Pentecostal Theology in Africa is a collection of essays that explore the theology of African Pentecostalism from various vantage points. The theological focus of the volume is timely as African Pentecostalism, though well researched, is rarely given a thorough theological elucidation. The book does not approach the issue of African Pentecostalism in a systematic fashion but aims at explicating the theological implications of African Pentecostal practices and beliefs. The book is divided into two sections: the first deals with theological issues and the second with the more practical ramifications. This volume is by no means the last word on this issue but hopes to make a contribution towards opening up more theological discourse in the study of African Pentecostalism over against the historical, empirical, and anthropological. ""This is a distinctive book for people who are intellectually curious about African pentecostal theology. It provides thick descriptions of the major themes, motifs, moral visions, and trends of African pentecostal Christianity."" --Nimi Wariboko, Katherine B. Stuart Professor of Christian Ethics, Andover Newton Theological School ""The Christian community is witnessing a tremendous growth of Christianity in Africa, a continent which was once a mission field. This book is an attempt to throw more light on African Pentecostalism, which is the climax of the Christian growth in Africa. It is a very good tool for scholars who want to increase their knowledge and understanding of African Pentecostalism."" --Opoku Onyinah, Chairman, the Church of Pentecost ""The spread of Pentecostalism has become a global phenomenon. Despite some similarities in the pentecostal Christian community, there are peculiar theologies from one continent to another. This book informs readers about some key theological topics, the mode of formulating theologies, and the undercurrent forces that influence the formulation and articulation of pentecostal theology in Africa. The book is a door to Pentecostalism in Africa and a step to understanding African Christianity."" --Thomas A. Oduro, President, Good News Theological College and Seminary, Accra, Ghana ""The analysis set forth in this book finds no refuge in the vestiges of a truncated perspective of African indigenous religion. Clarke's vast knowledge of world Christianity enables him to strategically chart the hope of a bright future for scholars seeking to know with intimacy the yearnings of an authentic African pentecostal theology."" --Leonard Lovett, Founding Dean emeritus, C.H. Mason Theological Seminary ""This is an important contribution to the emerging literature on pentecostal theology in Africa. It is therefore an unavoidable read for all who want to understand contemporary African Christianity generally and Pentecostalism in particular."" --J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, Baeta-Grau Professor of African Christianity and Pentecostal Theology, Trinity Theological Seminary, Accra, Ghana ""This is a very important contribution, not only to the understanding of African pentecostal Theology, but also to the understanding of what could be legitimately considered as the 'soul' of African Christianity. It is my hope that the publishers would arrange to make the book to be easily accessible to institutions in Africa. It is by doing so that we could expect a more vibrant and holistic dialogue."" --Emmanuel K Larbi Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Regent University College of Science and Technology, Ghana ""This fascinating and provocative collection of seminal essays about novel theological currents within African Pentecostalism introduces the reader to fresh contextualized ways to explore theological topics such as Christology, pneumatology, eschatology, biblical hermeneutics, social action, and religious pluralism. Throughout this fine book, African theologians and perspectives, Pentecostal and non-Pentecostal, are engaged critically and imaginatively in order t

In the last fifty years, the history of World Christianity has been disproportionally shaped, if not defined, by African Pentecostalism. The objective of this volume is to investigate and interrogate the critical junctures at which World Christianity invigorates and is invigorated by African Pentecostalism. The essays of the thinkers gathered here examine the general relationships between World Christianity and Africa and the specific interplays between World Christianity and African Pentecostalism. Scholars from multiple disciplines, continents, and countries evaluate how the theological scholarship and missional works of eminent African intellectual Johnson Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu have contributed to the scholarly understanding of how Global Christianity has been mediated by its reception in Africa. They also investigate how African Pentecostalism has been shaped by its contact with the diverse forms of Christianity in Africa and the rest of the world. With contributions from: Opoku Onyinah Harvey C. Kwiyani Kirsteen Kim Craig S. Keener Charles Prempeh Kenneth R. Ross Trevor H. G. Smith Vivian Dzokoto Chammah J. Kaunda Felix Kang Esoh Patrick Kofi Amissah Caleb Nyanni Marleen de Witte Oluwaseun Abimbola Philomena Njeru Nwaura Faith Lugazia Dietrich Werner Allan H. Anderson

This book examines the complex and multifaceted nature of African Pentecostal engagements with genders and sexualities. In the last three decades, African Pentecostalism has emerged as one the most visible and profound aspects of religious change on the continent, and is a social force that straddles cultural, economic, and political spheres. Its conventional and selective literal interpretations of the Bible with respect to gender and sexualities are increasingly perceived as exhibiting a strong influence on many aspects of social and public institutions and their moral orientations. This collection features articles which examine sexualities and genders in African Pentecostalism using interdisciplinary methodological and theoretical approaches grounded within traditional African thought systems, with the goal of enabling a broader understanding of Pentecostalism and sexualities in Africa.

In this book, Ogbu Kalu provides an overview of Pentecostalism in Africa. He shows the amazing diversity of the faith, which flourishes in many different forms in diverse local contexts, and demonstrates that African Pentecostalism is distinctly African in character, not imported from the West.

Justification by faith: The Viewpoint of Most African Pentecostals The author has discussed the viewpoint of most African Pentecostal churches on the doctrine of Justification by faith in comparison with the theories of some selected twenty-first Theologians. What does the teachings of the Apostles James and Paul on justification actually means to the contemporary Christian? Were the two Apostles contradicting themselves or not? Should the believer of Jesus Christ continue to sin deliberately because of the grace of God? This is an Interesting Book and must be read.

African Pentecostalism is one of the most vibrant expressions of Pentecostalism in the world today. There are over 100 million Pentecostals in Africa, and the movement continues to grow. So significant is the Pentecostalization of global African Christianity, it is referred to as an African reformation. No serious study of global Pentecostalism can be conducted without a critical look at African Pentecostalism. In Pentecostalism: Insights from Africa and the African Diaspora, Clifton R. Clarke explores the historical and theological factors behind the phenomenal growth of African Pentecostalism. Clarke provides insightful elucidation on critical religious, theological, philosophical, political, and social issues that have shaped the movement. His extensive account examines such topics as: theological method for the study of African Pentecostalism, African Pentecostalism and Islam, Pan-Africanism and African Pentecostalism, the African Pentecostal understanding of God, and Christ and the Holy Spirit. What is the cause of this African Pentecostal revival? Clarke points to such features as its vibrant approach to worship and a robust emphasis on the Holy Spirit, its aggressive evangelism and church growth strategies, and its ability to tap into African imagination and felt needs in a way that is culturally relevant and contemporary--all of which has contributed to African Pentecostalism's global attraction. ""As Pentecostal Christianity sweeps over the continent of Africa, Dr. Clarke's book comes in response to the demand of African Christian needs. Accordingly, he explores critical issues that pose challenges to the people of the continent and other Africans living in the diaspora through an African Pentecostal hermeneutical lens and viewpoint. This book will be an invaluable companion to people who want to understand the contemporary movement of God in Africa."" --OPOKU ONYINAH, The Church of Pentecost, Accra, Ghana ""Clarke, in this book, captures well the connections between the socio-economic situation in Africa, the spirituality and epistemology of its people, and the emerging limit-transcending theology of the Pentecostal movement. The book invites us to take a fresh look at African Pentecostal theology and to turn to its author as a major voice and guide in the crafting of this heady theology."" --NIMI WARIBOKO, Boston University, Boston, USA ""Pentecostalism constitutes the growing edges of world Christianity. Clifton Clarke is clearly one of its non-Western leading voices. In writing on Pentecostal theology from African perspectives in this volume, Clarke, as a critical insider, makes up for the lack of theological material on African Pentecostalism. This is a work of solid worth that will serve both the Christian Theological Academy and the world church immensely."" --J. KWABENA ASAMOAH-GYADU, Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon, Ghana Clifton R. Clarke, PhD Associate Dean, William E. Pannell Center for African American Church Studies and the Associate Professor for Black Church Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. His previous publications include African Christology (Pickwick, 2011), Pentecostal Theology in Africa (Pickwick, 2013), and the Islamic Dilemma: A Pentecostal Response to Global Jihad (High Bridge, 2015).

"This volume, based on a PhD thesis submitted to the University of Zimbabwe, investigates the resilience of Shona religion and culture among ZAOGA Pentecostal Christians. Whereas the Pentecostal ideology suggests that 'old things' have passed away, it appears that 'old things' continue to have high significance for the 'new'. The book demonstrates how belief in avenging spirits, witches and witchcraft, value of words spoken prior to death, the role, status and significance of women, belief in unnatural events, liturgy and salvation have remained relevant to the lives of ZAOGA Shona converts. The patterns of continuity, discontinuity, extension, collaboration, contradiction, re-interpretation and rejection between Shona traditional religion and culture and ZAOGA are explored, challenging the framing of African Pentecostalism as a mere imitation and parroting of US theology. The conclusion is that while ZAOGA self-consciously presents itself as a sophisticated, trans-national and progressive Pentecostal movement, members continue to wrestle with Shona indigenous beliefs and practices. An African womanist framework is adapted to challenge ZAOGA to promote the well-being of women." --

This book is a pneumatological reflection on the use and abuse of the Spirit in light of the abuse of religion within South African Pentecostalism. Both emerging and well-established scholars of South African Pentecostalism are brought together to reflect on pneumatology from various approaches, which includes among others: historical, biblical, migration, commercialisation of religion, discernment of spirits and human flourishing. From a broader understanding of the function of the Holy Spirit in different streams of Pentecostalism, the argument is that this function has changed with the emergence of the new Prophetic churches in South Africa. This is a fascinating insight into one of the major emerging worldwide religious movements. As such, it will be of great interest to academics in Pentecostal Studies, Christian Studies, Theology, and Religious Studies as well as African Studies and the Sociology of Religion.

As the epicenter of Christianity has shifted towards Africa in recent decades, Pentecostalism has emerged as a particularly vibrant presence on the continent. This collection of essays offers a groundbreaking study of the complex links between politics and African Pentecostalism. Situated at the intersection between the political, the postcolonial, and global neoliberal capitalism, contributors examine the roots of the Pentecostal movement’s extraordinary growth; how Pentecostalism intervenes in key social and political issues, such as citizenship, party politics, development challenges, and identity; and conversely, how politics in Africa modulate the Pentecostal movement. Pentecostalism and Politics in Africa offers a wide-ranging picture of a central dimension of postcolonial African life, opening up new directions for future research.

This book critically examines contemporary Pentecostalism in South Africa and its influence on some of the countries that surround it. Pentecostalism plays a significant role in the religious life of this region and so evaluating its impact is key to understanding how religion functions in Twenty-First Century Africa. Beginning with an overview of the roots of Pentecostalism in Southern Africa, the book moves on to identify a current "fourth" wave of this form of Christianity. It sets out the factors that have given rise to this movement and then offers the first academic evaluation of its theology and practice. Positive aspects as well as extreme or negative practices are all identified in order to give a balanced and nuanced assessment of this religious group and allow the reader to gain valuable insight into how it interacts with wider African society. This book is cutting-edge look at an emerging form of one of the fastest-growing religions in the world. It will, therefore, be of great use to scholars working in Pentecostalism, Theology, Religious Studies and African Religion as well as African Studies more generally.