Dictionary of Pentecostalism in Norway

Norsk pinsekristendom og karismatisk fornyelse: Ettbinds oppslagsverk (Norwegian Pentecostalism and Charismatic Renewal: One-Volume Dictionary), Geir Lie, editor. Oslo, Norway: REFLEKS-Publishing, 2007.

European Pentecostals are slated to gather in Oslo, Norway the week of September 18-23, 2007 to celebrate the centennial of the Pentecostal movement on that continent (see http://www.azusaeurope.etp.no).

What are the origins of Pentecostalism in Norway? The Azusa Street revival was one of the most prominent roots of European Pentecostalism. Word quickly spread around the world of the revival that began in 1906 at the small African-American gospel mission on Azusa Street in Los Angeles. Thomas Ball Barratt, a Norwegian Methodist minister of British descent, received the baptism of the Holy Spirit on November 15, 1906 while visiting New York. He returned to Norway, where he became that country’s leading Pentecostal expositor. The Pentecostal movement experienced burgeoning growth and, within several years, congregations had sprung up throughout the length of Norway. Barratt and his Filadelfia Church in Oslo were responsible for the spread of the Pentecostal movement to many regions of Europe. Barratt’s missiology — he viewed Pentecostalism as a global movement whose raison d’etre was missions — led hundreds of Norwegian missionaries to launch out across the globe. Today, Norway is home to approximately 300 Pentecostal congregations with 50,000 adherents and Europe has an estimated 4 million Pentecostal believers.

Just in time for the European Pentecostal centennial celebration, a historical dictionary of Pentecostalism in Norway has been published. Norsk pinsekristendom og karismatisk fornyelse, which has been years in the making, is an important achievement for several reasons.

Prosperity Gospel in Norway

Det guddommeliggjorte menneske og den menneskeliggjorte Gud (The Deification of Humanity and the Humanization of Deity), by Kjell Olav Sannes. Oslo, Norway: REFLEKS-Publishing, 2005.

Den nye reformasjonen (The New Reformation), by Lars Olav Gjøra. Oslo, Norway: REFLEKS-Publishing, 2006.

While positive confession theology (also known by the monikers “prosperity gospel” or “word-faith”) originated in America, it has made significant inroads into many segments of the worldwide Christian church. Numerous American authors have attempted theological and historical assessments of this phenomenon. Now, two new books by Norwegian scholars offer critiques of the theologies and personalities involved in the prosperity gospel movement in their own context.

Kjell Olav Sannes, a professor at the Norwegian Lutheran School of Theology in Oslo, Norway, presents and discusses the views of Kenneth E. Hagin in his book, Det guddommeliggjorte menneske og den menneskeliggjorte Gud. Sannes offers a critical theological analysis of the interrelationship between humanity and God in the writings of Kenneth E. Hagin. The title, which in English translates as “The Deification of Humanity and the Humanization of Deity,” reflects the theological issue at hand. The volume’s central thesis is that Hagin “deifies” humanity and “humanizes” God. This confusion of identities, the author avers, leads to two errors: (1) humanity, in particular the “born again believer,” is given status, authority and possibilities which, according to scripture, are reserved for God; and (2) God is viewed as limited in His power and authority in a way that reflects humanity’s own limitations. Hagin’s God looks a lot like Hagin. Ironically, something similar happened when the Jesus Seminar, a group of liberal scholars, determined that Jesus was essentially a twentieth-century western liberal.