Abstract
This chapter unpacks the Gospel of Prosperity to shed more light and possibly bring clarity to this subject for continued discussions within and across Christian and non-Christian groupings in Zimbabwe and beyond. It attempts to address this subject without the emotional baggage that has characterized the public discussion of it in Zimbabwe. In carrying out this study, a socio-historical analysis and a theological approach to the data is deployed. This is done in three major sections; in the first section, an attempt to define and trace the historical development of this gospel is made while the second section tackles the public discussion of the gospel in Zimbabwe. The third section outlines the key features of the gospel as it manifests itself in Zimbabwe followed by a conclusion.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
On Judgment Night 19 April 2014, it is claimed that more than 150,000 people attended the all night prayer organised by Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa of UFIC (Daily News 22/04/2014) while Prophet Walter Magaya is believed to have brought together 350,000 to his Waterfalls Church premises for an all-night prayer on 7 November 2014 (Kamhungira, Daily News 10/11/2014).
- 4.
- 5.
Angel, I went to heaven, http://www.youtube.com
- 6.
The statistics on the numbers of people who are leaving their traditional churches for good and those who only go to seek assistance for spiritual problems is particularly difficult to establish. However, since there is no sudden upsurge in the total percentage of Christians in Zimbabwe (which is around 80%), it follows that the people going to these churches are not new converts to the Christian faith but are rather members who are moving within the Christian faith.
- 7.
Here we refer to the phenomenon of “Christians by day, traditionalists by night” which meant that Christians portrayed themselves as such during the day but when confronted with challenges they felt the Church was ill-equipped to address, they secretly went to traditional diviner-healers at night. See, Gunda 2007:229–246.
- 8.
There is a court case currently (2015) running in the Magistrates court in Harare where an individual is accusing Prophet Angel of making false promises bordering on fraud. The business man says he was informed that if he seeded his $300,000,00 Bentley car, he would be blessed with at least three cars of that value or more and almost two years later the returns have not materialized hence his desire to be compensated by the prophet.
References
Anderson, A. 2005. New African initiated Pentecostalism and charismatics in South Africa. Journal of Religion in Africa 35 (1): 66–92.
Angel Uebert. 2009. “There is Nothing New Under the Sun” sermon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7y6u8_IXGE. Accessed 5 Dec 2011
———. “I went to Heaven,” undated Sermon, Harare International Conference Centre, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGzoECMg36k&feature=relmfu, accessed 08 May 2012.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J.K. 2005. ‘Christ is the answer’: What is the question? A Ghana airways prayer vigil and its implications for religion, evil and public space. Journal of Religion in Africa 35 (1): 93–117.
Banana, C.S. 1993. The case for a new Bible. In “Rewriting” the Bible: The real issues, ed. I. Mukonyora et al., 17–32. Gweru: Mambo Press.
Barron, B. 1987. The health and wealth gospel: What's going on today in a movement that has shaped the faith of millions? Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
Beckford, R.S. 2001. Theology in the age of crack: crack age, prosperity doctrine and ‘being there. Black Theology in Britain 4 (1): 9–24.
Bert, G. 2010. The prosperity gospel: God in box, The Plain Truth, Fall, 41–46.
Brouwer, S., P. Gifford, and S.D. Rose. 1996. Exporting the American Gospel: Global Christian fundamentalism. New York: Routledge.
Bruce, S. 1990. Pray TV: Televangelism in America. London: Routledge.
Cox, H. 2001. Fire from heaven: The rise of Pentecostal spirituality and the reshaping of religion in the 21st century. Jackson: Da Capo Press.
Elinson, H. 1965. The implications of Pentecostal religion for intellectualism, politics, and race-relations. American Journal of Sociology 70: 403–415.
Fee, G. 1981. The new testament view of wealth and possessions. New Oxford Review 48: 8–11.
———. 1985. The disease of the health and wealth gospels. Vancouver, BC: Regent College Publishing.
Gifford, P. 1990. Prosperity: A new and foreign element in African Christianity. Religion 20: 373–388.
———. 1998. African Christianity: Its public role. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
———. “Expecting miracles: the prosperity gospel in Africa,” The Christian Century, 2007., www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=3494, accessed 15 June 2009.
Gunda, M.R. 2007. Christianity, traditional religion, and healing in Zimbabwe: Exploring the dimensions and dynamics of healing among the Shona. Swedish Missiological Themes 95 (3): 229–246.
———. 2010. The Bible and homosexuality in Zimbabwe. Bamberg: University of Bamberg Press.
Harrell, D.E. 1975. All things are possible: The healing and charismatic revivals in modern America. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Hollinger, D. 1991. Enjoying god forever: An historical/sociological profile of the health and wealth gospel in the U.S.A. In Religion and power, decline and growth: Sociological analyses of religion in Britain, Poland, and the Americas, ed. P. Gee and J. Fulton, 53–66. British Sociological Association Sociology of Religion Study Group: London.
Hunt, S. 2000. ’Winning Ways’: Globalisation and the impact of the health and wealth gospel. Journal of Contemporary Religion 15 (3): 331–347.
Kamhungira, T. “Bumber crowd at Judgment Night,” Daily News, 22 April 2014., http://www.dailynews.co.zw/articles/2014/04/22/bumper-crowd-at-judgement-night, accessed 23 Mar 2015.
Kamhungira, T. and Chaya, V. “Magaya draws 350 000 to church,” Daily News, 10 November 2014., http://www.dailynews.co.zw/articles/2014/11/10/magaya-draws-350-000-to-church, accessed 23 Mar 2015.
Koch, B. 2009.The prosperity gospel and economic prosperity: Race, class, giving, and voting. PhD dissertation, Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Bloomington.
Lioy, D. 2007. The heart of the prosperity gospel: Self or the savior? Conspectus 4: 41–64.
Makandiwa, E. “2011 – Prophecies and Declarations,” Sermon based on Hebrews 11:32–34 and Romans 4:19, 01 January 2011a., http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WugrxTMZXWA, accessed 05 Dec 2011.
———. “The Mark of a Blessing,” Sermon based on Luke 13:6–9 and Isaiah 5:3, 31 January 2011b. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4Y7P8NAPEw&feature=related, accessed 05 Dec 2011.
Mateveke, P., C. Mukenge, and N. Chivandikwa. 2013. Media representation on prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa: A comparative study of the herald and news day. In Prophets, profits and the bible in Zimbabwe, ed. E. Chitando, M.R. Gunda, and J. Kuegler, 263–280. Bamberg: University of Bamberg Press.
Mawarire, J. “Ngwenya needs schooling, spiritual deliverance,” NewsDay 01/04/2011., http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2011-04-01-ngwenya-needs-schooling-spiritual-deliverance, accessed 02 Dec 2011.
Maxwell, D. 2006. African gifts of the Spirit: Pentecostalism and the rise of a Zimbabwean transnational religious movement. Oxford: James Currey Ltd.
Ngwenya, R. “Religious entrepreneurship,” NewsDay 29/03/2011., http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2011-03-29-religious-entrepreneurship, accessed 02 Dec 2011.
Nzira, P. “When prosperity gospel becomes prosperity ‘gold spel’,” Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation TV, 17 November 2011., http://www.zbc.co.zw/news-categories/opinion/13965-when-prosperity-gospel-becomes-prosperity-gold-spel.html, accessed 30 Mar 2012.
Parsitau, D.S., and P.N. Mwaura. 2010. God in the city: Pentecostalism as an urban phenomenon in Kenya. Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 36 (2): 95–112.
Phiri, I. and Maxwell, J. “Gospel riches: Africa’s rapid embrace of prosperity Pentecostalism provokes concern—and hope,” Christianity Today, 2007., www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/july/12.22.html, accessed 15 June 2009.
Ray, B.C. 2000. African religions: Symbol, ritual, and community. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Rieger, J. 2007. Christ and empire: From Paul to postcolonial times. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
Togarasei, L. 2005. Modern Pentecostalism as an urban phenomenon: The case of the family of god Church in Zimbabwe. Exchange: Journal of Missiological and Ecumenical Research 34 (4): 349–375.
———. 2006. The ‘Birth’ of a prophet: Andrew Wutawunashe's break from the reformed Church in Zimbabwe (formerly Dutch reformed church). Exchange 35 (2): 215–225.
———. 2011. The Pentecostal gospel of prosperity in African contexts of poverty: An appraisal. Exchange 40: 336–350.
Ukah, A. “African Christianities: Features, Promises and Problems,” Lecture presented in the Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, 17. 06. 2007.
van Biema, D., and J. Chu. 2006. Does god want you to be rich? Time., September 18, 2006: 48–56.
Vutabwashe, T. “The Name Jesus,” Sermon, 1 July 2009., http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guhP8aCeamk&NR=1, accessed 29 Nov 2011.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gunda, M.R. (2018). The Pentecostal Gospel of Prosperity and the Divisive Nature of Mega-Church Superstar Men of God (Prophets) in Zimbabwe. In: Togarasei, L. (eds) Aspects of Pentecostal Christianity in Zimbabwe. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78565-3_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78565-3_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-78564-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-78565-3
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)