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Communicating Christ in Animistic Contexts
Whether in New Age mysticism, occultism, Haitian voodooism, Chinese ancestor veneration, or Japanese Shintoism, animistic beliefs are widespread, even today. Gailyn Van Rheenen presents a rigorous, biblical, theological, and anthropological foundation for ministering in animistic contexts.
346 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 25, 2023
Filled a hole in missiological literature. Well-written, theologically rich, and thorough.
July 28, 2013
Excellent study of animism. Compares and contrasts with Christianity. Discusses concepts of bridging the gap between the gospel and animism, particularly tribal animism (versus mystical animism or New Age). Sometimes seems to talk a bit securlarly about Christianity but overall very orthodox. Constant focus on primary difference: animism seeks to control and manipulate god/gods/spirits via rituals and magic while bibilcal Christianity seeks to worship, honour, glorify, submit to, and obey God
May 1, 2024
Very informative book. What appears to be a niche book in actuality critiques a widespread worldview. I agree with other reviewers that the author seems to describe Christianity from a secular view at times. Ultimately it promotes the exclusivity of Christ.
April 23, 2018
An eye-opening resource for those interested in missions.
August 3, 2011
A good read for the information. Not much fun in some spots. I felt as if we were recycling information over and over at times. I think it could be condensed down and still give the same information. Maybe it was a thesis or a writing that had to take that form for some reason.
I do think that the role of the missionary is to be a learner of the culture and not to make judgments about the culture in light of the culture from which you came. I do think a lot of mistakes have been made and are made because people jump in too and think they know all the answers. This book is a must in order to get a good perspective. Coming from a place that animism takes the form of Almanacs, horoscopes, psychics and mediums is quite different than having a which doctor and sacrifices other than paying them money to tell you general things about your future. This shows how people worship in order manipulate the "gods" to get the outcome they want. Maybe there are more similarities than we want to admit!
Like I said it is a good read, but maybe a bit long for the topic in my opinion.
I do think that the role of the missionary is to be a learner of the culture and not to make judgments about the culture in light of the culture from which you came. I do think a lot of mistakes have been made and are made because people jump in too and think they know all the answers. This book is a must in order to get a good perspective. Coming from a place that animism takes the form of Almanacs, horoscopes, psychics and mediums is quite different than having a which doctor and sacrifices other than paying them money to tell you general things about your future. This shows how people worship in order manipulate the "gods" to get the outcome they want. Maybe there are more similarities than we want to admit!
Like I said it is a good read, but maybe a bit long for the topic in my opinion.
February 1, 2015
No matter where you think you live, Van Rheenen provides an understanding of animism to show you how it exists in almost every context. Solid understanding of animism and practical, biblical advice to "combat" it.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews