1st Edition
Christological Paradigm Shifts in Prophetic Pentecostalism in South Africa
This book explores recent developments in South African Pentecostalism, focusing on new prophetic churches. The chapters engage with a number of paradigm shifts in Christology, identified as complementing Christ, competing with Christ, removing Christ and replacing Christ. What are the implications of these shifts? Does it mean that believers no longer believe in Christ but in their leaders? Does it shift believers’ faith towards materiality than the person of Christ? This volume will be valuable for scholars of African Christianity and in particular those interested in the neo-prophetic movement and Christology in a South African context.
Introduction
Mookgo Solomon Kgatle, Marius Nel and Collium Banda
1 The paradigmatic shift of some New Prophetic Churches from the ipsissima verba of Scripture to a non-existent Christology
Paul Themba Mngadi
2 "Who has bewitched you?": The Christological shift from faith to works in Galatians 3:1-9 applied to South African Pentecostalism
Elise B. Kisungu
3 Towards a deepened Christology on the Cape Flats: The "Spirit of Christ" metaphor in the neo-Pentecostal church
Eugene Baron
4 Wo/Men’s God-given power: Male headship versus female agency in Pentecostal sermons
Tumi Mampane
5 Examining the position of prophets in relation to Christology within contemporary South African Pentecostal missions
Themba Shingange
6 African neo-Pentecostalism's emphasis on prosperity and its implications for its Christology: An African Pentecostal hermeneutical consideration
Marius Nel
7 Insufficient to ransom Africans?: The neo-Pentecostal fear of generational curses in Africa and Christ’s vicarious atonement
Collium Banda
8 Christ and the neo-Pentecostal preacher on the platform: Catechists or celebrities?
Kelebogile T. Resane
9 From replacing Christ to crisis: Rethinking Christology in some new religious ministries in South Africa
Bekithemba Dube
Epilogue
Mookgo Solomon Kgatle, Marius Nel and Collium Banda
Biography
Mookgo Solomon Kgatle is Professor of Missiology at the University of South Africa (UNISA). He completed his PhD (Theology) from the University of Pretoria in 2016. Kgatle is a National Research Foundation (NRF) Y Rated researcher (2019–2024) in the area of African Pentecostalism. He is the visiting scholar at the Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies, University of Birmingham (2020–2022). Kgatle is the current President of the Southern African Society for Pentecostal Studies.
Marius Nel is currently the Chair, Ecumenism: Pentecostalism and Neo-Pentecostalism and Research Professor at the Unit for Reformed Theology, Faculty Theology, Potchefstroom campus, North-West University, South Africa. He holds three doctorates, DTh (Practical Theology, Unisa), PhD (Old Testament, Pretoria) and PhD (New Testament, Radboud University]. Nel is a National Research Foundation (NRF) C Rated researcher and a pastor of the AFM of South Africa with three decades’ experience. He has published many peer reviewed articles and books with international publishers.
Collium Banda is a post-doctoral research fellow in the Faculty of Theology at North-West University, South Africa, and adjunct lecturer at Theological College of Zimbabwe. He is an emerging researcher with interests in African Pentecostalism, Christian doctrines in the African public space, African traditional religions, African indigenous knowledge systems and Christianity in African contexts of poverty.
