Modes of Binding, Moments of Bonding. Mediating Divine Touch in Ghanaian Pentecostalism and Traditionalism

Abstract

On a Sunday evening in 2002 a Presbyterian woman in Accra was baptized by the Holy Spirit while watching a charismatic-Pentecostal television broadcast. She had been sweeping the room when Living Word came on and caught her attention. As she heard pastor Mensa Otabil preaching on speaking in tongues, she put her broom away and sat down to listen to the message. After the sermon, which was prerecorded in church, Otabil came on to address the viewer at home. His wise and friendly face filled the screen and in his deep voice he said “let’s pray together.” Suddenly the woman found herself praying in tongues without stopping. For the first time in her life she was filled with the Holy Spirit. That evening she wrote a letter to the church to thank pastor Otabil, telling him how beautiful her experience was and how excited she was, and promising that she would from now on allow God to use him to bless her. Similar testimonies of people who experienced being touched by the Holy Spirit while watching a charismatic TV broadcast abound. What can this tell us about religious bonding in the present age of mass media distraction and about the kinds of religious “communities” that ensue?