The Embattled but Empowered Community: Comparing Understandings of Spiritual Power in Argentine Popular and Pentecostal Cosmologies (Global ... Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies, 5)

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 Acknowledgements Abbreviations List of Tables and Graphs Glossary of Spanish terms used Chapter One. Introduction 1. Statement 2. Terminology 3. Methodological approaches 4. Structure 5. Sources Chapter Two. Pentecostalism: Towards an Argentine View 1. Introduction 2. Pentecostalism as a response to modernity /deprivation 3. Pentecostalismas an imported sect 4. Pentecostalismas amarket commodity 5. Pentecostalismas a search for identity 6. Pentecostalismas popular religion 7. Pentecostalism connecting with the substrata of popular religion 8. Argentine evangelical scholarship 9. Summary and evaluation 10. Conclusion Chapter Three. Investigating the Fields of the Lord: The Argentine Religious Field and Historical Context 1. The changing religious field in Argentina 2. Roman Catholicism 3. Popular religion 4. Protestantism 5. Pentecostalism 6. Protestant consciousness and worldview in Latin America 7. Summary and conclusion Chapter Four.The Embattled Community: Cosmology and Related Practices 1. Introduction 2. Field researchmethods 3. The cosmology of popular religion 4. Profile of the Milberg Pentecostal Church 5. Cosmology of the Milberg Pentecostal Church 6. Incorporation 7. Conclusion Chapter Five. The Empowered Community: Comparing Popular and Pentecostal Understandings Of Spiritual Power 1. Accessing spiritual power in popular religion 2. Reflections on popular religiosity 3. Accessing spiritual power in the pentecostal church 4. Continuity and discontinuity in popular and pentecostal worldviews 5. Conclusion Chapter Six. Missiological Implications for a Gospel of Power 1. Introduction 2. Amodel of evangelical conversion 3. Implications for evangelism 4. Implications for personal conversion 5. Interpreting 'conversion to the world' 6. An adequate conversion? 7. Implications for Argentine church growth 8. Conclusion Chapter Seven. Argentine Pentecostalism and Global Christianity Chapter Eight. Postscript Appendices Appendix One Appendix Two AppendixThree Appendix Four English Bibliography Spanish Bibliography Index 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.