Cultural Influences Among Some African Word of Faith Adherents

My good friend Mujuru, a Shona from Zimbabwe, visited us in the northern part of the South African province, KwaZulu-Natal. At the time we lived in a homestead belonging to the Mthembu family. Every so often, we had people visit, and Mujuru was one who visited and stayed with us numerous times. We had a mixed-race Bible study that was hosted in the home of an Afrikaans farming couple. We took Mujuru and others to visit their farm and there was a lady who embraced Word of Faith theology. Mujuru confronted her beliefs with the truth of God’s Word, but we found out later that she had dismissed Mujuru as somehow a tool of Satan.

On a later occasion Mujuru, and the home church to which he belonged, would visit again. I asked the local independent Baptist pastor in Vryheid whether he would like Mujuru to share his testimony and how God saved him from ancestral traditions. I suggested that it might be helpful for people who are not from that background to understand some of the issues and difficulties for Zulu people in accepting the Gospel. The pastor was very happy, and we publicized the event.

We drew a small crowd and Mujuru started his testimony by explaining African Traditional Religion. He cited examples of what his family did when he was growing up….But, to my surprise, after explaining the occultic beliefs and practices he grew up in, Mujuru flipped the narrative around to state, “Then I came into the church, and it was the same thing.” Mujuru was saved into a charismatic word of faith church called “The Church of the God of Ezekiel.”

Mujuru then explained the similarities he was seeing: “And then I came into the church, and it was the same thing! You have a curse that needs to be broken. You have a curse that came from your father’s father.”

Another of the numerous parallels he gave was that of securing good fortune. If you have a problem, you visit the Sangoma (diviner), and he/she will tell you your problem. Then you pay money for Muthi (traditional medicine), and you apply it to change your fortunes. So, it was with the church. You go to the prophet, he prophesies over you, you give your seed faith offering. You may receive some anointing oil or, in some cases, an object that has been prayed for. Apparently, the same lady who previously dismissed Mujuru as being an instrument of Satan turned up to this meeting and heard his testimony. Without realizing that it was the same person, she remarked that Mujuru was amazing.

I recently saw an advertisement for “Magic Rings” on LinkedIn, marketed for “wealth pastors.” The seller claims the “magic rings” are jewelry that has the blessing of ancestral spirits that can bring about protection, fertility, wealth, and success. A few years ago, I heard that some South African pastors were visiting Sangomas for such Muthi. Sangomas are traditional diviners who are believed to be called by the ancestral spirits through an inexplicable long period of physical or mental illness. They are then trained in divination by other Sangomas. If they pass their tests they will be inaugurated as Sangomas. A bond between ancestral spirits and the Sangoma is made through the use of blood sacrifice.

The affinity towards Word of Faith theology in Africa may be due to the way that Word of Faith theology is seen as relevant to the needs Africans feel they have. There is certainly much poverty in South Africa, which undoubtedly serves as a factor in the equation. But why would some of these Word of Faith pastors follow practices that scripture clearly forbids (Lev:19:31Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.
See All...; 20:6; Deut. 18:9-14)?

In the African worldview, because God is the ground of all existence, there is an interrelatedness of existence. It is believed, therefore, that the spiritual world and the material world are intertwined. Because there are spiritual forces that can imperil us, people look for protection against such evil. There is a fear of witchcraft and the pursuit of powerful means to gain protection. It has also been noted that African culture is community-orientated, whereas Western culture is far more individualistic. Descartes reasoned…“I think, therefore I am.” If the post-modern woke crowd muses, “I feel, therefore I am”, African Culture says, “We are, therefore I am.” There is an integration of all spheres of life. There is a lack of compartmentalization. This has positive elements, where God is not forbidden from the public square. How can He be regarded so when He is the very foundation of existence?

Nevertheless, African religion is less about creed than it is about one’s temporal concerns. Kunyihop continues by saying:

In Africa, knowledge of God is never sought for theoretical reasons or to satisfy intellectual curiosity. He is sought for practical reasons, and the appropriate response to him is practical devotion shown by living in the way he prescribes.

https://midwestoutreach.org/2024/05/16/cultural-influences-among-some-african-word-of-faith-adherents-part-1/