Breaking the Spirit of Poverty in African Pentecostal Christianity

IF 0.4 4区 哲学 0 RELIGION JOURNAL OF RELIGION IN AFRICA Pub Date : 2023-01-11 DOI:10.1163/15700666-12340254
Elias Kiptoo Ng’etich
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Abstract

Poverty is one of Africa’s most intractable problems. Decades of deliberate and strategic socioeconomic policies have not yielded considerable concrete results to eradicate it. Upon succeeding the brutal colonial administration, the burgeoning African governments promised their citizens material well-being through socioeconomic development. A half century later the continent is perpetually witnessing a blatant betrayal of dreams. Just like the African governments that succeeded colonial governments, religious organizations continue to promise poverty eradication by divine means to their adherents, whose numbers keep exploding across the continent. The Pentecostal variant of African Christianity is particularly renowned for its promises of wealth, health, and prosperity through supernatural divine power: in the Bible, God has promised to deliver immense material goods to those who believe in Jesus Christ. The expediency of these promises to alleviate poverty and bring about social transformation is debatable. Some scholars argue that African Pentecostalism is an elaborately complex increase in religious activities devoid of social structural transformation, while others opine that it contributes positively to development. In asking whether African Pentecostal Christianity is a move toward or a distraction from development, this article broadly explores discourses on Pentecostalism and development in Africa. Arguably, in the endeavor to preach and live out the experiential power of the Holy Spirit, Pentecostal Christianity in Africa inadvertently plays a role in the broader ongoing development discourse. Although they do not view themselves as ‘religious’ or ‘religion’, Pentecostal churches’ attempts to make the teachings of Jesus Christ relevant to the mundane help individual believers cope with life’s stresses and vulnerabilities. However, it does not transform the social conditions that create problems for individuals. The liberating hope of African Pentecostal Christianity lies in theologically nuancing its discourses to meaningfully engage in global development discourses.
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打破非洲五旬节派基督教的贫穷精神
贫困是非洲最棘手的问题之一。几十年来深思熟虑的战略性社会经济政策并没有产生相当大的具体结果来根除它。在残酷的殖民统治之后,新兴的非洲政府承诺通过社会经济发展为其公民提供物质福利。半个世纪后,非洲大陆永远见证着对梦想的公然背叛。就像接替殖民政府的非洲政府一样,宗教组织继续承诺通过神圣的手段向其信徒消除贫困,他们的人数在整个非洲大陆不断激增。非洲基督教的五旬节派变体尤其以其通过超自然的神力承诺财富、健康和繁荣而闻名:在《圣经》中,上帝承诺为那些相信耶稣基督的人提供巨大的物质财富。这些承诺对减轻贫困和实现社会转型的权宜之计是有争议的。一些学者认为,非洲五旬节主义是宗教活动中精心复杂的增长,没有社会结构转型,而另一些学者则认为它对发展有积极贡献。在询问非洲五旬节派基督教是走向发展还是分散发展的注意力时,本文广泛探讨了关于五旬节主义和非洲发展的论述。可以说,在努力宣扬和践行圣灵的经验力量的过程中,非洲的五旬节基督教无意中在更广泛的持续发展话语中发挥了作用。尽管他们并不认为自己是“宗教”或“宗教”,但五旬节教会试图将耶稣基督的教义与世俗联系起来,帮助信徒应对生活的压力和脆弱性。然而,它并没有改变给个人带来问题的社会条件。非洲五旬节派基督教解放的希望在于在神学上改变其话语,使其有意义地参与全球发展话语。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
0.60
自引率
0.00%
发文量
53
期刊介绍: The Journal of Religion in Africa was founded in 1967 by Andrew Walls. In 1985 the editorship was taken over by Adrian Hastings, who retired in 1999. His successor, David Maxwell, acted as Executive Editor until the end of 2005. The Journal of Religion in Africa is interested in all religious traditions and all their forms, in every part of Africa, and it is open to every methodology. Its contributors include scholars working in history, anthropology, sociology, political science, missiology, literature and related disciplines. It occasionally publishes religious texts in their original African language.
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