MIRACLE AS AN ESSENTIAL NEED. CONCEPTS OF MIRACLE AND ITS PRACTICES IN PENTECOSTALISM

Pentecostalism is a Protestant denomination in whose worldview special attention is paid to the supernatural and miraculous action of God in the world. That category includes healings exorcism, and exalted spiritual practices. Miracle in the understanding of Pentecostals is a sign of heavenly life, an indicator of connection with God, a manifestation of the power of God, a confirmation of the truth of faith and the status of believers. The miracle for Pentecostals is what seems strange and unusual to worldly people but it is an everyday reality for believers who are in constant contact with God and who are awaiting His constant intervention.

Southern Protestant Voices during the Irish War of Independence and Civil War: Reports from Church of Ireland Synods

This chapter records the experiences of southern members of the Church of Ireland, the largest protestant denomination, during the period of the Irish revolution, 1919–23. The main source is one that has been rarely used in the past. It involves the speeches of Church of Ireland bishops at annual local and national diocesan synods during these tumultuous years. As both leaders and observers of their dioceses, the bishops' comments reflected many of the concerns and anxieties of their community. They recorded the violence which forced many members of the church to leave Ireland at this time. They also spoke of efforts to maintain good relations between denominations.

IGREJAS BATISTAS NO BRASIL: CONSTRUÇÃO DE TIPOLOGIAS

O texto visa a partir dos números do censo (IBGE-2010), mapear a complexidade e diversidade dos batistas no Brasil. A metodologia lança mão de dados quantitativos do IBGE e de entidades denominacionais, para ultrapassar uma leitura do senso-comum e avançar na compreensão desse campo religioso complexo. Também conta com pesquisa bibliográfica sobre os batistas em sites, livros e documentos que chamam atenção para história, doutrinas, continuidades e rupturas dos mais diferentes segmentos. Procura-se construir tipos ideais de batistas enquanto recurso metodológico para compreensão de uma realidade difusa e dinâmica dessa que é a maior denominação protestante histórica do Brasil. THE BAPTISTS CHURCHES IN BRAZIL: CONSTRUCTION OF TYPOLOGIES The text aims at the census numbers (IBGE-2010), mapping the complexity and diversity of Baptists in Brazil. The methodology draws on quantitative data from the IBGE and from denominational entities to overcome a common sense reading and advance in the understanding of this complex religious field. It also has bibliographical research on Baptists in websites, books and documents that call attention to history, doctrines, continuities and ruptures of the most different segments. It seeks to build ideal types of Baptists as a methodological resource for understanding a diffuse and dynamic reality of what is the largest Protestant denomination of history in Brazil.

The Lives and Times of Rev. Dr. Stanley Mmutlanyane Mogoba

This article sets out to explore and celebrate the influential role that Stanley Mmutlanyane Mogoba played as a minister in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA), the largest mainline Protestant denomination in South Africa. Not only does this essay discusses the background of Mogoba; it also explores his ministry. Furthermore, the essay navigates the place of the MCSA in the epoch of apartheid in South Africa; as well as the possible role of the black church in the present-day South Africa.

Dissent by Default

Religious dissent has taken different forms throughout history. This chapter considers the case of England in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. It describes sociological trends in Christian affiliation, belief, and practice, and suggests that decreasing numbers of people conform to the traditions and teachings of the established Church of England or any other Protestant denomination. Widespread cultural norms and values have resulted in a drift away from the Church and belief is understood in subjective terms, particularly among young people. Given the overall lack of personal religious engagement in England, the chapter suggests that active dissent rests with the minorities who stand against a prevailing attitude of religious indifference to take Christianity seriously; either seriously enough to live their lives by it or seriously enough to stand against it. Active young Christians and the ‘new Atheists’ are cases in point.

Southern Baptists and Evangelical Dissent

This chapter surveys the history of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) from its origins out of the slavery controversy in 1845, through various approaches to social and religious dissent that evolved within varying subgroups of America’s largest Protestant denomination. Particular attention is given to the nature of Southern Baptists’ understanding of evangelicalism, their own denominational approaches to and differences about that that subject, and the varying relationships that the SBC has developed or avoided with other Evangelicals in the US.

"To read the signs of the time": Ukrainian baptist theology in light of the social transformations challenges in Ukraine and the russian-Ukrainian war

This article describes present day reaction of Ukrainian Baptist community on the current geopolitical situation in Ukraine and its reflection in first modern independent theological steps of named Late Protestant denomination. It is stressed, that complete process of theology creation is a maker of healthy and protected, factually free religious life in certain boundaries of country or land. Also it’s shown that in Ukrainian case for present day’s start of the modern Baptist theology discourse the trigger factor was Revolution of dignity 2013-2014 and de-facto Russian-Ukrainian ongoing war. Ideas and practices raising up in their environment mark how all this impacts the whole Ukrainians and members of Ukrainian Baptist Churches, do they feel themselves as responsible citizens of their country, would they react or not on realities of their country life or not, and do they think about question of their identity (Ukrainian Baptists of Baptists in Ukraine). This entire things signal about deeper processes of final institutionalization of named denomination, its entry into democratic era together with state

Mainline Denominational Switching in Canada: Comparing the Religious Trajectories of Growing and Declining Church Attendees

Based on the survey responses of over 1000 attendees of growing and 1000 attendees of declining Mainline Protestant churches in Canada, this research examines patterns of denominational switching and the characteristics of switchers from both groups. Based on previous Canadian research we hypothesized, among other predictions, that the majority of our Mainline Protestant congregants would never have switched denominations and, of those who had, a plurality would indicate that their previous church was part of another Mainline Protestant denomination. These hypotheses were supported when the responses of growing and declining church attendees were combined but when the responses of the growing church congregants were tabulated separately they were not supported. We show how the switching patterns of the growing Mainline Protestant church congregants are more akin to those of Canadian Conservative Protestant church congregants and we offer explanations as to why this may be the case. Keywords: Religious Switching; Reaffiliation; Church Growth; Mainline Protestant; Conservative Protestant; Canada