Pentecostal-Charismatic Imagination and Representation of Jewish Festivals in a Chinese Context
Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity, a distinctive form of Christianity emphasizing ecstatic spiritual experiences and gifts, has been one of the fastest-growing religions worldwide. The reinvention of Jewish festivals has been on the rise within the Chinese Pentecostal-Charismatic context of Hong...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Festive Studies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.h-net.org/jfs/article/view/191 |
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| Summary: | Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity, a distinctive form of Christianity emphasizing ecstatic spiritual experiences and gifts, has been one of the fastest-growing religions worldwide. The reinvention of Jewish festivals has been on the rise within the Chinese Pentecostal-Charismatic context of Hong Kong. Through fieldwork and content analysis, this ethnographic study investigates Jewish festivals of the 611 Bread of Life Christian Church, one of the largest megachurches in Hong Kong. First, the article briefly describes Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity in Hong Kong and 611 Church’s background. Second, it analyzes the church’s three main Jewish festivals—Sukkot, Purim, and Passover—to depict and explore its festive practices. Third, the study engages in a theoretical discussion of this festive phenomenon. Moreover, it illustrates how 611 Church has contextualized its Jewish festivals explicitly and implicitly to minimize the contextual gap in Hong Kong. While 611 Church considers the significance of its festive restoration and reinvention from a theological lens, the article maintains that from a Chinese contextual lens, focusing on restoration and reinvention are crucial in helping the church pursue self-empowerment and discursive power, develop its community identity, and confront the discursive hegemony in the local Christian context. |
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| ISSN: | 2641-9939 |