Renewing Christian Worldview reviewed in Influence Magazine
“An important book by Pentecostal scholars. It examines basic worldview issues from an experientially Pentecostal point of view and in conversation with other Christian traditions and philosophical schools.”
“Steven Félix-Jäger and Yoon Shin have laid out the renewal worldview in simple, succinct, and sagacious terms. This book arises from simple ideas, rises to the heights of concise scholarship, and provokes theological imaginations. The book not only brilliantly treats the beauty, goodness, and truth in and of Pentecostal theology, it also transports the reader into the perichoretic beauty, goodness, and truth of a scholarship touched by grace.”
Nimi Wariboko, author of Transcripts of the Sacred in Nigeria: Beautiful, Monstrous, Ridiculous
“Renewing Christian Worldview offers a bold and refreshing approach to a topic that can at times become a well-worn and tired subject. Félix-Jäger and Shin take seriously the differences a pneumatological perspective brings to the construction of a Christian worldview. The result is a provocative proposal that is both helpful for understanding one of the largest demographics among global Christianity (Pentecostals) and prescribing a way forward for anyone interested in an alternative to a traditional propositional approach. This timely work is sure to become a landmark in the field.”
Lisa P. Stephenson, professor of systematic theology, Lee University
“Renewing Christian Worldview does just that: it reinvigorates the worldview discussion, albeit from a Pentecostal perspective. Félix-Jäger and Shin here provide a frame for engaging voices and perspectives from the global South as part of the necessary next steps both in the ongoing maturation of the Pentecostal academy and for further considerations of the transcendentals by theologians across world Christianity.”
Amos Yong, professor of theology and mission, Fuller Theological Seminary
“This book is an achievement on many different levels. It represents a ‘coming of age’ of renewal traditions in the authors’ ability to offer a form of sophisticated, world-regarding catechesis. It would have been a game-changer for me as a young person, when I had critical questions about life that neither my public school nor my church youth group was helping me answer. I felt lost so many times, openly wondering if my church tradition could keep up with the longings I had to make sense of the world and my place within it. This book could have helped me then, and I am convinced it will significantly help many people today. If read widely, this book could be part of a generational turning point.”
Daniel Castelo, associate dean for academic formation, William Kellon Quick Professor of Theology and Methodist Studies, Duke Divinity School
“One of the greatest threats to the God-given fullness of human life is reductionism. When we attempt to make the unknowable known using reason and intellect alone, we unintentionally reduce the Infinite to the finite mind. Félix-Jäger and Shin have invited us to a renewed worldview through the integration of experience, emotion, and mind with beauty, goodness, and truth. This is a must-read for our time!”
Tammy Dunahoo, executive dean, Portland Seminary of George Fox University
“Félix-Jäger and Shin have given us a constructive account of renewal theology, engaging a deep bench of philosophical and theological scholars. The authors’ Spirit-filled worldview creates new vistas into truth, beauty, and goodness with deference to the Pentecostal and charismatic traditions. Though some will find points of friction here, the holistic approach appears to be the view with which all Pentecostal/charismatic theologies will have to contend. An invigorating read!”
Dru Johnson, professor of biblical and theological studies, The King’s College, New York City
“Steven Félix-Jäger and Yoon Shin are two of the brightest emerging philosophical minds in the Pentecostal world. In Renewing Christian Worldview, they guide and form their readers in the beautiful, the good, and the true. This is the book we have needed for some time, full of the riches of the Christian tradition. In itself, this text is a philosophical education with and for the nearly one-fifth of the world’s Christians in the charismatic-pentecostal tradition—and for many beyond.”
L. William Oliverio Jr., associate professor of public theology and chair of Graduate Studies, Northwest University College of Ministry; co-editor-in-chief of Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies
“A fresh and innovative look at the nature and power of beauty, goodness, and truth—centered in the Spirit’s work in and through creation—for personal and cultural renewal. Félix-Jäger and Shin expertly argue that a richer vision of reality, rooted in the Pentecostal imagination, can lead to a fresh movement of the Spirit in education, apologetics, and church ministry. This book is jam-packed with wisdom and insight and is a must-read for anyone interested in worldview, apologetics, culture, and theology.”
Paul M. Gould, associate professor of philosophy of religion and director of the Master of Arts in Philosophy of Religion Program, Palm Beach Atlantic University
“Félix-Jäger and Shin deliver a thoroughgoing, renewalist Christian worldview, which flows from the central narrative and experience of Pentecost and is rooted in the affections and practices of Spirit-filled believers. In the process, the authors provide a robust philosophical and theological exploration of beauty, goodness, and truth as a resource for thinking about the Christian worldview in the Spirit. This will make an excellent textbook or supplemental reading for Christian worldview courses in need of Pentecostal/charismatic perspectives.”
Sammy Alfaro, Grand Canyon University
Steven Félix-Jäger (PhD, University of Wales) is associate professor of theology and worship, chair of the worship and media department, and director of academic research at Life Pacific University in San Dimas, California. He is also an ordained minister of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, cohost of the TikTok Theology podcast, and an exhibiting artist, songwriter, and producer. Some of his previous books include Renewing Christian Worldview (coauthored with Yoon Shin) and Renewal Worship.
Yoon Shin (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is coleader of the Philosophy Interest Group in the Society for Pentecostal Studies and is an ordained deacon with Missio Mosaic/Anglican Mission International. He is the author of Pentecostalism, Postmodernism, and Reformed Epistemology. Shin lives in Lakeland, Florida.