New Prophetic Churches and Syncretism: A Critical View

Abstract

New Prophetic Churches (NPCs) are a recent phenomenon within Pentecostalism in South Africa that have gained popularity. Their popularity is arguably due to their syncretism with African Traditional Religion (ATR), especially in its ministry practice of prophecy. The main objective of this article is to restore the sanctity of the prophetic ministry from a syncretic practice in NPCs back to its biblical foundation, by firstly highlighting the syncretic nature of NPCs prophetic ministry with divination, commonly practiced by native doctors in ATR. This study is a literary analysis of the practices of NPC prophets and their syncretic nature, using two case studies of NPC prophets. Osmer’s theoretical framework is used to describe syncretic practices of NPCs and the rationale behind such practices, then a normative reflection of the traditional practice is presented and pragmatic ways to realign NPCs into mainstream Pentecostalism are proposed. The findings reveal that most NPC prophets are faith healers operating in familiar spirits, not the Holy Spirit. The bible rejects divination; therefore, NPCs must determine what identity they choose between ATR and Christianity, because they cannot simultaneously operate in both.