The Sunday Mail
Dr Augustine Deke
THE purpose of this analysis is to examine and evaluate the role played by prophets within the context of African Christianity.
Prophets and prophecy play a big role in the religious life of Africa. In so doing this analysis will highlight the expected roles of prophets by both the hearers of the Word of God and those in a cultural setting of animism in Africa. This paper will explore and evaluate how prophets have shaped and influenced African Christianity and society at large.
People generally want to hear from God. The same applies to those who claim to speak on behalf of God.
Generally, 21st century African theology and ministry are searching for God’s voice. Africans enjoy prophecy. Any voice that confirms their misery or good fortunes is respected. This has seen prophets modestly and gradually contextualising the gospel to meet the needs of the African hearers.
African people have been socialised into African traditional beliefs which tend to encourage the spirit of “leaving everything to the supernatural”.
The word prophecy or prophet is loose in African Traditional Religion.
Consultation through foretelling or forth telling through spirit mediums is generally accepted as prophecy. The church in Africa however is failing to differentiate between true prophets and false prophets. It places much emphasis on the spoken word without evaluating the source.
This challenge has been further complicated by denominationalism. Denominationalism developed during the course of church history. Denominationalism in Africa has caused the church to fail to view the world from a biblical view. This has left the church divided over the subject of prophecy and prophets. No meaningful or open discussion has been made so far concerning the subject of prophecy within the African context. Most of church history is influenced by the struggle between two spiritual view points.
There are true and false prophets.
Both sides claim to be of God. Each generation assigns different titles to these “theological positions.” Denominations have polarised, hence embracing them in and within “Christian Orthodoxy”. Here we mean the difference between the prophetic ministry (God’s prophets) and the soothsayers.
The 21st Century African theology is going through spiritual evolution never seen since the inception of the gospel in the continent. African theology is black theology, from the perspective of the African cultural context.
Although there are very old Christian traditions on the continent, in the last centuries Christianity in Africa has been determined to a large extent by Western forms of Christianity.
The first documented use of the term “African Theology” appeared in the context of a debate between Zaïrean theologian Tharcisse Tshibangu and his theological teacher Alfred Vanneste, held by the Cercle théologique du Lovanium in Kinshasa in January 1960.
This debate was published in Revue du Clérge Africain that year. Research spanning back to the ‘60s shows African theology had three major developments namely: adaption, incarnation and cultural setting phase.
The philosophy of cultural setting was developed in the early ‘80s.
Adaptation
The major concern of those writing and directing the course of African theology in the first phase was “adaptation”. The thrust of this movement was to make Christianity adapt to its African environment.
This was conceived in terms of such practices as wearing African clothes, using indigenous African music in liturgy, and indigenisation of the clergy.
The work of evangelism and pastoral care was also shifted to Africans. The weakness with the adaption phase was that it focused on the physical environment of the African. The phase overlooked the role played by ethics and values in the day to day life of a given society.
Ethic is primarily a set of principles that people use to decide what is right and wrong. In the propagation of the word of God and the overall Christian duties in communities, failure to understand people’s ethics will always lead to a clash of perceptions. Ethics determine how people behave. An ethic influences behaviour and establishes people’s values.
Such beliefs have implications for Christians when they lead communities.
Dilemmas faced by African theology in view of the subject under discussion, clearly shows that the church is facing an ethical problem.
Incarnation
The next phase of African theology sought Christianity which was more deeply and authentically rooted in African soil. One of the ways this task was undertaken was to research on the ATRs of various ethnic groups from which African theologians arose.
Since many of them were second or third generation Christians by this time, it necessitated a considerable adjustment process and the pursuit of research methodologies more familiar to anthropologists than to theologians.
On the other hand, African theologians had the advantage of knowledge of indigenous languages. This phase, however, lost direction as ATR metamorphosised resulting in sects and Zionist churches. This was a direct break away from the influences of Western Christianity and Christian thought at large. These off shoots from traditional churches wanted to serve God from an African platform. This meant embracing and accommodating most of the rituals practiced by Africans in the pursuit for God.
Cultural setting
By the early 1980s it was apparent to some African scholars that out of the process of revaluation of ATR, a certain tension emerged. Some began to voice concern that much of the work was being done in a vacuum, for it did not fit the everyday context in which most Africans live or experience in ministry.
The modern African reality is one in which many traditions and customs have died out to the extent that they cannot now be properly recovered, while “modern” and Western ways have not been fully established.
In this context which is neither wholly modern nor wholly ancient, a majority of Africans live in economic misery and a daily reality of grinding poverty.
In this context, many a people are seeking for answers or to hear what God has for their bleak future. In addition, Africa is now much more urbanised and educated than it was in the 1960s.
Theological literature by African scholars today is usually not in the highly refined modes of discourse one finds in the academic theology of Western universities.
They are writing to a more general audience whose primary concerns are often very different from those of Europeans and Americans. Many books today for the African Christian are on church management, spiritual enlightenment and devotion.
Little attention is given to Africans in search of Christianity.
There are many voices claiming to be from God in the African church. Advocates of these many voices are prophets. The various modes of African communication to and from God has been imported into African theology. Soothsaying, divination, sorcerers, fortune telling and spirit guides have been accepted and embraced in African theology under the banner of prophecy and faith healing.
Do Africans understand the meaning of salvation through Jesus Christ? If so why is there rampant spiritual tourism in the African church as members seek for divine intervention from prophets? Why do we have repeated deliverances on those claiming to have received Christ as Lord and Saviour?
This analysis also seeks to uncover the missing link in the concept of the much sought after deliverance. It seems the above mentioned three phases the African theology has undergone so far have failed to meet the expectations and faith of Africans in God.
Old Testament prophets
In the Old Testament, a prophet (or seer) was inspired by God through the Holy Spirit to deliver a message for a specific purpose. God’s calling to prophet hood is not to elevate an individual for their own glory, but for the glory of God and to turn people to Him.
Some would limit that role and exclude those who receive a personal message not intended for the body of believers but in the Bible. On a number of occasions, prophets were called to deliver personal messages.
Reception of a message is “revelation” and its delivery is “prophecy”.
Old Testament prophets were not interpreters of God’s will; they uttered the actual words which God gave them. The two major aspects of their work covered forth-telling and foretelling.
The Old Testament prophets gave direction to the nation of Israel.
To a great extent, prophets suffered for the truth. (Jeremiah 20:1-3) The national agenda was set by prophets when people lost direction. (2 Chronicles 12:5)
Prophets also acted as encouragers, preachers, predictors or rebuked and corrected people when necessary. (Judges 6:7-9)
History shows us that prophets originally were representatives of God.
“Then the Lord said to Moses; ‘See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country’.” (Exodus 7:1-2)
This does not mean prophets are small gods. They are literally meant to be faithful representatives of God. (Numbers 12:6-7)
At one point prophets became mediators between the congregation and God due to the fear of God which people had. (Deut 18:17-18)
To be continued…..
Dr Augustine Deke is a theologian, pastor and organisational development consultant based in Gweru. E-mail [email protected]@zimpapers.co.zw
