Thread by @NomaDzino

In a conversation on why relationships don’t work out for gifted people, someone asked me what is the connection between sangomas & the Holy Spirit? How do I discern whether it’s the Holy Spirit at work? It’s Saturday night & I feel like I gotta talk to somebody.

As Christians we are encouraged to test the spirits whether they are at work in the church or anywhere to see if they are of God because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1. Not every sangomas is evil & not every pastor working miracles is good.

Jesus Christ said you’ll know them by their fruits. Paul writes in in Galatians 5:22-24 that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self-control. Those who consistently show these qualities
can’t be evil.

The danger of judging , then labeling people good or evil based on outward appearances or what they profess is a problem. A lot of people received their spiritual calling while they were in church. Does that make them evil if their character hasn’t changed?

Is a Christian pastor like Timothy Omotoso “good” simply because he professes Christianity yet there are testimonies of sexual abuse by female members of his church? What about Catholic priests that sodomized young boys for generations? Is the outward show of faith the test?

Jesus called the Jewish religious leaders of his day hypocrites for precisely the same reason, outward shows of devotion with evil hearts. They as Paul describes in Galatians 5:25 were conceited, provoking & envious of Jesus Christ for his teachings & ability to work miracles.

Paul identified the acts of the flesh in Galatians 5 which are against what the Spirit requires - sexual immorality, impurity , debauchery, idolatry & witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions , envy; drunkenness, orgies etc.

It is perfectly possible to do the works of Satan as a professing Christian. Conversely it is possible to do the Lord’s work as an indigenous healer. God gives spiritual gifts that work for good & knows everyone’s hearts & their works, even those done in secret.

The Christian fundamentalists will argue the indigenous spiritual & healing practices involve idolatry & witchcraft. That argument is based on ignorance of how indigenous healing & spirituality works. You need to investigate to understand.

This is understandable. The argument of idolatry & witchcraft is based on the experience by Christian leaders of people who sought deliverance after experiencing physical or mental illness & misfortune due to self-imposed curses, generational curses or dark magic.

There are many testimonies of people who were delivered through Christianity after either dabbling in dark magic, being cursed by sorcerers or by opening doors in their spirit to demonic oppression through alcohol or drug abuse, murder & sexual promiscuity.

Deliverance & exorcism are not unique to Christianity. For thousands of years, indigenous healers around the world have practiced this mode of healing by various methods. African indigenous healers are awakening to their spiritual calling to do it & doesn’t make them evil.

Calling every indigenous healer evil simply because they are not practicing Christian modes of spirituality is like to saying all #MenAreTrash then we get into the fruitless argument where those that aren’t say #NotAllMen. The absolutist binary thinking is the problem.

Mainstream churches don’t cater for this spiritual gifts of deliverance & exorcism so African Independent Churches stepped into the gap because witchcraft is a real problem for African people. The unresolved generational trauma of colonialism, apartheid & poverty haven’t helped.

I have participated in a deliverance session as a Christian counselor & speak from experience . My mainstream church congregation is one of the few where such gifts are welcomed & encouraged. Our people need healing as a matter of urgency. We cannot afford petty religious fights.

Jesus Christ said he who is for us is not against us & he who is not helping us gather is really scattering. It’s possible for an indigenous healer to restore people & equally possible for a Christian leader to be the worthless shepherd in Zechariah 11 that devours the sheep.

@threadreaderapp unroll