Tuesday, September 29, 2020

F.F. Bosworth Mentioned in Marius Nel’s book, ‘The Prosperity Gospel in Africa’ (2020)

By Roscoe Barnes III, PhD
Author, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind "Christ the Healer"
Copyright (c) 2020

#FFBosworth
#BosworthMatters
#BosworthMention


(Wipf and Stock, 2020)

F.F. Bosworth is mentioned in a new book by Dr. Marius Nel titled, The prosperity Gospel in Africa: An African Pentecostal Hermeneutical Consideration (Wipf and Stock, 2020). The book briefly mentions Bosworth's contributions as a Pentecostal pioneer and his connection to E.W. Kenyon. 

Nel is a faculty member of North-West University. He holds a Doctor of Theology degree in Practical Theology from the University of South Africa and a Doctor of Divinity degree in Church History from the University of Pretoria. He also has earned doctorates in Old Testament and New Testament. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from the University of Pretoria. For 23 years, Nel was a lecturer at Auckland Park Theological Seminary. Nel has been a pastor of the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) Churches of South Africa for three decades. According to his Amazon.com page, he helps with the theological training in the AFM. He also works with the new Afrikaans Bible translation of the Bible Society. 

Note: Information on The Prosperity Gospel in Africa is available here or by visiting this link: 

According to Nel, he wrote this book in order to “describe Pentecostal hermeneutics in terms of its viewpoint toward the prosperity gospel.” He acknowledges others have written on this topic, but their work is not from the African context. In his view, the African perspective is “fairly absent in this discourse.” Nel suggests that what is seen in the literature on Pentecostal studies in hermeneutic and exegesis are mostly writings with American or British-European origin. However, his book is presented to fill in the gaps from the African context. He writes: “This book was written by a theological scholar from Africa, focusing on Africa’s need for a well-grounded theological evaluation of popular prosperity theology.”

In the section where Nel mentions Bosworth, he notes the important role that E.W. Kenyon played in Pentecostal church history. Like other historians, Nel believes there exists a link between Kenyon’s theology and present-day proponents of the prosperity gospel.

“Although he (Kenyon) did not embrace the Pentecostal movement, his relationships with and influence on some of the leading Pentecostal leaders of his day” helped to spread his teachings and keep his legacy alive, Nel writes. He explains that Bosworth and other evangelists such as John G. Lakes and Aimee Semple McPherson “ensured that [Kenyon’s] voice was heard across the pentecostal world.” Citing Bosworth’s classic, Christ the Healer, Nel offers a summary of Bosworth’s teaching on healing that was similar to the teachings of Kenyon.

“For instance, F.F. Bosworth taught that healing was believers’ legal right, secured by Christ and accelerated through spiritual effects of positive words,” Nel writes. “Confession brings believers’ words into reality before the healing is seen. What was needed was that believers should act according to their positive words, as though healed already.”

Nel doesn’t say much about Bosworth, but what he mentions rings true in terms of his connection to Kenyon and his teachings on faith and divine healing.


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Reminder: "F.F. Bosworth History" is now on Twitter. Follow @bosworth_fred

Note: My book, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind "Christ the Healer," can be purchased here with a 25% discount. Use the discount code: BOSWORTH25.


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Want to know more
about F.F. Bosworth?

Follow the Bosworth Matters blog!
Visit here:
ffbosworth.strikingly.com

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For more information:
Visit the F.F. Bosworth page here. Questions about the research and commentary on F.F. Bosworth may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on F.F. Bosworth history, simply follow this blog or @bosworth_fred and @Roscoebarnes3 on Twitter. #ChristTheHealer #BosworthMention #BosworthMatters

Dr. Christopher J. Richmann Publishes New Book on F.F. Bosworth

His research presents a significant contribution to pentecostalism and church history

By Roscoe Barnes III, PhD
Author, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind "Christ the Healer"
Copyright (c) 2020

#FFBosworth
#BosworthMatters





Dr. Christopher J. Richmann of Baylor University has written an excellent book on F.F. Bosworth. It is titled, Living in Bible Times: F.F. Bosworth and the Pentecostal Pursuit of the Supernatural (Pickwick Publications, 2020). The 291-page volume offers the most extensive research to date on the author of Christ the Healer (1924).

For more information on Living in Bible Times, visit here or follow this link: https://wipfandstock.com/living-in-bible-times.html


I recently completed a review of the book for a peer-reviewed journal. However, I will not be able to share the content until it is published. For now, I can honestly say that Richmann has given us a critical biography that makes a significant contribution to Pentecostal church history. In discussing Bosworth's life history, Richmann presents the evangelist as a central figure in the Pentecostal movements in both the early 20th century and the Post-World War II healing revival. He shows how Bosworth's views on evidential tongues, revival meetings, and divine healing have left an indelible impression on the Pentecostal and charismatic movements. Richmann highlights his close relationship with famous revivalists and some of the most prominent leaders in the Assemblies of God and the Christian and Missionary Alliance. He digs deeply into his roots with the Methodist church, as well as his time in Zion City, IL and Dallas, Texas. He also offers fresh insight into his relationship with William Branham and The Voice of Healing. In short, Richmann shows in striking detail how Bosworth preached and prayed for the sick in his undying pursuit of the supernatural. Richmann writes:

“A recurring theme in this book ... is that pentecostalism’s distinctive core, driving impulse, and cultural significance is found not in the doctrine of initial evidence or the legacy of Azusa Street, but in the quest for the supernatural that was inherited from the radical holiness movement of the late nineteenth century.”

 The book is endorsed by Candy Gunther Brown, author of Testing Prayer: Science and Healing, and Roger Robins, a professor with the University of Tokyo. According to Brown, “Richmann rightly foregrounds the theme of supernaturalism, epitomized by divine healing (more than speaking in tongues).” In Robins’ view, the book is a “lively biography of an underappreciated figure and a much-needed historical corrective, recovering the central place in early Pentecostalism of those independent currents that elude traditional narratives built around Azusa Street or denominational expressions of the movement.”

I invite you to stay tuned for my full review.

-----------------------------------------------


Reminder: "F.F. Bosworth History" is now on Twitter. Follow @bosworth_fred

Note: My book, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind "Christ the Healer," can be purchased here with a 25% discount. Use the discount code: BOSWORTH25.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Want to know more

about F.F. Bosworth?

Follow the Bosworth Matters blog!

Visit here:

ffbosworth.strikingly.com 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information:
Visit the F.F. Bosworth page here. Questions about the research and commentary on F.F. Bosworth may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on F.F. Bosworth history, simply follow this blog or @bosworth_fred and @Roscoebarnes3 on Twitter. #ChristTheHealer #BosworthMention #BosworthMatters

Sunday, September 27, 2020

Dr. Tracey Jean Boisseau Pens Essay on Anne Moody

Article published in Meridians journal


By Roscoe Barnes III

Chairman, Anne Moody History Project

Copyright (c) 2020

#AnneMoody

Dr. Tracey Jean Boisseau


Dr. Tracey Jean Boisseau, associate professor at Purdue University, has published a new essay on AnneMoody, titled “Coming of Age with Anne Moody: Looking Within and Without for the Origins of Black Women’s Activism in the Civil Rights Movement.” It appears in Meridians (April 2020), a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary feminist journal. In the Abstract, Boisseau writes: "This essay offers a close reading of Anne Moody’s widely read but under-theorized memoir of the civil rights movement, Coming of Age in Mississippi (1968). This essay’s focus mirrors a main focus in Moody’s narrative: her relationship with her mother."

The full abstract can be viewed here:

https://read.dukeupress.edu/meridians/article-abstract/19/1/32/165710/Coming-of-Age-with-Anne-MoodyLooking-Within-and

I was especially delighted to learn that my work on Anne Moody is cited in this excellent work. It is truly an honor, and I'm grateful to Boisseau for the acknowledgment.



#ComingOfAgeinMississippi #CivilRights #BlackHistory #WomensHistory #Mississippi #Twitterstorians #BlkTwitterstorians

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Want to know more about Anne Moody?

Visit here to see the timeline of 

important events in her life history!

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For more information: 

See the Anne Moody page hereQuestions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III Ph.D. via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com For updates on Anne Moody history and the on-going work of this community service project, simply follow this blog or follow AMHP on Twitter (@AnneMoodyHP). #ComingOfAgeinMississippi