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Explorando la Iglesia de Dios todopoderoso
Branded as "the new Falun Gong" by local authorities, The Church of Almighty God is the most persecuted religious movement in China today. Thousands of police officers are deployed full time to identify and arrest its members. Hundreds of thousands of its devotees are in jail. Authorities claim, perhaps hyperbolically, that it has some four million members and accuse the group of serious crimes. Yet, the movement continues to grow.
In this ground-breaking study, Massimo Introvigne offers an inside look at this once-elusive movement, sharing interviews with hundreds of members and the Chinese police officers who hunt them down. The story of The Church of Almighty God is one of rapid growth, dramatic persecution, and the struggle of believers to seek asylum in countries around the world. In his telling of the story, Introvigne reconstructs the Church's idiosyncratic theology, centered in the belief that Jesus Christ has returned in our time in the shape of a Chinese woman, worshipped as Almighty God, to eradicate the sinful nature of humans, and that we have entered the third and final time period in the history of humanity: the Age of Kingdom. A major book from one of the world's leading scholars of new religious movements, Inside The Church of Almighty God is a critical addition to the scholarship of Chinese religion.
In this ground-breaking study, Massimo Introvigne offers an inside look at this once-elusive movement, sharing interviews with hundreds of members and the Chinese police officers who hunt them down. The story of The Church of Almighty God is one of rapid growth, dramatic persecution, and the struggle of believers to seek asylum in countries around the world. In his telling of the story, Introvigne reconstructs the Church's idiosyncratic theology, centered in the belief that Jesus Christ has returned in our time in the shape of a Chinese woman, worshipped as Almighty God, to eradicate the sinful nature of humans, and that we have entered the third and final time period in the history of humanity: the Age of Kingdom. A major book from one of the world's leading scholars of new religious movements, Inside The Church of Almighty God is a critical addition to the scholarship of Chinese religion.
104 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2019
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25 people want to read
About the author
Massimo Introvigne
76 books11 followersItalian sociologist and intellectual property consultant. Founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), an international network of scholars who study new religious movements. Author of tens of books and articles in the field of sociology of religion. He was the main author of the "Enciclopedia delle religioni in Italia" ("Encyclopedia of Religions in Italy") and is a member of the editorial board for the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion. From January 5 to December 31, 2011, he has served as the "Representative on combating racism, xenophobia and discrimination, with a special focus on discrimination against Christians and members of other religions" of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In June 2012 he has been appointed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs chairperson of the newly instituted Observatory of Religious Liberty, created by the Ministry in order to monitor problems of religious liberty on a worldwide scale. (source: Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 20, 2020
This is a public text about a secretive cult. Or a very open and public religion. It depends who you ask.
And I’m not saying that with a wink and nod. If the book does anything it clarifies just how thin, circumstantial, and political the line between cult and religion really is.
It also sets the record straight on many pieces of propaganda and misinformation about the group that dominate its public perception. The settling of these scores is necessary for the author who wants, among other things, to justify the refugee status of group members fleeing persecution. But for a wildly ignorant reader like myself it went perhaps deeper than I needed.
The author also makes the interesting choice of not starting with a description of what the group is but with firsthand accounts of members being tortured and sometimes killed by the Chinese government for their beliefs. It implies perhaps that the reader should focus on this as a human rights emergency instead of gawking at their obtuse theology first and foremost. But it can be hard to get your bearings as a reader when it feels like you’re starting with the end of the story in some sense.
This is definitely a high 4, and it’s good to have scholarly work out there on groups like this. It’s relatively short so if the group or the description strikes your fancy, you’ll likely be glad to have read it, as I was.
And I’m not saying that with a wink and nod. If the book does anything it clarifies just how thin, circumstantial, and political the line between cult and religion really is.
It also sets the record straight on many pieces of propaganda and misinformation about the group that dominate its public perception. The settling of these scores is necessary for the author who wants, among other things, to justify the refugee status of group members fleeing persecution. But for a wildly ignorant reader like myself it went perhaps deeper than I needed.
The author also makes the interesting choice of not starting with a description of what the group is but with firsthand accounts of members being tortured and sometimes killed by the Chinese government for their beliefs. It implies perhaps that the reader should focus on this as a human rights emergency instead of gawking at their obtuse theology first and foremost. But it can be hard to get your bearings as a reader when it feels like you’re starting with the end of the story in some sense.
This is definitely a high 4, and it’s good to have scholarly work out there on groups like this. It’s relatively short so if the group or the description strikes your fancy, you’ll likely be glad to have read it, as I was.
October 12, 2021
An easily read and compact examination of the persecution of a relatively unknown (to mainstream western eyes) church in China, Introvigne thankfully steers clear of assessing the validity or otherwise of their beliefs, rather concentrating on the experience of it's members with the Chinese authorities.
The book only suffers from two flaws for the general reader, one of Introvigne's own doing and one not. All narratives suffer (to varying degrees) biases from all viewpoints, and when a deliberately secretive, obfuscating, and propagandizing party is one viewpoint the story can become confused and polarized, even on "accepted facts". The book is (thankfully only slightly) impacted by this, thanks to Introvigne's scholarship. However, by the same token the amount of space dedicated to rebutting the work of Dunn is, for the general reader, a distraction, but one that in an academic work for specialists is necessary.
A valuable examination of one church's experience, and an insightful vignette on China's attitude towards all heterodox thought.
The book only suffers from two flaws for the general reader, one of Introvigne's own doing and one not. All narratives suffer (to varying degrees) biases from all viewpoints, and when a deliberately secretive, obfuscating, and propagandizing party is one viewpoint the story can become confused and polarized, even on "accepted facts". The book is (thankfully only slightly) impacted by this, thanks to Introvigne's scholarship. However, by the same token the amount of space dedicated to rebutting the work of Dunn is, for the general reader, a distraction, but one that in an academic work for specialists is necessary.
A valuable examination of one church's experience, and an insightful vignette on China's attitude towards all heterodox thought.
October 12, 2024
Piccolo interessante libro per capire un po’ di questo NMR quasi sconosciuto al di fuori della Cina .
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews