BiAS 7 – The Bible and Politics in Africa
unemployment, HIV and a myriad of problems. They graduate into “the
people of God” called by God’s very own name! David Maxwell, writing
on the Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa (ZAOGA), puts it across
very well when saying:
Numerous Zimbabweans enter ZAOGA assemblies with low self-esteem,
feeling wretched, despised and abused. But within the safe confines of the
Pentecostal community they experience a revelation. They learn that they
are not a ‘nobody but a somebody’. Even though they may not have ‘big
things’ they are nevertheless ‘special’. They are no longer just citizens of a
state that has broken its promises and increasingly resorts to surveillance
and control; they have a new royal identity as members of the Kingdom of
God. And this new identity is not ascribed by means of a flimsy ID card that
can be lost. Pentecostals are chosen people, called by name. More than that,
they are now holy, set apart, and clean (Maxwell 2006: 193).
Third, there is a communal acceptance of culpability. The problems that
have visited the people are not due to the transgressions of a chosen few.
No. They have been caused by the whole people of God failing to “hum-
ble themselves and pray and seek God’s face and turn from their wicked
ways.” The Zimbabwean crisis is not of Mugabe’s doing. Neither has it
been authored by the ruling elite. Not even the MDC and its Western
sponsors could have sponsored the crisis. No. This crisis is down to the
failure by Christians to pray fervently and to uphold God’s directives.
Fourth, there is an anticipation of the situation being reversed in the
immediate future. Once Zimbabwean Christians turn from their wicked
ways, God in heaven will hear and will forgive their sins and heal their
land. This “healing of the land” gained prominence within theological
discourses, especially within Pentecostalism, during the period under
review. Although a detailed discussion of the theme of prosperity lies
outside the scope of this chapter, it is important to make reference to it.
The prosperity message holds that God intends that those who are faith-
ful to God will receive health and material prosperity. In particular, those
who resist “wicked ways” will prosper in this life, as well as in heaven.
While the term “prosperity gospel” remains controversial (Folarin 2006),
it captures the key concerns accurately.
Fifth, one could discern the influence of Pentecostal formulations on
prosperity within the larger Zimbabwean Christianity. References to
2 Chron 7:14 began initially within Pentecostalism in Zimbabwe. How-
ever, they gradually circulated across the denominational divide and
began to have influence across Zimbabwean Christianity. One can argue
that the passage served as both a diagnosis in terms of establishing what