Candy Gunther Brown
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195393408
- eISBN:
- 9780199894390
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195393408.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
This book explains why Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity is a rapidly growing global phenomenon. Although often caricatured and reduced to speaking in tongues (glossolalia), prosperity, or ...
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This book explains why Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity is a rapidly growing global phenomenon. Although often caricatured and reduced to speaking in tongues (glossolalia), prosperity, or snake handling, this volume reveals that the primary appeal of pentecostalism is divine healing and deliverance from demons. Globalization heightens the threat and fear of disease, fueling growth of religions that are centrally concerned with healing. In Latin American, Asian, and African countries where world Christianity is growing most rapidly, as many as 80 to 90 percent of first-generation Christians attribute their conversions primarily to healing for themselves or family members. Even in the United States, 62 percent of Pentecostals report healing experiences. Contrary to popular stereotypes of flamboyant, fraudulent, anti-medical “faith healing” televangelists who preach a materialistic, “health-and-wealth gospel” or sensational “exorcism” of demons, this book offers a more nuanced portrait. The chapters illumine local variations, hybridities, and tensions in practices, depict human suffering and powerlessness, and explain the attractiveness to many of a global religious movement that promises material relief and empowerment by invoking “miracles” and spiritual resources. Achieving the twin goals of thick description and comparative analysis of global practices is best achieved by bringing area experts into conversation. Sociologists, anthropologists, historians, political scientists, theologians, and religious studies scholars from the United States, Europe, and Africa write about illness and healing on six continents. Read together, these chapters generate and set the agenda for a new program of scholarly inquiry into some of the largest forces of change reshaping today’s world—globalization, pentecostalism, and healing.Less
This book explains why Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity is a rapidly growing global phenomenon. Although often caricatured and reduced to speaking in tongues (glossolalia), prosperity, or snake handling, this volume reveals that the primary appeal of pentecostalism is divine healing and deliverance from demons. Globalization heightens the threat and fear of disease, fueling growth of religions that are centrally concerned with healing. In Latin American, Asian, and African countries where world Christianity is growing most rapidly, as many as 80 to 90 percent of first-generation Christians attribute their conversions primarily to healing for themselves or family members. Even in the United States, 62 percent of Pentecostals report healing experiences. Contrary to popular stereotypes of flamboyant, fraudulent, anti-medical “faith healing” televangelists who preach a materialistic, “health-and-wealth gospel” or sensational “exorcism” of demons, this book offers a more nuanced portrait. The chapters illumine local variations, hybridities, and tensions in practices, depict human suffering and powerlessness, and explain the attractiveness to many of a global religious movement that promises material relief and empowerment by invoking “miracles” and spiritual resources. Achieving the twin goals of thick description and comparative analysis of global practices is best achieved by bringing area experts into conversation. Sociologists, anthropologists, historians, political scientists, theologians, and religious studies scholars from the United States, Europe, and Africa write about illness and healing on six continents. Read together, these chapters generate and set the agenda for a new program of scholarly inquiry into some of the largest forces of change reshaping today’s world—globalization, pentecostalism, and healing.
Shawn Francis Peters
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195306354
- eISBN:
- 9780199867714
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195306354.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter recounts the religion-based medical neglect-related deaths of several children in Oregon, including seven-year-old Tony Hays, who died in 1995 after his parents, members of a ...
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This chapter recounts the religion-based medical neglect-related deaths of several children in Oregon, including seven-year-old Tony Hays, who died in 1995 after his parents, members of a Fundamentalist sect known as the Church of the First Born, elected to treat his leukemia solely with prayer. A close study of events in Oregon – and of the religious beliefs of those involved – is especially fruitful because the state is home to one of the largest concentrations of faith-based neglect deaths in the country. Central to this section is a discussion of how prosecutors, judges, and lawmakers in Oregon struggled to balance statutory protections for the religious liberty of faith-healing parents against the state's obligation to safeguard the rights and welfare of children.Less
This chapter recounts the religion-based medical neglect-related deaths of several children in Oregon, including seven-year-old Tony Hays, who died in 1995 after his parents, members of a Fundamentalist sect known as the Church of the First Born, elected to treat his leukemia solely with prayer. A close study of events in Oregon – and of the religious beliefs of those involved – is especially fruitful because the state is home to one of the largest concentrations of faith-based neglect deaths in the country. Central to this section is a discussion of how prosecutors, judges, and lawmakers in Oregon struggled to balance statutory protections for the religious liberty of faith-healing parents against the state's obligation to safeguard the rights and welfare of children.
Anderson Blanton
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781469623979
- eISBN:
- 9781469623993
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469623979.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
Revisiting classic ethnological theories on the contagious transmission of force, this chapter explores the place of material objects in the performance of divine communication and the practice of ...
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Revisiting classic ethnological theories on the contagious transmission of force, this chapter explores the place of material objects in the performance of divine communication and the practice of faith. Tracking between the devotional specificities of the practice of “standin’-in” within the context of southern Appalachia and the broader mass-mediated performances of healing prayer during the Charismatic Renewal, this section also articulates Oral Roberts’s famous notion of “the point of contact” as a physical conduit for the transmission of healing power.Less
Revisiting classic ethnological theories on the contagious transmission of force, this chapter explores the place of material objects in the performance of divine communication and the practice of faith. Tracking between the devotional specificities of the practice of “standin’-in” within the context of southern Appalachia and the broader mass-mediated performances of healing prayer during the Charismatic Renewal, this section also articulates Oral Roberts’s famous notion of “the point of contact” as a physical conduit for the transmission of healing power.
Shawn Francis Peters
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195306354
- eISBN:
- 9780199867714
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195306354.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Relying on religious traditions that date back thousands of years, many devout Christians turn to prayer rather than medicine when their children fall victim to illness or injury. Faith healers claim ...
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Relying on religious traditions that date back thousands of years, many devout Christians turn to prayer rather than medicine when their children fall victim to illness or injury. Faith healers claim that their practices are effective in restoring health, but, over the past century, hundreds of children have died after being denied, because of their parents’ intense religious beliefs, the basic medical treatments furnished by physicians. The tragic deaths of these youngsters have received intense scrutiny from both the news media and public authorities seeking to protect the health and welfare of children. This book examines the complex web of legal and ethical questions that arise when criminal prosecutions are mounted against parents whose children die as a result of the phenomenon known by experts as religion-based medical neglect. Based on a wide array of primary and secondary source materials, the book explores efforts by the legal system to balance judicial protections for the religious liberty of faith healers against the state's obligation to safeguard the rights of children. Individual cases dating back to the mid-19th century are used to illuminate not only the legal issues at stake but also the profound human drama of religion-based medical neglect of children.Less
Relying on religious traditions that date back thousands of years, many devout Christians turn to prayer rather than medicine when their children fall victim to illness or injury. Faith healers claim that their practices are effective in restoring health, but, over the past century, hundreds of children have died after being denied, because of their parents’ intense religious beliefs, the basic medical treatments furnished by physicians. The tragic deaths of these youngsters have received intense scrutiny from both the news media and public authorities seeking to protect the health and welfare of children. This book examines the complex web of legal and ethical questions that arise when criminal prosecutions are mounted against parents whose children die as a result of the phenomenon known by experts as religion-based medical neglect. Based on a wide array of primary and secondary source materials, the book explores efforts by the legal system to balance judicial protections for the religious liberty of faith healers against the state's obligation to safeguard the rights of children. Individual cases dating back to the mid-19th century are used to illuminate not only the legal issues at stake but also the profound human drama of religion-based medical neglect of children.
Linda L. Barnes and Susan S. Sered (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195167962
- eISBN:
- 9780199850150
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195167962.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Throughout much of the modern era, faith healing received attention only when it came into conflict with biomedical practice. During the 1990s, however, American culture changed dramatically and ...
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Throughout much of the modern era, faith healing received attention only when it came into conflict with biomedical practice. During the 1990s, however, American culture changed dramatically and religious healing became a commonplace feature of the country's society. Increasing numbers of mainstream churches and synagogues began to hold held “healing services” and “healing circles”. The use of complementary and alternative therapies—some connected with spiritual or religious traditions—became widespread, and the growing hospice movement drew attention to the spiritual aspects of medical care. At the same time, changes in immigration laws brought to the United States new cultural communities, each with their own approaches to healing. Cuban santeros, Haitian mambos and oungans, Cambodian Buddhist priests, Chinese herbalist-acupuncturists, and Hmong shamans are only a few of the newer types of American religious healers, often found practicing within blocks of prestigious biomedical institutions. This book offers a collection of chapters examining this new reality. It brings together scholars from a wide variety of disciplinary perspectives to explore the field of religious healing as understood and practiced in diverse cultural communities in the United States.Less
Throughout much of the modern era, faith healing received attention only when it came into conflict with biomedical practice. During the 1990s, however, American culture changed dramatically and religious healing became a commonplace feature of the country's society. Increasing numbers of mainstream churches and synagogues began to hold held “healing services” and “healing circles”. The use of complementary and alternative therapies—some connected with spiritual or religious traditions—became widespread, and the growing hospice movement drew attention to the spiritual aspects of medical care. At the same time, changes in immigration laws brought to the United States new cultural communities, each with their own approaches to healing. Cuban santeros, Haitian mambos and oungans, Cambodian Buddhist priests, Chinese herbalist-acupuncturists, and Hmong shamans are only a few of the newer types of American religious healers, often found practicing within blocks of prestigious biomedical institutions. This book offers a collection of chapters examining this new reality. It brings together scholars from a wide variety of disciplinary perspectives to explore the field of religious healing as understood and practiced in diverse cultural communities in the United States.
Margaret Pabst Battin
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195140279
- eISBN:
- 9780199850280
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195140279.003.0010
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
In some of the more colorful groups on the American religious spectrum, the religious faith of believers involves a willingness to take substantial physical risks — risks to health, physical ...
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In some of the more colorful groups on the American religious spectrum, the religious faith of believers involves a willingness to take substantial physical risks — risks to health, physical functioning, and even the risk of death. This chapter takes a closer look at the influence of religion on high-risk decision making that can result in death. In addressing these issues, it casts a morally inquiring eye on the way in which religious institutions engender these sincere, devout beliefs. This chapter discusses informed consent in faith healing, serpent handling, and refusing medical treatment, along with risk budget and risk style. It also examines three religious groups that participate in practices that impose varying degrees of indirect risk of death by refusal of medical treatment or some component of it: Christian Science, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Faith Assembly. The practices of a fourth group impose, in addition, a direct threat of death — the various serpent-handling, strychnine-drinking pentecostal groups within the Holiness churches.Less
In some of the more colorful groups on the American religious spectrum, the religious faith of believers involves a willingness to take substantial physical risks — risks to health, physical functioning, and even the risk of death. This chapter takes a closer look at the influence of religion on high-risk decision making that can result in death. In addressing these issues, it casts a morally inquiring eye on the way in which religious institutions engender these sincere, devout beliefs. This chapter discusses informed consent in faith healing, serpent handling, and refusing medical treatment, along with risk budget and risk style. It also examines three religious groups that participate in practices that impose varying degrees of indirect risk of death by refusal of medical treatment or some component of it: Christian Science, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Faith Assembly. The practices of a fourth group impose, in addition, a direct threat of death — the various serpent-handling, strychnine-drinking pentecostal groups within the Holiness churches.
Stephanie Y. Mitchem
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195167962
- eISBN:
- 9780199850150
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195167962.003.0018
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
“Jesus is my doctor”, a claim made by many black women, raises a rich mélange of culturally resonant issues. Faith is articulated as an active, powerful, protective, creative partnership with a God ...
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“Jesus is my doctor”, a claim made by many black women, raises a rich mélange of culturally resonant issues. Faith is articulated as an active, powerful, protective, creative partnership with a God who loves completely and without reservation. Lived in the body, community, and world, African American women's faith often extends to hope for the healing of all people as a natural corollary of envisioning a new, more perfect world. Faith in “Doctor” Jesus is neither superstitious nor contradictory when grounded in such social and ideological understandings. This chapter explores black women's beliefs in faith healing. It is based on interviews of black women, mostly in the Detroit area, conducted between 1996 and 2003 about their understandings of faith, health, healing, and spirituality. First, it considers some of the basic issues when gender and health cross in black women's lives. Then, it looks at the crossings of medicine with the lives of African American women. Finally, it examines accounts from members of the grassroots Detroit Metropolitan Black Women's Health Project.Less
“Jesus is my doctor”, a claim made by many black women, raises a rich mélange of culturally resonant issues. Faith is articulated as an active, powerful, protective, creative partnership with a God who loves completely and without reservation. Lived in the body, community, and world, African American women's faith often extends to hope for the healing of all people as a natural corollary of envisioning a new, more perfect world. Faith in “Doctor” Jesus is neither superstitious nor contradictory when grounded in such social and ideological understandings. This chapter explores black women's beliefs in faith healing. It is based on interviews of black women, mostly in the Detroit area, conducted between 1996 and 2003 about their understandings of faith, health, healing, and spirituality. First, it considers some of the basic issues when gender and health cross in black women's lives. Then, it looks at the crossings of medicine with the lives of African American women. Finally, it examines accounts from members of the grassroots Detroit Metropolitan Black Women's Health Project.
Anderson Blanton
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781469623979
- eISBN:
- 9781469623993
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469623979.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
In this work, Anderson Blanton illuminates how prayer, faith, and healing are intertwined with technologies of sound reproduction and material culture in the charismatic Christian worship of southern ...
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In this work, Anderson Blanton illuminates how prayer, faith, and healing are intertwined with technologies of sound reproduction and material culture in the charismatic Christian worship of southern Appalachia. From the radios used to broadcast prayer to the curative faith cloths circulated through the postal system, material objects known as spirit-matter have become essential since the 1940s, Blanton argues, to the Pentecostal community's understanding and performances of faith. Hittin' the Prayer Bones draws on Blanton's extensive site visits with church congregations, radio preachers and their listeners inside and outside the broadcasting studios, and more than thirty years of recorded charismatic worship made available to him by a small Christian radio station. In documenting the transformation and consecration of everyday objects through performances of communal worship, healing prayer, and chanted preaching, Blanton frames his ethnographic research in the historiography of faith healing and prayer, as well as theoretical models of materiality and transcendence. At the same time, his work affectingly conveys the feelings of horror, healing, and humor that are unleashed in practitioners as they experience, in their own words, the sacred, healing presence of the Holy Ghost.Less
In this work, Anderson Blanton illuminates how prayer, faith, and healing are intertwined with technologies of sound reproduction and material culture in the charismatic Christian worship of southern Appalachia. From the radios used to broadcast prayer to the curative faith cloths circulated through the postal system, material objects known as spirit-matter have become essential since the 1940s, Blanton argues, to the Pentecostal community's understanding and performances of faith. Hittin' the Prayer Bones draws on Blanton's extensive site visits with church congregations, radio preachers and their listeners inside and outside the broadcasting studios, and more than thirty years of recorded charismatic worship made available to him by a small Christian radio station. In documenting the transformation and consecration of everyday objects through performances of communal worship, healing prayer, and chanted preaching, Blanton frames his ethnographic research in the historiography of faith healing and prayer, as well as theoretical models of materiality and transcendence. At the same time, his work affectingly conveys the feelings of horror, healing, and humor that are unleashed in practitioners as they experience, in their own words, the sacred, healing presence of the Holy Ghost.
Gastón Espinosa
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195167962
- eISBN:
- 9780199850150
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195167962.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter explores the life and ministry of one of the most famous Pentecostal healing evangelists, Francisco Olazábal (1886–1937). The Latino Pentecostal and Charismatic movement that he helped ...
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This chapter explores the life and ministry of one of the most famous Pentecostal healing evangelists, Francisco Olazábal (1886–1937). The Latino Pentecostal and Charismatic movement that he helped propagate has grown from one Mexican participant at the Azusa Street Revival in 1906 to more than nine million Latino practitioners in 2002. The key to Olazábal's ministry and those of other Latino Pentecostal evangelists engaged in faith healing lie in their emphasis on the holistic relationship between body, mind, and spirit, and their conviction that sickness, disease, and illness are the result of supernatural forces. This conviction is prevalent throughout popular Catholicism, curanderismo or folk healing, spiritualism, spiritism, and some other Latino metaphysical traditions. This chapter also traces the history of Latinos' participation at the Azusa Street Revival and the emergence of American Pentecostalism focused on healing, empowerment, and cultural liberation.Less
This chapter explores the life and ministry of one of the most famous Pentecostal healing evangelists, Francisco Olazábal (1886–1937). The Latino Pentecostal and Charismatic movement that he helped propagate has grown from one Mexican participant at the Azusa Street Revival in 1906 to more than nine million Latino practitioners in 2002. The key to Olazábal's ministry and those of other Latino Pentecostal evangelists engaged in faith healing lie in their emphasis on the holistic relationship between body, mind, and spirit, and their conviction that sickness, disease, and illness are the result of supernatural forces. This conviction is prevalent throughout popular Catholicism, curanderismo or folk healing, spiritualism, spiritism, and some other Latino metaphysical traditions. This chapter also traces the history of Latinos' participation at the Azusa Street Revival and the emergence of American Pentecostalism focused on healing, empowerment, and cultural liberation.
Owen Chadwick
- Published in print:
- 1980
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198269199
- eISBN:
- 9780191600487
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198269196.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
An account is given of the slow reforming changes that occurred in the Catholic Church in Europe in the eighteenth century, before the Enlightenment. The Church of that time still mingled magic with ...
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An account is given of the slow reforming changes that occurred in the Catholic Church in Europe in the eighteenth century, before the Enlightenment. The Church of that time still mingled magic with religion, and this was fostered by materialistic moments in the cult of saints, certain forms of faith‐healing, the use of holy objects such as relics or Biblical texts in the manner of charms, the more superstitious goals of pilgrimage, and the crudities of a mental haze about indulgences. Witches became less persecuted, Jews less uncomfortable, science began to play a part in everyday life, historians began to criticize saints, sanctuaries became less important, public opinion moved against the mendicant and beggar, and educated opinion became more confident in assailing the ‘childish’ (cults, symbolism, etc.) in the Church. The congregation became weightier in the structure of worship, there were sporadic attempts to make people understand by the use of readings in the vernacular or Bible reading by laymen, to revive the communion at its proper place in the liturgy, and some forms of Church music were popularized.Less
An account is given of the slow reforming changes that occurred in the Catholic Church in Europe in the eighteenth century, before the Enlightenment. The Church of that time still mingled magic with religion, and this was fostered by materialistic moments in the cult of saints, certain forms of faith‐healing, the use of holy objects such as relics or Biblical texts in the manner of charms, the more superstitious goals of pilgrimage, and the crudities of a mental haze about indulgences. Witches became less persecuted, Jews less uncomfortable, science began to play a part in everyday life, historians began to criticize saints, sanctuaries became less important, public opinion moved against the mendicant and beggar, and educated opinion became more confident in assailing the ‘childish’ (cults, symbolism, etc.) in the Church. The congregation became weightier in the structure of worship, there were sporadic attempts to make people understand by the use of readings in the vernacular or Bible reading by laymen, to revive the communion at its proper place in the liturgy, and some forms of Church music were popularized.
Paul Gifford
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195177282
- eISBN:
- 9780199835812
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195177282.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter observes and interprets new forms of independent Pentecostal Christianity emerging in Ghana, West Africa. The new churches emphasize faith healing, a prosperity gospel, and deliverance ...
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This chapter observes and interprets new forms of independent Pentecostal Christianity emerging in Ghana, West Africa. The new churches emphasize faith healing, a prosperity gospel, and deliverance from demons. Some of the pastors have become prominent on local media outlets with their own television and radio programs, and in some cases, broadcasting stations. One group established a private university. These groups compete and contend with more traditional churches, but some have begun to shift toward more classically Christian approaches to social ministry and personal spirituality. The current popularity of prosperity gospel teaching suggests that materialism and an instrumental approach to religion may be integral to African traditional values and worldviews.Less
This chapter observes and interprets new forms of independent Pentecostal Christianity emerging in Ghana, West Africa. The new churches emphasize faith healing, a prosperity gospel, and deliverance from demons. Some of the pastors have become prominent on local media outlets with their own television and radio programs, and in some cases, broadcasting stations. One group established a private university. These groups compete and contend with more traditional churches, but some have begun to shift toward more classically Christian approaches to social ministry and personal spirituality. The current popularity of prosperity gospel teaching suggests that materialism and an instrumental approach to religion may be integral to African traditional values and worldviews.
Larry A. Witham
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195315936
- eISBN:
- 9780199851089
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195315936.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter examines the emergence of spirit-filled religious movement in the United States during the 1960s and the 1970s. This movement significantly shaped modern ministry on several fronts for ...
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This chapter examines the emergence of spirit-filled religious movement in the United States during the 1960s and the 1970s. This movement significantly shaped modern ministry on several fronts for the next few decades. The impact of this movement in the West is seen with the Jesus people movement and in the South and in the Midwest with the new currents and developments in classical Pentecostalism and faith healing. This movement has not been welcomed the clergy of mainline churches who considered this change more like counterculture than religion.Less
This chapter examines the emergence of spirit-filled religious movement in the United States during the 1960s and the 1970s. This movement significantly shaped modern ministry on several fronts for the next few decades. The impact of this movement in the West is seen with the Jesus people movement and in the South and in the Midwest with the new currents and developments in classical Pentecostalism and faith healing. This movement has not been welcomed the clergy of mainline churches who considered this change more like counterculture than religion.
Thomas A. Robinson and Lanette D. Ruff
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199790876
- eISBN:
- 9780199919192
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199790876.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter discusses the key activity of the girl evangelists – preaching. Various newspaper reports mention the skill of the girl as a speaker, the length of the sermon (often long), and the ...
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This chapter discusses the key activity of the girl evangelists – preaching. Various newspaper reports mention the skill of the girl as a speaker, the length of the sermon (often long), and the attention of the audience. The sermon topics are drawn from the stock sermons of revivalist preachers: sin and salvation, the Second Coming of Jesus, attacks on religious modernism and secularism, in particular, the theory of evolution. Girls also spoke against modern fashions and morals, though often they were too young to have experienced much of life themselves. Ands almost always, one sermon dealt with their life story and their call. This would have given them unique sermon material and set them apart from other revivalists – young or old. Sometimes the girls address faith healing too. The chapter also discusses the style of the girls’ preaching.Less
This chapter discusses the key activity of the girl evangelists – preaching. Various newspaper reports mention the skill of the girl as a speaker, the length of the sermon (often long), and the attention of the audience. The sermon topics are drawn from the stock sermons of revivalist preachers: sin and salvation, the Second Coming of Jesus, attacks on religious modernism and secularism, in particular, the theory of evolution. Girls also spoke against modern fashions and morals, though often they were too young to have experienced much of life themselves. Ands almost always, one sermon dealt with their life story and their call. This would have given them unique sermon material and set them apart from other revivalists – young or old. Sometimes the girls address faith healing too. The chapter also discusses the style of the girls’ preaching.
Frank Graziano
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195171303
- eISBN:
- 9780199785193
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195171303.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This book presents an interpretive overview of folk saint devotions in the Spanish-speaking Americas. The chapters are dedicated to folk saints from Argentina, Mexico, and Peru: Difunta Correa, ...
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This book presents an interpretive overview of folk saint devotions in the Spanish-speaking Americas. The chapters are dedicated to folk saints from Argentina, Mexico, and Peru: Difunta Correa, Gaucho Gil, Niño Compadrito, Niño Fidencio, San La Muerte, and Sarita Colonia. The introduction and conclusion treat themes such as tragic death, curanderos (healers), miracles, the maintenance and growth of devotions, virginity and sexuality, myth formation, and spiritual contracts. All of these are considered in the broader contexts of orthodox and folk Catholicism and of regional culture.Less
This book presents an interpretive overview of folk saint devotions in the Spanish-speaking Americas. The chapters are dedicated to folk saints from Argentina, Mexico, and Peru: Difunta Correa, Gaucho Gil, Niño Compadrito, Niño Fidencio, San La Muerte, and Sarita Colonia. The introduction and conclusion treat themes such as tragic death, curanderos (healers), miracles, the maintenance and growth of devotions, virginity and sexuality, myth formation, and spiritual contracts. All of these are considered in the broader contexts of orthodox and folk Catholicism and of regional culture.
Richard Werbner
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520268531
- eISBN:
- 9780520949461
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520268531.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Anthropology, Religion
This book examines the charismatic Christian reformation presently underway in Botswana's time of AIDS and the moral crisis that divides the church between the elders and the young, apostolic faith ...
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This book examines the charismatic Christian reformation presently underway in Botswana's time of AIDS and the moral crisis that divides the church between the elders and the young, apostolic faith healers. It focuses on Eloyi, an Apostolic faith-healing church in Botswana's capital. It shows how charismatic “prophets”—holy hustlers—diagnose, hustle, and shock patients during violent and destructive exorcisms. The book also shows how these healers enter into prayer and meditation and take on their patients' pain, and how their ecstatic devotions create an aesthetic in which beauty beckons God. It challenges theoretical assumptions about mimesis and empathy, the power of the word, and personhood.Less
This book examines the charismatic Christian reformation presently underway in Botswana's time of AIDS and the moral crisis that divides the church between the elders and the young, apostolic faith healers. It focuses on Eloyi, an Apostolic faith-healing church in Botswana's capital. It shows how charismatic “prophets”—holy hustlers—diagnose, hustle, and shock patients during violent and destructive exorcisms. The book also shows how these healers enter into prayer and meditation and take on their patients' pain, and how their ecstatic devotions create an aesthetic in which beauty beckons God. It challenges theoretical assumptions about mimesis and empathy, the power of the word, and personhood.
Anderson Blanton
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814771679
- eISBN:
- 9780814769935
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814771679.003.0011
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter examines the unanticipated centrality of tactile experience within what is often asummed to be an exclusively auditory phenomenon: listening to prayer over the radio. Focusing on ...
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This chapter examines the unanticipated centrality of tactile experience within what is often asummed to be an exclusively auditory phenomenon: listening to prayer over the radio. Focusing on Appalachian radio faith healers, the chapter considers how the faithful listener in “radioland” must put his or her hand on the radio apparatus in order to receive the healing power of the Holy Ghost. It describes charismatic practices such as skein prayer and radio tactility as performative negotiations of a specific technologically mediated environment just as much as attempts to influence and instantiate supernatural power. It also shows how the performance of prayer and the technical apparatus of radio become indistinguishable and argues that the phenomenon of radio tactility reflects the role of radio technology as a “prosthesis of prayer” and an “apparatus of faith” that supplements and extends the spiritualized language practices and rhetoric of faith healing.Less
This chapter examines the unanticipated centrality of tactile experience within what is often asummed to be an exclusively auditory phenomenon: listening to prayer over the radio. Focusing on Appalachian radio faith healers, the chapter considers how the faithful listener in “radioland” must put his or her hand on the radio apparatus in order to receive the healing power of the Holy Ghost. It describes charismatic practices such as skein prayer and radio tactility as performative negotiations of a specific technologically mediated environment just as much as attempts to influence and instantiate supernatural power. It also shows how the performance of prayer and the technical apparatus of radio become indistinguishable and argues that the phenomenon of radio tactility reflects the role of radio technology as a “prosthesis of prayer” and an “apparatus of faith” that supplements and extends the spiritualized language practices and rhetoric of faith healing.
Chad M. Bauman
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780190202095
- eISBN:
- 9780190202125
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190202095.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
One of the claims commonly made against Indian Christianity is that the physical healing provided in its medical hospitals has served as an illegitimate inducement to Christian faith, either because ...
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One of the claims commonly made against Indian Christianity is that the physical healing provided in its medical hospitals has served as an illegitimate inducement to Christian faith, either because non-Christians who receive healing feel obligated toward the Christians who provided it, or because non-Christians are impressed and attracted by the great displays of western wealth and technological power on display in Indian Christian hospitals. This claim is in many ways undermined by the growing prevalence of Christian faith healing, and what the chapter calls “recuperative conversions,” that is, conversions to Christianity brought about by spiritual or physical healing wrought by the prayerful interventions of Christian thaumaturges, many of them Pentecostal. Whatever else they may be, these healings are not dependent on displays of western wealth and power, and so they alter the contours of the debate about inducement in significant ways.Less
One of the claims commonly made against Indian Christianity is that the physical healing provided in its medical hospitals has served as an illegitimate inducement to Christian faith, either because non-Christians who receive healing feel obligated toward the Christians who provided it, or because non-Christians are impressed and attracted by the great displays of western wealth and technological power on display in Indian Christian hospitals. This claim is in many ways undermined by the growing prevalence of Christian faith healing, and what the chapter calls “recuperative conversions,” that is, conversions to Christianity brought about by spiritual or physical healing wrought by the prayerful interventions of Christian thaumaturges, many of them Pentecostal. Whatever else they may be, these healings are not dependent on displays of western wealth and power, and so they alter the contours of the debate about inducement in significant ways.
Candy Gunther Brown
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- November 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198702252
- eISBN:
- 9780191838934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198702252.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This chapter canvasses the various meanings of modernity and secularization, and develops a partial typology of Protestant reactions to these key themes of the twentieth century. Through the author’s ...
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This chapter canvasses the various meanings of modernity and secularization, and develops a partial typology of Protestant reactions to these key themes of the twentieth century. Through the author’s expertise in global charismatic and divine healing movements, and shifting interpretations of sacred texts and religious practice, the chapter notes six categories of Protestant responses, which are to: (1) reinterpret the Bible in light of modern scholarship; (2) reaffirm the Bible’s authoritative status; (3) recontextualize the Bible in light of modern society and culture; (4) reinterpret medical materialism through the prism of biblical supernaturalism; (5) reassess the Bible’s compatibility with a plurality of spiritual healing resources; and (6) reappropriate modern technologies for traditional biblical ends. The chapter notes the challenges to the standard secularization theory, and to the self-definition of Protestant dissenting movements, as they move around the world. It illustrates these points with particular reference to the rise of African indigenous charismatic dissenting practice, starting with key figures such as William Wadé Harris.Less
This chapter canvasses the various meanings of modernity and secularization, and develops a partial typology of Protestant reactions to these key themes of the twentieth century. Through the author’s expertise in global charismatic and divine healing movements, and shifting interpretations of sacred texts and religious practice, the chapter notes six categories of Protestant responses, which are to: (1) reinterpret the Bible in light of modern scholarship; (2) reaffirm the Bible’s authoritative status; (3) recontextualize the Bible in light of modern society and culture; (4) reinterpret medical materialism through the prism of biblical supernaturalism; (5) reassess the Bible’s compatibility with a plurality of spiritual healing resources; and (6) reappropriate modern technologies for traditional biblical ends. The chapter notes the challenges to the standard secularization theory, and to the self-definition of Protestant dissenting movements, as they move around the world. It illustrates these points with particular reference to the rise of African indigenous charismatic dissenting practice, starting with key figures such as William Wadé Harris.
Brett Hendrickson
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781479834785
- eISBN:
- 9781479843015
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479834785.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter traces the history of American metaphysical religion, including the development and practice of astrology, witchcraft, the occult, alternative therapies, mind cure, New Thought, ...
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This chapter traces the history of American metaphysical religion, including the development and practice of astrology, witchcraft, the occult, alternative therapies, mind cure, New Thought, Christian Science, faith healing, and the New Age. It first considers early experiences of metaphysical religious healing among Anglo Americans before turning to some of the most prominent characters and important movements known to have practiced metaphysical and religious healing arts in the American West and Southwest. Using Catherine Albanese's term “metaphysical religions” as well as her definition of the same, it then examines the narrative assumptions of many white settlers concerning health in relation to Mexican Americans' notions of healing and sickness.Less
This chapter traces the history of American metaphysical religion, including the development and practice of astrology, witchcraft, the occult, alternative therapies, mind cure, New Thought, Christian Science, faith healing, and the New Age. It first considers early experiences of metaphysical religious healing among Anglo Americans before turning to some of the most prominent characters and important movements known to have practiced metaphysical and religious healing arts in the American West and Southwest. Using Catherine Albanese's term “metaphysical religions” as well as her definition of the same, it then examines the narrative assumptions of many white settlers concerning health in relation to Mexican Americans' notions of healing and sickness.
Emily Baum
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780226580616
- eISBN:
- 9780226580753
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226580753.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This chapter discusses how madness was understood and treated in late imperial China. Arguing that madness was considered a simultaneously biological, social, supernatural, and moral issue, it shows ...
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This chapter discusses how madness was understood and treated in late imperial China. Arguing that madness was considered a simultaneously biological, social, supernatural, and moral issue, it shows how the insane were cared for by a range of healers, including literati physicians, herbalists, shamans, and faith healers. The chapter begins with a discussion of Qing dynasty legal codes, which mandated that the insane be confined within the home. The remainder of the chapter explores different modes of understanding, explaining, and treating the mad condition during the late imperial period. Practitioners of Chinese medicine traced madness to biological, environmental, gendered, and emotional causes. Supernatural healers posited a relationship between madness, demonic possession, and the displeasure of deceased ancestors or gods. Finally, many families attributed the onset of madness to social causes, such as financial insecurity, heartbreak, or the pressure of preparing for the civil service examinations.Less
This chapter discusses how madness was understood and treated in late imperial China. Arguing that madness was considered a simultaneously biological, social, supernatural, and moral issue, it shows how the insane were cared for by a range of healers, including literati physicians, herbalists, shamans, and faith healers. The chapter begins with a discussion of Qing dynasty legal codes, which mandated that the insane be confined within the home. The remainder of the chapter explores different modes of understanding, explaining, and treating the mad condition during the late imperial period. Practitioners of Chinese medicine traced madness to biological, environmental, gendered, and emotional causes. Supernatural healers posited a relationship between madness, demonic possession, and the displeasure of deceased ancestors or gods. Finally, many families attributed the onset of madness to social causes, such as financial insecurity, heartbreak, or the pressure of preparing for the civil service examinations.