24 BiAS - Bible in Africa Studies Exploring Religion in Africa 3 Kudzai Biri AFRICAN PENTECOSTALISM, THE BIBLE, AND CULTURAL RESILIENCE The Case of the Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa 24 Bible in Africa Studies Études sur la Bible en Afrique Bibel-in-Afrika-Studien Exploring Religion in Africa 3 Bible in Africa Studies Études sur la Bible en Afrique Bibel-in-Afrika-Studien Volume 24 edited by Joachim Kügler, Lovemore Togarasei, Masiiwa R. Gunda In cooperation with Ezra Chitando and Nisbert Taringa (†) Exploring Religion in Africa 3 2020 African Pentecostalism, the Bible, and Cultural Resilience The Case of the Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa Kudzai Biri 2020 Bibliographische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deut- schen Nationalbibliographie; detaillierte bibliographische Informationen sind im Internet über http://dnb.d-nb.de/ abrufbar. Under the title African Pentecostalism and Cultural Resilience: The Case of ZAOGA submitted in 2013 to the Department of Religious Studies, Classics and Philosophy of the University of Zimbabwe, Harare, as a thesis for the degree Philosophiae Doctor (PhD). Defended with success in 2013. Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Ezra Chitando Dieses Werk ist als freie Onlineversion über das Forschungsinformationssystem (FIS; https://fis.uni-bamberg.de) der Universität Bamberg erreichbar. Das Werk – ausgenommen Cover und Zitate – steht unter der CC-Lizenz CCBY. Lizenzvertrag: Creative Commons Namensnennung 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Herstellung und Druck: docupoint Magdeburg Umschlaggestaltung: University of Bamberg Press Umschlaggraphik und Deco-Graphiken: © Joachim Kügler Text-Formatierung: lrene Loch, Joachim Kügler © University of Bamberg Press, Bamberg 2020 http://www.uni-bamberg.de/ubp/ ISSN: 2190-4944 ISBN: 978-3-86309-713-4 (Druckausgabe) eISBN: 978-3-86309-714-1 (Online-Ausgabe) URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:473-irb-470038 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.20378/irb-47003 Dedication To my children Tawana, Ano and Mufaro TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract 11 1 | General Introduction to the Study 13 A Brief Analysis of the Methodological Approaches 21 The Phenomenology of Religion and Women’s Expiriences 24 Shona Oral Literature 27 Sampling Method 27 Interphase with Previous Studies 31 Clarification of Concepts 33 Various Forms of Christianity in Zimbabwe 47 Typology of Zimbabwean Pentecostalism 51 Conclusion 60 2 | An Appraisal of Contributions on Pentecostalism 61 Introduction 61 Marthinus L. Daneel 62 Allan Anderson 73 David Maxwell 79 Scholarship on Pentecostalism: An Overview 87 The Resilience of African Traditional Religion and Culture in the Wake of Christianity’s Dominance 87 Views on the Prosperity Teachings in Pentecostalism 108 Conclusion 112 3 | Shona Traditional Religion and Culture 113 Introduction 113 The Shona: An Overview 115 Conclusion 136 7 BiAS 24 | BIRI, African Pentecostalism, the Bible, and Cultural Resilience | UBP 2020 4 | ZAOGA within the Global Pentecostal Movement 139 Introduction 139 Some Traits of American Pentecostalism 140 Rise of Ezekiel Guti: The Birth and Growth of ZAOGA 142 Conclusion 180 5 | ZAOGA and Shona Religion and Culture: Contextualisation of Christian Faith 183 Introduction 183 Witches and Witchcraft 220 Exorcism in ATR and ZAOGA 222 Liturgy and Salvation 225 Conclusion 245 6 | Analysis and Conclusion 247 Introduction 247 Revisiting the Issues and Themes 247 The Themes: A Critical Overview 248 ATR and ZAOGA: Persistence amidst Change 261 Conclusion 264 References 265 Appendices 287 Information on the BiAS series at UBP 293 8 Acknowledgements This book is a result of my doctoral thesis. Few additions were made as a result of some later findings and developments within ZAOGA. My heartfelt appreciation goes to the help that I got from Professor Ezra Chitando, who supervised my work and provided unwavering support. The workshops and conferences that we carried out provided insights on gender issues that are discussed at length in this study. My participation in ZAOGA Bible studies and debates that were born out of them, church services and crusades among many other activities as a member of the church triggered the quest to carry out a deeper engagement on the theme of resilience of the indigenous cultures among the Pentecostals. Journeying together from my undergraduate studies, through to this level, being an unwavering mentor, I thank you, Prof Chitando. I thank colleagues in the Department of Religious Studies, Classics and Philos- ophy; Margaret Sabeta and Gillian Matikiti, the secretaries who rendered their typing services. Mr John Mutambwa, Dr Munetsi Ruzivo and Dr Gunda deserve to be mentioned for all the discussions. I am also grate- ful to Professor Lovemore Togarasei who supported my work through examining my articles that I submitted to him and indeed it widened my horizon on discourses on Pentecostalism. All my interviewees occupy an important position for providing useful information during the research. To all, I am greatly indebted! I am also grateful to Professor Joachim Kügler for hosting me for my post-doctoral studies as a Humboldt scholar at Bamberg University and for accepting my first book for this series of BiAS/ERA. Last but not least, I want to thank my student helper Ms Eileen Cassidy for proof- reading and Mrs Irene Loch for formatting my final text so beautifully. 9 Abstract The study investigates the resilience of Shona religion and culture among ZAOGA Pentecostal Christians. It endeavours to establish whether the Pentecostal Christians in Zimbabwe, through a case study of ZAOGA, have embraced aspects of Shona traditional religion and culture. Through an application of phenomenological-comparative ap- proach as well as fieldwork, the study confirms continuity, change and adaptation of indigenous beliefs and practices in a contemporary Pente- costal movement. Whereas the Pentecostal ideology suggests that ‘old things’ have passed away, it appears that ‘old things’ continue to have significance for the ‘new’. It 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, con- tradiction, re-interpretation and rejection between Shona traditional religion and culture and ZAOGA are explored, challenging the framing of African Pentecostalism as a poor imitation and parroting of theologi- cal constructions from North America. Although Ezekiel Guti (the founder and central figure in the study) does appropriate ideas and con- cepts from North American Pentecostalism, he displays remarkable sensitivity to Shona religion and culture. In order to meet the require- ments and purpose of this study, themes have been selected on the basis of their degree of comparison. These themes are; words spoken prior to/on death bed, belief in avenging spirits, the role, status and signifi- cance of women, belief in unnatural events, belief in witches and witch- craft, liturgy and salvation. The study narrowed down to an officially structured organized whole in order to give a deeper understanding of the orientation of ZAOGA. An African womanist is framework is adapted to challenge ZAOGA to promote the well being of women. The resilience of Shona religion and culture, serve to fill the gap of published material on the Shona and Pentecostalism, breaking new ground by exploring Shona religious and cultural aspects that have displayed re- markable resilience within the Pentecostal fraternity. My conclusion is that while ZAOGA self-consciously presents itself as a sophisticated, trans-national and progressive Pentecostal movement, members contin- ue to wrestle with Shona indigenous beliefs and practices. 11 1 | General Introduction to the Study Pentecostalism has emerged as one of the most vibrant forms of reli- gious expression in the contemporary world. In particular, African Pen- tecostalism has demonstrated remarkable vitality.1 In Zimbabwe, Pente- costalism has attracted millions of followers, especially since the 1990s. However, scholarship on Zimbabwean Pentecostalism, especially as it relates to indigenous beliefs and practices, remains in its infancy. The book seeks to examine the resilience of African Traditional Religion (here after ATR) and culture and its survival among African Pentecostals in Zimbabwe, in particular the Shona (the dominant ethnic group). Us- ing the Zimbabwe Assemblies of God, Africa (ZAOGA) as a case study, it investigates factors that facilitate the continuation, re-packaging, vitali- ty and renewal (which the study construes as resilience of ATR and cul- ture) in ZAOGA. Other scholars such as David Maxwell (see Maxwell 1999, 2000 & 20052) have studied ZAOGA and have considered some of the themes that have a bearing on the topic under investigation. This study probes the key themes found in Shona traditional religion and culture and ZAOGA, with emphasis on locating patterns of change and continuity. The book also adopts an African womanist framework to challenge ZAOGA to promote the wellbeing of women. Focusing on resilience of Shona reli- gion and culture, serve to fill the gap of published material on the Shona and Pentecostalism. The book concludes that while ZAOGA self- consciously presents itself as a sophisticated, trans-national and progres- sive Pentecostal movement, its members