THE NEW FACES OF CHRISTIANITY by Philip Jenkins ( 9780195300659 )

Item Details

Title:

THE NEW FACES OF CHRISTIANITY
BELIEVING THE BIBLE IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH

By:

Philip Jenkins

Format:

Hardback

List price:

£57.00

Our price:

£41.61

Discount:

27% off

You save:

£15.39

ISBN 10:

0195300653

ISBN 13:

9780195300659

Availability:

Usually dispatched within 1-3 weeks.

Delivery rates

Stock:

Currently 0 available

Publisher:

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS INC

Pub. date:

1 September, 2006

Pages:

272

Description:

Christians in the booming churches of Africa, Asia, and Latin America live in settings very close to the social, cultural, and intellectual milieu in which the New Testament itself was written. For this reason, Jenkins argues, they read the Scriptures with a freshness and authenticity impossible in the prosperous societies of North America and Europe. These new Christians are often fundamentalist or literalist in their approach to the text, and to ideas of Biblicalinspiration. But at the same time, they draw conclusions from scripture that are innovative, creative, and socially liberating. Churches seek both deliverance and liberation - deliverance from evil supernatural forces, and liberation from oppressive worldly structures. Such examples challenge ourconventional division of religion into conservative and liberal forms, and make nonsense of our concepts of "fundamentalism."

Synopsis:

Christianity is growing so rapidly in the global South that soon Africa may be home to the world's largest Christian population. But what sort of Christianity will that be? In Africa, Asia, and Latin America, Christians live in settings very close to the social, cultural, and intellectual milieu in which the New Testament itself was written. For this reason, Philip Jenkins argues, they read the Scriptures with a freshness and authenticity impossible in the prosperous societies of North America and Europe. At first sight, the rising Christianity of the global South appears fundamentalist and deeply conservative. But at the same time these new Christians draw conclusions from scripture that are innovative, creative, and socially liberating, in their impact on social structures and gender relations. In fact, this Biblical enthusiasm is embraced by exactly those groups often portrayed as the victims of reactionary religion, particularly women, and a Biblically-rooted Christian feminism enjoys growing influence. Their fundamentalism does not deny or defy modernity, instead the Bible supplies a tool to cope with modernity, and to assist the most marginalized members of society.This, says Jenkins, is precisely the reason for Christianity's explosive growth. Many Southern churches take very seriously the supernatural world-view that pervades the Christian scriptures, with the recurrent themes of demons, possession, exorcism and spiritual healing. Yet readings that appear intellectually reactionary encourage believers to engage in far-reaching social activism. Across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, churches seek both deliverance and liberation - deliverance from evil supernatural forces, and liberation from oppressive worldly structures. Such examples challenge our conventional division of religion into conservative and liberal forms, and make nonsense of our concepts of "fundamentalism."

Publication:

Imprint:

Oxford University Press Inc

Prizes:

Winner of *Choice* Outstanding Academic Book 2007.

Returns:

Returnable

Some other items by this author:

A HISTORY OF MODERN WALES 1536-1990