- ISBN13: 9780195368512
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Named one of the top religion books of 2002 by USA Today, Philip Jenkins’ phenomenally successful The Next Christendom permanently changed the way people think about Christianity in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Now, in this brilliant sequel, Jenkins takes a much closer look at Christianity in the global South, revealing what it is like, and what it means for the future. The faith of the South, Jenkins finds, is first and foremost a Biblical faith. Indeed, many … More >>
The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South
Tags: africa asia, Believing, bible, biblical faith, brilliant sequel, Christianity, christianity in africa, faces, Global, global south, new faces, philip jenkins, religion books, remainder mark, South, usa today
#1 by S. Lewis on April 21, 2010 - 1:09 am
Philip Jenkins’ previous book “The Next Christendom” has been widely celebrated and cited in academic research since it came out. This follow-up book expands on the theological, cultural, political, economic, and social implications as Christianity continues to spread throughout the global south. It raises important questions about the West’s continuing colonial mentality when it comes to missionary activity and theological training (both in the West and in the global south). As a resource that draws out some of the meanings of the previous book’s statistical work, this may not be as widely influential, but it is a high quality analysis that is level-headed, fair, and insightful.
Rating: 4 / 5
#2 by Gaetan Lion on April 21, 2010 - 3:16 am
This is a poor sequel to “The Next Christendom” (TNC). As a sequel it lacks the innovative seminal foundation of TNC. While TNC gave you unique insights on how the shifting of Christianity’s cultural center from the West to Africa and Asia will affect the geopolitical landscape over the next century; this more recent book did not offer much more.
This book is repetitive and boring as the author goes into arcane details to stretch this book out to 200 painful pages. The main themes, in part covered in TNC, include that Africans do relate to the Old Testament because their lifestyle is similar to the ones of Judaic tribes 2,000 years ago. They both live in an impoverished, violence and sickness ridden primitive agricultural society. Africans do take the Old Testament literally. For them, the Old Testament is more credible than the New Testament and far more credible than contemporary Western interpretation of the later. Their religion accepts miracles, visions, prophecies, animal sacrifice, exorcism, and polygamy. Their religion rejects gay rights, many women’s rights, abortion, and the separation of Church and State. Thus, African Christianity clashes with Western Christianity on most counts. The author mentions a few related interesting geopolitical and demographic trends. But, he already said most of it better in TNC. The latter was a seminal masterpiece that changed our understanding of Christianity’s prospect over the next century. The author should have stopped at the top and skip this book.
Rating: 2 / 5
#3 by D. Kina on April 21, 2010 - 3:56 am
Content of book a must read. It gives an overview of God working among many people around the world. For content I would give it 5 star. I give it an overall 3 star because of the writing style. I feel more editing would have been helpful for the finished product.
Rating: 3 / 5
#4 by JMP on April 21, 2010 - 4:47 am
This is a wonderful read. Jenkins explores the way the Bible is read in the Global South (Africa, Asia–not Alabama). He does this in a way that is non-judgemental in both directions. He is trying to describe the world and viewpoints of these Christians. As an American Christian, I was challenged and encouraged by this book.
Rating: 5 / 5
#5 by C. C. Black on April 21, 2010 - 4:57 am
Here Jenkins continues to offer us eye-opening reports from the field of contemporary Christianity and its ever-changing face. Though heavier in anecdote than analysis, this is a superb addition to this recognized scholar’s growing corpus.
Rating: 4 / 5