More than half a century has passed since the first monographs on African Christian prophetism were published. The prophetic element was only the most dramatic and prominent part of developments that sought to bring the biblical material alive in ways that had not been experienced in the ecclesiology of Western mission Christianity. The ministries of African charismatic figures of the early 20th century were oriented towards the biblical phenomenon of the prophetic, and the related issue of divine or faith healing, sometimes even to the neglect of the use of bio-medical resources. The developments have been interrogated in religious studies, theology, and the sociology and psychology of religion showing how important these churches have been in the African public sphere.
Daniel Nii Aboagye Aryeh, Ph.D. (2020) is an Associate Professor and the Rector of Perez University College, Ghana and adjunct faculty at Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon Ghana. Research Associate, Department of New Testament and Related Literature, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa. His research interests include New Testament studies, wealth and poverty in the Gospel of Lukan, Pentecostalism/Charismatic studies, and Christian prophetism. Aryeh is the chairman of the West Africa Association of Theological Institutions (WAATI). He is the Vice General Secretary of the Institute for Biblical Scholarship in Africa (IBSA), and a member of the prestigious Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (SNTS).
J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu Ph.D. (2000) is a professor of African Pentecostal and Charismatic theology. He is a fellow of the Ghana Academic Arts and Sciences and the presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church.
Knut Holter, Ph.D. (1993) teaches in the Department of Teacher Education, NLA University College, Bergen and Oslo (Norway), and he is also an Extra-ordinary Professor at Stellenbosch University (South Africa). Holter holds a doctorate in Old Testament exegesis from the University of Oslo (1993) but for the last 25 years, his main research and publishing focus has been on African interpretive strategies vis-à-vis the Bible, cf. SIMBA: Site of Innovation and Method on Bible and Africa, https://simb.africa.
Notes on Contributors
Foreword: Reinvention of the Prophetic in Contemporary African Christianity J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu
Introduction Daniel Nii Aboagye Aryeh, J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu and Knut Holter
Part 1: Prophetism in the Old Testament and African Christianity
1 Prophetism in Ancient Israel as a Template for African Contemporary Churches Grace O. Olajide
2 “Your Sons and Daughters Will Prophesy”: Prophetic Succession in African Charismatic Christianity on the Old Testament Traditions Mark S. Aidoo
3 Prophecy and Influence: a Reading of 2 Chronicles 34:22–33 in the Context of Ghana Emem Opoku-Agyemang
Part 2: Prophetism in the New Testament/Early Christianity and African Christianity
4 Prophecy in Paul’s Theology and Its Implications for Prophetic Ministries in African Indigenous Churches in Nigeria Michael Deji Olajide
5 Prophetism in the Early Church and Contemporary Church in Africa: the Case of Montanism (New Prophecy) Daniel Nii Aboagye Aryeh
Part 3: Prophetism in African Initiated/Independent/ Indigenous Churches
6 African Independent Churches: the Trailblazers of Prophetic Ministry in African Christianity Thomas Oduro
7 “The Word Comes to the Element, and So There Is a Sacrament”
Sacramentalization of Religious Practices with Water and Oil in the Ministry of an Aladura Prophet in Nigeria
Knut Holter
8 Prophetism, and Christian Mission among the Luo of Nyanza, 1900–1920 Francis Omondi
Part 4: Prophetism, Media, Liturgy, Nationality, Mission, and Pandemic
9 The Digital Space as a Prophetic Space: Opportunities and Challenges for African Christianity Christian Tsekpoe, Joseph Osafo and Eric Kallai
10 Assessment of the Prophetic Ministry among Contemporary Nigerian Churches Ayotunde Olayori Oguntade
11 Gender and Prophetism in Aladura Churches of Nigeria Ruth M. Oyeniyi
12 Contemporary Prophetism and Evangelical Theological Education in Nigeria Janet Omotola Adeyanju
13 Contemporary Prophetic Christianity in Africa and the Covid-19 Pandemic: a Theological Examination of a Response from Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa Jacob Kwame Opata
14 Prophetism and Nationalism in Nigeria Friday Ifeanyi Ogbuehi
15 Spiritual Warfare in African Christianity: a Reformed Perspective on the Fear of Curses and Witchcraft Kevin Muriithi Ndereba
16 Music and Prophetism in African Pentecostalism Gabriel Ademola Oyeniyi
Postscript
17 Towards a Better Understanding of Prophetism in Africa? Knut Holter
18 The Bible, Tradition, and Prophetism in Africa Daniel Nii Aboagye Aryeh
Index
This volume is recommended for scholars and students of African Christianity, Christian prophetism, study of religion, Pentecostalism and Charismaticism