spirit and healing in africa - University of the Free State

Within the field of Reformed pneumatology, as explored above, I intend to probe some
possibilities for linking the Holy Spirit and healing. The aim is to bring closer together
(systematically and confessionally articulated) Christian faith and lived reality in relation to
Spirit, healing, Reformed tradition and Africa. Migliore (1991:3) expresses clearly what happens
to believers who do have faith in the transforming power of God’s Spirit, but are also well aware
of the impotence of the church and of themselves: then there is incongruity between faith and
lived reality, and that is when theology can and must pose questions and search for a better or
(re)new(ed) understanding of who God is, and of who we are.
In the exploration of meaningful connections between faith in the Spirit of God and the everyday
life of Reformed believers in Southern Africa, I wonder whether new perspectives on Spirit and
healing can be developed when the four African health notions described in the Chapters 2-5 can
be engaged with Reformed pneumatology. Are there motifs that already exist within the
pneumatological matrix? Do they simply need to be retrieved to find productive avenues for
Reformed theology in Southern Africa? Are there, perhaps, also motifs that are absent, or at least
potentially present but that should be further developed in order to speak meaningfully about
Spirit and healing from a Reformed perspective?
The theological task in this second part of the research is thus motivated by the quest for new
ways of speaking about Spirit and healing in Africa. The method used here is to engage the four
African health discourses with Reformed pneumatological discourse. The task of theology in this
part is twofold: it is the retrieval of certain elements already present in the Reformed
pneumatological matrix, and it is the re-visioning of Reformed pneumatological thought
pertaining to some elements that have been neglected or underdeveloped. Both these tasks will
be carried out in Chapters 7-10.
The motif of relationality is strongly present in the matrix of Reformed pneumatology. In various
ways it is articulated that the Spirit creates relationships — with God, with others, with oneself
and with the environment. The Holy Spirit leads the believer to communion with Christ, through
Christ with the Father, and with the faith community; She provides the life-giving bonds that are
needed in order to be healed and to become whole once again. The absence of such bonds means
the loss of social well-being, and of regenerating relationships. Chapter 7 offers an exploration
into the relation between Spirit and healing by retrieving the Reformed notion of relationality.
The motif of transformation has a central place within Reformed pneumatological discourse.
However, it is a very complex motif. In Reformed pneumatological thought, the Spirit’s role in
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