Philip Jenkins should be read by anyone interested in the future of Christianity. In The Next Christendom, Jenkins called attention to the fact that the growth of the Church in the “global South” was a phenomenon that had been largely overlooked but which will have dramatic effects upon the future of our faith. “In our lifetimes,” he observes in the earlier book, “the centuries-long North Atlantic captivity of the church is drawing to an end.”
The New Faces of Christianity furthers that exploration by offering a fascinating analysis of ways that Christians in the global South tend to interpret the Bible differently than those in the global North. Although the most obvious division along North/South lines, at this moment in history, can be found in the Anglican tradition in relation to human sexuality, Jenkins addresses but does not become preoccupied with this issue.
A study of this magnitude cannot help but deal in broad categorizations. Although it can be argued, for example, that the use of “global North” and “global South” are as arbitrary as defining categories for human experience, Jenkins is not deterred by this challenge. In the end, the amount of qualitative research and anecdotal examples woven into the book make his conclusions both defensible and persuasive.
Although a book about “comparative methods of biblical interpretation” may seem, at first glance, to be rather uninspiring, Jenkins writes in an engaging way, and demonstrates that the issue of biblical interpretation has serious implications for a wide range of pressing social and geopolitical concerns. Wealth and poverty, politics in postcolonial societies, the place of women in the church, the role of the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament in the church, the nature of interfaith dialogue (especially in Muslim-Christian relations), the Christian perspective on the supernatural, the ways that people from traditional and polygamous cultures interpret the Bible — all are explored in a readable and engaging style.
Without resorting to unfair criticisms, Jenkins demonstrates that many of the assumptions that Euro-American Christians bring to the task of biblical interpretation are deeply shaped by our culture and history. As the Christian faith continues to grow in the South, it will be important to become engaged with the ways that our brothers and sisters interpret Scripture, since their contexts not only influence their interpretations but may be closer to the experiences of the communities described in the Bible. Biblical texts which were written to people experiencing persecution, poverty, disease, minority religious status and oppression have a different resonance when read by modern Christians who are experiencing those same realities — and it is both illuminating and necessary for us to hear their interpretations.
One of the great strengths of this book is that it challenges us to realize that what we assume to be normative and objective interpretations may need to be re-examined in light of the emerging contributions from Christians in the global South. The Church — everywhere — will be challenged and enriched by those insights.
