John Coulter: Asbury event is a revival or else it is cheap entertainment

​The latest ‘move’ of the Christian Holy Spirit reportedly took place at Asbury University campus in Kentucky and was essentially a non-stop, two-week prayer and praise session, which has now become known as the Asbury Revival, and in some cases, the Asbury Outpouring.

During that fortnight of praise and prayer, the Asbury meeting was attended by tens of thousands of folk, mainly students.

To many of its supporters, in terms of the impact which the Asbury Revival could eventually have in Ireland, it has been compared to the famous 1859 Spiritual Revival in north east Ulster which saw tens of thousands of people become born again believers and laid the foundations for that part of Ireland becoming the so-called Bible Belt of the island.

However, if what happened at that Kentucky campus earlier this year is to have a lasting meaning and a genuine Holy Spirit experience for Ireland as a whole, the Asbury Revival will have to prove it has no links to previous ‘spiritual revivals’ which originated in North America.

I’m not questioning my born again Christian faith, merely being cautious after witnessing such phenomena in the past.

Let’s start with the concept which became known as Extreme Blessittism. This trend emerged in the early 1970s following a visit to Northern Ireland by the world-renown evangelist, Arthur Blessitt, famous for his global cross walk, where he carried a cross on his shoulder across many countries of the world.

Whilst Blessitt himself was a level-headed evangelist, following his visit militant pentecostalists theologically hijacked his Christian uttering to form the totally unrelated theology of Extreme Blessittism. It had nothing whatsoever to do with Blessitt himself or his Christian teachings.

Such folk believed in the supreme power of the Holy Spirit in all aspects of their lives. For example, they believed if they got on a bus or train, all they had to do was put their hand into their pocket and the Holy Spirit would automatically provide the money for the fare.

However, it was noted the amount of mental health issues which followers of the cult of Extreme Blessittism had to face. One of my chums became a follower of this Extreme Blessittism.

Within weeks, he was in a mental institution and later took his own life. His death sent shockwaves through the north east Ulster Bible Belt and effectively marked the end of the Extreme Blessittism cult as mainstream evangelical churches moved swiftly to stamp out this cult. Almost two decades would elapse before the next man-named Holy Spirit phenomenon would reach Ireland, this time known as the Toronto Blessing – named after it supposed point of origin, Toronto in Canada.

Again, the movement found itself being hijacked theologically and practically by many – mainly – militant pentecostalists. This extreme form of divine healing and praise radically divided Irish Christians. To its supporters, it was viewed as a genuine move of the Holy Spirit; to its opponents, it was dismissed as Biblical heresy.

Such were the divisions which the debate surrounding the genuine nature of the Toronto Blessing sparked, that it even split churches, and in one case, a physical fight erupted between supporters and opponents. The debate even affected the mainstream Irish Presbyterian Church at one time.

It was not until the new millennium that another global Holy Spirit movement hit the headlines – the Florida Outpouring – which like its predecessor, the Toronto Blessing, as the name clearly states, emanated in North America, this time in the United States.

Like the Blessing, the Outpouring was a very extreme form of divine healing; attracted many from the pentecostal theological perspective and because of televised meetings in Florida and the Internet, very rapidly made its way to Ireland.

Like the Blessing, the Outpouring divided theological opinion in Ireland. Its supporters produced medical evidence which they claimed was proof of the healings which had taken place. Churches which embraced the Outpouring would stage lively happy-clappy healing services for nights on end, lasting several weeks.

Sceptics, like myself, who had experienced the damaging drama of both Extreme Blessittism and the Toronto Blessing, visited a few Outpouring events, viewing the phenomenon as either an elaborate hoax to make money, or downright theological heresy. Outpouring sympathisers and supporters would radically dispute my view.

While the Blessing had gained a widespread appeal in a number of Christian denominations, the Outpouring was mainly confined to those from a pentecostal theological position.

At one Outpouring event, I witnessed a ‘healer’ who specialised in helping those with mental health issues dander about the church stage clucking and walking like a chicken.

And so we come to 2023 and the Asbury Revival. Is it hype and heresy, or a genuine movement of the Holy Spirit? Divine healing is a reality. But if the Asbury Revival is to be viewed in the same context spiritually as the 1859 Revival, it must ensure that it is not hijacked practically by elements within militant pentecostalism.

If the mainstream Christian denominations, and especially mainstream responsible pentecostalism, can retain control of how the Asbury Revival is organised in Ireland, then we will witness a massive move of the Holy Spirit not seen on this island since 1859. Only time will tell who controls what.

• Dr John Coulter has been a journalist since 1978, including with this newspaper.