A Contextual Approach to the Praxis of the Kingdom of God

Type Thesis or Dissertation - Master of Philosophy
Title A Contextual Approach to the Praxis of the Kingdom of God
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2013
URL https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/35824/DavidxStilesxOcranxxMasterxThesis.pdf?sequence=1​&isAllowed=y
Abstract
This study critically investigates into some of the controversial practices of the neo-Pentecostal churches in Ghana with a particular focus on the challenge of the prosperity gospel and the leaders’ misuse of money. The gospel or Christianity that was introduced during the colonial rule met resistance because it was comprehended by the hearers as another form of imperial power. Consequently, Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah called on the people to seek first the political kingdom of the nation, that is, to prioritize the freedom from colonial imperialism and its alliances over the so-called kingdom of God. Today, through the propaganda of the classical and neo-Pentecostal churches, the gospel or Christianity is growing at an alarming rate. However, the gospel being preached by these new churches appears different from that of Jesus’ good news of the kingdom of God. It is noted that the themes propagated by the neo-Pentecostal Christianity seem to rather place the poor in bondage or suffering and enriches the pastors of these churches. Thus, the prosperity gospel or the kingdom of God they claim to preach leads to exploitation of the poor, deny them the last coin in their pockets. Thus, instead of giving to the poor, the poor are rather asked to give, a reverse of Jesus’ kingdom message. The study has been carried out through various approaches such historical, ethnographic, systematic and contextual models. It establishes that the gospel of the kingdom that is being preached in Ghana today is a misrepresentation of Jesus’ kingdom of God. Whereas the Jesus’ kingdom centers on the liberation of the poor, building of community of sharing / redistribution or generalized reciprocity, the neo-Pentecostals focus on wealth acquisition, taking from the poor, and building negative reciprocity, a patron-client relations in society.

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