Description
Book SynopsisEuro-Western descriptions of knowledge and its sources fall short of accommodating the spiritual, experiential terrain of the imagination. What of the embodied, affective knowing that characterizes Pentecostal epistemology, that is, the distinctive Pentecostal-Charismatic knowing derived from dreams and visions (D/Vs)? In this stunning ethnographic work, the author merges African scholarship with an investigation of what visioners say about the significance of their D/Vs for Christian life and spirituality. Revealing data showcases case studies for their biblical and theological articulations of the value of D/V experiences and affirms them as sources of Pentecostal love, ministerial agency, and the missionary impulse.
Trade ReviewAlthough established wisdom in scholarship has confirmed the assertion that Pentecostalism has blossomed across sub-Saharan Africa precisely because the movement resonates with Africa’s primal cosmologies, this thesis has not been tested in relation to African Pentecostalism’s appropriation of dreams and visions. Anna Droll’s Dreams and Visions in African Pentecostal Spirituality not only probe these issues in West Africa – Pentecostalism’s epicenter – but explores how the movement’s practices reflects contexts similar to what obtains in the Ancient Near East. By this tripartite exploration of the biblical material, African primal worldview and the espoused theologies of key Pentecostal actors in West Africa, Droll’s volume succeeds in showcasing how the theologies about dreams and visions produced by African Pentecostalism interacts with these sources to make sense to constituents. - Dr Bosco Bangura, Catholic University of Leuven and Protestant Theological University, Groningen There is no better study of the narratives of dream and vision in African Pentecostal spirituality than this brilliant book. Droll offers a perceptive appraisal of their epistemic valence, missiological import, spiritual meaning, and theological framing. This book is a nuanced and delicate study of a pentecostal way of knowing. - Nimi Wariboko, Boston University
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of Figures and Tables Abbreviations 1 Dreams and Visions in African Pentecostal Spirituality 1 Dreams, Visions, and Pentecostal Epistemology 1.1 Dreams and Visions in Africa: Piercing the Veil for Pentecostal Knowing 1.2 A Dream in Dar es Salaam 2 Methodology: Mark J. Cartledge: Practical Theology for Charismatic Practitioners 2.1 Renewal Methodologies 2.2 Renewalist Hermeneutics 2.3 Experience and Affectivity 3 Concepts for Exploring Dream and Vision Narratives 3.1 The Big Dream and the Spontaneous Dream or Vision Narrative 3.2 Root Metaphor and Piercing the Veil 3.3 Populations, Codes, Frequencies, and Associations for Narrative Analyses 4 Author’s Location, Thesis, and Map of this Book 2 Dreams, Visions, and Near East Religions 1 Dreams and Visions and Hebraic Theology 1.1 Dreams, Visions, and Patriarchs 1.2 Dreams, Visions, Kings, and Prophets 1.3 Dreams and Visions in the Apocrypha and Jewish Thought 2 Dreams and Visions in Christianity 2.1 Dreams and Visions in the New Testament and Early Church 2.2 Dreams and Visions in Late Patristic Thought 2.3 Aquinas, Kant, and Swedenborg on Dreams and Visions 3 Dreams and Visions in Islam 3.1 Dreams and Visions in the Qurʾān and Hadith 3.2 Dream Manuals and Their Transmission in Islam 3.3 Dreams and Visions as Legitimizing Elements in Islam 4 Conclusion 3 Dreams and Visions in African Contexts 1 Dreams in Traditional African Religions 1.1 Dreaming and the Akan 1.2 Dreams and the Diola of Senegambia 1.3 Islam and Dreaming among the Tukolor Weavers 2 Dreams and Visions in the aic s and among Zambian Baptists 2.1 Dreams and Visions in New Movements of West Africa 2.2 Dreams and Visions and the Bantu Prophets 2.3 Dreams and Visions among Zambian Baptists 3 Opoku Onyinah on Pentecostal Dreams, Prophecy, and Angels 3.1 The Role of Dreams and Visions in Abisa 3.2 The Sleeping State and the Diagnosis of Witchdemonology 3.3 The Sleeping State and Angelology 4 Conclusion 4 Epistemology: African Perspectives 1 Knowledge, Ontology, and the Holy Spirit 1.1 Voices from African Studies 1.2 Voices from African Christianity 1.3 The Holy Spirit and Knowing 2 Nigerian Perspectives for Dreams and Visions Analyses 2.1 Pentecostal Principle and Emergence for Dreams and Visions Analyses 2.2 Piercing the Veil for Dreams and Visions Analyses 2.3 Spiritual Warfare and Dreams and Visions 3 Conclusion 5 The Big Dreams of African Pentecostals Visionary Impact and the Christian Life 1 Continuity and Discontinuity: Dreams and Visions and the Spirit in Africa 1.1 Spirit Hermeneutics and Universal Dreams 1.2 The Spirit and Ancestor Dreams 1.3 The Agency of the Spirit and Pentecostal Visioners 2 Dreams and Visions and the Christian Life 2.1 Visioners and Spirit–Word–Community 2.2 Dreams, Visions and Practical Spirituality 2.3 Attitudes in the Church toward Dreams and Visions 3 Conclusion 6 Dreams and Visions and the Pentecostal Warrior Prayer, Identity, and Agency 1 Dreams and Visions and the Pentecostal Pray-er 1.1 Dreams and Visions and the Pentecostal Warrior 1.2 The dame Dream or Vision and Pentecostal Agency 2 Dreams and Visions and Pentecostal Agency 2.1 The Agency of Visionary Women 2.2 Visionary Love and Ministerial Agency 2.3 The Visionary Church and Missionary Agency 3 Conclusion 7 African Dreams and Visions for Pentecostal Epistemologies 1 African Dreams for African Pentecostal Theology 2 African Dreams for Western Pentecostal Epistemologies 2.1 Religious Language and Hearing God’s Voice 2.2 Relational Knowing and Orthopathy 2.3 Embodied Knowing 2.4 Knowing in the Trialectic of Spirit–Word–Community 3 Conclusion 8 Conclusion Dreams, Visions, and the Missiological Spirit Appendix 1 Written Survey and Interview Guide Appendix 2 Coding for Surveys and Personal Interviews Glossary Bibliography Index
