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404
book reviews
Daniel Castelo
Pentecostalism as a Christian Mystical Tradition(Grand Rapids,mi: William
B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2017). vii + 194 pp., $30.00 paperback.
The identity of Pentecostalism has been an enduring research topic. Espe- cially due to the current socio-political milieu in theusand the ubiquitous, yet underdetermined label of evangelicalism applied to many Christians, Daniel Castelo’s latest work is a relevant contribution to this issue of identity. Cap- turing the reader’s interest with a personal anecdote, Castelo begins the book by arguing that Pentecostalism is neither a Protestant nor evangelical-plus- tongues movement. Albeit limiting the scope to Anglo-American Pentecostal- ism, at least this strand, argues Castelo, is “a modern instantiation of the mys- tical stream of Christianity …,a mystical tradition of the catholic church” (xvi).
Castelo first searches for a theological method that is faithful to Pentecostal- ism.This search is highly illuminating, critically engaging and critiquing impor- tant works that had sought to set the agenda for a proper Pentecostal theology. Castelo agrees with Steven Land that Pentecostalism is a spirituality, which carries implications for theological method. Yet, through a historical survey of the conversations between notable Pentecostal-charismatic scholars, such as Cheryl Bridges John, James K.A. Smith, Amos Yong, and Terry Cross, Castelo shows that there are disagreements as to what legitimates a proper Pente- costal theological method, even if one begins from spirituality that rejects the hegemonic modernist epistemology of evangelicalism. Castelo leads the reader through this survey to show that there remains a tension between spirituality and theology, a survey he continues in chapter two, showing that the ascen- dency of reason over faith began long before the Enlightenment. The question he raises is whether a Pentecostal systematic theology is possible given its spir- ituality. For Castelo, the continued search for systematic theology betrays this spiritual impulse, for systematics requires principles for coherences that tends to abstraction and de-contextualization. However, Pentecostal spirituality has always insisted on encounter and participation in God. Spirituality is, therefore, irreducible to concepts. So is systematics a dead-end? Castelo does not forward this view either. Instead, he argues for the integrity of spirituality-theology in which narrative and testimony are considered legitimate and distinctively Pen- tecostal theological categories. If systematics is understood not as an architec- tonic system of principles, but an ordered network designed to lead the reader into transformation through encounter with God, then systematics is vital to spirituality. This view may run contrary to the popular understanding of sys- tematics, but it bridges Pentecostal theology closer to the mystical tradition, with its focus on encounter and transformation.
© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2017 | doi: 10.1163/15700747-03903010
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Theology surpasses mere intellectual knowledge in its encounter with the super-abundant God, who is mystery. Accepting the inexhaustible mystery of the self-revealing God and acknowledging God’s transcendence and the limi- tations of human immanence, a Pentecostal mystical theology allows for this apophatic dimension. Due to human limitations and God’s transcendence, knowledge of God begins from God’s self-disclosure and is a participatory, rela- tional dynamic. Having established this mystical element of Pentecostal theol- ogy, Castelo presents Pentecostalism as a continuation of Christian mysticism, albeitwithitsowndistinctiveethos,utilizingthethemesof purgationandsanc- tification, illumination and maturation, and union and transformation. Given this thesis, Castelo examines the various forms of evangelical theology, focus- ing his attention especially on fundamentalist- and neo-evangelicalism. Via a historical survey, Castelo shows the scholastic tendency of this movement, with its commitment to epistemic objectivity based on common sense realism and Baconian empiricism. He further shows the neglect of pneumatology and mys- ticism, which oppose Pentecostal intuitions.
Castelo continues painting Pentecostalism as a distinctively non-evangeli- cal, mystical tradition via analysis of Spirit baptism and tongues. Once again, he turns to historical survey to show the privileging of tongues as initial evi- dence. He argues that this fixation is based on modernist assumptions and carries several challenges, such as the commodification of spirituality. How- ever, he presents the works of Edith Blumhofer, Frank Macchia, and Simon Chan as those who have provided renewed understandings of Spirit baptism and tongues from a more faithful Pentecostal perspective.
Castelo provides his own constructive, exploratory vision of Spirit baptism in the final chapter, critiquing the promising reassessments by the aforemen- tioned scholars as being limited by their adherence to classical Pentecostalism, which keeps them from appropriating the mystical tradition in their reassess- ments. Castelo converses with various figures of the mystical tradition, and offers three constructive perspectives on Spirit baptism that are both Pente- costal and mystical: (1) Spirit baptism as on-going; (2) spiritual aridity as part of maturation in the on-going process of Spirit-baptism; and (3) glossolalia as the apophatic acknowledgment of trying to speak about the super-abundant God.
Perhaps unintended, but the chapters act as a conceptual snowball. The first chapter sets the agenda with a theological method amenable with Pen- tecostalism and the mystical tradition. The second chapter makes this con- nection clearer, and the third chapter distances this re-envisioned, mystical Pentecostalism further away from evangelicalism. The fourth chapter analyzes Spirit-baptism and tongues, and makes the diagnosis that it is mired in mod-
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ernist assumptions, and presents promising reassessments. The final chapter then revisits these themes by interacting with the mystical tradition. The result is a convincing set of arguments, even if the final constructive section is but a sketch and an invitation.
Questions linger, however, due to its limited scope. Castelo limits his study to Anglo-American classical Pentecostalism. The first question, then, is whether charismatic and neo-pentecostal Christianity are amenable with the mystical tradition. Could James K.A. Smith, a self-professing charismatic with a classi- cal Pentecostal background, qualify? Second, if he is engaging classical Pente- costalism, it seems unfair to make the criticism that Blumhofer, Macchia, and Chan are limited by the bounds of classical Pentecostalism. If Castelo’s thesis is correct, then classical Pentecostalism does not lack the resources in itself to renew Spirit-baptism properly, but merely lacked the dialogue partner to open up its own latent possibilities.To argue thus, however, is merely to beg the ques- tion. Yet, these questions merely enlarge the scope. Castelo has provided an incredible service and a highly persuasive argument to the issue of classical Pentecostal identification. Since the book is an invitation, it will be interesting to see if someone will enlarge Castelo’s project to charismatic, neo-pentecostal, and global Pentecostalism.
Yoon Shin
Southeastern University, Lakeland, Florida
yhshin@seu.edu
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