Global Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies: Embattled but Empowered Community: Comparing Understandings of Spiritual Power in Argentine Popular and Pentecostal Cosmologies

The global phenomenon of Pentecostal growth continues to interest scholars, particularly its local manifestations. Although previous explanations may have noted the connections between the cultural substrata and local Pentecostal practices, this book concentrates on seeking out the connections. Using both extensive field research and reflection on Latin American scholarship, the author proposes that a major link exists at the level of worldview assumptions, particularly in understandings of spiritual power. The book concludes with a reflection on the implications a conversion based on the search for spiritual power has for the future of the evangelical church in Latin America. Contents 8 Acknowledgements 12 Abbreviations 14 List of Tables and Graphs 16 Glossary of Spanish terms used 18 Chapter One. Introduction 20 1. Statement 22 2. Terminology 23 3. Methodological approaches 28 4. Structure 30 5. Sources 31 Chapter Two. Pentecostalism: Towards an Argentine View 34 1. Introduction 34 2. Pentecostalism as a response to modernity /deprivation 36 3. Pentecostalismas an imported sect 44 4. Pentecostalismas amarket commodity 48 5. Pentecostalismas a search for identity 50 6. Pentecostalismas popular religion 54 7. Pentecostalism connecting with the substrata of popular religion 65 8. Argentine evangelical scholarship 68 9. Summary and evaluation 77 10. Conclusion 80 Chapter Three. Investigating the Fields of the Lord: The Argentine Religious Field and Historical Context 82 1. The changing religious field in Argentina 82 2. Roman Catholicism 86 3. Popular religion 92 4. Protestantism 96 5. Pentecostalism 110 6. Protestant consciousness and worldview in Latin America 123 7. Summary and conclusion 124 Chapter Four.The Embattled Community: Cosmology and Related Practices 126 1. Introduction 126 2. Field researchmethods 127 3. The cosmology of popular religion 131 4. Profile of the Milberg Pentecostal Church 137 5. Cosmology of the Milberg Pentecostal Church 148 6. Incorporation 184 7. Conclusion 186 Chapter Five. The Empowered Community: Comparing Popular and Pentecostal Understandings Of Spiritual Power 188 1. Accessing spiritual power in popular religion 188 2. Reflections on popular religiosity 207 3. Accessing spiritual power in the pentecostal church 208 4. Continuity and discontinuity in popular and pentecostal worldviews 223 5. Conclusion 231 Chapter Six. Missiological Implications for a Gospel of Power 232 1. Introduction 232 2. Amodel of evangelical conversion 233 3. Implications for evangelism 234 4. Implications for personal conversion 239 5. Interpreting 'conversion to the world' 244 6. An adequate conversion? 246 7. Implications for Argentine church growth 247 8. Conclusion 251 Chapter Seven. Argentine Pentecostalism and Global Christianity 252 Chapter Eight. Postscript 258 Appendices 264 Appendix One 266 Appendix Two 290 AppendixThree 294 Appendix Four 298 English Bibliography 306 Spanish Bibliography 320 Index 334 Pentecostalism : towards an Argentine view Investigating the fields of the Lord : the Argentine religious : field and historical context The embattled community : cosmology and related practices The empowered community : comparing popular and pentecostal understandings of spiritual power Missiological implications for a gospel of power Argentine pentecostlaism and global Christianity Poscript Appendices English bibliography Spanish bibliography.

Based on extensive empirical research, and utilizing predominately Latin American scholarly literature, this book examines connections between Argentine popular and pentecostal worldviews. It proposes that there is a major connection between the two rooted in cosmological assumptions of spiritual power.