Between Conviction and Critique

A Hermeneutical Exploration of an Australian Pentecostal Community

Abstract

Pentecostals have conventionally been defined as a group that avoids critical reflection on the biblical text in favour of Spirit-led experience. This categorisation encourages a general anti-intellectual disposition often taken as representative or defining of the movement. While this description may well be a matter of stereotyping, it is a view that holds considerable force. This paper explores the nexus between the practice of a Pentecostal academy and Pentecostal ecclesial praxis within the Australian context and their role in influencing or maintaining this view. An initial intuition of incompatibility between Pentecostal academia and Pentecostal ecclesial praxis inspired the design and distribution of a survey in an attempt to understand and explain the perceived incongruence. Having conducted the survey and analysed the findings, I suggest that what has emerged is not an ontological division between two fixed and bounded groups but rather a hermeneutical issue: a seeming tension between two stances, two motivations and two idealised outcomes. It is precisely here that I suggest that the intended meaning of the title of this paper becomes evident – perhaps a good interpretation of the Bible lies somewhere between conviction and critique.