Based on empirical analysis, this ethnographic fieldwork and collection of original articles on contemporary Protestant religions in Mexico and Central America examines regions ranging from the Pacific coast in the north to Guatemala in the south. These new studies reveal that Protestantism was in the rise in the last decades of the twentieth century because it was opposing political structures that were largely unworkable in a new age of economic expansion and population growth. The studies cover regional and local variations in the growth of Protestantism, examine numerous reasons for the variations, and compare rural villages with modern communities. While the Catholic Church remains only a marginal player in the conflicts taking place in local communities, the book concludes that the modern religious conflicts bear only a general resemblance to the anti-Catholic issues that impelled the original Protestant Reformation in Europe.

Relying on traditional scientific principles of data recording and theory development, the contributors look into the lives of contemporary rural people, Indian and mestizo, and provide data that enhance the general study of modern religious movements. The chapters examine, among other topics, the relationship between religion and demography, the role of leadership in church growth, the theories of Max Weber relating capitalism and Protestantism, religious conversion, and the modernization of Indian communities. Scholars and students who are interested in cultural anthropology, religious change, and religion in Latin America will find in these pages a unique and enlightening examination of ProtestantisM's rise and spread in Latin America.

With a fresh and exciting perspective, "Narrating Class in American Fiction" offers close readings of American fiction from 1850-1940 in the context of literary and political history to illuminate the class discourses of its writers. Dow skillfully argues that the place of class in literary analysis has far to go in catching up to the panoply of "canonical" textual approaches. This book explores the uneasy attention American authors gave to class in their production of social identities and fills a gap in American literature scholarship.

Focusing on American fiction from 1850-1940, Narrating Class in American Fiction offers close readings in the context of literary and political history to detail the uneasy attention American authors gave to class in their production of social identities.

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

In recent years, popular new forms of Bible translation have emerged -- "The Message, The Book of God, The Living Bible" -- proving many modern biblical seekers are looking for a kind of Scripture-to-English guidebook. This exceptional book offers a similar avenue to pastors wanting to reach their congregations in a fresh way. Rather than discussing preaching in general or even a specific approach to preaching, "In Other Words" focuses on a way of engaging the biblical text for preaching.

Cosgrove and Edgerton combine critical acumen, creative imagination, and pastoral discernment to form contemporizing restatements of scripture, speaking timeless truths in modern speech. Describing their "incarnational translation," the authors invite readers to imagine what the text might have looked like if produced in the preacher's own culture, time, and place. Drawing on translation theory, genre studies, and recent hermeneutical theory, they offer a comprehensive theory of incarnational translation and a set of specific guidelines and examples for carrying it out.

"In Other Words" is not a new method of preaching, but a new way of engaging and presenting the biblical text in preaching, one that is well suited to contemporary approaches and trends.

In this book, W. Dow Edgerton reviews narratives from the Bible, the Talmud, Greek mythology, and modern fiction in order to provide a better understanding of the nature and work of interpretation. Disclosed are rich, complex, and compelling possibilities for imagining the work of interpretation and what it means to do that work in a time when so much is needed and so much is possible.

The Literary Currents in Biblical Interpretation series explores current trends within the discipline of biblical interpretation by dealing with the literary qualities of the Bible: the play of its language, the coherence of its final form, and the relationships between text and readers. Biblical interpreters are being challenged to take responsibility for the theological, social, and ethical implications of their readings. This series encourages original readings that breach the confines of traditional biblical criticism.