Alumbradismo and Pentacostalism

[Ephinie]

So... I've been doing some reading for my class on the Inquisition in Spain and the New World. At the moment, I've been reading a collection of essays that outlines the trials and charges of specific women who were charged as Alumbradas... or, Illuminists.

As I've been reading these essays, something that struck me was that the Alumbrados of the 17th century share a lot of similarities with modern Pentacostals. For example, they both place a high emphasis on emotion rather than intellectual learning (though, granted, there is a trend in my generation of Pentacostals to embrace intellectual learning on a level that our grandparents did not seem to share), internal revelation over external teaching, mental prayer rather than vocal liturgical prayer, and external evidences of God's internal work (such as visions, going into trances, unintelligible utterances- or speaking in tongues, shaking, and stuff like that).

I know that modern Pentacostals trace their roots back to the turn of the 20th century, specifically the Azusa Street Revival, but also to "moves of God" that happened before that. I believe the official start of Azusa Street was in 1906, whereas the first "recorded" case of speaking in tongues in modern history happened in 1901.

Growing up as Pentacostals, we are generally taught that these signs and wonders fell dormant at some point during the early middle ages; and that only with the spiritual re-awakening in the early 20th century did they start to happen again. However, just from reading things in the narrow context of the Spanish Inquisition, it sounds like stuff like this has been happening all along. I'm not trying to speak to the validity or lack thereof of these specific kinds of manifestations (the speaking in tongues, visions, shaking, ect.), but rather I am just trying to point to the fact that reports of this sort of activity seem to reach much farther back than many people realize.

Um... any thoughts on this?

[PrinceOfTheWest]

It has been happening all along. The Catholic Church records instances of gifts of the Spirit, in greater and lesser intensity, throughout her history. Sometimes they were associated with prominent movements, such as the Franciscan revival, and sometime they were less prominent, but they've always been there.

[Narborg]

I think we as christans often feel like this. I think it goes deeper than just this example. Often, we chriatns are suspicus of expleaons of faith which was difent to our own. We need to have an apeacation to difent styles od wership.