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July 31, 1997

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The Charismatic movement first started out with a few individuals who were dissatisfied with the way the Church was functioning. While one cannot pinpoint the exact year this movement was born, the movement itself created a lot of conflict within the Church. The Charismatics, as they were then known, were unhappy with the politics within the Church; several of them felt the Church laid too much emphasis on traditions and rituals at the cost of the Bible itself.

These individuals broke away from the Church and went on to form groups of their own. Their emphasis was totally on the Bible and living 'in the spirit'. They did not adopt the same hierarchical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, but believed in the idea of fellowship.

Today, these Christians are known as 'born again' Christians, for the simple reason that they have been baptised in the spirit the way Jesus was. They do not follow the ritual of the mass and live strictly by the word of God. They also believe their purpose in life is to spread the word of God.

They have broken away from the traditional way of worshipping God through repeated prayers and rituals, but praise and worship in song, clapping of hands and reading the Bible. They also partake in the 'breaking of bread' and share spiritual experiences as testimony. They do not worship Mary and the saints. They also do not believe in worshipping statues.

The movement saw a lot of dissatisfied people leave the Church. However, as more and more Catholics renounced the Church for these Christian followings, the Church tried to hold back the tide by introducing its own Charismatic movement. This movement incorporates a more lively way of worship and places emphasis on the Bible and the 'holy spirit' without actually breaking away from the Roman Catholic traditions such as mass, standard prayers, worshipping Mary, etc.

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