Dear Nathan: An Open Letter to non-Pentecostals from a Pentecostal

Every now and then, I run into a pastor from the Pentecostal denomination "The Assemblies of God" (AG), and they are often surprised that I know a great deal about their religious tradition. In fact, I once was "Pentecostal adjacent" in my theology and spiritual orientation. Indeed, I still believe it is normal for the Holy Spirit to do amazing things in the lives of those who are open to Her presence and power working through them (including healing, casting out evil, inspiring mystical experience, and speaking through them in known and unknown languages). Even though I am fairly progressive, inclusive, and academic by nature, I think that a robust faith in the Trinity revealed in Jesus entails a robust experience of the Divine Spirit.

The reason why I know so much about the AG is that in the mid-1990's a pentecostal college professor was my friend and a member of my extended family. His name was Dr. Steve Badger, and he passed away in 2021. At the time I knew him, I was a budding theology student who had just learned Greek, as well as a social worker, and a volunteer youth minister. It was Dr. Badger, and several of his friends at AGTS (Assemblies of God Theological Seminary), who first introduced me to systematic theology and bought me my first theology books. Steve represented a beautiful fusion of the intellectual and experiential pursuit of Christ, and he became an integral part of my circuitous path to the Episcopal priesthood and school chaplaincy. 

Panentheism: Why matter Matters

In our modern age, we are often haunted by a "disenchanted" world: A cosmos where matter is viewed as mere mechanical "stuff" and God is reimagined as a distant watchmaker who has long since retreated from his creation. This theological poverty, which often drifts into a "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism," leaves many feeling spiritually homeless in a universe that seems indifferent to our existence. However, the ancient Christian worldview offers a far more vibrant and "thick" description of reality. By returning to the conviction that the Infinite Creator is not just "out there" but "in here," upholding every atom by the power of the Spirit, we find ourselves standing on holy ground. As the Apostle Paul reminded the philosophers of Athens, God is the one in whom "we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).

The thoughts presented here are an invitation to move beyond the shallow waters of modern nominalism and dive into the deep pool of Panentheism, Theosis, and Sacraments. We will explore how the ancient Church understood salvation not as a legal transaction in a heavenly courtroom, but as a transfiguring union with God: A process where we become, as the Apostle Peter wrote, "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4). We will see how the physical world, far from being a distraction from the spiritual life, is actually the primary laboratory of God's presence, where humble elements like bread, wine, and water become the conduits of Divine energy. Drawing on the insights of thinkers like St. Athanasius, who famously argued that "God became human so that humans might become divine", we find that matter is not a prison for the soul but a "theophany", a visible showing of God’s invisible glory.

As we navigate the crucial distinction between a God who is separate from creation and a God who is distinct within it, we begin to see that the physical universe is the perfect vessel for Divine self-expression. Matter matters because it is the medium through which the infinite Creator relates to the finite creature, a truth that reaches its breathtaking climax in the person of Jesus Christ. For the curious mind seeking a faith that is both intellectually rigorous and deeply embodied, it becomes evident that panentheism is a logical corollary which naturally flows from the Trinity and Incarnation.