Interdisciplinary Book and Film Reviews

Catch the Fire:  Soaking Prayer       and  Charismatic Renewal         By Michael Wilkinson  &  Peter Althouse Reviewed by    Geoffrey W. Sutton,  Soaking prayer is claimed by charismatics to facilitate and expand the reception of divine love in order to give it away in acts of forgiveness, reconciliation, compassion, and benevolence. Soaking is a metaphor that supports charismatic spirituality and practices like resting in the Spirit, prayer for spiritual gifts, healing, prophecy, and impartation, which we describe and explain in this book (p. 4). The authors offer readers an integrated sociological and theological perspective on soaking prayer as practiced by charismatic Christians associated with Catch the Fire (CTF), a church in Toronto, Canada and a worldwide movement. Wilkinson and Althouse contextualize soaking prayer in two primary ways.  1. Dramatic ...

Testing Prayer:  Science and Healing   By Candy Gunther Brown Reviewed  by Geoffrey W. Sutton I'm posting this review in the early stages of the 2020 Coronavirus. China has quarantined large portions of their population. Italy has been shut down. Europe is preparing for trouble. The US health agencies have issued warnings. Europeans are banned from entering the USA.  On social media, some Christians are minimizing the problem to temper reports they see as exaggeration. Others are talking about God's protection and still others remind people of God's healing power. Meanwhile, people are engaged in panic buying of cleaning agents and toilet paper. Panic is in the air. "It's a pandemic," we are told. Do you believe in God’s power to heal?  I have lived with and studied Pentecostals for most of my life so, I am interested in the scientific study of their beliefs, practices, and experiences. Pentecostals are not alone in believing in ...