ISBN 9780520249042 | 0520249046 Textbooks - "A Problem of Presence Beyond Scripture in an African Church The Anthropology of Christianity" by Matthew Engelke

Author: Matthew Engelke
ISBN 10: 0520249046
ISBN 13: 9780520249042
Edition: 1
Release: May 21, 2007
Format: Paperback (321 pages)
List Price: $21.95
More Details

List Price: $21.95

Tags: Religion & Spirituality, Christianity,

Book Description:
The Friday Masowe apostolics of Zimbabwe refer to themselves as "the Christians who don't read the Bible." They claim they do not need the Bible because they receive the Word of God "live and direct" from the Holy Spirit. In this insightful and sensitive historical ethnography, Matthew Engelke documents how this rejection of scripture speaks to longstanding concerns within Christianity over mediation and authority. The Bible, of course, has been a key medium through which Christians have recognized God's presence. But the apostolics perceive scripture as an unnecessary, even dangerous, mediator. For them, the materiality of the Bible marks a distance from the divine and prohibits the realization of a live and direct faith.Situating the Masowe case within a broad comparative framework, Engelke shows how their rejection of textual authority poses a problem of presence--which is to say, how the religious subject defines, and claims to construct, a relationship with the spiritual world through the semiotic potentials of language, actions, and objects. Written in a lively and accessible style, A Problem of Presence makes important contributions to the anthropology of Christianity, the history of religions in Africa, semiotics, and material culture studies.

Filter By Condition

Used
New
Rental
eBooks
International
Local Options

Search By Location

Rental Term

Show Prices

Apply Coupons
Apply Sales Tax (estimate)

Add To My Bookbag Tweet Alert Sell Donate Contact Us

A Problem of Presence: Beyond Scripture in an African Church (The Anthropology of Christianity)

Best Prices