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The Dema and the Christ: My Engagement and Inner Dialogue with the Cultures and Religions of Melanesia . Franz Schmitt Verlag, Siegburg, Germany 2014. Pp. 301. €24.90. The Dema and the Christ has two overlapping purposes: 1) to understand Melanesian religion by tracing its development from hunter-gatherer bands to settled agrarian tribes, and 2) to understand mission as interreligious dialogue rather than one-way proclamation. These two projects are overlapping because, as Mantovani put it, dialogue is impossible without understanding. While missionaries in Melanesia are the primary audience of the book, it has a wider appeal for anyone interested in interreligious dialogue or the history of religion. Mantovani’s research method is culture-history ethnology, which has its roots in seminal studies by Joseph Goetz, Wilhelm Schmidt, Mircea Eliade, and James Frazer. Before the Neolithic revolution 10,000 years ago, Mantovani theorizes, hunter-gatherers in Papua New Guinea ( png ) were aware of their dependence on nature. Creation was given by a benevolent sky-God to humans for their survival. But as Melanesians began settling and cultivating gardens, their food supply increased dramatically. They became awestruck at their power to produce food. This newfound ability was not merely based on the work of
Mission Studies – Brill
Published: Oct 15, 2015
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