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The Next Christendom by Philip Jenkins is a non-fiction work about the growth and changing of Christianity from a predominately Western religion to a religion that is becoming more concentrated in the South. In the opening portion of the first chapter, his goal is already made clear when Philip Jenkins states that, “the center of gravity in the Christian world has shifted inexorably away from Europe, Southward to Africa and Latin America, and Eastward, toward Asia,” (1). He goes on to emphasize that this shift will only continue in the coming years, as he expects and has backed his claims with research, the Westerner Christians have slowed their growth while the Southern Christians have been and will continue to grow in number.
Interestedly, …show more content…
He makes the reader very aware of the changes taking place around the world with the Christian faith and its followers in a way that is both encouraging and worrisome. While most are mindful that the Christian faith has followers that are not from the West, and that there are many who believe that the Western Christianity is declining in number of believers, I found myself learning that the faith is growing in the Southern and Eastern parts of the world. I have heard many stories about individual churches or areas where Christianity is growing at staggering rates, however, I have not thought about it as widespread as an entire nation. As a believer, it is extremely encouraging to hear Jenkins state that Christianity is growing throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin …show more content…
Alen Paton provides readers with many different allusions that point to both Biblical references, as well as moral and cultural references. As seen throughout the novel, symbolism plays an extremely important role. In the first chapter, Paton paints an extremely elaborate verbal painting of the landscape in which we later find out the characters live. However, this symbolism is not just in the painting of scenes, but also in the morality and faith. There are times when James Jarvis exhibits behavior or faces experiences that definitely have an association with the Christian faith stories. A more obvious example is the land that Jarvis farms, which is referred to as the High Place and is said to be holy. There is also a time where Jarvis is seen sitting on a mountain top, overlooking the land below, with a troubled feeling about it. Even more interestingly, Jarvis’ son travels to Johannesburg and is killed there, by the people he was trying to
The Next Christendom by Philip Jenkins is a non-fiction work about the growth and changing of Christianity from a predominately Western religion to a religion that is becoming more concentrated in the South. In the opening portion of the first chapter, his goal is already made clear when Philip Jenkins states that, “the center of gravity in the Christian world has shifted inexorably away from Europe, Southward to Africa and Latin America, and Eastward, toward Asia,” (1). He goes on to emphasize that this shift will only continue in the coming years, as he expects and has backed his claims with research, the Westerner Christians have slowed their growth while the Southern Christians have been and will continue to grow in number.
Interestedly, …show more content…
He makes the reader very aware of the changes taking place around the world with the Christian faith and its followers in a way that is both encouraging and worrisome. While most are mindful that the Christian faith has followers that are not from the West, and that there are many who believe that the Western Christianity is declining in number of believers, I found myself learning that the faith is growing in the Southern and Eastern parts of the world. I have heard many stories about individual churches or areas where Christianity is growing at staggering rates, however, I have not thought about it as widespread as an entire nation. As a believer, it is extremely encouraging to hear Jenkins state that Christianity is growing throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin …show more content…
Alen Paton provides readers with many different allusions that point to both Biblical references, as well as moral and cultural references. As seen throughout the novel, symbolism plays an extremely important role. In the first chapter, Paton paints an extremely elaborate verbal painting of the landscape in which we later find out the characters live. However, this symbolism is not just in the painting of scenes, but also in the morality and faith. There are times when James Jarvis exhibits behavior or faces experiences that definitely have an association with the Christian faith stories. A more obvious example is the land that Jarvis farms, which is referred to as the High Place and is said to be holy. There is also a time where Jarvis is seen sitting on a mountain top, overlooking the land below, with a troubled feeling about it. Even more interestingly, Jarvis’ son travels to Johannesburg and is killed there, by the people he was trying to