Spirit and Healing in Africa: A Reformed pneumatological perspective

Deborah van den Bosch-Heij

Description

There is a great need for healing in Africa. This need is in itself no different elsewhere in the world, but it is greatly determined by the involvement of religious communities and traditions. Faith communities and religious institutions play a major role in assisting African believers to find health, healing and completeness in everyday life.

Sujets

• Littérature Sud-Africaine
• Littérature sud-africaine
• Transformation
• Africa
• Discourse
• Rationality
• HIV/AIDS in Africa

Informations

• Publié par: UJ Press
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781920382186
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 5 Mo

Extrait

SPIRIT AND HEALING IN AFRICA A REFORMED PNEUMATOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

Deborah van den Bosch-Heij

SPIRIT AND HEALING IN AFRICA A Reformed pneumatological perspective

Deborah van den Bosch-Heij

Spirit and Healing in Africa

A Reformed pneumatological perspective

Published by Sun Media Bloemfontein (Pty) Ltd

Imprint: SunBonani Conference

All rights reserved

Copyright © 2012 Sun Media Bloemfontein

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic, photographic or mechanical means, including photocopying and recording on record, tape or laser disk, on microfilm, via the Internet, by e-mail, or by any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission by the publisher.

Views reLected in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher.

First edition 2012

ISBN: 978-1-920382-17-9 (Print) ISBN: 978-1-920382-18-6 (Online) DOI: https://doi.org/10.18820/9781920382186

Set in Swis721 Cn BT 10.5/15 Cover design, typesetting and production by Sun Media Bloemfontein This printed copy can be ordered directly from: [e-mail] The e-book is available at the following link: https://doi.org/10.18820/9781920382186

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...........................................................................

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................

PART I | EXPLORING THE AFRICAN HORIZON: DISCOURSES ON HEALTH .......................................................................

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

The fabric of health in Africa ...........................................

African traditional healing discourse ................................

Missionary medicine discourse ......................................

Discourse on HIV/Aids in Africa ......................................

i

x

xiii

1

2

5

7

3

5

1

9

Church-based healing discourse ..................................... 109

PART II | EXPLORING A REFORMED PNEUMATOLOGY IN AFRICA: FRAGMENTS ON SPIRIT AND HEALING .................................................. 141

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

A Reformed pneumatological matrix ............................... 147

The Spirit and relationality ............................................... 203

The Spirit and transformation .......................................... 221

The Spirit and quality of life ............................................. 241

The Spirit and power ...................................................... 263

CONCLUSION Gathering fragments ....................................................... 279

BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................... 291

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS t feels like this work has been written multiple times in the past five years. I’m not I referring here to the numerous revisions of the chapters of this study, but to my various attempts to establish a link between Spirit and healing in Africa from a Reformed perspective. Exploring this link was like wandering through a huge and impressive building with beautiful chambers, their doors wide open to anyone curious to see what is happening inside. Often, I was attracted by the crowd of people already present in the room and deeply involved in debates on the Holy Spirit. I thoroughly enjoyed being a witness of the deliberations of wise women and men, who seek the ways of the Spirit. Often, I was also encouraged by the accompaniment of others, suggesting to coming along and visiting also the next room. Sadly, there were also times that I had to walk past an invitingly open door, just because I had to stay on track. This study is the result of my wandering through the building of Spirit and healing. I realise that this account can be revised and rewritten another five times, but I have come to learn that doing theology is meant to be like that. It is an open-ended adventure, because the Holy Spirit always opens closed doors and creates new vistas for us.

When I stood on the threshold of the building of Spirit and healing, Prof. Rian Venter was the one who provided a map to those rooms I could not have found on my own. His vast knowledge of theological and non-theological disciplines prevented me from getting lost. His genuine loyalty to students allowed me to wander on my own, and this is how I discovered the fun of doing research. Furthermore, he is a very generous person, who always has the best interests of others in mind. I have experienced this first-hand, and I truly appreciate Prof. Venter’s generosity and guidance.

After I had already spent some time exploring the building of Spirit and healing, Prof. Cees van der Kooi (Free University in Amsterdam) joined this research venture, and also became my supervisor. His expertise on pneumatology and Western systematic theology had a major impact on the second part of this study. I thank Prof. Van der Kooi for his willingness to guide me through the Reformed tradition and to reveal the promise of a pneumatological orientation.

From 2005-2010, I worked as a lecturer at Justo Mwale Theological University College in Lusaka (Zambia) on behalf of KerkinActie, the mission organisation of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands. When I embarked on this research project in 2007, my direct supervisors at KerkinActie were very supportive and never failed to emphasise

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the significance of doing contextual theology. The financial support I received in the past year enabled me to direct my full attention to the finalisation of this study. I thank Rommie Nauta, Corrie van der Ven and Hans Snoek (currently lecturer in Old Testament Studies at Hogeschool Windesheim, Zwolle) for their encouragement in words and deeds.

In 2010 and 2011, the University of the Free State granted me a Doctoral Bursary in Theology. I thank the Faculty of Theology for this kind support in my tuition fees.

This study has its origins in the community of Justo Mwale Theological University College. The lecturers and students of JMTUC showed me the relevance of the theme of healing to mainstream theology in southern Africa. They introduced me to questions such as “What do we mean when we say that we expect healing from God?”; “How does God heal?”; “How should we, Reformed believers, approach Pentecostal theologies of healing?” and “How can Reformed believers speak of healing in the present time?” I thank all the staff and students of JMTUC for sharing their experiences of healing and deliverance with me. These stories will go a long way in my life.

When I moved towards the end of my research, I suddenly had to think about the practical implications. Susanna Stout turned up just when I was looking for someone who dared to face the challenge of editing my Dutch English. In a very short period, she managed to correct many mistakes in this manuscript while juggling her family responsibilities. I thank her for improving my use of the English language. The remaining errors in this manuscript are my full responsibility.

My family and friends generally approached the theme of Spirit and healing with a mix of suspicion and fascination. Perhaps that is the appropriate way to approach the elusive work of the Spirit in daily life. I thank my friends and family for this reminder and for their participation in this study in many supportive ways.

Unintentionally and intentionally, my parents Winny Heij-Zacharias and Hugo Heij made a major contribution to this study. They are the ones who stirred my love for Zambia and supported my studies in theology. In the past five years, they provided moral support, books and babysitting services. Without their help, it would have been extremely difficult to reach this point in my development. I thank my parents for encouraging me and for being there when I needed them.

I would like to believe that my children Sarah and Daniel did not experience any inconvenience from my research project, but I cannot say for sure. Daniel will be

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

surprised when we do away with the abridged versions of the bedtime stories, and Sarah’s plans for shopping and watching television together will finally become reality. I thank my children for being so patient, cheerful and flexible while I was busy with my ‘book thing’.

What started as an encouragement to feed my interest in the work of the Holy Spirit resulted in my husband’s own involvement in exploring the link between Spirit and healing. Henk read every page of every version, challenged my ideas until they were clear enough and celebrated with me every time I had finished a chapter. Our relationship proves to me that it is true that relationships are the source of healing. Thank you for being who you are.

Glory to the Triune God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!

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INTRODUCTION

1. RESEARCH BACKGROUND There is a great need for healing in Africa. This need is in itself no different elsewhere in the world, but it is greatly determined by the involvement ofreligiouscommunities and traditions. Faith communities and religious institutions play a major role in assisting African believers to find health, healing and completeness in everyday life. In fact, it is generally expected of religious institutions that they guide believers in word and deed in their search for healing, and lead the way to deliverance from suffering and affliction. Their involvement can be explained by the fact that therapeutics in Africa is not confined to the hospital-based medical practitioner (Patterson, 1981:28; Ranger, 1981:267; Ekechi, 1993:298; Bate, 1995:15; Good, 2004:10; Kabonga-Mbaya, 2006:188; Kalu, 2008:263; Rasmussen, 2008:11).

However, churches founded by missionaries seem to fail in addressing the believers’ needs for healing. One explanation for this omission is found in the historical background of the missionaries themselves: they were heavily influenced by scientific medical discoveries in nineteenth century Europe, so that theology and biomedicine grew apart and became two clearly separate disciplines. In the modern era, science became the prevailing model that allowed people to approach society with an objective, critical, and progressive frame of reference. The implication was that science and medicine challenged religion in making sense of human existence, and that their cultural authority sped the medicalisation of life and death (Porter, 1997:302). In embracing modern medicine and supporting its expansion for the benefit of global health, mainline theology added other perspectives to its view on human existence. Missionary churches assimilated biomedical perspectives on healing and treatment, and accepted a clear division between body, mind and soul.

1 The result of this dichotomy is illustrated in the fictional tale of Grace Banda, a member of the Reformed Church in a Southern African country. Grace Banda’s husband passed away four years ago, after a prolonged illness, and she was left with their three children, two daughters and a son, all in their late twenties. Between them, the two daughters

1. Grace Banda is a fictitious person, who represents the many female as well as male members of the mainline tradition in southern Africa. Everything described here in relation to Grace Banda is based on personal stories of people whom I met during my stay in Zambia, Africa. An additional source is the article by Noerine Kaleeba, ‘Excerpt fromWe Miss You All: Aids in the Family’, in Kalipeni, E.et.al. (eds.) 2004.HIV and Aids in Africa. Beyond Epidemiology. Malden: Blackwell Publishing; 259-278. The person of Grace Banda will return in the second part of this research.

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have five children, and all eight children and grandchildren live together with Grace in her home. She is now the sole breadwinner, since the daughters and son have failed to find jobs due to high unemployment. Their only income comes from the sale in the local market of maize and tomatoes, which they grow in a field outside the compound. Last year her oldest daughter passed away after she contracted Aids, known simply as ‘the disease’. She suffered a lot of pain. A few months ago, Grace Banda found out her own disease status. She had seen the campaigns on television offering free HIV- testing and counselling, and the slogan ‘know your status’ written on hoardings and on the side of public busses. Even her grandchildren learn at school about the risks 2 of unprotected sex, through the ABC-campaign. So one day Grace went to one of the clinics in town that offered free testing and counselling, because she had heard people, including the church minister, say that one should know one’s status; then at least one could if necessary, take action instead of becoming a victim of one’s situation. The clinic was well organised and Grace received the attention and the counselling that she needed to pick up the pieces of her life after hearing that her test was positive. She is now part of the antiretroviral distribution programme and receives appropriate medicine to stop further progress of the virus.

As a member of the Reformed Church, Grace Banda goes to church every Sunday, and to every gathering of the women’s fellowship. There she is surrounded by people who recognise her struggle for life, although she has never told anyone about her status for fear of being stigmatised. In these communities Aids is never mentioned, people refer to it simply as ‘the disease’, or they disguise it with the label of malaria or tuberculosis. Church life makes up an important part of Grace’s life, since being a Christian believer defines her identity in everyday life. Yet, Grace is aware that her desire for healing and her questions about illness, suffering and death do not receive any attention in congregational practices. From the pulpit, the minister explicitly warns the congregants never to go to an African doctor, since their therapeutic rituals are connected to the devil, witchcraft and black magic. Some of Grace Banda’s friends have attended a Pentecostal church when they needed a cure for a physical or spiritual affliction, but she does not know much about the healing practices of Pentecostals. She has heard that some healing rituals have their origin in the Scriptures, but her minister says these are closely linked to African traditional healing rituals. In the Reformed Church, Grace Banda hears about sanctifying her life, about living a God-pleasing life. But how does

2. ‘Abstainfrom sex.Befaithful. Usecondoms’.

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