Investing In Miracles: El Shaddai and the Transformation of Popular Catholicism In the Philippines by Katharine L. Wiegele

"We have one copy of this out of print title for sale; if interested, let us know immediately. Once sold, we offer a free Search Service for this title. Email us: info@philippinebookshop.com if interested so that we can include your name in the list. When our Book Scouts are able to find the title, we will let you know accordingly. However, we can not guarantee when exactly it will be. Do not pay for your order first. Upon receipt of your email, we will check with the publisher if the book is still available, what is the new price, and when to expect delivery. This way, we can relay the particulars to you before you pay. Please note that if you pay and then cancel your order for one reason or another, PayPal has a 3.9% plus $0.15 fee that they charge us for every transaction. So, we would appreciate it if you just follow the instructions as stated here. This way, we will not pass on this fee to you should you cancel your order."

"Since the early 1980s, approximately ten million people have turned to charismatic businessman-turned-preacher “Brother Mike” and his Catholic “prosperity” movement, El Shaddai DWXI Prayer Partners Foundation International, Inc. Investing in Miracles offers an in-depth look at this unique indigenous movement, characterized by its effective use of mass media and its huge, emotion-filled outdoor rallies. The book investigates the sociocultural, political, and economic contexts of El Shaddai's popularity among the Filipino urban poor and aspiring middle classes and explores its significance for its followers, which reaches well beyond promises of appliances, salary raises, jobs abroad, and healing. Katharine Wiegele argues that Shaddai's theology directly engages and affirms desires for the material signs of modernity in ways that the mainstream Philippine Roman Catholic Church and Filipino leftist movements do not. At stake for its many adherents are their place and identity within the broader society; the meaning of their experiences of poverty, suffering, and oppression; and the relevance of their very notions of God, Christian community, and Christian life.

Wiegele evocatively captures the religious and everyday experiences of her informants' lives in poor squatter neighborhoods of Manila. She is particularly sensitive to El Shaddai's delicate and often contorted relationship with the Catholic Church, which accepts the movement reluctantly, fearful of losing the loyalty of millions of faithful Catholics. While anchored in the local realities of the Philippines, Investing in Miracles will be of great interest to readers elsewhere for its exploration of religious seduction and interpretation, the interface between religion and politics, and the relevance of religion for the urban disenfranchised." -Excerpts from the publisher's website.
A Philippine import. Limited copies available.

Book Details
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press (September 30, 2004)
Language: English

Hardcover Detail
222 pages
Item Weight : 1 pounds
ISBN-10 : 082482795-3
ISBN-13 : 978-08-2-482795-3
Dimensions : 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches

Softcover Detail
224 pages
Item Weight : 12.8 ounces
ISBN-10 : 082482861-5
ISBN-13 : 978-08-2-482861-5
Dimensions : 5.98 x 0.52 x 9.02 inches