Charismatic leaders

This article examines how currents of renewal, particularly the
charismatic movement, have been leading to new patterns of Christian
formation within the Roman Catholic Church. I will look first at the
overall context; secondly, at the first stage of reform and renewal in
Catholic formation (1965-85) This article examines how currents of renewal, particularly the charismatic movement, have been leading to new patterns of Christian formation within the Roman Catholic Church. I will look first at the overall context; secondly, at the first stage of reform and renewal in Catholic formation

The main goal of the following article is to reconstruct the genealogy of political leadership, as a causative phenomenon, culminating in its modern manifestations. To reach this point one must not forget to
bring in discussion the personalized politics concept, which contributed to the transposal of electoral tendencies throughout the world – based on an American credo. As a result, the first part deals with political leadership in post-communist societies – and most intensely – with the concept of political community. In the latter case, we focused upon the relation and interaction between political leadership and the professionalization of political communication. The first sections will address the importance of charismatic authority as introduced by Sheffer. Ultimately, we will highlight that nowadays, political candidates rely heavily on stereotypes, emotional appeals, and aspects of private life positioned into the public sphere. In the long run, the personalized politics leads to the destabilization of loyalty and credibility manifested towards politicians, due to the fact that electoral campaigns are dominated by the replacement of the political substance with visual advertisements.

Jesus’ teachings in the Gospel of Mark provide the marching orders for holistic ministry, i.e., discipling people to faith in Jesus Christ, and demonstrating our own faith through our actions and service among the needy. The purpose of this article is to establish that the transformational experience of salvation, the ethical actions of social concern, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, as they are seen primarily in the Gospel of Mark, are inextricably linked together in any expression of holistic ministry.

Working beyond the inclination to inaugurate alternative theoretical traditions alongside canonical sociology, this article demonstrates the value of recovering latent gender theory from within classic concepts-in this case, Weber's "charisma." Close readings of Weber reveal, (a) tools for theorizing extraordinary, non-masculinist agency, and, (b) clues that account for the conventional wisdom (popular and scholastic) that charisma is "not for women." While contemporary movements may be tempted to eschew charismatic leadership per se because of legacies of dominance by men, there is value in Weber's formulation, which anticipated the performative turn in social theory that would destabilize biologistic gender ontologies. Value in this exchange also flows back to Weber: by confronting his intermittent tendency to describe charisma in terms that we now recognize as "customs of manly power," we reveal heretofore unseen imperfections (i.e., traditionalist modes of legitimation) in his ideal-type. This engagement thus demonstrates an empowering mutuality between contemporary gender theory and "the classics." The article ends by theorising the nexus of gender and charisma in the case of Trump, pointing to possibilities for vitiating Donald Trump's charisma, as well as for anti-Trumpian charisma.

Despite the historical and contemporary prevalence of charismatic terrorist leaders, there has been very little empirical examination of the relationship between charismatic forms of authority and the strategic operation of terrorist groups. In response to this gap in knowledge, this study seeks to investigate if charismatic authority has a real-world impact on strategic choices and attack outcomes of terrorist groups. Using a theoretical framework meant to help measure charisma in terrorist organizations, this study quantitatively examines how differing levels of the presence of charismatic authority contributes to the choice in operational tactics (e.g., weapon and target choices) and the results of attack outcomes (e.g., success rates, lethality) within a sample of thirty international terrorist groups. In the concluding section, relevant findings, policy recommendations, study limitations, and areas for future research are discussed.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce, apply and compare how artificial intelligence (AI), and specifically the IBM Watson system, can be used for content analysis in marketing research relative to manual and computer-aided (non-AI) approaches to content analysis. Design/methodology/approach To illustrate the use of AI-enabled content analysis, this paper examines the text of leadership speeches, content related to organizational brand. The process and results of using AI are compared to manual and computer-aided approaches by using three performance factors for content analysis: reliability, validity and efficiency. Findings Relative to manual and computer-aided approaches, AI-enabled content analysis provides clear advantages with high reliability, high validity and moderate efficiency. Research limitations/implications This paper offers three contributions. First, it highlights the continued importance of the content analysis research method, particularly with the exp...

At the end of Russia’s old regime, the transformation of society initiated
by the Great Reforms of the 1860s had also transformed the Orthodox
Church. After the Emancipation, former serfs found new opportunities
as laborers, factory workers, entrepreneurs, and even priests, monks, and holy men. Vasilii Karpovich Podgornyi was one such serf who, after Emancipation, became a successful businessman. Inspired by  traditional piety he used his entrepreneurial skills to create networks of religious communities, primarily composed of pious women. Podgornyi’s remarkable success sharply split the church hierarchy. Some conservative hierarchs regarded this former serf as a suspicious figure, a pervert who took advantage of his female followers. Because of such accusations, Podgornyi spent ten years in a monastic prison. Other clergy, including Podgornyi’s monastic jailers, became his strong  advocates and ultimately succeeded in seeing him freed from prison. Podgornyi’s movement, however, remained controversial and illustrates the sharp social tensions within the church before the Bolshevik Revolution.

The castle is a high security military prison. It is the home of the most offenders of the armed forces. The warden of the military prison, Colonel Winter is a tyrant who manipulates and turns the prisoner against each other. His philosophy is:” Make them forget they are soldiers, make them forget they are MEN, and you will win”. Colonel Winter is abhorrent, the villain and simultaneously pathetic.

Si les mouvements charismatiques et Églises (néo-)pentecôtistes, surtout celles dites de la « troisième vague », se situent aux périphéries des lieux de décision du christianisme œcuménique et du monde théologique académique, ils n’en représentent pas moins la partie la plus dynamique du christianisme mondial en termes de croissance – regroupant un quart de la population chrétienne mondiale, soit un chrétien sur quatre, et près d’un humain sur dix.
Pour évoquer les « nouvelles pratiques charismatiques » dans le champ de la guérison, nous n’adoptons pas ici le point de vue du théologien mais celui de l’anthropologue, réductionniste à dessein.
La porte d’entrée retenue est une manifestation religieuse de grande ampleur organisée le samedi 4 janvier 2020 à la salle du Zénith à Paris et ayant rassemblé 7000 personnes, pour l’immense majorité membres d’Églises pentecôtistes africaines et afro-caribéennes de la région parisienne. La salle avait été louée par une organisation missionnaire d’initiative congolaise, Casarhema, fondée en 2000 et animée par Liz et Blaise Manzambi un couple congolais entrepreneurs économiques et leaders religieux émergents. Destinée à l’origine à produire des artistes chrétiens congolais, Casarhema est devenue en 2007 une plateforme internet– chaîne chrétienne produisant et diffusant sur les réseaux sociaux et sur des espaces de télévision des émissions-magazines pour différents publics, et surtout des vidéos de nombreux prédicateurs et acteurs/actrices religieux. À destination d’abord de la diaspora congolaise, l’audience de Casarhema s’est étendue au fil des années à l’ensemble de la francophonie – principalement celle des diasporas africaines, abandonnant au passage l’usage du lingala, l’une des langues congolaises pour l’usage exclusif du français. Casarhema.fr atteint en 2020, un rayonnement mondial avec des dizaines de milliers de connexions hebdomadaires et quelques « antennes » sur le continent africain (Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroun, République démocratique du Congo). Le public est connecté depuis tous les continents. Structure d’initiative africaine, au modèle économique et religieux fortement innovant et ne bénéficiant d’aucun soutien financier extérieur (non plus de la nébuleuse missionnaire nord-américaine), Casarhema située au cœur de ces réseaux pentecôtistes transnationaux émergents, croisant réseaux réels et virtuels, témoigne d’une capacité de mobilisation insoupçonnée.(...) Le rassemblement du 4 janvier intitulé « Méga-rencontre de Gloire – Zénith (Paris La Villette)» avec en sous-titre «Jésus-Christ est la solution » apparaît dès lors comme un précipité au sens chimique de l’univers pentecôtiste globalisé entretenu au sein de ce réseau et de son ethos religieux.
Cette contribution présente et analyse quelques-unes des performances rituelles et discursives les plus significatives – parmi les discours, prières, paroles d’autorité, prophéties, chants, etc., générés ce jour-là par la douzaine d’intervenants presque tous de nationalité congolaise – et la dizaine de chantres – principalement des femmes – qui se sont succédés sur la scène du Zénith.
Après avoir montré comment la plateforme Casarhema, inscrite dans la dynamique d’innovation religieuse des Églises néo-pentecôtistes, fonctionne comme un lieu de régulation et de stabilisation de ces pratiques de la « restauration divine », nous analyserons le discours de cinq intervenants du rassemblement du Zénith identifiant à cette occasion les registres discursifs et symboliques qui structurent leurs performances.

In wandering my internal "alleyways" I once found myself in a cardboard-box factory of old Tilly-sur-Seulles, a bit of dust on the worn floorboards, and an interesting array of consecrated "hosts" with blood-dappled sigils, affixed to blue silk, near a window open to a very tall elm tree. "The Oratory in Eugene Vintras' factory!" I recognized with surprise — intrigued that I had landed there, in view of the actual TREE where his predicted Madonna had appeared in Her spangled-blue belt upon a pink cloud. Of course, Eugene's Saint Michael ALSO first knocked on his door in this honest workaday environment; a rather downcast old man, curiously confiding, "I am very TIRED, everywhere I present myself, they look at me with

This study investigates the influence of crisis on leader use of charismatic rhetoric. We examine leader charismatic rhetoric across two major crises, longitudinally exploring potential long-term influences of charismatic rhetoric on perceptions of leader effectiveness. Using an inductive approach to theory generation, we draw upon findings from the data analysis of eight charismatic rhetoric constructs (collective focus, temporal orientation, followers' worth, similarity to followers, values and moral justifications, tangibility, action, and adversity) to advance propositions regarding potential time and ceiling effects of charismatic rhetorical leadership on followers. Additionally, we discuss the relationships between characteristics of the crisis and the use of charismatic rhetorical leadership. In doing so, we identify potential boundary conditions for the use of charismatic rhetoric (as an element of charismatic leadership) within the context of different crises.

Sind wir Zeugen einer neuen Ausgießung des Heiligen Geistes über die leidende, gottferne Menschheit? Erleben wir heute ein neues Pfingsten – mit Reden in fremden Sprachen, Prophetien und Wunderheilungen? Das wäre so ein großes Geschenk Gottes für uns. Viele unserer Mitchristen sind davon fest überzeugt und haben sich in der Charismatischen Erneuerung zusammengefunden. Dieses Buch soll untersuchen, ob wir wirklich in einer solchen außerordentlichen Zeit leben. Innerhalb der Charismatischen Erneuerung spielt das Zungenreden oder Sprachenreden wohl die größte Rolle unter den drei genannten pfingstlichen Zeichen des Kommens des Heiligen Geistes. Was ist darunter nach der Kirche, der Bibel und den großen Theologen mit dem Hl. Thomas von Aquin an ihrer Spitze zu verstehen?
Der Autor, Allgemeinmediziner und Psychotherapeut in eigener Praxis, kennt die Charismatische Erneuerung durch jahrelange Erfahrung „von innen“, darunter zwei Jahre Mitgliedschaft in einer klosterähnlichen charismatischen Gemeinschaft.
Eine genaue Untersuchung der biblischen Texte, die Meinung Thomas von Aquins, ein Blick auf profanwissenschaftliche Untersuchungen des Zungenredens und die überlieferte Lehre der Kirche legen nahe: Das Zungenreden in der Charismatischen Erneuerung sollte durch andere, bessere, der Natur des Menschen und der katholischen Religion mehr entsprechende Formen des Gottesdienstes ersetzt werden.

Aus dem Vorwort
Ich versuche zu zeigen, dass das biblische Sprachenreden, heute gemeinhin als Zungenreden bezeichnet (das griechische Originalwort lässt formal beide Übersetzungen zu), ein völlig anderes Phänomen ist als das, was gemeinhin in charismatischen Gruppen unter dieser Bezeichnung praktiziert wird.
Um das zu belegen, stütze ich mich neben meiner persönlichen Beobachtung auf Hauptargumentationslinien: Sprachwissenschaftliche (philologisch-linguistische) Argumente zur Auslegung (Exegese) der betreffenden Bibelstellen, die biblische Parallelität zwischen Babel und Pfingsten, die Argumente unseres größten Theologen, des Heiligen Thomas von Aquin, sowie schließlich auf naturwissenschaftliche Untersuchungen an Zungenrednern und Zungenrede.

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to introduce, apply and compare how artificial intelligence (AI), and specifically the IBM Watson system, can be used for content analysis in marketing research relative to manual and computer-aided (non-AI) approaches to content analysis. Design/methodology/approach-To illustrate the use of AI-enabled content analysis, this paper examines the text of leadership speeches, content related to organizational brand. The process and results of using AI are compared to manual and computer-aided approaches by using three performance factors for content analysis: reliability, validity and efficiency. Findings-Relative to manual and computer-aided approaches, AI-enabled content analysis provides clear advantages with high reliability, high validity and moderate efficiency. Research limitations/implications-This paper offers three contributions. First, it highlights the continued importance of the content analysis research method, particularly with the explosive growth of natural language-based user-generated content. Second, it provides a road map of how to use AI-enabled content analysis. Third, it applies and compares AI-enabled content analysis to manual and computer-aided, using leadership speeches. Practical implications-For each of the three approaches, nine steps are outlined and described to allow for replicability of this study. The advantages and disadvantages of using AI for content analysis are discussed. Together these are intended to motivate and guide researchers to apply and develop AI-enabled content analysis for research in marketing and other disciplines. Originality/value-To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is among the first to introduce, apply and compare how AI can be used for content analysis.

1. Hitler seeks to be interviewed by a relatively uneducated non-German in his final days in the Bunker 1945. Reason: he does not trust any German to pass on his Final Testament.

2. The Americans agree on the condition all questions can and will be asked. Hitler agrees.

3. Washington DC chooses a 20-year-old Kansas farm girl, Dorothy, a German immigrant. Meanwhile, the naive, gullible Dorothy wants to leave her rural home and be famous and agrees to this mission, which she heartily believes is the right path to follow her dreams of Hollywood fame and glory.

4. Dorothy arrives in Europe and is escorted to the Bunker by German officers. There she meets the Bunkers' inhabitants and begins interviewing the Fuehrer.

5. Since Hitler cannot give her all his time, she mingles with others, conversing with every one of his followers, including Eva Braun, Magdalena Goebbels, Goering, Ribbentrop, Speer, Fegelein, Keitel, Goebbels, Rochus Misch, Himmler, Guderian, et al.

6. At other times, she gets out of the Bunker, and there she speaks to some of Hitler's opponents and victims, such as Sophie Scholl, Chaim Mordechai Rumkowski, and more.

Inevitably Dorothy matures during those final weeks in Berlin, and she is haunted by words such as – ‘Did I ever understand Hitler?’ ‘Is he mentally sick or evil?’ ‘But if Hitler mentally sick and/or evil, what about most ordinary Germans who ardently followed him? Are all of them mentally sick and/or evil?’ ‘What is Good and Evil?’, ‘What is the meaning of Life?’

This chapter argues that leadership is a religious phenomenon. It makes this case by drawing on some of the most popular leadership concepts: charismatic leadership, transformational leadership, spiritual leadership, servant leadership, authentic leadership and distributed leadership.

Una de las funciones fundamentales del Espíritu Santo es conservar y custodiar la frescura de los dones carismáticos y jerárquicos derramados en la Iglesia. Un gran fruto de la actividad del Espíritu Santo, como animador y dador de vida, es enriquecer la Iglesia desde la dimensión carismática. Esta dimensión incluye una constelación diversa de organizaciones, desde las Ordenes y Congregaciones religiosas más tradicionales hasta los «movimientos», «nuevas comunidades» y «nuevas formas de vida consagrada». Frente a visiones eclesiológicas que plantean un conflicto entre las antiguas y las nuevas realidades consideramos que todas estas formas de asociación carismáticas pueden ser consideradas en conjunto, pues tienen en común su origen en un fuerte carisma que las origina y les da identidad. Uno de los elementos que permite descubrir la pertinencia de esta mirada eclesiológica lo encontramos al articular una reflexión sobre los procesos de actualización y reforma que se generan hoy en las realidades carismáticas, tanto en las más antiguas como en las recientes.

NOTE: this PhD was re-worked, with deleted chapters and new chapters in my book _The Subversive Evangelical_. There is much new and different material.

Megachurch pastors—as local and international celebrities—have been a growing phenomenon since the 1960s, when megachurches began to proliferate across North America. Why are these leaders and their large congregations so popular in an age of increasing “religious nones”? Commentators in both popular and academic literature often resort to characterizing the leadership with stereotypes of manipulative opportunists along the lines of Sinclair Lewis’ Elmer Gantry (1927) or narrow characterizations of savvy entrepreneurs who thrive in a competitive religious economy. Similarly, writers assume megachurch attendees are a passive audience, or even dupes.

This dissertation challenges the Elmer Gantry stereotype and the religious economic perspectives by examining one particular megachurch pastor named Bruxy Cavey in the context of his “irreligious” megachurch community called The Meeting House. It argues that charismatic leadership, not calculated management and branding techniques, best explains the rapid growth of this megachurch as well as the deep commitments many people make to it. While the concept of “charisma” is often used equivocally, in the tradition of Max Weber I contend that charismatic authority is best understood not only as an extraordinary individual quality but as a form of cultural authority that arises when traditional and institutional forms have lost their plausibility and people experience uncertainty, dissatisfaction, or distress. People attribute exemplary powers to someone who offers them a way out, and intellectually and emotionally bond with the visionary and their vision.

This charismatic authority I portray as a dramatic production, what I call a “dramatic web” that draws followers into its scene and script, offering some resolution to their worries. The complex, compelling nature of this drama is best understood in the context of Wendy Griswold’s “cultural diamond,” which proposes four elements in the analysis of a cultural object: the cultural object itself, its creators, its receivers, and the social world that encapsulates them all. I investigate the four elements as part of a “charismatic diamond”: the cultural object is the “dramatic web” of Cavey’s church, marketed as “a church for people who aren’t into church”; the creators are Cavey and his staff, who employ a variety of media to generate and disseminate the drama; the social world is a Canadian culture ambivalent about religion and which stigmatizes right-wing evangelicals; the receivers are various concentric circles of audience who participate in the subculture of the church to varying degrees.

Following the dramaturgical themes of Erving Goffman, I investigate the “dramatic web” of The Meeting House in two parts—as a deconstructive, satirical project displayed on Sunday mornings and then as a re-constructive, romantic adventure that is exemplified in weekday Home Churches. For the first, I show Cavey deliberately takes “role distance” from the stereotype of a right-wing evangelical pastor, using satire to deconstruct the mores of North American evangelical culture and create an “alienating effect” in his audience. The negatively oriented opening acts create a space in which a new script can be constructed, and I demonstrate next Cavey’s two core romantic narratives that champion “relationship, not religion”—a script that is to be enacted through their weekday Home Churches. Not all attendees are caught up in this dramatic web to the same degree, however, as attendees select elements from it for their own purposes, some embracing and identifying with the whole script, while others take pieces from it to arrange into a more eclectic religious life. The final chapter explores moments of “dramaturgical trouble,” including the question of what happens when Cavey retires, dies, or is deposed. In other words, how might this religious performance come to an end? I offer a typology of possible endings and their sequels—three scenarios of charismatic succession I developed from Weber’s writing on the routinization of charisma.

The dissertation concludes by suggesting that, contrary to predictions of the megachurches demise, if megachurches indeed are a compelling drama co-produced by leader and follower that brings meaning, purpose, and joy to followers’ lives in the midst of cultural tension, megachurches are not just a passing fad or vulnerable personality cult, but a viable and likely enduring North American religious institution.

(1983:) This book is the most recently published major work on the Italian Radical Party. Unlike many which have come before it (with the obvious exception of "I nuovi radicali" by Teodori et alia) this book is not written in a "journalistic style" nor is it simply a glossy overview of Radical campaigns, congresses, and "causes". In writing it, Massimo Gusso had access to a large body of Radical documents, newspapers, periodicals and the like, often difficult to track down. The author has chosen to focus on two important aspects of the Radical Party. These are organization and leadership. In doing so, however, he has not omitted a brief yet informative survey of the party's history from its formation in 1955 to 1982.
In the first part of Chapter 1, Gusso looks at some historic precedents of radicalism in Italy, Great Britain and France. In the second part he concentrates on the "old" Radical Party, the "Partito Radicale dei Liberali e dei Democratici," which came into being as a result of a small but significant split to the Left in the Liberal Party. This first period of Radical Party history lasted from 1955 until 1962, when . the nature of the party changed and the "new" Radical Party emerged. The history of the "new'' Radical Party is split into two parts within Chapter 2. In the first part Gusso examines the activities of the Radical Party from 1962 to 1972 (the year in which the Radicals held their "Congresso di rilancio"). During this period the Radicals turned their attention to a number of causes, including anti-militarism, anti-clericalism, civil rights and the legalization of divorce. In addition to looking at such campaigns, the author analyses the relationship between the Radical Party and other extra-parliamentary groups such as ''Lega Italiana per l'istituzione del Divorzio" as well as its relationship with the "traditional" parties. In the second part of Chapter 2 the author looks at the organization of the party and its impact on the national scene from 1972 to 1982. This section provides a great deal of information concerning support far the Radicals in their various campaigns and in the elections of that period. The third section contains some reflections on the "forma-partito radicale."
One interesting feature of the Radical Party is its federal structure as laid out in its statute. In Chapter 3 Gusso examines and explains this aspect of the statute as well as other manifestations of party life which help to make the Radical Party unique among Italian parties. The information and analysis provided here give the reader a good foundation for understanding the Radical Party.
In the final chapter the author looks at the charismatic nature of the party and the problems caused by this party feature. Over the years many internal difficulties have stemmed from conflicts between the grassroots activities (usually on the regional and local level) and the national leadership, especially with regard to theposition of the Radical's most famous leader, Marco Pannella.
Charismatic leadership is not unusual for a small party but for a party of the Left which claims, among other things, to be democratic and libertarian and maintains a loosely organized structure, such leadership poses a number of organizational and programmatic problems.
The above work is well written and may indeed be considered of academic worth. As a result of his association with, and membership in, the Radical Party, Gusso has gained a special insight into the internal struggles of the party. At the same time, he has managed not to fall into the trap of simply glorifying a party for which he admits a certain affection. Perhaps the maintenance of his objectivity owes much to the nature of his study which deals mainly with some of the less controversial aspects of the party. Undoubtedly, however, opponents of the Radical Party will still find reason to take issue with Gusso's view of the Radicals.
In an area of Italian politics into which relatively little scholarly research has been carried out, Gusso's work along with that of Teodori et alia stands out in sharp relief. It is a book worth reading.

John G Lake, founder of the Healing Rooms in Spokane, had 100,000 documented healings within just five years, making Spokane the healthiest city in the nation.  This article analyses John G Lake's lasting impact both in North America and in Southern Africa.

"Representations", N. 129, Winter 2015.

The essay analyzes the project of maintaining the body of V. I. Lenin in the Mausoleum in Moscow for the past ninety years, focusing on the unique biological science that developed around this project, and the unexpected political role this body has performed.

Joseph Prince, pastor of New Creation Church in Singapore, is a popular, dynamic speaker. From humble beginnings, Prince emerged as a force to be reckoned with on the contemporary Christian stage, authoring best-selling books and leading a worldwide ministry that emphasizes grace and success. Prince's theological method, however, represents a pseudo-orthodoxy and supplants the apostolic gospel with the heretical message of prosperity.

The Jesus People movement's influence on Christian music and charismatic practices was profound. Alongside the interdenominational musical reformation came changes in how the charismata-God's spiritual gifts to Christians-were performed and celebrated in church services. Embraced at first as bodily manifestations of the Holy Spirit's presence, controversies arose over time concerning what should count as charismata and how central these practices ought to be in church services. This article explores three such controversies, how they were handled by church leaders and how they would come to shape the Calvary Chapel and Vineyard movements' denominational identities.

A survey of Christian revivals, especially through the last 300 years, including Chapter 7: Twenty-first Century Revivals.
Foreword by C Peter Wagner:
I know of no other book like this one that provides rapid-fire, easy-to-read, factual literary snapshots of virtually every well-known revival since Pentecost.
As I read this book, I was thrilled to see how God has been so mightily at work in so many different times and places. I felt like I had grasped the overall picture of revival for the first time, and I was moved to pray that God, indeed, would allow me not to be just an observer, but rather a literal participant in the worldwide outpouring that will soon come. As you read the book, I am sure you will be saying the same thing.
Blog and details on www.renewaljournal.com

MRes Dissertation:

A comparative study of the existing Ethnographies on Neo-Paganism in Britain and the United States of America. The study aimed to draw out the commonalities between the way community is constructed in both country's Neo-Pagan movements. The study also provides an explanation for the differences between American and British Neo-Paganism.

Updated version posted on June 1, 2024.

Posted with permission of author and publisher, Kalimát Press. Thesis topic originally recommended by Todd Lawson. Scanned by Duane Troxel. Proofread by Jonah Winters and Lynn Jaluvka, with additional proofing by Bobbi Lyons. Formatted for the web by Jonah Winters. Corrections by Shahrokh Monjazeb. Critically read, from cover-to-cover, with recommendations, including several emendations, by Sohrab Kourosh. Please support this online re-printing by ordering a copy of the book.

See also the following published, academic reviews of Symbol & Secret:

•  Moojan Momen, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (Third Series) 7.2 (July 1997): 290–91. “Christopher Buck’s book represents the first book-length attempt in the English language to analyse one of the major works of Bahā’u’llāh. … One main theme that Buck explores in this book is the question of whether the text of the Īqān contains hints by Bahā’u’llāh of his future claim. Some have expressed doubt as to whether any such hints exist but Buck demonstrates, conclusively I think, that there are many covert and even overt indications of what he calls ‘Bahā’u’llāh’s messianic secret’. … Buck has created a good starting point for what one would anticipate will be a new genre: critical analyses of the writings of Bahā’u’llāh.”

•  Frank Lewis, Baha’i Studies Review 6 (1996): 76–91 [16-page extended review]. “Buck’s analysis of Bahaullah’s [sic: Baha’u’llah’s] appeal to Koran 33:44 promising attainment to the divine Presence on the Day of Resurrection (itself allegorically interpreted by Bahaullah as the advent day of a new prophet), as a counter-argument to the nearby verse (33:40) about the ‘Seal of the Prophets’ is simply brilliant.” … “Symbol and Secret is a ground-breaking study, setting a standard for and describing the agenda of the exegesis of Bahai texts for some time to come.”

•  John Hatcher, Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Bulletin 30.1 (July 1996): 70–71. “Buck offers insightful analysis of Bahā’u’llāh’s exegetical technique.”

•  Jonah Winters, Iranian Studies 32.1 (Winter 1999): 141–145. “Buck has undertaken a project that is to be commended on many fronts. This study is daring in that it is the first extended analysis of the Islamic context and content of Baha’ullah’s thought and writings. The rigor with which Buck has treated his topics is a model for anyone engaging in textual scholarship: his research is broad, his attention to detail thorough, and his coverage of the topics exhaustive. Finally, many of his conclusions, the light he throws on the Íqán and its content, and in places even his methods are frankly brilliant.” DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00210869908701948.

•  Jonah Winters, Journal of Bahá’í Studies 9.3 (September 1999): 69–75. “Christopher Buck’s Symbol and Secret: Qur’an Commentary in Bahá’u’lláh’s Kitáb-i Íqán (Studies in the Bábí and Bahá’í Religions, volume 7) can be seen as a work of genius: it is ground-breaking—daring, innovative, and even brilliant. … As Symbol and Secret is the first work written in English to examine Bahá’í scripture and hermeneutics in any analytical depth, Buck’s work can without exaggeration be declared seminal.

[…] First, this study is daring in that it is the first extended analysis of the Islamic context and content of Bahá’u’lláh’s thought and writings. Buck’s tangential self-defense on pages 260–261 indicates that he, too, is well aware of the daringness of the topic and of his academic approach to it. Second, the rigour with which Buck has treated his topics is a model for anyone engaging in textual scholarship: his research is broad, his attention to detail thorough, and his coverage of the topics exhaustive. Finally, many of his conclusions, the light he throws on the Íqán and its content, and in places even his methods are frankly brilliant.” DOI: https://doi.org/10.31581/jbs-9.3(1999).

What difference can a single prayer make in the life of an individual, a church, and a movement? This paper will examine Lonnie Frisbee’s prayer at John Wimber’s church in Anaheim, California, on Mother’s Day 1980. Recalled by those in attendance as simply, ‘Come, Holy Spirit’, this prayer is cited as the cause of rapid growth and a significant shift in ecclesial praxis in what would become the Vineyard Fellowship of Churches.
No event in history, particularly church history, is disconnected from its constituent personnel and theological origins. As such, this paper will examine the personal and denominational backgrounds of three key figures: Lonnie Frisbee and the Jesus People movement; Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel; and John Wimber and the Vineyard. The theological and historical soil of these people and movements contributed to both the impetus for the prayer, the emergence of a training ground for the new liturgical praxes following Mother’s Day 1980, and directed the theological trajectory of the Vineyard Association of Churches. A brief examination of the cultural environment of the United States of America in the late twentieth century is also undertaken, given that these church
movements emerged in the epicentre of significant movements in the broader American culture.
An examination of the biblical and historical foundations of Frisbee’s prayer is given, finding that this epiclesis is seen in the earliest liturgies of the church, and can be traced to the Scriptures. Throughout all eras of church history, such invocational prayers can be seen and have been
regularly employed in the sacramental and devotional life of the church. Following this, the impact of this prayer for the Vineyard movement is examined, exploring the five-year period following Frisbee’s prayer. The explosive growth and international influence are attributed by those in the movement as coming from this epicletic moment. Finally, some points of application for contemporary church communities are examined.
This paper finds that, while there are many contributing factors, this prayer is both traditionally and biblically orthodox, and can demonstrably be shown to be a contributing factor to the early growth of the Vineyard movement.

Sikh leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s militant and masculinist discourses were embraced by Punjabi Sikhs because of his presence as a charismatic authority, a concept first developed by sociologist Max Weber to understand the conditions surrounding and personal qualities of a figure which attracts followers. The rebellion he led in Punjab resulted from his radical exploitation of issues concerning the Sikh community. Religion was wielded as a tool, legitimizing Sikh violence as commanded by the Gurus. Radical interpretations of Sikh scripture and folklore were initially preached to rural, less educated crowds. While his sermons brought out their frustrations with the government, his charisma allowed him to manipulate young men, his largest demographic of supporters, into embracing violence. This study analyzes Bhindranwale from the perspective of the people that supported him. By identifying multiple social factors through which to understand Bhindranwale’s reign, this study exhibits his importance in understanding Sikhism in Modern India.

Analyzing the messages and the responses that Chinggis Khan sent to and received from Ong Khan and his allies after his defeat at the hands of the latter at the battle of Qalaqaljit Elet in the spring of 1203, and explicating the terms of cimar (chimar) and törü that appear in the messages, this article looks at the political order and culture where the Chinggisid state rose. The article argues that pre-modern Mongolian and Inner Asian politics was guided by the idea of törü, which resembles the Indo-Buddhist idea of dharma, the Chinese idea of dao, and the European idea of natural law. It also argues that the hereditary divisional system that the Inner Asian state builders regularly employed to govern their nomadic populations, the institutions of dynastic succession, and the hereditary rights of princes and the nobility for inheritance fundamentally structured Inner Asian politics. Hence, it questions the conventional wisdom that depicts pre-modern Inner Asian politics not only as pragmatic, fluid, and fractious but also dependent on the personal charisma of leadership, and the personal bond and loyalty between leaders and followers, as if it were lacking enduring social, political institutions and order.

TITLE
The 1893 Russian Publication of Baha’u’llah’s Last Will and Testament:
An Academic Attestation of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Successorship

AUTHORS
Christopher Buck
Independent Scholar, Pittsburgh

Youli Ioannesyan
Institute of Oriental Manuscripts
Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg)

PUBLICATION
Baha'i Studies Review
Volume 19 (2013, published 2017), pp. 3–44 (42 pp.)
Actual publication date:
May 2017 (online version); June 2017 (print version)
Publisher: Intellect

ABSTRACT
This study concerns the publication of a document that may well be unique in the history of religions: the written designation of a successor by the charismatic founder of a world religion. Mīrzā Ḥusayn-‘Alī (1817–1892), known as Bahā’-Allāh (more commonly, Baha’u’llah, ‘Splendor of God’), prophet–founder of the Bahā’ī Faith.

In the Kitāb-i ‘Ahdī (‘Book of My Covenant’), Baha’u’llah designated his eldest son, ‘Abbās Effendī, known as ‘Abdu’l-Bahā (1844–1921), as successor. Baha’u’llah died on 29 May 1892 (at 3:00 a.m.) in Bahjī (near ‘Akkā), Palestine (now modern-day Israel), and the Kitāb-i ‘Ahdī was read aloud nine days later.

In 1893, Russian orientalist, Aleksandr Grigor’evich Tumanski (1861–1920) published this document, in the original Persian, with Russian translation, together with a eulogy composed by the celebrated Bahā’ī poet, Mīrzā ‘Alī-Ashraf-i Lāhījānī, known by his sobriquet, ‘Andalīb (‘Nightingale’; d. 1920). Since ‘Andalīb was an eyewitness to the events he describes, his eulogy may be treated as a historical source.

Tumanski’s scholarly publication of the Kitāb-i ‘Ahdī is discussed in the context of Russian scholarly and diplomatic interests. The present study is presented as follows:

(1) Introduction;
(2) Aleksandr Grigor’evich Tumanski;
(3) Contents of the Kitāb-i ‘Ahdī and Brief Commentary;
(4) ‘Andalīb’s Eyewitness Account of the Reading of the Kitāb-i ‘Ahdī, 1892;
(5) The St. Petersburg Edition of the Kitāb-i ‘Ahdī;
(6) The Original Manuscript of the Kitāb-i ‘Ahdī and the Textus Receptus;
(7) Textual Variants Between the St. Petersburg Edition of the Kitāb-i ‘Ahdī and the Textus Receptus;
(8) The Cambridge Manuscript of the Kitāb-i ‘Ahdī in the E. G. Browne Collection; and
(9) Conclusion: Contemporary-Historical Attestation of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Successorship by Tumanski and other Russian Notables

KEYWORDS
Abdu’l-Baha; Alexsandr Tumanski; Baha’i Faith; Baha’u’llah;
Baron Rosen; Edward Granville Browne; Kitab-i-‘Ahd; covenant; successor

NOTE:
This document (prepared by Christopher Buck) is not the published version itself, and is made available pursuant to the “Publishing Agreement,” which provides, in pertinent part:

B. AUTHOR’S OWNERSHIP OF COPYRIGHT
The Copyright in the Accepted Contribution shall remain the Author’s property throughout the term of this Agreement. The Author may distribute or re-publish the Accepted Contribution, but may not use the format and designs of the Accepted Contribution as it appears in the Publication.

Some scholars label celebrities as " charismatic, " while others avoid that Weberian term, deeming it inappropriate in the context of celebrity culture. None, however, offers a systematic account of the relationship between Weberian charisma and celebrity. To this task, this article moves beyond the semantics toward a systematic analysis and comparison of the logics guiding charismatic and celebrity dynamics. I argue that charisma and celebrity represent distinct and even partly contradictory logics of social distinction, but that they nonetheless substantially intertwine and coextend in society, which renders their interaction ambiguous, conflictual, and creative of new social forms. This social-ontological conceptualization provides the now-lacking theoretical foundation for empirical studies into the many complex interactions between charismatic and celebrity dynamics throughout society.