Pentecostalism: Conversion and Charismata

The development of the Pentecostal movement is surveyed in both Western and European settings. Forms of transcendent communication and their im- pact on conversion are considered. The most unique form of religious charis- mata, speaking in tongues, is discussed in detail. Questions about the phonetic properties in glossolalia are considered. Issues of social-role taking, prophetic meaning, and healing are likewise discussed.     

Pentecostalism in Perspective

A review of Walter J. Hollenweger, Enthusiastisches Christentum. Die pfingstbewegung in geschichte und gegenwart. Zürich: Zwingli Verlag, and Wuppertal: Theologischer Verlag Rolf Brockhaus, pp. xxiii + 575 + Appendices, Notes, Bibliography, Illustrations. Price not quoted     

Pentecostalism in Mission and Evangelism Today

This article includes Pentecostal mission strategies and missionary approaches. The author has consciously brought out Asian or non‐Western experiences and perspectives. It touches on some new opportunities and challenges for global Pentecostalism or charismatic Christianity in fulfilling the missionary mandate of the church. Finally, the article evaluates how Pentecostal missions add dimensions to global Christianity.     

Pentecostalism in Brazil: A Brief History

Pentecostalism is a popular, fast-growing and politically active force in Brazilian society. It constitutes the greater part of what is now one of the largest practising Protestant communities in the world. However, there have been virtually no academic histories of the phenomenon. The current article, drawing heavily on the author's doctoral thesis, examines the six most important Pentecostal churches as dynamically evolving institutions. They are studied in terms of three waves of institutional creation, emphasizing the flexibility of Pentecostalism's relationship to Brazilian culture and the historical constraints on the development of each group.     

Pentecostalism,Conversions, and Politics in Brazil

The stereotype of all Latin American Pentecostals as political conservatives or apolitical has long been abandoned by scholars. But how Pentecostalism figures in the lives of Pentecostals so that some are indeed akin to stereotype and others are active, critical citizens involved in radical politics, remains a matter for debate. This paper argues that variation in type of citizenship among Brazilian Pentecostals may be understood not only in terms of variations in religious culture but also in terms of different types of conversion. It is proposed that reference to types of conversion, as distinguished by some theologians, helps explain why Pentecostals who share elements of a common religious culture nevertheless differ in type of citizenship; and why some Pentecostals and Catholics of the ‘base communities’, though different in their religious cultures, nonetheless share a common quality of critical citizenship.     

Toward Common Ground: Catholicism and Pentecostalism in African Christianity

After reviewing the great appeal of Pentecostal/charismatic spirituality as a religious phenomenon that has come to stay on the tapestry of the pastoral ecology of African Christianity, this article suggests a more dynamic and practical interface and collaboration with these movements by the Catholic Church in Africa, using the Vatican Council's embrace of ecumenism and dialogue.     

Consuming Religion: Faith in the Future and the Future of Faith

Books reviewed in this article:
John Drane, The McDonaldization of the Church: Spirituality, Creativity, and the Future of the Church
George Ritzer, Enchanting A Disenchanted World: Revolutionizing the Means of Consumption     

图像中的信仰与信仰中的图像——藏传佛教六道轮回图释义

宗教图像把经验与超验、真实与虚幻、欲望与禁忌等二元对立要素组织在同一观照过程中,并通过价值联想的方式构建一个经验事实。这种价值联想是对观视者自身在社会化过程中所习得经验的组织、提炼与整合。宗教图像把语言构造的教义理念的核心部分,物质化地凝固在一个有限的、可感知的局部空间中,让信众在知觉图像的过程中感受宗教,以直观生动的方式来引导和教化信众。而作为宗教信仰的象征符号,任何一个宗教图像都可能面对两种潜在的观众:信仰者和非信仰者。从非信仰者的角度审视宗教图像,人们依托的是自己特定的知识经验背景和以往世俗生活意义进行注解,寻找其宗教学线索和宗教艺术品的审美感受,而对于信仰者而言,每一个图像的知觉都试图唤起其内心的感验与参悟,即体验和拥有宗教。本文以藏传佛教六道轮回图为例,通过投射分析,说明宗教图像在两类不同观者内心唤起的不同心理释义过程,从一个侧面也反映出宗教图像教化功能的社会心理机制。     

Intentional Faith: An Alternative View of Faith Development

Faith was defined as the search for an integrating center of value and meaning that is cognitional in nature, developmental in process, and transcendental in its dimensions. An original psychometric measure was constructed and tested in two samples in a midwestern metropolitan area. The life span sample of Catholics (N = 509) ranged in ages 18–84, median age 49. Respondents were 40% male, 60% female. The sample of college students (N = 303) had a mode age of 19, but was ethnically and religiously diverse. The results indicated that the covariance structure of the scale was equivalent for the two samples. The scale clearly measures 4 independent aspects of faith: Self and Moral development, God and Death, Ritual, and Authority. Reliability was established for four developmental Ways of Faith, based on Bernard Lonergan's intentionality analysis: Common Sense Faith, Thoughtful Faith, Responsible Faith, and Transcendent Faith. The data suggested that faith development may be best conceived as a continuous reworking of one's faith, rather than a sequence of acquisition and abandonment of beliefs. A mixed pattern of modest gender, age, and attachment effects was found for the Ways of Faith. A measure of self-church identification was found to be a consistent correlate of faith development.