What Does It Mean To Be Charismatic?

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The word “charismatic” comes from the Greek charismata, which means gifts of grace. This is the word that Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 12 when describing gifts like wisdom, healing, prophecy and speaking in tongues. A charismatic Christian believes that all of these gifts - including the miraculous ones - are for today, and many charismatics claim to operate in such gifts. “Charismatic” is often mixed up or confused with “Pentecostal”, and it’s not really surprising since the two words have very similar meanings. Pentecostals also believe that miraculous Spiritual gifts are available for all Jesus-followers today, they point to the day of Pentecost in the second chapter of the book of Acts where Jesus’ disciples were baptized in the Holy Spirit …show more content…

They can and should be activists! Likewise, Christian activists should embrace the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit and be charismatic. And non-Christians should get saved and become charismatic activists as well. I recognize that there are numerous different definitions of the term “activist”, which makes it a bit risky to use without defining it. While one person may view Martin Luther King Jr. as an activist, another may think about a suicide bomber or an angry person with an angry sign who’s screaming at everything. By activism, I mean action for a better world, a world which is more peaceful, just, healthy and Christ-like. Naturally, evangelism - to share the Gospel about eternal life in Jesus - falls under this category, which is perfectly fine for me since I also believe that all activists and charismatics should evangelize. Thus, a charismatic activist, or charismactivist for short (it may sound awkward initially, but trust me, you’ll get used to it), is a Christian, who both operates in miraculous Spiritual gifts and promotes the Gospel along with social justice, peace and freedom from …show more content…

That is, most of them are theologically conservative and/or apolitical, and several of them are part of non-Pentecostal church movements, which is why I prefer to call them charismatic activists. In theory, a charismactivist can heal the sick on Monday and feed the homeless on Tuesday, keeping miracles and activism quite separate. But it is common that these are combined not just in the life of an individual, but in a single action or event, a miraculous social action (MSAs). God is always the one who performs this action, since human beings cannot perform miracles in themselves, but sometimes He uses human vessels. For example, when Michael Liliequist prayed for poor autistic children and lepers, and they were healed, that was a miraculous social action. Through the healing, their chances of escaping poverty and leading healthy lives were significantly increased. Other MSAs can be when humanitarian disasters are prophetically foreseen or managed, when the hungry are fed by a multiplication of food or when violent attackers are frozen or disarmed by divine

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