Christianity · branch
Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity
Evangelical doctrine plus a live claim that God acts now, directly and experienceably — tongues, prophecy, healing. That claim pulls B1 sharply toward direct experience while everything else stays revealed, which is an unusual combination in this matrix.
What makes it unusual
The axes on which this tradition sits furthest from the middle of the matrix — which is to say, the positions that actually distinguish it.
- C3 The human conditionfallen and in need of rescueFurther toward "fallen and in need of rescue" than most traditions in the matrix.
- E1 Exclusivityone true pathFurther toward "one true path" than most traditions in the matrix.
- E2 Origin of the cosmosan intentional actFurther toward "an intentional act" than most traditions in the matrix.
- B2 Reading of sacred textliteral and bindingFurther toward "literal and binding" than most traditions in the matrix.
All seventeen positions
Each cell carries a centre, a dispersion — how much internal variation the tradition genuinely tolerates — and the source the position rests on. Disagree with one? Say so; corrections are public and recorded.
The same seventeen values as a single shape, read clockwise from A1 at the top. The outline is where the tradition sits; the wider band around it is the variation it genuinely tolerates, so a tight outline is a tight tradition.
- position
- tolerated variation
A · The divine
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Divine realitynothing beyond the natural → a divine reality certainly exists | a divine reality certainly existsAssemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths (1916, rev.) | 1.00 | 0.02 |
| A2 Personhoodimpersonal principle or order → a personal being one can address | a personal being one can addressAssemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths (1916, rev.) | 0.97 | 0.03 |
| A3 Pluralitystrictly one → many powers and spirits | strictly oneAssemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths (1916, rev.) | 0.08 | 0.08 |
| A4 Locuswholly beyond the world → fully present within it | leaning fully present within itAssemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths (1916, rev.) | 0.78 | 0.12 |
B · Knowledge and authority
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1 Source of truthrevealed and fixed → reason and direct experience | between revealed and fixed and reason and direct experienceAssemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths (1916, rev.) | 0.45 | 0.16 |
| B2 Reading of sacred textliteral and binding → metaphorical, or no text at all | literal and bindingAssemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths (1916, rev.) | 0.12 | 0.10 |
| B3 Institutional authorityclergy and tradition decide → individual conscience decides | between clergy and tradition decide and individual conscience decidesAssemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths (1916, rev.) | 0.52 | 0.16 |
C · Self and destiny
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| C1 Survival of the selfends at death → continues in some form | continues in some formAssemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths (1916, rev.) | 0.98 | 0.02 |
| C2 Shape of timeone life, then judgment → cyclical return | one life, then judgmentAssemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths (1916, rev.) | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| C3 The human conditionfallen and in need of rescue → ignorant but fundamentally sound | fallen and in need of rescueAssemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths (1916, rev.) | 0.10 | 0.09 |
D · Practice
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 Mechanism of the ultimate goodgiven as grace → achieved by effort or insight | leaning given as graceAssemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths (1916, rev.) | 0.22 | 0.14 |
| D2 Centrality of ritualessential and prescribed → optional or absent | between essential and prescribed and optional or absentAssemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths (1916, rev.) | 0.38 | 0.16 |
| D3 The bodyto be disciplined → to be celebrated | between to be disciplined and to be celebratedAssemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths (1916, rev.) | 0.52 | 0.16 |
E · World and others
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| E1 Exclusivityone true path → many valid paths | one true pathAssemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths (1916, rev.) | 0.10 | 0.11 |
| E2 Origin of the cosmosan intentional act → beginningless or natural | an intentional actAssemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths (1916, rev.) | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| E3 Locus of belonginga people, inherited → an individual choice | an individual choiceAssemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths (1916, rev.) | 0.85 | 0.09 |
| E4 Standing of naturecreation, given for use → animate and itself sacred | leaning creation, given for useAssemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths (1916, rev.) | 0.30 | 0.14 |
Further reading
- Assemblies of God, Statement of Fundamental Truths — Baptism in the Spirit as a distinct, evidenced experience.
- Cox, Fire from Heaven — Why the fastest-growing form of Christianity sits where it does on A4 and D3.
Compared with
- Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity and Evangelical and Baptist Christianity
- Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity and Anabaptism (Mennonite, Amish, Hutterite)
- Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity and Lutheranism
- Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity and Existentialism
- Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity and Philosophical Naturalism
- Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity and Secular Humanism
Where do you sit?
The questionnaire places your own answers on these same seventeen axes and reports how close you are to this tradition and to 64 others. Take it — eight to fourteen questions, nothing transmitted.