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(a) The idea that a "baptism by the Holy Spirit" is a type of cure-all is still somewhat common among our people, even though it was more prevalent in earlier days. One such aspect of this is apparent in our formative era when Charles Parham taught that those baptized with the Holy Spirit, marching in God's last-days army, would help the body of Christ to avoid "wasting thousands of dollars, and often their lives, in vain attempts to become conversant in almost impossible tongues which the Holy Ghost could so freely speak." Few, if any, believe this today, yet related to this mentality is the concept that if the Holy Spirit "teaches all things," "leads into all truth," and delights in using "ignorant and unlearned men," then why unnecessarily put yourself through the rigors of mental and intellectual discipline?

Furthermore, as Pentecostals we have strong convictions about the priesthood of believers and its connection to "the baptism." One of the potential drawbacks that can accompany the vital doctrine of lay priesthood is the belief that those who have been baptized in the Holy Ghost need not be concerned with earthly teachers. I once heard Billy Graham say, "The smallest package in the world is a person who is all wrapped up in himself." When Spirit-filled believers see themselves as the custodians of Full Gospel truth, a real temptation arises to overlook the vast reservoir of wisdom that God has deposited into other custodians. Thus, the blessing of the priesthood, instead of becoming a larger, richer gift to the world and the body, devolves into a pile of small independent packages all wrapped up in themselves!

Since Parham's day, many Spirit-filled believers seem to have used "the baptism" as a crutch to avoid engaging in demanding thought and study. Donald Gee addressed this issue numerous times over a span of forty years. Among the sundry statements made about this tendency is the following: "Many have a mistaken idea that the baptism in the Holy Spirit does away with all need of hard work, but it is not a labor-saving device. You might say, 'I suppose I won't need to study; I won't need to think; I won't need to pray now.'"

A shallowness and sentimentality seem to accompany many who lean only on the Spirit for their intellectual nourishment. Of course, the issue is not whether the Holy Spirit can or cannot provide every need; it is whether he will or does. Is the baptism meant to merely substitute for, or to complement, intellectual training? Are the gift of intellect and the gift of the Holy Spirit at odds, or do they come from the same source? These are vital questions concerning this doctrine.

(b) The second doctrine of Pentecostals that may promote anti-intellectualism is that of "the verbal gifts": word of wisdom, tongues and interpretation, word of knowledge, and prophecy. The very idea that foreign languages, the future, deep insights, and information, all otherwise unknown, can be mainlined into the soul and then gush forth through the lips of a believer can become a potent catalyst for anti-intellectualism.

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March (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50