New Prophetic Churches and Syncretism: A Critical View
New Prophetic Churches (NPCs) are a recent phenomenon within Pentecostalism in South Africa that have gained popularity. Their popularity is arguably due to their syncretism with African Traditional Religion (ATR), especially in its ministry practice of prophecy. The main objective of this article i...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
MDPI
2023
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| In: |
Religions
Year: 2023, Volume: 14, Issue: 11 |
| Further subjects: | B
African Pentecostalism
B African Traditional Religion (ATR) B Syncretism B New Prophetic Churches (NPCs) B Prophecy |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | New Prophetic Churches (NPCs) are a recent phenomenon within Pentecostalism in South Africa that have gained popularity. Their popularity is arguably due to their syncretism with African Traditional Religion (ATR), especially in its ministry practice of prophecy. The main objective of this article is to restore the sanctity of the prophetic ministry from a syncretic practice in NPCs back to its biblical foundation, by firstly highlighting the syncretic nature of NPCs prophetic ministry with divination, commonly practiced by native doctors in ATR. This study is a literary analysis of the practices of NPC prophets and their syncretic nature, using two case studies of NPC prophets. Osmer’s theoretical framework is used to describe syncretic practices of NPCs and the rationale behind such practices, then a normative reflection of the traditional practice is presented and pragmatic ways to realign NPCs into mainstream Pentecostalism are proposed. The findings reveal that most NPC prophets are faith healers operating in familiar spirits, not the Holy Spirit. The bible rejects divination; therefore, NPCs must determine what identity they choose between ATR and Christianity, because they cannot simultaneously operate in both. |
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| ISSN: | 2077-1444 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3390/rel14111383 |