I had to bring up Finney and the results of perfectionalism because the doctrine of perfectionalism preached by Finney, his followers, and the pentecostal and offsprings is driven home when talking about two very important facets of their theology

The rapture and hell.

Before I proceed further, I want to state on the record that I do believe in the rapture (second coming of Christ) and I also believe in Hell.

If we begin to reanalyze the Finney quote I posted on the previous page in reference to the concluded analysis made earlier that:

…every time I sin (or if one takes Finney’s theory to the extreme it has to be take to in reference to accidents and mistakes, miscalculations), I automatically lose my salvation and have to get “re-saved’ and “re-repent’.

This would have to be interpreted in light of Finney’s theology that the time period between the committing of the sin and the “re-saving’ and “re-repenting’ from the sin would put the believer in grave danger of:

If he died before the “re-saving’ and “re-repenting” took place, then that person would be in Hell for eternity.

If the second coming happened before the “re-saving’ and “re-repenting” took place, then that person would miss the rapture and would have to endure the Great Tribulation, etc.

However, this is taught in classical Pentecostal theology that Finney’s theology of perfection is not only a theory, but a reality to ever see “God move” and to ‘send revival down’. Therefore, per Finney’s logic, revival can not come until we become perfect. This is even more compounded in a congregation where the perfection has to be multiplied by the number of people within the congregation. Look at many charismatic teachings today and see how many charismatic leaders will blame the lack on revival (or broken air conditioners) on someone’s sin (aka imperfection) using Achan as the Prime Mover and therefore will ‘miss out’ on the ‘last great revival to ever hit planet Earth’ before the rapture occurs.

If you take Finney’s theology down to the lowest common denominator, any mistyped words you may find in this post would have to be called sin because it is not perfect and therefore would put me in danger of hellfire or missing the rapture. It is very easy to see why people privately commented to me (and published anonymously in Penteparanoia part 2) things such as:

Even though I am saved, filled with the Holy Spirit, baptised in water, etc, I still find myself ‘re-repenting’ and going back through my life repenting for stuff I did when I was eight in fear of missing the rapture. I even started to repent at one time for getting math problems and true/false tests at school wrong because being wrong meant I made a mistake or believed a lie which I had equated to sin which I equated as cutting me off from God equated to the possibility of missing the rapture.

When unsuspecting loud noises, bright flashes of light appeared, or I was the only one at church and everyone else was late for a meeting, I had to call a fellow church member to ‘ensure myself’ that I did not miss the rapture.

I can see that now because even I have done the same things before and I know the anxiety, paranoia, and hysteria it generates. I have regretted saying something or have gotten angry and went to find the first private place to where I could ask for forgiveness fearing death into Hell or missing a rapture. I mentioned about wanting a new vehicle and feeling scared to death to purchase it fearing that God will punish me or strike the vehicle with problems to ‘show me’ who he is. I have news for you, I do not believe that anxiety, paranoia, and hysteria is of God and if a ‘so-called Christian’ theology generates anxiety, paranoia, and hysteria, is it ‘of God’ to begin with?

The Finney concept of perfectionalism led to a new elitism when it was designed to eliminate elitism. It led to bondages of anxiety, paranoia, delusion, and hysteria when it was designed to free people.

It led to the promise of a ‘grand exclusive revival’, a ‘super special remnant’, a ‘Joshua Generation’, etc. when we dot out “i”‘s, cross our “t”‘s , and get our ducks in a row. However, the New Testament which symbolizes the New Covenant never records any instance of an exclusive revival when people got their stuff in order. Instead, it documents the actions of God sending his Holy Spirit down forty days after Jesus went back to heaven for an eternal ‘vival’ to a group of flawed people who worked out their salvation (even though they were saved) with fear and trembling of the Lord thy God and not the fear and trembling of a people who feel unsecured and detached from God at the first instance of sin and repented and got ‘re-saved’ to become re-secured and reattached to God.

It led to the things of the first quote where ecclesiastics and exegesis was replaced by the quest for “fevors and ecstasies of emotion” along with yearning for experiences to validate their theology instead of the Bible validating the experience. The leading of them to ‘…proclaim aloud their own attainments in holiness’ was broadcasted to show that they were the new elitism and that God’s favor was on them and therefore equated an opposite mentality of God’s disfavor was on other denominations.

The prediction that “It will lead them to censure, and even to despise, their brethren and sisters in the churches from whose counsel and example they have much need to learn wisdom.” became self-fulfilled as they deemed themselves as the anointed ones and those who disagreed were ‘touching the anointing and doing their prophets harm’. It led to mentalities that the Christian world revolved around them and everyone else better come into agreement or miss out on God or worse yet fall into apostacy and miss the rapture.

Worse of all the prediction that Finneyism and Pentecostalism and it’s offshoots would led them “to adopt impressions, and visions, and emotions, and supposed witness of the Spirit, as the infallible guide of their religious life, and thus shut their minds and hearts against instructions and admonitions, to which they should give earnest heed” came true. Biblical based theology was replaced with kookiness because ‘God told them to’. Bizarre manifestations was the validation of God because it was being ‘led by the Spirit’. Bible chapter/verse numbers were being used as a money making means guaranteeing a ‘unlocking’ of the verse’s true meaning as a ‘blessing’. Bible stories were now being used to raise up a Joshua Generation, Gideon’s Army, Nehemiah’s wall builders, Ezra’s temple builders, armorbearers, a ‘school of the Spirit’, New Elijah’s, Boaz’s threshing floors, etc. that were obtainable if you send in some money to a televangelist. Real Pentecost, Prophetic, and Power from God Almighty was replaced by Pragmatics, Pathetics, and Pablum designed to exalt man instead of God.

Because ‘it worked’, we claimed that ‘it was God’. The first instance of William James’ pragmatism in action within Christianity. In fact, Nancy Pearcey on page 289 of her book Total Truth in her discussion on Charles Finney states:

Finney insisted that revivals had to be carefully staged. “A revival is not a miracle,” he stated flatly; it is merely “the result of the right use of the appropriate means” Using the right methods, he said, a revival can be produced just as certaintly as farmers using scientific methods can ‘raise grain and a crop of wheat”

It was Finney who revolutionized the concept of nightly meetings every night for a period of time, the high pressure tactics of his staring eyes, his emotional outbursts, confronting sinners by name in his meetings, the “anxious seat” where those who felt ‘conviction’ were asked to come down and sit on a particular pew where everyone else stared creating more ‘pressure’ for a decision (this eventually led to the altar call), ventilation, music moods, counting the converts and bragging at the next meetings how many were saved, etc. In fact, when Finney was questioned about the anxious seat, his replay was typical of the pragmatic mindset when he stated that “The results justify my methods”. Numbers, impact, and money were used to justify success instead of character, dilligence and integrity. What happened here that we started to see the beginning of the declining of the success rate of born again Christians who were still Christians years later after the initial experience had came and went.

Related Posts

1. Penteparanoia
2. Penteparanoia Part 2
3. Penteparanoia Part 4
4. Penteparanoia Part 7
5. I Guess We Christians Are Not Saved

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