The Charismatic City and the Public Resurgence of Religion: A Pentecostal Social Ethics of Cosmopolitan Urban Life

284 Pages·2014·0.928 MB·English

by  Nimi Wariboko (auth.)

Praise for The Charismatic City and the Public
Resurgence of Religion: A Pentecostal Social
Ethics of Cosmopolitan Urban Life
“Wariboko’s The Charismatic City and the Public Resurgence of Religion is a
powerful meditation on the intersection of Pentecostal existence and urban
existence. This is not a sociological or geographic study, but it will greatly
inform such studies by offering a very lively and theological rich reflection
on the multiple meanings of embodied life in cities, especially cities in and
outside the United States. I know of no other text that reflects on African
Pentecostal urban life with such breadth and sophistication. This will be a
book that will be referred to and commented on for many years.”
—Willie James Jennings, Associate Professor, Theology,
Black Church Studies, Duke Divinity School, USA
“In The Charismatic City and the Public Resurgence of Religion, Nimi
Wariboko, perhaps the leading living Pentecostal theologian and social his-
torian of our time, puts forth a compelling vision that echoes the prophesies
of the Revelation of John and forces us to revise our understanding of the
fragmentation and resurgence of religion in our cities. Through his theo-
logical and ethical reflection on the City, Wariboko both disrupts and calls us
to reconstruct the shape of civilization in our increasingly globalized world.
Religion has long been connected with the life of cities and has been a criti-
cal subject of philosophical and theological analysis for centuries. Following
on the works of Aristotle, Weber, Tillich, Cox, and Ward, Wariboko chal-
lenges previous thinking and offers a new approach to an emerging global
civil society where humankind sometimes encounter an ecstatic experience
of God in our urban centers. Wariboko reconstructs our social theology and
moves beyond classic Trinitarianism to help us understand the sovereignty of
God and the centrality of Christ in modern life. This is an important work for
clergy, professionals engaged in urban planning and development, and anyone
interested in the holy pluralism that can shape civilization.”
—Max L. Stackhouse, Princeton Theological Seminary, USA
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CHARIS: Christianity and
Renewal—Interdisciplinary Studies
Wolfgang Vondey and Amos Yong, Editors
Wolfgang Vondey (PhD, Marquette University) is associate professor of sys-
tematic theology and director of the Center for Renewal Studies at the School
of Divinity of Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He is the author
and editor of several books and publications on themes of the global renewal
movements, including aspects of pentecostalism and pentecostal theology,
ecumenical theology, ecclesiology, pneumatology, and the intersection of
theology and science. He is organizer of the annual conference in Renewal
Theology.
Amos Yong (PHD, Boston University) is professor of theology and director
of the Center for Missiological Research at Fuller Theological Seminary in
Pasadena, California. He is author and editor of more than two dozen vol-
umes and has published in diverse fields of study, including widely on themes
related to Christianity and renewal, pentecostalism, hermeneutics, pneuma-
tology, interfaith dialogue, disability studies, and the intersection of theology
and science. He is coeditor of the Pentecostal Manifestos series and Studies in
Religion, Theology and Disability series.
Christianity and Renewal—Interdisciplinary Studies provides a forum for
scholars from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, various global locations,
and a range of Christian ecumenical and religious traditions to explore issues
at the intersection of the pentecostal, charismatic, and other renewal move-
ments and related phenomena, including:
(cid:76)(cid:0) the transforming and renewing work of the Holy Spirit in Christian tradi-
tions, cultures, and creation;
(cid:76)(cid:0) the traditions, beliefs, interpretation of sacred texts, and scholarship of the
renewal movements;
(cid:76)(cid:0) the religious life, including the spirituality, ethics, history, and liturgical and
other practices, and spirituality of the renewal movements;
(cid:76)(cid:0) the social, economic, political, transnational, and global implications of
renewal movements;
(cid:76)(cid:0) methodological, analytical, and theoretical concerns at the intersection of
Christianity and renewal;
(cid:76)(cid:0) intra-Christian and interreligious comparative studies of renewal and revi-
talization movements;
(cid:76)(cid:0) other topics connecting to the theme of Christianity and renewal.
Authors are encouraged to examine the broad scope of religious phenomena
and their interpretation through the methodological, hermeneutical, and his-
toriographical lens of renewal in contemporary Christianity.
Under the general topic of thoughtful reflection on Christianity and
renewal, the series includes two different kinds of books: (1) monographs
that allow for in-depth pursuit, carefully argued, and meticulously docu-
mented research on a particular topic that explores issues in Christianity and
renewal; and (2) edited collections that allow scholars from a variety of dis-
ciplines to interact under a broad theme related to Christianity and renewal.
In both kinds, the series encourages discussion of traditional pentecostal and
charismatic studies, reexamination of established religious doctrine and prac-
tice, and explorations into new fields of study related to renewal movements.
Interdisciplinarity will feature in the series both in terms of two or more dis-
ciplinary approaches deployed in any single volume and in terms of a wide
range of disciplinary perspectives found cumulatively in the series.
PUBLISHED
Wolfgang Vondey (ed.), The Holy Spirit and the Christian Life: Historical,
Interdisciplinary, and Renewal Perspectives (2014).
Nimi Wariboko, The Charismatic City and the Public Resurgence of Religion:
A Pentecostal Social Ethics of Cosmopolitan Urban Life (2014).
The Charismatic City and

the Public Resurgence
of Religion
A Pentecostal Social Ethics of
Cosmopolitan Urban Life
Nimi Wariboko
THE CHARISMATIC CITY AND THE PUBLIC RESURGENCE OF RELIGION
Copyright © Nimi Wariboko, 2014.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 ISBN 978-1-137-44934-4
All rights reserved.
First published in 2014 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States— a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-49674-7 ISBN 978-1-137-46319-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137463197
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wariboko, Nimi, 1962–
The charismatic city and the public resurgence of religion :
a pentecostal social ethics of cosmopolitan urban life /
Nimi Wariboko.
pages cm.—(Charis: Christianiy and renewal—interdisciplinary studies)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–1–137–44934–4 (alk. paper)
1. Cities and towns—Religious aspects—Christianity. 2. City churches.
3. Cities and towns—Religious aspects—Pentecostal churches.
4. Globalization—Religious aspects—Pentecostal churches.
I. Title.
BR115.C45W37 2014
270.8(cid:25)3091732—dc23 2014012416
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: September 2014
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my children, Nimi, Bele, and Favor—for your future
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Contents

Preface xi
Acknowledgments xxi
Introduction 1
1 The Charismatic City: Religious Sense and Sensibility for
Future Urban Design 29
2 The Church: Beginnings and Sources of the Charismatic City 43
3 The King’s Five Bodies: Pentecostals in the Sacred City and
the Logic of Interreligious Dialogue 57
4 Fire from Heaven: Pentecostals in the Secular City 81
5 Forward Space: Architects of the Charismatic City 99
6 Pentecostals in the Inner City: Religion and the Politics of
Friendship 119
7 The Communion Quotient of Cities 137
8 Religious Peacebuilding and Economic Justice in
the Charismatic City 155
9 The Charismatic City as the Body of Christ 169
10 Summary and Concluding Thoughts 195
Notes 213
Bibliography 247
Index 259