THE IMPACT OF WITCHCRAFT ON THE FRIENDS CHURCH IN LUGARI- WESTERN KENYA By ELLY KIGUNYI LUGWILI A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF THEOLOGY at the SOUTH AFRICAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY In JANUARY 2014 SUPERVISOR: DR. NERBERT MTANGE DECLARATION I hereby acknowledge that the work contained in this thesis is my own original work and has not previously in its entirety or in part been submitted to any academic institution for degree purposes. Elly Kigunyi Lugwili 23/01/2014 ii DEDICATION This thesis is a dedication to my late grandmother; Ruth Kasudi who went to be with the Lord in 2012. She brought me up in the Christian faith. iii ACKOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the support given to me by my supervisor, Dr. Nerbert Mtange. You have been of great help during the writing of my research. I also want to thank South Africa Theological Seminary for the availing enough resources during my studies. Many thanks go to the lecturers at Emmanuel Christian College (South Sudan) for their support and prayer and for allowing me to lecture while in my studies. I also want to thank my wife Damaris Kigunyi and my daughter Gertrude Kasudi for ascribing their time and willing to stay alone during my studies. Finally I thank God for studying with South Africa Theological Seminary. Elly Kigunyi Lugwili 23/01/2014 iv ABSTRACT This research was written to investigate the impact of witchcraft in the Friends Church. The research aimed to make a theological contribution in fashioning an understanding on the phenomenon of witchcraft in the Church today. The study conducted was to help raise the need for developing discipleship materials for the newly born again believers in the Friends Church and to fortify laid down strategies for evangelism in meeting the needs of the church members. This was done by; identifying the challenges of ministering to those who practice witchcraft, understanding the current approaches of Luhya pastors in the Friends church towards witchcraft, and to propose a biblical model of discipleship for new converts in the church. The research argues that witchcraft is a real phenomenon facing the church and must be dealt with through discussion within the framework of the African theodicy. People who resort to witchcraft have genuine concerns. Therefore, these concerns should be addressed by the church in light of the Word of God. The target population of interest was 210 Church members. Simple random sampling techniques were used to select sample size representing 60% of the target population. Questionnaires were sent to 132 members where the actual response rate was determined. The actual responses rate was obtained from the respondents in three population categories namely the top level (pastors), adult members and the youths. Data was analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively and presented in form of tables. Interviews for the elderly were also conducted to get a balance view of the data obtained. Secondary data involved the review of both the published and unpublished materials. The findings reveal that witchcraft is still a prevalent problem in the church that needs to be addressed theologically. It also reveals that there are inadequate discipleship materials that are used to disciple new converts within the Friends church. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION .................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION....................................................................................................... iii ACKOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................... v Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY ....................................................................... 1 1.0 Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background ................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Literature review .......................................................................................... 6 1.3 The Problem .............................................................................................. 21 1.4 Main Research Question ........................................................................... 22 1.5 Subordinate Questions .............................................................................. 22 1.6 Objectives.................................................................................................. 22 1.7 Purpose ..................................................................................................... 22 1.8 Delimitations of the study .......................................................................... 23 1.9 Definitions of key terms ............................................................................. 23 1.10 Presuppositions of the researcher ........................................................... 25 1.11 Significance (or value) of the study ......................................................... 25 1.12 Design and Methodology ......................................................................... 26 1.12.1The research design ................................................................................... 26 1.12.2 The research methodology ....................................................................... 26 1.13 Summary ................................................................................................. 27 Chapter 2 ........................................................................................................... 29 Current approaches of Luhya pastors in the Friends Church towards witchcraft. .......................................................................................................... 29 2.0 Introduction ................................................................................................ 29 2.1 A brief history of the traditions of the Luhya people ................................... 29 2.2 Most common acts of witchcraft among the Luhya people ........................ 34 2.2.1 Busula ............................................................................................................ 35 2.2.2 Mayenga ........................................................................................................ 36 vi 2.2.3 Kumara........................................................................................................... 37 2.2.4 Oloheni ........................................................................................................... 38 2.2.5 Umukumu ...................................................................................................... 39 2.3 Social security factors ............................................................................... 39 2.4 Reasons for practice of witchcraft ............................................................. 46 2.4.1Social Political-religious factors .................................................................. 46 2.4.2 The jealousy factor ....................................................................................... 49 2.5 Summary ................................................................................................... 55 Chapter 3 ........................................................................................................... 57 Biblical principles for ministering to cultural witchcraft practices .............. 57 3.0 Introduction ................................................................................................ 57 3.1 Witchcraft and the Bible ............................................................................ 57 3.2 Witchcraft in the Old Testament ................................................................ 59 3.3 Why God forbade divination in the Old Testament. ................................... 61 3.3.1 Lust for knowledge ....................................................................................... 61 3.3.2 Leads to deception ....................................................................................... 64 3.3.3 Witchcraft is rebellion against God ............................................................ 66 3.3.4 Witchcraft is prostitution .............................................................................. 69 3.3.5 Witchcraft is idolatry ..................................................................................... 70 3.4 The New Testament and witchcraft ........................................................... 76 3.5 Summary ................................................................................................... 79 Chapter 4 ........................................................................................................... 82 Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations .............................................. 82 4.0 Introduction ................................................................................................ 82 4.1 Disciple ...................................................................................................... 82 4. 2. We need discipleship in order to deal with the African theodicy as the solution to the problem of evil .........................................................................