Spirit without measure, Pentecostal church with limits: A feminist and reader-response reading of Pentecost narratives in Luke–Acts

Abstract

Despite Pentecostalism’s egalitarian claim rooted in Acts 2:17–18, that the Holy Spirit is poured out on ‘all flesh’, its traditions uphold patriarchal structures that subordinate women and perpetuate male domination. This article seeks to interrogate this disjunction by re-examining the Lukan Pentecost narratives. Here, Pentecost is not treated as a single, isolated event; rather, this article conceptualises these narratives as an interconnected network of Holy Spirit moments across the entirety of Luke–Acts. Utilising a dual methodological approach that synthesises feminist biblical interpretation with reader-response frameworks, the paper re-evaluates the text to position Pentecost events as subversive. Viewed through these critical lenses, they offer insights that resist patriarchal containment and challenge hierarchies even within Luke–Acts itself. By uncovering these liberatory impulses in the portrayal of the Spirit, an analytical critique of current Pentecostal structures is established.
Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: In conclusion, this analysis compels Pentecostal communities to actively engage in dismantling entrenched gender inequalities and embrace an inclusive and Spirit-centred framework.