Abstract
Card-Carrying Christians is a thoroughly researched and insightful anthropological work demonstrating how debt merges the complex worlds of Prosperity Christianity and credit-based finance capitalism in Colombia’s conflict and poverty-ridden sociopolitical context (2-3). Rebecca C. Bartel analyzes Colombian prosperity Christians’ aspirational logic in believing that God would reciprocate their credit-based gift uniquely transformed by Colombia’s deregulated finance capitalism through a sense of becoming new.
The book is divided into themes foundational to her argument. It begins by investigating how the credit-based financial system transforms the concept of gift and how debt and the act of believing create overlaps between Christianity and finance capitalism. The focus then is shifted to the individual subject who moralizes the aspirations of financialization through theology and politics. The latter section investigates late capitalism’s impact on women’s lives and the sense of becoming new through the hope of financialization. Bartel concludes with an analysis of what she calls “necrofinance,” which are illicit forms of finance that contribute to oppression and violence, and how prosperity Christianity fits into the picture.
This academic work aimed at college-level and above audiences provides, among others, the following contributions to missiology. First, Bartel’s study shows how political and economic contexts influence theological reasoning. More specifically, it details how prosperity theologies gain traction and are played out in everyday life when deregulated Christianity and finance capitalism mutually collide in an environment of economic poverty and political violence. Second, this work raises awareness of an area largely missing in missiology—the anthropology of technology. Bartel shows how technologies ranging from devices (i.e., the credit card) to sociotechnical systems (e.g., the banking system) form and shape Christianity. Her study illustrates why a broader concept of technology is needed—a view anthropologists of technology have been proposing for decades—to better understand Christianity in a world that is becoming increasingly technological. Finally, Bartel’s work is highly beneficial for individuals who are involved in Colombian missions. With extensive background information on the sociopolitical situation in Colombia and testimonial glimpses of the ongoing local Colombian experiences, Bartel offers foundational knowledge that helps missiologists better understand the Colombian context and mindset.
In conclusion, Bartel’s work has significant missiological implications in that it charts largely untouched territory by considering the relationship between modern technology and Christianity. More work of this kind is needed since many Christians embrace technological advancement without essential precautionary awareness of their potential sociocultural and theological impact.