"One characteristic of Brazilian neo-Pentecostal ministries that draw on the Faith Movement is an accentuation of performative and metonymic linkages between supernatural power and ritual. While sharing elements with a broader transnational Faith movement, this Prosperity theology and its associated
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practices emerge out of the contemporary sociocultural context of Brazilian 'popular' religions as they relate to a consumer economy. The paper addresses the role of particular kinds of objects and material media in the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. Such symbolic media configure a distinctly Pentecostal projection of local-global relations. The analysis also considers an example of temple architecture and the construction of a Biblical theme park by the Universal Church in Rio de Janeiro. The symbolic and metonymic treatment of physical space builds up connections between believers, temporality, certain forms of historicity, and sacred geography in a way that resonates with other activities in the Church." (Abstract)
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"Was wir denken, wer wir sind - Orientierungen darüber vermitteln allgegenwärtig die Medien. Zeitungen, Fernsehen und Internet bieten die Sinnhorizonte, in denen Menschen ihre Weltsicht und Lebensauffassungen bestimmen. Was bedeutet dies für Kirche und Theologie? Müssen sie verstummen in der Fü
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lle des medialen Sinnangebotes? Ist Kirche eine Sinnagentur von gestern? In erfrischend klarer Analyse öffnet Wilhelm Gräb hier den Blick für den Wandel des Religiösen in der Mediengesellschaft und zeigt Möglichkeiten, wie die Praxis der Kirche, ihr Reden von Gott, der Welt und den Menschen darauf antworten kann." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"This book documents the inputs and final statement of the third “Bishops’ Institute for Social Communication” (BISCOM III Samphran, Thailand 2001), a first time gathering of seminary rectors, formators and Church-communication experts on a common theme. It is insightful, bringing together vas
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t experiences of eight resource persons from Asia and US. The resolve is for clergy and religious to acquire skills, but more to be formed in the communicating disposition, attitude and person of Christ." (Publisher description)
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