PDF Return to Diversity: A Political History of East Central Europe Since World War II by Joseph Rothschild; Nancy M. Wingfield in History

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 Christians identify powerfully with the world portrayed in the New Testament--an agricultural world very much like their own; marked by famine and plague; poverty and exile. In the global South; as in the biblical world; belief in spirits and witchcraft are commonplace; and in many places--such as Nigeria; Indonesia; and Sudan--Christians are persecuted just as early Christians were. Thus the Bible speaks to them with a vividness and authenticity unavailable to most believers in the industrialized North. More important; Jenkins shows that throughout the global South; believers are reading the Bible with fresh eyes; and coming away with new and sometimes startling interpretations. Some of their conclusions are distinctly fundamentalist; but Jenkins finds an intriguing paradox; for they are also finding ideas in the Bible that are socially liberating; especially with respect to women's rights. Across Africa; Asia; and Latin America; such Christians are social activists in the forefront of a wide range of liberation movements. Anyone interested in the implications of these trends for the major denominations; for Muslim-Christian conflict; and for global politics will find The New Faces of Christianity provocative and incisive--and indispensable.