The South Indian Pentecostal Movement in the Twentieth Century

by Michael Bergunder

Overview

Making up approximately 20 percent of South India's Protestants, Pentecostals are an influential part of India's Christian culture, yet there is a distinct lack of scholarly focus on this increasingly large group. This careful, well-informed study by Michael Bergunder ably fills that gap.

After a brief historical introduction to the worldwide growth of Pentecostalism, Bergunder delves into the history of the South Indian Pentecostal movement in the first section. The second section gives a systematic profile of the current movement in South India, based on a wide range of source materials and on formal interviews with nearly two hundred leading pastors and evangelists. Bergunder finishes his work with prospects for the future. Three appendixes and an extended bibliography offer ample ground for further research.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802827340
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	06/06/2008
Series:	Studies in the History of Christian Missions
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.82(d)

About the Author

Michael Bergunder is professor of the history of religionsand mission studies at the University of Heidelberg.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     ix
A Note on Transliteration and Conventions     xi
Introduction: Constructing Indian Pentecostalism     1
History     21
Early Beginnings     23
Kerala     37
Tamil Nadu     58
Karnataka     86
Andhra Pradesh     92
Evangelists, Interchurch Fellowships, and Marginal Movements     107
Beliefs and Practices     121
Context     123
Themes     130
Ordo Salutis     138
Gifts of the Spirit     146
Ethics     181
Ministry     191
Church Life     209
Social Structure and Ecumenical Relations     231
Prospects     245
Pentecostalism and Contextualization of Christianity     247
Selected Biographies     255
Missionaries and Leadership Positions     301
Church Statistics     305
List of Interviews     311
Bibliography     321
Maps     357
Index     365

Editorial Reviews

Allan Anderson
-- University of Birmingham, UK
"Michael Bergunder has woven a skillful tapestry of historical narrative from many strands, based on his declared method of establishing diachronous and synchronous networks and on comprehensive fieldwork. His rich theoretical analysis draws extensively from the South Indian religious context. This book will stand as a benchmark in the study of global Pentecostalism for years to come."

Cecil M. Robeck Jr.
-- Fuller Theological Seminary
"The study of global Pentecostalism is just beginning to take off. Michael Bergunder is one of the emerging younger scholars who are working on issues related to global Pentecostalism. This book stands in the vanguard of much-needed regional studies that are bringing new light to important facets of the Pentecostal movement that have not previously received adequate attention. . . Bergunder emphasizes the international networks that made the movement possible and argues that Pentecostalism has been a global movement from the beginning. Clearly, this book will find its way into the center of future discussions on the origins, form, and contributions of Pentecostalism to contemporary understandings of Indian Christianity."

André Droogers
-- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
"The publication in English of Michael Bergunder's thorough study of South Indian Pentecostalism, originally published in German, makes a model study available to the English-speaking world. This book is a landmark study. . . Sets a standard for similar studies of Pentecostalism in other regions."

From the Publisher