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Articles by Alex Mayfield
A Pentecostal in “Hellywood”
In my last post, I explored how early-20th-century conservative groups, like Pentecostals, reacted to the burgeoning movie industry, or as one Pentecostal minister referred to it, “Hellywood.” With that sort of wordplay being utilized, you can imagine their overall opinion. In this post, I want to focus on one very interesting exploration of the topic that I found in a short-lived periodical of the Church of God (Cleveland).
When Pentecostals Took on “Hellywood”
We are living in the belle époque of Christian cinema. While critics may pan them, major entertainment companies now know that faith-based films are sure bets at the box office, and the market niche for Christian filmmaking is clearly expanding. Globally, this is even more true. Nigeria’s Nollywood produces volumes of explicitly evangelical films every year; Brazil and the Philippines have strong Catholic media houses.
Is Revivalism Anti-Modern?
Author’s Note: Amid a move to a new institution with two kiddos and a VERY surly cat, this is going to be a short musing of sorts. It might rehash some themes in better researched pieces. I’m trying to work out a framework here. There is a strange incongruity in being Pentecostal at times. Any visitor to a charismatic service would quickly spot the professional lighting, projectors, television screens, and high-definition sound systems.
The Kaleidoscopic City: Hong Kong, Mission, and the Evolution of Global Pentecostalism by Alex R. Mayfield , Waco, TX : Baylor University Press, 2023 . 279 pp. $59.99 (hardcover). ISBN: 978-14813-1897-6
Kopacz, B.P. and Percy, M. (2026), The Kaleidoscopic City: Hong Kong, Mission, and the Evolution of Global Pentecostalism by , Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2023. 279 pp. $59.99 (hardcover). ISBN: 978-14813-1897-6 . Rev Relig Theolog. https://doi.org/10.1111/rirt.70096 No abstract is available for this article. Reference , , , , , and . 2024. “ Religion and Spirituality in East Asian Societies [Report].” Pew Research Center.
When We Baptized Business
In a recent post, I did a quick jaunt through early and medieval Christian’s (mostly) negative appraisals of the trade and finance industries. In short, for most of Christian history, the forms of commerce that drive huge sectors of our modern capitalist system were seen as highly suspect. The fathers and doctors of the Church largely concluded that doing business was bad for the soul. So, what changed? Obviously, that is a huge question that has consumed historians for centuries.
When Business Went Bad
We are living in a New Gilded Age. Or, so said Paul Krugman in 2014 as he reviewed economist Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century. In the dozen years since, nothing seems to suggest the name is less applicable. The gap between the top 1% and the 99% is almost unfathomable. From superyachts, superstar wedding singers, and half-a-million bottle service, to space tourism, apocalypse bunkers, and the Mar-A-Lago face, the obscene spectacles of mega-wealth grow by the day.
Field Report: Pentecostal Christianity and Global Modernity?
I’ve been interested in a sort of apparent paradox over the last few months. You can see the thread in all of the posts dedicated to pentecostal/charismatic Christianity and technological adoption. How is it that a movement so interested in reliving the past was so enmeshed in newer forms of technology and media production? How did that “old-time religion” produce modern media moguls and folks living on the bleeding edge of technological adoption?
Epic Fury in the End-Times: Exploring Pentecostal War Ethics
Since its inception, the ongoing Iran conflict has been awash in religious rhetoric. Secretary of War Hegseth recently closed a press conference by quoting Psalm 144, “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle,” and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation reported that over 200 service members submitted complaints about the overt religious rhetoric being used by superiors.
Grief And Christian History: A Reflection
My father died ten days ago on February 8th. It was his 63rd birthday. His name was Tim Mayfield. If I’m honest, I didn’t feel much like writing this week, but sometimes deadlines are good for us. Though I apologize in advance if there is no neat bow to be tied. This is a reflection in process. Grief is an intensely personal thing. It lives in us, that hollow space where someone belongs. It is a void, and that void has stolen most of my good words.
Move Over, Evangelicals! Charismatics & Conspiracy Theories
You end up in unexpected places as a professor. Recently, a colleague asked me to participate in a discussion panel for students on the topic of Christianity and conspiracy theories.
Whence AI Apostle Ron? A Christian History Of AI (Pt. 2)
AI Apostle Ron was far from the first AI to be invented by a member of the clergy. According to his medieval biographers, the monk Gerbert of Aurillac made a pact with the devil and built for himself a metal, talking head. When the stars were properly aligned, the head would speak when asked a yes-or-no question. Ever the climber, Gerbert asked the head if he would be pope. The head responded, “Yes.” He then asked if he would die before he sang Mass in Jerusalem?
Whence AI Apostle Ron? A Christian History Of AI (Pt. 1)
In December 2024, Apostle Ron Carpenter, Jr. made waves across the Christian world when his ministry released the “Ron Carpenter Ministries Advanced Archive” app, rebranded today as Ron Carpenter AI. The app provides 24/7 access via text or audio call to an AI version of Apostle Ron that was trained on over 30 years of sermons by the megachurch pastor.
Yes, Pentecostals Really Do Need Those Airplanes
There are a lot of stereotypes and caricatures that attach themselves to Pentecostal and Charismatic forms of Christianity. Preeminent among them is the jet-setting, charismatic preacher who needs his personal jet for the work of the Lord. It is a metonym for the broad critique of the prosperity gospel, but it has far too many historical examples to treat it as a simple caricature. Pentecostals ministers need their airplanes.
Why Is It So Hard To Do Pentecostal History?
One of the biggest stories in 20th-century religious history is the rapid rise of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity around the world. By the World Christian Database’s estimate, almost 1 in 3 Christians around the world can be identified as Pentecostal or Charismatic. Other scholars, like Joel Cabrita and David Maxwell have pointed out that the birth of world Christianity is intimately intertwined with the spread of this fervent form of faith.
Zion: Televangelists And Worldwide Theocracy
[This is the third part in a three-part series that delves into the story of Zion, Illinois, and its founder, John Alexander Dowie. This series explores the oft-misunderstood relationship between charismatic Christianity and modernity. Click here for the first part, or here for the second part.] They had removed two of the three bullets from his body, but Senior Sergeant Sauer was now refusing further treatment. “Do not touch me,” he said, “I want no drugs.
Zion: The Garden City Of God
“The task of city design involves the vaster task of rebuilding our civilization.” Lewis Mumford, The Culture of Cities In the wee hours of the morning of January 1, 1900, civil engineer Burton J. Ashley stood among hundreds of his brothers and sisters in Zion Tabernacle. They were tired from the all-day consecration service that had begun at 6:30 a.m. on the previous day. Ashley, however, felt energetic. His moment had come.
Zion: America’s First Techno-Utopia
“All hail to the Printing Press and all its beautiful adjuncts, and all hail to the coming Grapho-Tele-Phone and Photo-Telegraph, the Speech-Recorder and Transmitter, and the Picture-Producer! We hope that Zion City will yet produce that glorious combination.” J. Alexander Dowie, Leaves of Healing, August 31, 1901. Sitting in his office forty miles north of Chicago, John Alexander Dowie envisioned a bright future for his growing urban experiment: Zion City.
When Did Pentecostals Start Liking The Pope?
Growing up Pentecostal, my introduction to Catholic life came slowly and almost accidentally when a friend started sharing about her upcoming confirmation in between Pre-Algebra and English class. “You get a new name? That’s so cool,” I said excitedly. “Meh,” she responded. Unlike me, she was not a burgeoning theology nerd. Her baptismal name was probably just going to be Mary, and it would only come at the end of a very long, very tedious catechism class.
The China Historical Christian Database: A Dataset Quantifying Christianity in China from 1550 to 1950
1. Background and Summary The age of digitization has offered both new methods and new challenges to traditional humanities research by rapidly expanding access to sources and introducing new modes of analysis [1]. In response, a field of analysis known as digital or computational humanities has sprung up, often dated from Roberto Busa, SJ’s lemmatized concordance of the Summa Theologica completed in sections between 1949 and 1980 [2].
Digital Showcase - Society for Pentecostal Studies Annual Meeting Papers: SPIRIT BAPTISMS & SHANGHAI BROTHELS: ETHEL ABERCROMBIE AND EARLY PENTECOSTALS AT THE DOOR OF HOPE WOMEN
Home > Holy Spirit Research Center > SPS_MEETING_PAPERS > SPS2021 > 35 DOWNLOADS Since April 18, 2022 COinS Mar 1st, 12:00 AM Mar 1st, 12:00 AM SPIRIT BAPTISMS & SHANGHAI BROTHELS: ETHEL ABERCROMBIE AND EARLY PENTECOSTALS AT THE DOOR OF HOPE WOMEN Southlake, TX A paper presented at the 2021 Society for Pentecostal Studies Annual Meeting in Southlake, TX.
Digital Showcase - Society for Pentecostal Studies Annual Meeting Papers: WHAT’S SO GLOBAL ABOUT PENTECOSTALISM?: MAPPING THE PENTECOSTAL NETWORK OF HONG KONG, 1907-1941
Home > Holy Spirit Research Center > SPS_MEETING_PAPERS > SPS2019 > 63 Mar 1st, 12:00 AM Feb 1st, 12:00 AM WHAT’S SO GLOBAL ABOUT PENTECOSTALISM?: MAPPING THE PENTECOSTAL NETWORK OF HONG KONG, 1907-1941 Hyattsville, MD A paper presented at the 2019 Society for Pentecostal Studies Annual Meeting in Hyattsville, MD. These papers are copyrighted by the authors and are not available to the public, but are provided for access by ORU students, faculty, and affiliated individuals with an ORU login.
Digital Showcase - Society for Pentecostal Studies Annual Meeting Papers: “TIME WOULD FAIL TO TELL OF HEROIC SISTER DEANE”: HONG KONG’S ANNA M. DEANE AND THE PROGRESSIVE PENTECOSTAL MYTH
Home > Holy Spirit Research Center > SPS_MEETING_PAPERS > SPS2018 > 62 Mar 1st, 12:00 AM Mar 1st, 12:00 AM “TIME WOULD FAIL TO TELL OF HEROIC SISTER DEANE”: HONG KONG’S ANNA M. DEANE AND THE PROGRESSIVE PENTECOSTAL MYTH Cleveland, TN A paper presented at the 2018 Society for Pentecostal Studies Annual Meeting in Cleveland, TN.
Empowered21 Scholars' Consultations: Pentecostals Among the Plagues: Early Chinese Pentecostal Theologies of Sickness, Healing, and Pandemics
Home > E21SCHOLARS > 2021 > 8 Start Date 13-10-2021 9:30 AM End Date 13-10-2021 10:00 AM DOWNLOADS Since October 27, 2021 COinS Oct 13th, 9:30 AM Oct 13th, 10:00 AM Pentecostals Among the Plagues: Early Chinese Pentecostal Theologies of Sickness, Healing, and Pandemics
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