I was 2 1/2.

 

[LegoGE1947]

I was raised in the A of G, and have many family members who were and/or are now ministers in that body. Generally speaking, they do not consider themselves to be a denomination, but rather a fellowship of like minded churches. Howbeit, in recent years the move has trended toward a denomination. Notable present or past A of Gers are: Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Jim and Tammy Fay Baker, Paul and Jan Crouch, Jimmy Swaggart, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Hagin sr., Jerry Lee Lewis, Kenneth Copeland, David Wilkerson, Nicky Cruz, Moya Brennan, former U.S. Dept. of the Interior Secratary James Watt, former U. S. Attorney General Bob Ashcroft, Sarah Palin, etc. I think Dr. Finis Jennings Dake was one, and John Hagee might have been one too, I’m not sure. A thorough internet search would turn up other prominent names. They are Trinitarian. The United Pentecostals (oneness) are a split off of them. They do not believe in OSAS. They believe the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit listed in 1 Cor. 12 are not done away with. Although they believe that speaking in tongues is the initial evidence of the Baptism of the holy Spirit, only about 33% have experienced it. Compare that to the 36% of American Catholics who say they have. There are more tongue talking American Catholics than there are tongue talking A of Gers. They believe the offices of apostle and prophet are still existent, although the office of apostle is existent only in the form of missionaries and church planters. Some don’t believe the office of apostle still exist. They believe all sin is mortal. They believe divorce is a sin and won’t allow divorcees to pastor churches. They believe abortion and euthanasia should be illegal. There are different wings that have different viewpoints on certain things. Obviously the Paul Crouch wing doesn’t believe it’s a sin to watch TV. The more conservative wing believes it’s a sin for women to wear makeup, jewelry, or dresses that don’t at least reach the knees. This wing also believes it’s a sin for women to wear pants or sleeveless blouses, and men aren’t allowed to wear their hair long enough to touch the ears and no facial hair except maybe a thin mustache. The conservative wing also forbids swimming in mixed company. Anyway. Some believe the Catholic Church is of the devil and everything else Jack Chick believes about it. And some believe that it is not any of those things. Then there are those who believe that there are people in the Catholic Church who are true Christians but will sooner or later have to come out of the Catholic Church if they want to make it to Heaven. They believe very strongly in tithing. I’ve never heard any preacher preach hoarding of money, though I’ve known plenty of skin flints among them. Many, if not most, of the who’s whos of the health and wealth gospel came from the A of G, but that doesn’t mean that all A of Gers adhere to it. Many an A of G church has been split by these preachers coming in and preaching their doctrine. I have read the CCC and must say that about 80 to 90 percent of it is in agreement with A of G doctrine. Their services generally start with 3 or more songs, followed by taking the offering while another song is sung, then somebody stands in the pulpit and gives church announcements, then one or more people will sing a song before the congregation. Perhaps they have enough people for a choir, in which case the choir may sing a song or two. Then the pastor preaches a sermon, after which there is an altar call for people to come and get prayed for, or get saved, or to just kneel at the altars and pray. Then there’s a prayer of dismissal. It’s not always done this way. They try to be flexible. They believe other denominations are Christian, but aren’t as close to the truth as they are. These are just a few of the things they believe and do. ( I just noticed that others have posted on this as I am writing this and have said some of the things I was going to say.) My mind has drifted to other things so I will stop.

Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin is also Assembly of God.

 

[LegoGE1947]

I used to go to an Assembly of God church. Until, they told me that I am not saved, because I can’t speak in tongues. That is contradictory to scripture. They also told me that I am demon possessed, because I am and have been Epileptic since I was 2 1/2.

One pastor told me I had a “Demon of Intelligence” because I dared question one of his sermons some of which I could not find any Scriptural support for.

 

[tobinatorstark]

I used to go to an Assembly of God church. Until, they told me that I am not saved, because I can’t speak in tongues. That is contradictory to scripture. They also told me that I am demon possessed, because I am and have been Epileptic since I was 2 1/2.

One pastor told me I had a “Demon of Intelligence” because I dared question one of his sermons some of which I could not find any Scriptural support for.

This sounds all too familiar. Being attacked because you question or have something that you can’t help. This is why I have problems with Assembly of God as well

 

[LegoGE1947]

This sounds all too familiar. Being attacked because you question or have something that you can’t help. This is why I have problems with Assembly of God as well

One thing I can say in their defense Many of them stand right next to their Catholic brothers and sisters protesting at abortion mills so that is one good thing one can say about them! But this other part attacking other groups and fellowships that don’t believe exactly the same as they do is what turned me off finally.

 

[thegame]

I became familiar w/ an Assembly of God church when some friends (members) asked me to run a program for them. Knowing how anti-Catholic the church was, although these fine people aren’t sophistocated enough to understand that, and that Rapture was on their home page, I called their Pastor.

Long story short, the Pastor agreed to have an open eccumenical dialogue (I even agreed they could create the topic list, and have another one of their Pastor’s moderate) at their church on a weeknight. Of course, they conveniently never followed through. Allowing a knowledgeable lay Catholic to calmly describe their insufficiency could have been devastating to their bottom line ($). (Many I met with in private have left the church, some coming home to Catholicism.)

Good people, wildely insufficient teachings, but the sad part is: the things they are taught that are complete nonsense.

How exactly do you claim to know the real truth, when your church didn’t exist for the first 19 centuries of Christianity?? Worse, the Bible you hold - your only authentic link to Christ - came from the Catholic Church??

 

[Church_Militant]

To Protestants, sin is sin; one sin is not more damning than another since she believes a professed Christian is "once saved, always saved."

That’s kinda odd because when I was a Deacon in the AoG we taught that one can lose one’s salvation. Notice that in their 16 tenets it does not say that. In fact there is nothing that indicates a belief in OSAS/Eternal Security of Believers and that is one of the hang ups between them and most Baptists.

She will probably say that that’s not a “core” teaching, so she can accept or reject it. Naturally, most Baptists would disagree.

 

[LegoGE1947]

I became familiar w/ an Assembly of God church when some friends (members) asked me to run a program for them. Knowing how anti-Catholic the church was, although these fine people aren’t sophistocated enough to understand that, and that Rapture was on their home page, I called their Pastor.

Long story short, the Pastor agreed to have an open eccumenical dialogue (I even agreed they could create the topic list, and have another one of their Pastor’s moderate) at their church on a weeknight. Of course, they conveniently never followed through. Allowing a knowledgeable lay Catholic to calmly describe their insufficiency could have been devastating to their bottom line ($). (Many I met with in private have left the church, some coming home to Catholicism.)

Good people, wildely insufficient teachings, but the sad part is: the things they are taught that are complete nonsense.

How exactly do you claim to know the real truth, when your church didn’t exist for the first 19 centuries of Christianity?? Worse, the Bible you hold - your only authentic link to Christ - came from the Catholic Church??

Those are very good questions I never even thought of until I left that religious tradition and came home to a place I’d never been before, The Catholic Church! Seems to me some of them think the Bible was magically dropped over the bannister of heaven and have no idea that the Catholic Church gave it to them. They really have a big problem with Mary…such as how she can be co-redemptor. They say wasn’t the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross enough? Also why pray to "dead’ saints, since the Bible says they don’t know anything? But a priest recently told me Catholics do not pray “to” saints but rather pray “with” them. Quite a difference there! Also I personally believe the so called “dead” saints are really more alive than we are since they are staring God right square in the face! and what could be more alive than that?

 

[tobinatorstark]

One thing I can say in their defense Many of them stand right next to their Catholic brothers and sisters protesting at abortion mills so that is one good thing one can say about them! But this other part attacking other groups and fellowships that don’t believe exactly the same as they do is what turned me off finally.

I completely understand.

 

[LegoGE1947]

I completely understand.

For the 1 1/2 years I tried to go back to that type of church my wife thinks it’s the best thing since sliced bread but I can’t play that anymore. I want to be Catholic even if she doesn’t
I have decided I will attend early 6:30 am mass and then I will go with her but I can not continue supporting something I can no longer believe in.

 

[Bill_Pick]

For the 1 1/2 years I tried to go back to that type of church my wife thinks it’s the best thing since sliced bread but I can’t play that anymore. I want to be Catholic even if she doesn’t
I have decided I will attend early 6:30 am mass and then I will go with her but I can not continue supporting something I can no longer believe in.

GE1947 YOU ARE IN MY PRAYS