Evangelistic Performance in New Zealand - The Word and What Is Not Said

In 1518, Martin Luther is reputed to have nailed his§"95 Theses" to §the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg, an act§that sparked the §Protestant Reformation. Luther sought change in the§Catholic §Church: a return to an unmediated relationship with§God based on a §direct understanding of the Word. This may be seen as§inherently §contradictory: the Word is always a translation,§especially when used §by Protestant evangelists, whose congregations may§not even share §a common language. Meanings are produced in the§performance of §evangelism - action, music, and the use of space -§and influenced §by the pre-existing horizon of expectations of the§congregation.§§In New Zealand, Protestant evangelism has gone§hand-in-hand with §colonisation, with significant social impact. This§book undertakes §performance analyses of Samuel Marsden s first§service in New §Zealand in 1814 (in which he preached in English to a§congregation §who primarily spoke only Maori), contemporary§televangelist Benny §Hinn, who performs miracles to television cameras,§and the religious §and political performances of Brian Tamaki, Bishop of§Destiny §Church, New Zealand.