The World's Christians. Douglas Jacobsen. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

Автор: Douglas Jacobsen
Издательство: John Wiley & Sons Limited
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Жанр произведения: Религия: прочее
Год издания: 0
isbn: 9781119626121
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Africa that was both anticolonial and decidedly charismatic in orientation. Willis Hoover began preaching a Spirit‐centered message within the Methodist Church of Chile during these same years, and comparable events took place in Europe and East Asia. Unlike the other three Christian mega‐traditions, Pentecostalism has been multicentered and global from the very beginning.

      The Azusa Street Revival that began in Los Angeles in 1906 gathered up all the various global expressions of spiritual fervor and turned them into a self‐conscious Pentecostal movement. The meetings at the Azusa Street Mission were directed by an African American preacher named William J. Seymour (introduced in Voices of World Christianity 4.1). He was an unassuming leader who, rather than preach, would sometimes just sit in the front of the meeting and pray in silence, and miracles would occur. News of the revival quickly spread around the world. People came from everywhere to see what was going on, and the result was the creation of a network of Spirit‐filled Christians who saw themselves as part of a new people of God being called into existence.

Schematic illustration of the International Church of the Grace of God, located on a pedestrian shopping street in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina.

      Photo by author.

      1 Alexander, Paul (2009). Signs and Wonders: Why Pentecostalism is the World’s Fastest Growing Faith. San Francisco: Jossey‐Bass.

      2 Anderson, Alan (2004). An Introduction to Pentecostalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

      3 Burgess, Stanley M., and Eduard M. Van Der Mass (eds.) (2002). International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, revised and expanded. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

      4  Christerson, Brad, and Richard Flory (2017). The Rise of Network Christianity: How Independent Leaders Are Changing the Religious Landscape. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

      5 Cox, Harvey (1995). Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty‐First Century. New York: Addison‐Wesley.

      6 Hollenweger, Walter J. (1997). Pentecostalism: Origins and Developments Worldwide. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.

      7 Jacobsen, Douglas (2003). Thinking in the Spirit: Theologies of the Early Pentecostal Movement. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

      8 Kay, William K. (2009). Pentecostalism. London: SCM.

      9 Robeck, Cecil M., and Amos Yong (eds.) (2014). The Cambridge Companion to Pentecostalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

      10 Wacker, Grant (2003). Heaven Below: Early Pentecostals and American Culture. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

      NOTES

      1 1 William H. Durham, “Personal Testimony of Pastor Durham,” Pentecostal Testimony, 1(3), 7 (undated but likely 1909).

      2 2 D. Wesley Myland, The Latter Rain Covenant and Pentecostal Power with Testimony of Healings and Baptism (Chicago: Evangel Publishing House, 1910), pp. 25–6.

      Introduction

      Christianity began as a small religious movement in the Middle East, and it now encircles the world. No other religion has ever attracted so many followers in so many different places. The next four chapters tell the story of how this happened. These same chapters also explain how Christianity’s beliefs and practices have changed and developed over the centuries. Before launching into that long and fascinating Christian history, however, it is important to look at Christianity’s pre‐history. Christianity did not spring into existence fully formed. It began as a small religious movement within Judaism, and deciding if and how Christianity might remain connected with Judaism was one of the thorniest issues the new movement would faced.

      Christianity’s Pre‐History and Relationship with Judaism

      Many of the core beliefs and practices of Christianity derive from Judaism. Judaism itself has a complex history, and its origins cannot be described in detail because the historical record is so thin. The Bible tells a vivid story of exodus from Egypt and conquest of Palestine, but the archaeological record reflects a slower and less dramatic process that eventually gave birth to Israel and to Jewish religious consciousness. It is clear that by about 1000 BCE an Israelite kingdom had been established in Palestine with religious life focused on rituals performed at the Temple in Jerusalem.

      This early form of Judaism confronted a tremendous challenge when Palestine was conquered by the powerful Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar II in the year 587 BCE. The Jewish Temple was destroyed, and many Israelites were deported to Persia. Without a temple, Jews began developing other practices to preserve their faith. The single most important innovation was the synagogue, a place where Jews could gather to worship God, teach their children, and discuss religious and moral matters. In many different synagogues scattered throughout the Middle East, Jews hashed out their faith and debated their differences. When disputes arose and conflicts of interpretation had to be settled, Jews turned to another new institution, local religious courts known as sanhedrins, for decisions. These institutions continued to shape Jewish faith and life after Jews returned to Palestine (starting around 540 BCE) and even after a second Temple was built and Temple worship resumed around 520 BCE.