The silent echoing voice: aspects of Zimbabwean Pentecostalism and the quest for power, healing and miracles

Abstract

Many Pentecostal or “born again” church services are characterised by the theology of “deliverance from powers of darkness” that ruin the life of a Christian. Located within the rubric of “powers of darkness” are African traditional religions and culture (ATRs). ATRs have been condemned by Pentecostals as demonic so a “born again” Christian needs a “total break from the past”, supposedly achieved through its denunciation. This article seeks to contest the notion of a “total break from the past” through a close study of Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa (ZAOGA), founded by Ezekiel Guti, and United Families International (UFI) of Emmanuel Makandiwa. It argues that the traditional religion and culture inform Pentecostals and continue to be a source of reflection, meaning and purpose, manifesting in their theology and rituals in spite of the adversarial stance. This article discerns ATRs as the “voice” of African spiritualities that has been “silenced” by Pentecostals but that continues to whisper and guide their perception and quest for the power of healing and miracles. “Outsiders” have critiqued the Pentecostal quest for spiritual power that is embedded in Pentecostal “dominion theology”. “Dominion theology” denies poverty, sickness, failure and anything that is not positive in the believer’s life. In spite of the criticism, people continue to subscribe to Pentecostal denominations. At the same time it has been forcefully argued and demonstrated that Pentecostals preach “a crossless Christianity”. The article also argues that the emphasis on healing and searching for spiritual power at the expense of the cross is evidence that Pentecostalism does not offer anything completely new but that what it offers either resonates well with or is sourced from the historical religious and cultural background of believers. This may explain why people subscribe to Pentecostalism in ever-increasing numbers, and engage with traditional “religious functionaries” as well as with the cultural practices in various ways and forms that they vehemently denounce. Hence the resilience of ATRs, a significant “silent voice” that continues to echo the quest of spiritual power in the hearts and ears of Pentecostals as involuntarily they continue to be informed by the realities of their African traditional religious and cultural background. The adversarial attitude towards ATRs and at the same time the continued interaction with it is the premise for arguing that ATR is a “silent but echoing voice” among Pentecostals that has shown a high level of resilience against all odds