spirit and healing in africa - University of the Free State

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KEY TERMS Africa African Traditional Religion Discourse Foucault Fragments Healing/Health HIV/AIDS Holy Spirit Missionary medicine Pentecostal theology Pneumatology Power Quality of life Reformed theology Relationality Social constructivism Transformation 316
SUMMARY This study is an exploration of the link between the Holy Spirit and healing in Africa from a Reformed perspective. It is meant as a contribution to the development of Reformed contextual perspectives on healing in Southern Africa, and investigates whether a pneumatological exploration, sensitive to multi-layered understandings of health, could open productive avenues for Reformed theology in Southern Africa. The exploration consists of two parts. The first part is based on interdisciplinary research, and gives an overview of African health concepts that are influential in Southern Africa. The exploration starts with the struggle to find an appropriate definition of health, resulting in the understanding of health as a social construct. This means that one’s social context determines one’s understanding of health. The approach of social constructivism is non-essentialist and inherently open to the contextual, social and subjective nature of health. As such, social constructivism provides the epistemological frame for this thesis’ understanding of health and healing in the African context. Social constructivism implies that there are multiple understandings of health in a society. When a health concept occurs in a systematic or coherent pattern of ideas and practices, this coherent structure can be characterized as a health discourse. In Southern Africa, various health discourses can be identified: (1) the African traditional healing or the ngoma discourse; (2) the missionary medicine discourse; (3) the HIV/AIDS discourse; and (4) the church-based healing discourse. Each African health discourse is determined by a specific notion which characterizes the way health is interpreted according to that particular health discourse. The notions that have been identified are: (1) relationality; (2) transformation; (3) quality of life; and (4) power. In the second part of the study, the relationship between African health discourses and Reformed theology is developed on the basis of a pneumatological focus, which begins with an account of pneumatological approaches, developed by Reformed theologians (Calvin, Kuyper, Barth, Van Ruler, Moltmann, Welker, Veenhof and Van der Kooi), and a description of the Heidelberg Catechism’s pneumatology. The overview of Reformed pneumatologies suggests that most key ideas of the African health discourses correlate with specific motifs of the Reformed pneumatological matrix. Only the motif of power seems to be underdeveloped in Reformed thought. 317
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SPIRIT AND HEALING IN AFRICA: A REF
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It feels like this
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I would like to believe that my chi
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TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 11 1
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PART II. EXPLORING A REFORMED PNEUM
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INTRODUCTION 1. Research background
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and her status? Does the Bible not
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traditional healing, the HIV/AIDS c
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This thesis centralizes the proper,
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subject of health within the variou
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7. Research outline This research c
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and materiality. The answers to thi
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physical affliction, and it points
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1.2 MEANING OF SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVIS
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trust) that can influence health an
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1.3.2 Discourse When one follows th
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still resists a clear definition an
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the study of African healing starte
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industrialized world” (Helman 200
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produced, that a certain gesture re
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influence in Southern Africa. The a
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collective experiences, codes of th
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However, despite many attempts to a
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impact on African indigenous cultur
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Suffering as a relational matter
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situation in which one is actively
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particular rituals are subject to c
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Ngoma’s ability to recreate socie
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2.4 BORDERS OF AFRICAN TRADITIONAL
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carefully balance their practices a
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connection with the human beings wh
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ancestors and other spirits is impo
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a network of vessels through which
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healing, because relationships are
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esistance. Without denying that mis
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century it turned out that the medi
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scientific insights. The rigid Enli
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determined the course of missionary
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exclusive and divergent therapy, th
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merely regarded as the mirror of th
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esearch starts (as it is in convent
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a given society), but it should be
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eliefs and deeds were reproduced th
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missionary discourse focuses not on
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The notion of transformation result
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3.5.3 Transformation without superi
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The transformation of biomedicine i
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people make sense of health and ill
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ut should have narratives and perso
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these, but all of them include, imp
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Epidemiological constructions of AI
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investigating sexual activities wit
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within a specific society. The ackn
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This section aims at exploring some
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assessment and prevention. However,
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which Jesus directly turns towards
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include the dismissal of the assume
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4.4.2 Quality of social life From a
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The church now acknowledges that it
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ehavior, has mainly determined the
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CHAPTER 5. CHURCH-BASED HEALING DIS
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independent Pentecostal Churches, t
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deficiencies in medical healthcare
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that the human covenant partner nee
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approach towards the cause of disea
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Besides the argument that Jesus him
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malevolent forces or demons, who ha
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of benevolent spiritual forces in o
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5.3.3 Power of the Holy Spirit With
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for Jesus’ holistic approach to t
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prophet-healer is seen as someone w
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church-based healing discourse does
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church-based healing would be depri
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who have to deal with a changing st
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manifests itself, but it is definit
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PART II. EXPLORING A REFORMED PNEUM
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matrix? What are the essential elem
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the work of the Spirit? What consti
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6.2 REFORMED PNEUMATOLOGIES The fol
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Another feature of Calvin’s pneum
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providence allows for a limited yet
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meaning of the association of Word
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Kuyper’s thought is of great impo
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life within the old life through hi
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physical healing is such an inactiv
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whether the Christological focus in
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the power that man receives from Go
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any room for dualism between heaven
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Van Ruler deliberately distinguishe
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The significance of Van Ruler’s a
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historical condition of this world,
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disabilities that they suffer, they
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the verb. The implication is that h
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The focus in Welker’s pneumatolog
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the power of sin by the forgiveness
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(becoming whole) and integrated thr
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eorientation of Christian theology.
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pattern of the confession — is cl
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salvation). Questions/answers 65-82
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(Shults 2008:271-287). The understa
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heart. Calvin in particular was ver
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the transformation of the believer
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and as such dependent on God who ha
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that healing is located outside the
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Hollingsworth 2008). The broad conc
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not be disappointed: God’s love w
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justice, liberation and the affirma
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elationships among the Trinitarian
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constitute an important element of
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lost. She was caught in a vicious c
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CHAPTER 8. THE SPIRIT AND TRANSFORM
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system of the Christian church (…
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8.2.3 Spirit of adoption James Dunn
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8.2.4 Physicality and transformatio
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Metaphorical language about transfo
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Reformed thought on the theme of tr
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that God’s plan of salvation tran
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gift into a gift that is beneficial
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considered a tentative condition in
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CHAPTER 9. THE SPIRIT AND QUALITY O
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physical abilities, social circumst
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The clear distinction between the C
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Conradie 54 shows, based on Van Rul
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could say that people’s bodies ma
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9.3.1 Vulnerability, creation and S
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in the cosmos, Polkinghorne (2006:1
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ody, and thus his or her vulnerabil
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the Holy Spirit. Moreover, this foc
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The acceptance of her vulnerability
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CHAPTER 10. THE SPIRIT AND POWER Th
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oom for creation and for the embodi
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Migliore (2008) has the same opinio
Page 265 and 266: 10.2 POWER AND THE HOLY SPIRIT Chri
Page 267 and 268: which the Spirit of God brings new
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Page 271 and 272: interpersonal relations. Everyone s
Page 273 and 274: God’s power is revealed through h
Page 275 and 276: The journey consists of two main st
Page 277 and 278: are a constructive part of it. In a
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Page 281 and 282: provided the basis for a re-visioni
Page 283 and 284: iomedical constructions of health,
Page 285 and 286: Attanasi, K 2008. Getting in Step w
Page 287 and 288: — 1997. Theology of the Old Testa
Page 289 and 290: — 2001. ‘Naming the Spirit: Tow
Page 291 and 292: Paper for use in HIV and AIDS Progr
Page 293 and 294: Hamilton, NQ 1957. The Holy Spirit
Page 295 and 296: — 2007. The Next Christendom. The
Page 297 and 298: Kraan, KJ 3 1974. ‘Opdat U genezi
Page 299 and 300: — Luther’s Works. 1957-1986. 55
Page 301 and 302: Müller-Fahrenholz, G 2000. The Kin
Page 303 and 304: Pilch, JJ 2000. Healing in the New
Page 305 and 306: Rohleder, P & Gibson, K 2006. ‘We
Page 307 and 308: — 2011. Trends and Directions in
Page 309 and 310: Twesigye, EK 1987. Common Ground: C
Page 311 and 312: — 1961b. ‘Structuurverschillen
Page 313 and 314: Warfield, BB 1946, ‘Introductory
Page 315: Wisse, M 2004. Towards a Truly Rela
Page 319 and 320: OPSOMMING Hierdie studie is ‘n ve
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