A History of Christian Doctrine #3 - Online Christian Library

A History of Christian Doctrine
the substitutionary atonement, the physical resurrection
of Jesus, and the bodily return of Jesus to earth. The overall
approach to theology and spiritual experience is considerably
different, however, as the Fundamentalists have
been quick to point out.
Clearly, then, Pentecostals should not uncritically
adopt the Fundamentalist approach to theology, although
they have sometimes done so. For example, the second
generation of Pentecostal teachers often embraced dispensationalism
uncritically. But while this system does
offer helpful insights, it has to be modified significantly to
be compatible with Pentecostal belief and practice. 236
Even professed Pentecostal dispensationalists have often
contradicted the theological system—for instance, speaking
of the church as “spiritual Israel”—or otherwise modified
it. 237
Pentecostals are not simply Fundamentalists who
speak in tongues. Their respect for the inspiration, infallibility,
and authority of the Bible is just as great, and so
is their commitment to the fundamental doctrines relating
to the identity and work of Jesus Christ in human history.
They are quite different, however, in their personal experience
with God, understanding of the work of the Holy
Spirit, concept of holiness, and interpretation of the New
Testament.
While Fundamentalists affirm miracles in the Bible,
they reject miracles today. They deny that the church in
the Book of Acts is the role model for us to follow. They
say that instructions in the Epistles relative to divine healing,
spiritual gifts, and spiritual ministry are no longer
applicable. Morever, dispensationalists minimize the ethical
teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, considering
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