The Future Of Christianity: Historical Sociological Political And Theological Perspectives from New Zealand (Atf) [Paperback]

John Stenhouse (Author), Brett Knowles (Author), Anthony Wood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2004 | Series: Atf (Book 11)

This book, written by a group of New Zealand scholars, theologians, historians, and lawyers, examines the question of New Zealand’s culture and Christianity. The contributors explore recent debates over secularization, exploring its merits and explanatory power, while also showing its limitations. Throughout the West, and particularly in the United States, diverse forms of religiosity and spirituality remain widespread, and, while changing form, show few signs of disappearing. The contributors insist that it is impossible to understand contemporary relations between the West and the Islamic world without understanding the religiosity on both sides of this complex and portentous divide. Several contributors raise questions about the extent to which Western political, intellectual and media élites really understand what ordinary Westerners, let alone Muslims, actually believe. The assumption still pervasive among secular Westerners that religion is dying out constitutes a species of wishful thinking that the twenty-first century world can no longer afford.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Stenhouse teaches in the Department of History, University of Otago. He publishes in the fields of religious history, the history of ideas, and the history of science.

Brett Knowles is Senior Lecturer in Church History and Director of Academic Resources at the Sydney College of Divinity. He has research interests in New Zealand Pentecostalism and in the transmission of Early Asian Christianity, and has published a history of the New Life Churches of New Zealand.

Anthony Wood is an honorary member of the Department of Political Studies at the University of Otago. Previously an Associate Professor until his retirement there, his research and writing interests are in New Zealand, Canadian and Latin American politics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 242 pages
• Publisher: ATF Press (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1920691235
• ISBN-13: 978-1920691233
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,103,961 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars different perspectives on Christianity in today's world, January 26, 2005

By 

Henry Berry "Henry Berry" (Southport, CT) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Future Of Christianity: Historical Sociological Political And Theological Perspectives from New Zealand (Atf) (Paperback)

The circumstances, possibilities, and issues concerning Christianity in New Zealand are a microcosm of these elsewhere in the Western world. This multidisciplinary work aims to inform readers of perspectives and realities regarding contemporary Christianity not reflected or suggested in the popular media. Focus on certain anomalies is especially revealing, as well as to some degree predictive of Christianity's possible future depending on how these are resolved. Kevin Ward, a lecturer of Church issues in the modern world, explores how the "fragmentation and religious pluralism" in postmodernism not only limit and distort understanding of beliefs and developments in Christianity, but also shape strategies for Christians wishing to be a part of modern culture. "Believing Without Belonging" is part of the title of Ward's article. Another by Bruce Knox, Executive Director of Bible College in New Zealand, explores the apparent anomaly that "Christian Allegiance Is Declining, Yet Theological Education Is Booming." The role of religion in shaping the New Zealand national identity, even as the nation was "set up more or less decisively independent of any denominational church influence," is another relevant topic; while a couple of other articles take up political solutions for dealing with the desire of Christians to see their beliefs and values reflected more plainly in government policies and activity. The number of articles by theologians, historians, and sociologists, among others, with their fingers on the pulse of contemporary Christian situations and concerns offer a variety of views on the persistent matter of religion in contemporary life and current affairs.

5.0 out of 5 stars highly recommended reading, June 5, 2005

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Future Of Christianity: Historical Sociological Political And Theological Perspectives from New Zealand (Atf) (Paperback)

Compiled and edited by John Stenhouse (Faculty member, Department of History, University of Otago) and Brett Knowles (Senior Teaching Fellow in Church History in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Otago) with the assistance of academician Antony Wood, The Future Of Christianity: Historical, Sociological, Political And Theological Perspectives From New Zealand is comprised of contributions by a group of New Zealand scholars, theologians, historians and lawyers who examine the relationship of New Zealand's Western culture and Christianity. Scholarly, articulate, intellectually engaging, The Future Of Christianity ranges from Allan K. Davison's "Christianity and National Identity: The Role of the Churches in the Construction of Nationhood", to Mary Petersen's The Future of Christianity in New Zealand: What Is Happening with the Children?", to Peter Lineham's "Social Policy and the Churches in the 1990s and Beyond", to Mike Riddell's "Beyond Ground Zero: Resourcing Faith in a Post-Christian Era Obligation". These and the other informative and intellectually challenging articles make The Future Of Christianity very highly recommended reading.