Picking and Mixing

A brother in the church wrote this book. He passed on a copy for me to read. I have enjoyed reading it. The final chapter on neo-Pentecostalism is very strong.

The general conclusion the author makes is that syncretism is not bad in of itself. It is the degree, nature and purpose of syncretism that is problematic. In particular it is important that syncretism is subject to the Bible as the final authority.

I would have liked to have seen more reflection on neo-Pentecostalism with a more detailed look at its various perverse manifestations. The final chapter' main quotes related to American exponents. We don't get proper quotes from Nigerian exponents. But even when quotes of Nigerian exponents are given these are usually "anonymised". I also felt that the book could have addressed the relationship between the "regulative principle" and syncretism. Also biblical examples of "acceptable syncretism would have been helpful".

Otherwise, apart from those small quibbles, it is a good read! Would certainly be fascinating to see a wider African wide treatment of the subject.

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The Christian and Technology, A Review

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