Ethnography of a Dutch Pentecostal Church: Vineyard Utrecht and the International Charismatic Movement

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Year:
Pages:388
ISBN:0-7734-3720-7
978-0-7734-3720-3
Price:$239.95 + shipping
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This anthropological study investigates the role of religious experiences in the growth of Pentecostal churches through a case study of a Dutch charismatic church. Included is an ethnographic analysis of the congregation, as well as a detailed description of the history, and development of the Vineyard community.

Reviews

“a rich source of empirical material to some of the hottest theoretical debates in the study of religion...a must-read for anyone interested in religion and its manifestations...”
­-Prof. Dr. Johan Roeland, Erasmus University Rotterdam

“important for all students of religion who are interested in a description at the level of sociological and cultural studies ...also of great importance for those who are interested in studying the practical processes of mediation, materialization and embodiment of religion...”
-Prof. Dr. Anton van Harskamp, VU University Amsterdam

From the Foreword
"The publication of this book by The Edwin Mellen Press is to be welcomed. A wide audience now has access to a remarkable study of the role of experience in a local Pentecostal community, in case a Vineyard group. Despite the fundamental role that experience plays in Pentecostal practice, especially in the charismatic gifts of glossolalia, prophecy and healing, scholarly attention dedicated to experiential phenomena has been limited. Since Pentecostalism is the fastest growing form of Protestantism in the world, having increased its membership within 30 years from 70 million to half a billion, most studies focus on the reasons for this exponential expansion, with an emphasis on the cultural and societal circumstances that caused Pentecostalism’s success. Experience certainly plays a crucial role in this growth, but has not received the attention it deserves. Versteeg’s book makes up for this shortcoming, focusing as it does on a type of Pentecostalism that by principle stimulates experience."
-Prof. André Droogers, Director of the Hollenweger Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, VU University Amsterdam

"In retrospect, Versteeg already signalled important directions for the years to come. Therefore the published version is an important contribution not only to the study of Pentecostialism, but to current theoretical debates in how to study and understand contemporary religion." -- Prof. Miranda Klaver, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgements
Illustrations
Introduction

Chapter 1 : Experience

Chapter 2: The Vineyard movement

Chapter 3: The heart of God

Chapter 4: Prophetic experiences

Chapter 5: Worship music

Chapter 6: Body and Experience

Chapter 7: Release

Abbreviations

Appendix: Short Lexicon

Bibliography
Index

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