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ethical ideals and practical effects of their doctrine have no other explication than this essential goal, they were simply the results from a purely religious foundation (Weber 1989: 54-55).\u000AThe NPS usually conceive change as a religious experience which has repercussions in the individual and social levels of society. One of the pastors when asked about social responsibility replied \u2018if you ask me to what have we been called I would say that \u201Cour mission is to transform lives\u201D in other words \u201Cwin souls for Christ\u201D\u2019 (A11FCG). This winning of souls for Christ is not separated from the transformation of people on the social plane. Ruth Marshall on Pentecostalism in Nigeria affirms that being born again is an act of faith, and a continuous accomplishment of both intellectual and symbolic construction, through new practices, in which the individual also sees himself as experiencing a new relation to society and history (1993: 241-242). In a certain sense, their religious language does not exclude the things of this world although the discourse underlines the spiritual sphere.\u000AThis social and economic impact in the cultural context has been registered in some field work as a contribution of Protestantism in Guatemala. For example, Annis (1987) and Paul (1988) have shown the incidence of Protestantism as an important factor in the development of the indigenous communities. More recent studies such as those of Henri Gooren (1999) in marginal area of Guatemala City, and Caballeros & Winger (1998) and Garrard Burnett (2007) about Almolonga in the interior of the country, show the changes produced in the culture and reality of the communities analysed as a result of evangelism, the impact of evangelical revival, the indigenous culture\u2019s values and the advance of capitalism.\u000AThe emphasis that the NPS give to individual sin diminishes the weight of social sin. They speak out against certain vices such as alcoholism or adultery but do not denounce social inequality. They do not usually question openly the socio-political structures of the present social order. They emphasize moral change over social change, which could provoke a generalized change of society. This idea is illustrated by one of the\u000A185\u000A


































































































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