AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION

 

Ancestor Religion and the Christian Faith

 

Pastoral Statement of the

Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference

 

11^th August 2006

 

 

There are Catholic Christians who search for healing from traditional healers. Some Catholic priests act as sangomas and call on the ancestors for healing.

 

We Bishops deeply feel with people who suffer from grave and painful sickness. We understand their desperate search for healing.

 

This total healing Christ alone can give. He told us: “You can do nothing without me.” (Jn. 15:15).

 

Christ is our great Healer who wants to heal people – more than the healing for which they yearn. He wants to share with us everlasting life and never ending health.

 

Before Jesus healed the paralysed man who had been lowered through the roof, he said to him: “My son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mk. 2:5).

 

In other words Jesus was announcing the good news: I heal you from within. I heal you totally. I give you what no other doctor can give. I give you health and life everlasting. Only then did Jesus give the man the order: “Get up, pick up your mat and walk.” (Mk. 2:9)

 

On the other hand traditional healers put their total trust in ancestors equating them with Christ or leaving no place for Christ. In doing so, they look at ancestors as being more than creatures of God. Whereas our Christian faith acknowledges that ancestors live only because God holds them in his hands. Without God our ancestors are powerless.

 

Therefore with regard to priests who practice ubuNgoma, we your bishops, have taken the following decision that:

 

Priests and religious desist from ubuNgoma practices involving

spirits, and channel their ministries of healing through the

sacraments and sacraments of the Church.

 

(Resolution of the August 2006 Plenary Session of the SACBC. Resolution 2.5.2)

 

We notice with a measure of concern, that Many African Christians, during difficult moments in their lives, resort to practices of the traditional religion: the intervention of ancestral spirits, the engagement of spirit mediums, spirit possession, consulting diviners about lost items and about the future, magical practices and identifying (smelling out) one’s enemies, etc. Fear of the spirit world has become intensified instead of the love of the ever merciful God definitely revealed by Christ through his death and resurrection. What is even more disturbing is the fact that some priests and the religious (and lay people from other professions; teachers, doctors, nurses, etc. have resorted to becoming divine healers.

 

It is against this unsettling background that we, the Bishops, have decided to issue this pastoral statement in order to present anew the teaching of the Catholic Church and to renounce those aspects of culture that contradict the message of the Gospel, perpetuate fear in human hearts and undermine the centrality of Christ in our Christian faith.

 

1. Priests should not be sangomas.

 

Christ, who the Father has sanctified and sent into the world (see Jn. 10:36), through his apostles has made their successors, the bishops, sharers in his consecration and mission. They in turn have lawfully handed on to different individuals in the Church in varying degrees a participation in this ministry. Thus the divinely established ecclesiastical ministry is exercised at different levels by those who from antiquity have been called bishops, priests and deacons.

 

Priests act in the person of Christ and not in the persons of their ancestral spirits. They receive authority and power from the Church and not from undergoing a ritual to become a divine-healer. The claim to a double source of power and authority confuses Christians and undermines the image of the priest because the one contradicts the other.

 

By virtue of the sacrament of orders, in the image of Christ the eternal High Priest (see Heb. 5:1-10, 7:24, 9:11-28), they are consecrated to preach the Gospel, to shepherd the faithful, and to celebrate divine worship as true priests of the New Testament. Partakers of the function of Christ, the sole Mediator (see Tm. 2:5), at their own level of ministry they announce the divine word to all. They exercise their sacred function above all in the Eucharistic worship or celebration of Holy Mass, by which, acting in the person of Christ and proclaiming the mystery, they unite the prayers of the faithful with the sacrifice of their Head and until the Lord’s coming (see 2 Cor. 11:26) make present again and apply in the sacrifice of the Mass the single sacrifice of the New Testament, namely, that of Christ offering himself once to the Father as a spotless victim (see Heb. 9:11-28).

 

For the repentant and sick among the faithful they exercise the ministry of reconciliation and alleviation and they present the needs and prayers of the faithful to God the Father (see Heb. 5:1-3). Exercising within the limits of their authority the function of Christ as Shepherd and Head, They gather together God’s family as a community all of one mind, and lead them in the Spirit, through Christ, to God the Father. In the midst of the flock they adore him in spirit and in truth (see Jn. 4:24). Finally, they labour in word and teaching (see Tm. 5:17),  believing what they have read meditatively in the Law of God, teaching what they have believed, and putting into practice in their own lives what they have taught.¹

 

2. It is God who heals.

 

Indigenous religious belief attributes the power of healing to ancestral spirits. In this context, the sacrament of the sick pales into insignificance in the eyes of the afflicted because faith in Jesus Christ does not play any role; rather it is the belief in the good disposition of the ancestors. This practice and belief therefore contradicts the teaching of the Church on healing.

 

The Lord himself showed great concern for the bodily and spiritual welfare of the sick and commanded his followers to do likewise. This is clear from the Gospels, and above all from the existence of the sacrament of anointing, which he instituted and which is made known in the Letter of St. James. Since then the Church has never ceased to celebrate this sacrament for its members by the anointing and the prayer of its priests, commending those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them (see Jas. 5:14-16). Moreover, the Church exhorts them to associate themselves willingly with the passion and death of Christ (see Rom. 8:17), and thus contribute to the welfare of the people of God.

 

Those who are seriously ill need the special help of God’s grace in this time of anxiety, lest they be broken in spirit and, under the pressure of temptation, perhaps weakened in their faith. Above all this faith must be made actual both in the minister of the sacrament and, even more importantly, in the recipient. The sick person will be saved by personal faith and the faith of the Church, which looks back to the death and resurrection of Christ, the source of the sacrament’s power (see Jas.5:15), and looks ahead to the future kingdom that is pledged in the sacraments.²

 

This is why, through the sacrament of anointing, Christ strengthens the faithful who are afflicted by illness, providing them with the strongest means of support.

 

The celebration of this sacrament consists especially in the laying on of hands by the priest of the Church, offering the prayer of faith, and the anointing of the sick with oil made holy by God’s blessing. This rite signifies the grace of the sacrament and confers it.

 

 

 

 

3. Only one God

 

The belief that ancestors are endowed with supernatural powers borders on idolatry. It is God, and God alone who is all-powerful while the ancestors are created by him. They can only be helpful to us by interceding for us. When we speak of ancestors or of saints, we should therefore use the phrase “pray for us” and not “do for us”.

 

The first commandment forbids honouring gods other than the one Lord who has revealed himself to his people. It proscribes superstition and irreligion; irreligion is the vice contrary by defect to the virtue of religion.³

 

4. We venerate ancestors; we do not adore them.

 

Ancestor veneration suggests that ancestors are some sort of divinities – even if some people may suggest otherwise. In practice, among Christians who also embrace traditional beliefs, there is no doubt that ancestral spirits enjoy more recognition than Jesus Christ. It is therefore misleading if in Church meetings the ancestors are accredited with power greater or equivalent of Jesus. Those who lead Christian prayer should always attribute all power to God alone.

 

In local culture superstition abounds. This is also so when people have not purified their faith in Christ to the extent they are able to pray “thy Kingdom come, thy will be done...” in the full acceptance of the supreme power of God who is without rival.

 

Christian rituals are only fruitful when they are followed by personal conviction. Traditional cultures do not demand the same interior disposition towards Christ and is therefore a disservice to the evangelising mission of the Church if a priest or minister enrolled in the service of the Church also practices out convictions not integrated into Christian faith.

 

5. No to fortune telling.

 

God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility.

 

All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as the wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honour, respect and loving fear that we owe to God alone.⁴

 

6. No to witchcraft.

 

All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one’s service and have a supernatural power over others – even if this were for the sake of restoring their health – is gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers, or the exploitation of another’s credulity.⁵

 

7. No to simony

 

Simony is defined as the buying or selling of spiritual things. To Simon the magician, who wanted to buy the spiritual power he saw at work in the apostles, St Peter responded: “Your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God’s gift with money!” Peter thus held to the words of Jesus: “You received without pay, give without pay.” It is impossible to appropriate to one-self spiritual goods and behaves towards them as their owner or master, for they have their source in God. One can receive them only from him, without payment.⁶

 

8. Ancestors are with God but do not have God’s power.

 

A person’s deceased parents or grandparents are his or her ancestors. There is no basis for the claim that one’s deceased forebears gain enhanced supernatural power as a result of death. The traditional African conception of personhood suggests that a person’s body is porous and that the self can therefore be permeated by another person-like being. Thus an ancestral spirit can reside in the body of a descendent and through the descendent perform powerful deeds. Hence the claim that is made that the possessed is empowered with the faculty to predict, divine and heal. The claim that descendents can be endowed with such mysterious and uncanny power is problematic but so too the claim that death enhances the power of the dead.

 

Christianity teaches that filial piety imposes a duty on the descendents to pray and make offerings on behalf of their deceased parents. They too are in need of God’s mercy in order to enter into communion with God.⁷

 

 

 

9. Herbs Yes, magic medicines No.

 

The use of traditional herbal medicine and the eradication of disease is not at issue. What is unacceptable is the use of magic, charms and recourse to ancestral spirits in rituals of healings.

 

10. Many live in God’s presence – but NOBODY is like God.

 

Article 11 of the Apostles’ Creed states: “I believe in the resurrection of the body”. The Catechism says: “Nourished with his body in the Eucharist, we already belong to the body of Christ. For those believers who die in Christ’s grace, it is a participation in the death of the Lord, so that they can also share in his resurrection”.⁸

 

The New Testament affirms “that each will be awarded immediately after death in accordance with his works of faith”. The Church urges believers to works of faith. The Church urges believers to works of charity and penance on behalf of the dead.⁹

 

The African world view which depicts the deceased as possessing enhanced supernatural power is out of tune with the teaching of the New Testament and of the Church. According to the latter, “when the single course of our earthly life is completed, we shall not return to other earthly lives”.¹⁰ This of course does not destroy the spiritual bond between the living and the dead.

 

11. We pray for the purification of our ancestors.

 

All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.

 

The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture. “Therefore (Judas Maccabeus) made atonement for the dead that they might be delivered from their sin”. From the beginning the Church has honoured the memory of the dead, and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may obtain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead: Let us help and commemorate them. If Job’s sons were purified by their father’s sacrifice, why should we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them.¹¹

 

 

12. We pray for our ancestors.

 

Those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live forever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they “see him as he is,” face to face.

 

13. All should long for heaven – no one should fear hell.

 

This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity – this communion of life and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary the angels and all the blessed – is called “heaven.” Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfilment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness.¹²

 

We pray for our ancestors that they too may be called to God’s grace and friendship.

 

Post Script by Blog Editor

 

The Word of God

 

“Saul died because he had shown himself unfaithful to God: he had not kept the word of God: he had even questioned and consulted a necromancer. He had not consulted God, who therefore put him to death and transferred the monarchy to David son of Jesse.” (1 Chronicles 10:13-14)

 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church written by Catholic Bishops Worldwide

 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church      #2116

 

“All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up of the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire of power over time, history, and in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honour, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.”

 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church      #2117

 

“All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one’s service and have a supernatural power over others – even if these were for the sake of restoring their health – are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion.”

 

“These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons.”

 

“Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another’s credulity.” (End of CCC article)

 

In order to really hurt, curse and bind us, people call on the services of professional cursers. Spirit mediums who curse people professionally are known in the Bible as following the path of Balaam. (2 Pet. 2:15). When people curse us, they call on the malice of the devil and his spiritual army of wickedness in the heavenlies to attack and hurt God’s children. This is wickedness.

 

 

 

 

 

_________________________________________

^1. cf. Second Vatican Council: Document on the Liturgy 148

^2. Catechism of the Catholic Church 1513. Cf. also 1514-1525

^3. ibid 2110

^4. cf. ibid 2115 & 2116

^5. cf. ibid 2117

^6. cf. ibid 2121

^7. cf. ibid 2114 - 2220

^8. cf. ibid 1003 - 1009

^9. cf. ibid 1021

^10. cf. ibid 1013

^11. cf. ibid 1030, 1032

^12. cf. ibid 1023, 1024

 

 

 

 

 Southern African Catholic Bishop’s Conference. (sacbc .org.za)

 

Archbishop Buti Tlhagale:

Major Obstacles to Conversion in South Africa

 

 

September 17, 2021

 

Speaking to a group of new missionaries at the orientation programme in Benoni on Thursday, 16 September 2021, the Archbishop of Johannesburg, Archbishop Buti Tlhagale, said though challenges facing the Catholic Church in South Africa are many, the major challenge to total conversion to Christianity is the belief in the ancestral cult. He mentioned the lack of equality, poverty and development, especially on the political sphere as some of the other challenges.”There is still a lot of racism in South Africa, it is always under the carpet, below the surface,” said the Archbishop, adding that it is partly because the minority are doing well and the majority are doing badly.

 

He went back to what he said was the major obstacle to total conversion, the ancestral cult, noting that people believe in the ubiquitous presence of ancestors. To make the missionaries understand something concrete with regard to the ancestral cult Archbishop Tlhagale showed them a video of a trainee sangoma (Traditional diviner/healer). The video was of a Catholic who became a sangoma recently and the Archbishop was trying to show them that everyone is into this even Catholics of all walks of life. He said this traditional religion is mixed with Christianity even by Catholics including some priests and nuns. He also noted it is a religion taking place away from our religion even though some think they can mix the two. “It is so deeply rooted that some people think other things can only be added upon it as its not believed it can be removed,” said Archbishop Tlhagale.

 

He observed that people, Christians, seem to live comfortably with it as you are likely to find a traditional healer on every second or third streets in townships. “Where does Christ come in?”, asked the Archbishop, noting that some people impose the Judeo-Christian God on their ancestral calling to make it relevant. He made missionaries aware that there are cases where one goes to two funeral services of the same person on the same day because there has to be a service for the ancestors and a service for the Church. He said people do these things sometimes as a way of double insurance.

 

The Archbishop said he sees a lot of young people in Johannesburg going mad because of the dire situation they are facing due to realities like unemployment. “They sleep on the streets, they lose their dignity, they beg for food, and eventually you can see there’s something abnormal about their behaviour,” said Archbishop Tlhagale. He pointed out that apart from material problems there’s a lot of brokenness amongst the people of South Africa which results in a loss of hope.

 

The Archbishop questioned the role of the laity in the society at large wondering whether they go out to make an impact on the society, motivated by their faith to try and change society and its expectations. He advised what we need is the deepening of faith, something that is mentioned a lot. Archbishop Tlhagale alerted the missionaries that they must be aware most Catholics are influenced by Protestants simply because of their huge presence in any community. “Simple things like hymns”, he noted, “you find suddenly Protestant tunes in a Catholic Church.” He noted that the influence is so great that it goes to the point of many Catholics not seeing the difference between the Catholic Church and other churches, that they can easily receive communion from those other churches, it is from this double dealing that he assumes that our conversion to Christianity is incomplete. He advised that there should be more emphasis put on adult catechism which is almost non-existent. The Archbishop said people need to start reading and studying their faith and stop learning about their faith only when they prepare for confirmation.

 

 

 

 Pastoral Letters on Mary and Matters Ancestral

by

Archbishop Buti Tlhagale OMI.

 

Extracts

 

Ancestors:

 

The ancestors traditionally function independently of God. Reference to God does not appear at all in the rituals performed for the ancestors or in the sacrifices offered to the ancestors. In the absence of God, it can be said that the veneration of the ancestors constituted the cornerstone of African popular religion.

 

Mention must be made of the fact that not everybody who dies becomes an ancestor. It is only those who played a significant role in the lives of their descendants while they were alive. Women and children are also generally excluded. This view, needless to mention, consistent with the mentality of a patriarchal society.

 

In the African worldview, death is a transformative process that confers a supernatural status on the deceased. Appropriate funeral rituals ensure that the deceased become ancestors. Ancestors are believed to possess supernatural power in their own rights – without reference to God. Supernatural intervention is attributed to the ancestors, and not to God. The ancestors are not prisoners in their graves. They are alive and active in the affairs of their own descendants. (p.109)

 

Healing and other Miracles:

 

Healing within the African traditional context has always been seen as a result of a supernatural intervention. Sickness is attributed to witchcraft or to the displeasure of the ancestors. When a serious offence has been committed, both the ancestors and the living are affected. The ancestors are affected because of their close relationships with the living. Sickness or any other misfortune is interpreted as the anger of the ancestors, hence the need for ritual killing in order to appease them. If sickness has not been caused by the ancestors, the purpose of the ritual slaughtering is not to appease them but to request their intervention for the restoration of good health. (pp. 117-118)

 

There is a pervasive belief that “all prosperity is ascribed to the favour of the ancestors, misfortune to their anger” (Krige,1965,283). (p.122)

Oral agreement also takes place between the ancestors and their descendants. At times a promise is made in anticipation of a special favour. When the favour has been granted and when the circumstances are favourable, the promised celebration (ritual killing) would then take place. Berglund gives an example of a man who, fearful of working underground in a mine, would promise that if protected from danger, he would offer a sacrifice to the ancestors (1976,223). If the promise is not fulfilled the ancestors may retaliate.

 

A reciprocal expectation was assumed between the ancestors and their descendants. The ancestors expected the living to respect them and to venerate them by offering them sacrifices. The living was expected to perpetuate the memory of the living-dead. If the living deviated by being disrespectful of tradition, the ancestors would punish them directly or use the services of a witch. The descendants would also scold the ancestors if they did not respond to their requests. (Hammond-Tooke 1993,154. (pp.124/5)

 

African Traditional Belief Resists Total Conversion:

As Christians we know that from the early days of Christianity, the prodigious feats of healing and miracles were attributed to the Holy Spirit of to the power of Christ. It was the power of Christ that drove out spirits and restored health. (pp. 128/9)

A Conflict of Belief Systems:

Nowadays Christianity is generally accepted in African communities and yet finds itself at odds with a traditional belief system that is deeply etched in the recesses, memories ways of knowing, imaging and being of the African mind and heart. The irresistible pull to return to the old ways of protecting and coping, continues to challenge the Christian way of being. (p.140)

Power:

 

African Catholics who claim to experience the power promptings of an ancestral spirit would eventually experience a conflict with regard to the power of Christ in their lives as Christians. To be converted to Christ is to be totally taken over by Christ. Christ becomes the centre and source of power. He directs one’s being as a Christian. He dwells within the one who believes. (Gal. 2:20: Rom. 8:9). The power of Christ “in me” not only transforms character but the entire orientation of a person. “Putting on” Christ gives one a new role, a new identity and it creates for the baptised not only a new relationship with others, but also with spiritual beings. One’s relationships with one’s ancestral spirits are radically transformed. But so too one’s eschatological fate. (pp. 128-12). 

The power of Christ and the power of the ancestral spirit appear to co-exist. The power of Christ’s appears suspended or to be a token, a metaphor that hardly affects the believer, and yet, the power of the ancestral spirit is believed, and felt to be effective, and is instrumental in achieving the anticipated results: Facing two spiritual authorities, mistakenly put on par, is likely to result in the person owing allegiance to one, and the other one likely to be despised. At present, it is the overpowering force of tradition, of culture, (and clearly not the Gospel) that determines the stakes. (p. 129).

The Calling of a Diviner:

A priest who experiences a second calling”, this time as a diviner, receives a vision or undergoes a physical illness before he becomes aware of his new calling.

The classical experience of a diviner’s calling invariably through some physical sickness. Illness is accompanied by dreams from the ancestral spirit. Healing is effected through initiation (ukuthwasa), through ritual healing with the help of a diviner (sangoma/lethuela). The cured trainee then becomes a diviner himself. The initiation period ranges from a month to three months in comparison to eight years of priestly training. During the initiation, a beast is slaughtered and sacrificed to the ancestors. (pp.133/34)

Dualism – Divided Loyalty:

The Sangoma-priest, who enjoys the privilege of healing in the name of Christ, finds himself hanging on the horns of a dilemma. The African belief system asserts that affliction and misfortune is a result of the intervention of ancestral spirits. So he heals in response to the call of an ancestral spirit. Faith in Christ played a dubious role. The healing power is not expected by the patient to come from Christ, but from the ancestors.

The Sangoma-priest, like his baptised clients, claims to belong to two unequal belief systems, but understandably owes more loyalty to the more popular African belief system which offers culturally interpretations and solutions to age-old problems.

The Sangoma-priests manifest a divided loyalty, that is schizophrenia. He lives in two different worlds which are essentially not necessarily incompatible, though there is strong yearning for integration, for inculturation. In protecting the traditional belief systems as a holistic universe, the Sangoma-priest re-inscribes, reinforces the values and methods of the traditional society to the exclusion of the Christian values which are rooted in the belief of God. This religious attitude can at best be described as ambiguous. African Christians who embrace simultaneously Christianity and the African traditional belief system, uphold a dualistic pattern of belief. They acknowledge both God and ancestral and “bush” spirits as different sources of sacred power.

It is plausible that the Sangoma-priest attributes power to ancestral spirit and then claims to have access to that power. The attribution of power to spirits is after all sanctioned by the African worldview. Unlike the first Christian community, the African Christian community even after conversion to Christianity does not uphold the exclusiveness of God as the only unique source of sacred power. Ancestral spirits continue to be revered as powerful spiritual agents. Now, with the advent of Christianity, these spirits are perceived as agents of God. Early Christian communities upheld exclusivist monotheism and refused to acknowledge any other spiritual agent or deity. (Hurtado: 2003).

Dabbling in magic and appealing to superhuman spiritual beings compromises monotheistic exclusiveness. Belief in the uniqueness of one God ordinarily ought to constrain, indeed fiercely oppose any reference to other spiritual beings as centres or sources of sacred powers.

A Sangoma-priest, in projecting God and ancestral spirits as sources of power, even if the ancestors are said to be God’s powerful agents, is instrumental in compromising “exclusivist monotheism”. A priest is accepted as one who offers sacrifice on behalf of the people. He is empowered to do so by virtue of his ordination, But he also addresses the affliction of his patients by virtue of the power of his ancestral spirit. By openly upholding this dualism, he reinforces the “validity” of both belief systems and their different sources of power.

There is clearly a danger here “that the truth of the Christian rite and the expression of the Christian faith could be easily dismissed in the eyes of the faithful. Fidelity to traditional usages must be accompanied by purification and, if necessary, a break with the past”. (The Roman Liturgy and Inculturation. IV^th Instruction, 1994 no 48).

There has been much protest at the allegation that Africans “worshipped” their ancestral spirits. The claim is that they venerated rather than “worshiped” ancestors. This apologia came in the light of Christianity.

It is still highly plausible that traditional Africans “worshipped” their ancestral spirits. They were involved in a cultic worship. They were religiously obeisant to the capricious, fear-instilling, dangerous spirits. The obligatory rituals amounted to a “cultus”. This situation has of course been radically altered by the advent of Christianity and the belief in one God.

The ritual slaughtering of a beast by the Sangoma-priest, to propitiate or appease an ancestral spirit, represents a residue of the traditional belief (Hurtado: 2003:38). It is obligatory for the priest to promote the exclusiveness of God. Belief in one God, in Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit as a unique source of power to other “gods” or spirits, is a tragic compromise of this fundamental tenet of the faith.  The diviner priest is double-faced because he is rooted in two different belief systems and cultures. (p. 146/9

 

The flexible readiness of the diviner-priest to situate supra-human power and authority in the spirits of the dead, reinforces the belief in family deities at the expense of the uniqueness of God. Spirits are deeply reverenced alongside God. This is relentlessly close to apotheosis, the divinisation of the spirits of the dead, and therefore in conflict with the fundamental tenets of the Apostles Creed. (Hurtado, 91). (p. 151)

 

Healing: 

 

It is interesting to observe that in antiquity, during the first millennium BC, in ancient Mesopotamia and in tradition of the European folklore, beliefs about the above were similar to African beliefs. (p.151/2)

 

Sacrament of the Sick:

 

It is unfathomable that a priest can abandon the profound teaching of the Church concerning the Sacrament of the Sick and resort to the spirits of the dead for revelations through visions, and genuinely believe that the dead can cause illness and provide a cure. The dead are powerless when faced with the power of the creator and ruler of the universe.

 

This raises the critical question of conversion from the traditional belief system to Christianity. A return to traditional healing methods with the spirits of the dead as a central source of power can be interpreted as an abandonment of faith in the crucified, risen and glorified Christ, who is the source of the power to heal through the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. The use of cultural accoutrements: drumming. dance, song, water, incense, salt, stone and so on is, from a Christian point of view, totally useless and misleading if it is not grounded in the faith in Christ and the faith of the Church. The faith of the Church saves and not the spirits of the dead.

 

Converts to Christianity, tender in the faith and still rooted in the indigenous belief system, are thoroughly confused by the electric approach of the diviner-priest who confuses inculturation with syncretism.

 

The use of Church sacramentals and “sacramentals” from the traditional belief system, serve to blur the boundaries between the clear teaching of the Catholic Church and the commonly held magical beliefs of the people who seek a cure.

 

God and the ancestors cannot be mentioned in the same breath as if they are two equal sources of power. It is God, and God alone, who is the source of power and life and not the spirit of the dead. (pp. 145/146)

 

Christ as Source of New Identity:

 

When Christ lives in a person, Christ’s power changes the relationship. One becomes transformed. One has “put on” Christ. “Through the close bond with Jesus Christ that baptism establishes, each baptised person gets outfitted, as it were, with some quality of Jesus in a way that transforms all relationships.” (Berger p. 41) “Putting on Christ” assigns a new role to a person, “the underlying person is deeply affected,” “hence Paul speaks of a ‘new person’.”

 

For a African Christian who has undergone a theological re-identification by “putting on Christ” and becoming a “new person”, it becomes a difficult decision to allow, as it were, yet another “spirit” to take residence within his or her body.

 

The Christ “in me” alters relationships between the self and Christ as the source of superior power. In this new relationship, ancestors can no longer be accorded the role of omnipotent spirit.

 

In the presence of the powerful light of Christ, ancestral spirits pale into insignificance. The relationship between Christ and the ancestors is a relationship between the creator and his creatures. The two cannot be put on par. The knowledge and truth about the identity of Christ, of necessity, alters the relationship between the baptised Christian, and the ancestral spirits. This fundamental change of relationship is also based on the “intrinsic association” between Christ and the African Christian. This radical association elbows out, as it were, the ancestral spirit. It is the triune God who is ultimately the source of well-being. It is he who deserves acknowledgement as the creator God through ritual acts and not spirits of the dead.

 

The intrinsic association with Christ cannot leave the African cosmology intact. It solicits a fundamental reorientation with regard to the world of spirits and relationships to power. The priest’s role is to neither solicit promptings and visions from the dead, nor to hold rendezvous with roaming spirits at crossroads. His function as pastor is to deepen the faith in the “Christ in me”, to heal in Christ’s name and to sanctify those to whom Christ’s mystery “was revealed and who were also impelled to proclaim it.” (Pelican, 1985:35)  

 

St. Paul affirms the cosmic dimension of the victory of the “the first born from the dead” when he says, after all, whether “alive or dead we belong to the Lord.” This explains why Christ both died and came to life. It was so that He might be Lord of both the dead and of the living.” (Rom. 14:9). “All exousia (divine authority) in heaven and earth (Mt. 28:18) has been given to Him.

 

This teaching lays bare the inanity of power ascribed to the spirits of the ancestral shades. There is therefore a pressing and urgent need for the diviner-priest to proclaim and to witness to the basic, elementary tenets of the faith. It is in the wisdom of the Church that where there is ambiguity and even possible compromise of the teachings of the Church, Church authorities should be consulted. (pp. 157/159)

 

Consultation:

 

Since the myths of spirits “riding” on the shoulders of the afflicted and “whispering” into their ears or revealing things through visions cannot be wished away, the challenge is to de-divinise the spirits as divine agents, to demythicise the belief in ancestors in order to come to terms with the truth of the myth.

 

For Christians, the Gospel and the teachings of the Church remains the hermeneutical tool in deconstructing the indigenous cosmos and its spirit world. (pp. 160/61)

 

Casting out Fear:

 

”You need not fear the terrors of night,

the arrow that flies in the daytime,

the plague that stalks in the dark,

the scourge that wreaks havoc in broad daylight.”

                                                                                                        Psalm 9:6   

 

Love that casts out fear (1 Jn. 4:18) cannot be said to permeate people whose minds are still steeped in the beliefs that are part and parcel of the African traditional worldview. It is a worldview that believes (in addition to ancestral spirits) in the existence of evil spirits, demonic powers and in vengeful spirits who are angry at their kin for not acknowledging their existence, or shades who roam about because they were not given a proper funeral. It is a world believed to be dominated by “spiritual armies of evil” that simply spreads terror. (p.161)

But there is another challenge, the challenge to liberate indigenous Christians from the irrational fear of spirit beings, from the stranglehold of superstitious beliefs. (p. 242)

Ancestors’ Veneration and the Gospel

 

“Personally, I think that the veneration of the ancestors is totally opposed to Christianity. Some years ago, I would have said that there is a way of integrating this particular cult into Christianity. Now, on the contrary, I am convinced that the veneration of the ancestors is a recognition of a foreign power that intervenes in the life of the living. The Saints too are involved in the life of the living and it is our belief that the spiritual world intervenes in the life of the living. However, the ancestors have an influence on their offspring in such a way that they literally are given a role which would correspond to God. If one maintains that the ancestors are able to heal you physically and mentally, where is Christ’s power in that context?”

 

“I still think that many of the African people have a double affiliation; they have faith in the traditional belief of the ancestors, and partial belief in God, in Christianity. It does not mean that when you are catechised and you are baptised, you are a fully fledged Christian. I have pointed out that among the catechists, there are many who have very little educational background and therefore, they cannot offer much doctrinal knowledge. And yet, we continue to baptise and accept people who come into the Church, who are only partially converted as it were, and that is a big challenge. That is why, I think, the majority of African Christians still consult traditional healers. Catholics keep consulting traditional healers. Although Western medicine is available, via hospitals, clinics and doctors, they still go to these people because they have confidence in the ancestral powers”.

 

“It is my conviction that the ancestors are the enemies of Christ. I would not have said that some years ago and I would have fought for ancestral veneration. Not now! I am really against it. Three or four years ago, the bishops of the Southern African Conference wrote a pastoral letter addressed to priests saying that they should not be traditional healers. A committee has been appointed to investigate whether Ubungoma, the traditional healing and traditional healers are consistent with the Gospel. The committee is composed of lecturers at St John Vianney Seminary, and from time to time the chairperson updates the bishops about the research and outlines what they are going to do next. Hopefully, in a year or so they can come up with suggestions, and it will be very interesting, because we have never faced this challenge squarely and yet it is a major one”.

 (Archbishop Buti Tlhagale Omi. Worlwide Oct-Nov 2022)

 

     

 

 

 

 Report on the “Alumni” (Natal) Meeting

on

Ancestor Religion

 

Dominic J. Khumalo OMI (Editor)

 

 

At the second “Conventum” of the A.A.S.A.S. (Association of the Alumni of St. Augustine’s Seminary), held from the 20^th to the 24^th of July 1964, it was resolved, among other things, that the members make an intensive “research work” of the African life and customs, each member is his own district. This would be of great value in the missionary work among African people.

 

The Natal members of the A.A.S.A.S. agreed among themselves to meet quarterly and carry out the resolution through meetings, for the preparation of which each member would make his own preparation work, with whomever he came into contact with in his environment.

 

The first of these meetings took place at Mbubu Catholic Mission on the 16^th of November 1964. Only five of the members were able to attend, these were Revv. Fathers J. J. Mavundla, D. J. Khumalo, J. B. Ngubane, P.P. Sibisi, L. Mkhize, all OMI. Having said the prayer to the Holy Spirit the members agreed to start discussing one of the most intricate questions in African life, the “AMADLOZI: ANCESTOR-CULT”. The procedure adopted was:

 

(a) To find out as far as possible the idea of “Idlozi” according to the African mind.

 

(b) To assess as far as possible, the belief of the Africans in the power and the cult paid to “Amadlozi”.

 

(c) To compare the Christian faith and the belief in “Amadlozi”.

 

 

(A)   The Idea of Idlozi According to the African

 

This subject, absolutely perplexing though it be, nevertheless brought about a very lively discussion. In general each member had much to say from plenty of personal experience and research. There appeared immediately many accidental differences according to the different districts, but on the whole the essential points were found to be the same. Much could not be explained, for lack of any reasonable explanation, e.g. that the Africans never seem to believe that “Idlozi” is God, yet they treat him as such. Again, they know of a super being, whom they call “uMvelinqangi”, which means “The First One To Exist”, and can be quite easily be taken to mean the true God. Yet, they never so much as mention God in any form of sacrifice given in honour of an “Idlozi”.

 

N. N. Ngcobo:  The Ancestor Doctor

 

During the discussion, a certain Mr. Ngcobo, a serious, elderly and typical Zulu happened, by pure chance, to come to the mission. He was kind enough to agree to answer the questions put to him. In general the questions revealed his great belief in the “Amadlozi”. He based his knowledge on that of his late father whom, he said, trained him. The following points emerged from the discussion:

 

(1) “Idlozi” is and can only be one who is already dead, strictly speaking.

 

(2) “Idlozi” can be an “Idlozi” only of his surviving family; he has to be a member of the family.

 

(3) “Idlozi” must be “created such” or installed by his surviving family through a “bloody sacrifice”, known as “UKUBUYISA: To Bring Back Home”.

 

(4) Once created, “Idlozi” can be invoked foe any need, favour for luck. His powers are believed to be effective of anything over his family.

 

(5) For these invocations he is directly and finally prayed to. There seems to be no subordination to any other higher one.

 

(6) “Idlozi” bestows only what is good, except when he punishes for what may be lack of respect to him.

 

These offences are more of “social offences” in the family than anything else; e.g. if the living do not fulfil their duties to the family, or do not behave themselves decently  for the family, “UMA BENGAHLONIPHI EKHAYA, NJENGOKUBA UMA BEBANGA UMSINDO EKHAYA”, etc.

 

(B)   Belief in, and  Cult to, “Idlozi”

 

Note:   Although every dead member of the family could be an “Idlozi”, yet not every       dead one is in fact, created or installed as an “Idlozi”. The choice for the creation of    an “Idlozi” is based on his status while alive. Hence by his creation as an “Idlozi”, he is in fact back to his duties while he was on earth. Only with more powers now.

 

(1) A Child is nothing while alive, as regards to responsibility and therefore respect. Likewise  he does not become anything when dead; he is never treated as an “Idlozi”.  

(2) A Woman apart from respect to her as the mother of the family, holds no responsible office, and she is subordinate to her husband. When dead she receives the honour of a bloody sacrifice out of respect to her as the mother, but she is not really an “Idlozi”. She is never even invoked as such.

 

(3) A Man is the head on whom all power and all authority rests in the family and home. When dead he is made the “Idlozi” to whom all honour and power is given.

 

(4) The Ukubuyisa: Installation Ceremony is the most important, the all needed function in the whole affair of creating an “Idlozi”. Without it “Idlozi” could not be. The ceremony consists of two parts, on at least two days.

 

(a) The goat is the first and the absolute essential sacrifice, which is slaughtered in strict keeping with the directions of an “Inyanga”; “prayers” of offering, in the form of praises or “good” talking to the deceased who is the “Idlozi-to-be”. Important in the prayers are the words which point out the work he is to come and perform at home. The meat of this goat, as a rule, is eaten only by the members of the family. Its sex is to be of the same sex as that of the one to be honoured.

 

(b) The Bull/Ox is slaughtered the following day. It must be a bull. For a substitute an ox is taken. In the case of a woman a cow is slaughtered. The bull is more or less for a feast, rather than a strict offering to the “Idlozi”, although part and parcel thereof.

 

 

Criticism of ‘A’ and ‘B’

 

(A) The Idea of “Idlozi”

 

In this connection the members found that:

 

(1) The belief in “Idlozi” is without grounds, vague and impossible to be proved by those believing in it.

 

·       Apart from simply believing it, there seems to nothing to warrant it.

 

·       “Idlozi” is given powers, or believed to have powers far above him, and to him is “attributed what is strictly belongs to the Master of life”: To have “power over the family” in a limitless manner.

 

·       The belief is deep, and the slavish fear of him is just as deep. There is no true love but slavish fear.

 

·       Any one, everything being equal, is created “Idlozi” indiscriminately. The only criterion is, it seems, to have been a member of the family.

 

·       Worst of all, an “Idlozi” is offered a bloody sacrifice. All these attribute to a creature that belongs only to the Supreme Being.

 

(B) Ukubuyisa

 

(1) This again can neither be proved nor in any way be accounted for, the members felt. The whole thing is believed and nothing more.

 

(2) By the fact that “Idlozi” is restricted only to his surviving family, he is not, and as already been said, is not taken as God, although mysteriously treated very much as a god.

 

(3) The dead cannot, in any form, come back home, because of this ceremony, nor can he on his own bring into effect any of the things for which he is invoked.

 

(4) That the “powers of “Idlozi” are limited to the family can be seen by one interesting fact; i.e. when there is no rain, the district, or nation appeals not to “Amadlozi”, not to “uMvelingangi”, but to his princess named “Nomkhubulwane”. This is done by all.

 

As already said, no sacrifice is ever given as such to “uMvelingangi”. The members said that this may be due to either one or two of the following.

 

·       “uMvelingangi” being too far from the living, and having had ties with the family.

 

·       the fact, perhaps, that he is too high and far above these “well known intermediaries”, the “Amadlozi”.

 

·       the African law of respect, whereby a superior is never directly dealt with, but only through his inferiors, or never at all. But the members asked themselves:

 

·       whether, in fact, “Amadlozi” were taken as his “uMvelingangi’s” inferiors.

 

·       if so, at least somewhere, mention should be made of “uMvelingangi”.

 

While “Ukubuyisa” does not seem to be a form of idolatry, in that no real belief in a god is given to “Idlozi”, nevertheless it is a definite form of superstition, in that it gives to a creature what is due only to a Supreme Being, the Creator.

 

(C)   Christian Faith and “Amadlozi” Belief

 

(A) Comparison

 

(1) Christian faith and its form of life have been accepted, and are truly loved by Africans today. Such Africans are however still a minority.

 

(2) Comparing the two faiths: the Christian and the Pagan, it can be seen that Christianity has not, at least with the majority, taken such root in the African’s mind and life , as to replace any other religious belief, especially the belief in “Ámadlozi”, because the belief in “Idlozi”, plus its practice, is still very much alive, not only among the Pagan, but alas also among those who have, at least outwardly, embraced the Christian faith. In the mind of the majority two things, which are in fact but one, seem to evolve:

 

·       The apparent patriotic spirit which appears to love and defend at all costs what is tribal and African by origin. While to a Pagan this may be dismissed as nothing, it is certainly very perplexing when found in a Christian of some education.

 

·       The second is a struggle which appears to be on in the mind of Christians, a struggle between the Christian faith and the belief in “Amadlozi”. Many varying instances show that it is a serious struggle. When and how will the victory of the Christian faith be achieved, nobody knows.

 

(3) One very disturbing was also noticed and discussed but without any conclusion, and that is, that sometimes, and not infrequently, the two beliefs, are seen at work simultaneously in the same mind: e.g. when the “Ukubuyisa” sacrificial ceremony is performed, the family will also request that Holy Mass be offered for the “Idlozi” to-be; of course no mention is ever made to the priest about the “Ukubuyisa” at home. At first sight, this may appear no more than just stupid, but on closer observation:

 

(a) the two ceremonies, the Holy Mass and the “Ukubuyisa”, have contradictory aims:

·       Holy Mass is never offered to God, and for his honour, no matter what occasion.

·        “Ukubuyisa” is never offered to the “Idlozi” to-be, with no other reference; it is expressed homage paid to him.

(b) This shows that these two sacrifices cannot be offered for the same purpose, as they are not compatible. Holy Mass is offered, or so they say, to pray for the dead, and “Ukubuyisa” is offered to honour him, and to bring him back and to install him. It seems that the two sacrifices can only be offered as two Parallel Homages. Because, neither the one nor the other is said to be inferior, nor more efficacious than the other. Rather it seems that the two beliefs from which these two sacrifices are motivated, are, in these peoples mind, two Parallel Beliefs. A very sad thing to realise.

(B) Jesus Christ and the Saints are not Amadlozi

1. From what has been said as regards the conditions and the form of “creating” or installing an “Idlozi”, according to the mind of Africans, neither Christ nor the Saints can be said to be “Amadlozi”. They do not comply with the essential conditions required, except that they too die; i.e.

·       Christ and the Saints are NOT blood relations to any living families who pay homage to “Amadlozi”, and this condition, as already noted, is essential.

·       Christ and the Saints have never had any “Ukubuyisa” ceremony performed in their honour by “their family”, and this is also an absolute condition. There can never be an “Idlozi” until this has been ceremoniously done for him.

·       The Resurrection and the Ascension of Christ can in no way be said to be “Ukubuyisa”, because while “Ukubuyisa” is done by the surviving family in honour of their late relative, and not the other way round, Christ on His own and by His power, as He had foretold it, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.

(2) “Idlozi” wants himself to be honoured, and nobody else. As far as the sacrifice to his honour goes, he is the all. It is not so with Christ and the Saints. Moreover, the Saints are never thought of as inflicting anyone with maledictions, “Idlozi” is.

(3) With “Idlozi” efficacy is not through intercession, but, already said, he is said to be efficient by himself. But Christ and the Saints are not like that, not even Christ as the redeemer.

The meeting came to an end at 3.46 p.m. having lasted about four hours. It was decided that the topic is to be further studied in preparation for the next meeting. After a short prayer the members dismissed.

 

Dominic J. Khumalo OMI

Secretary

 

 

 

The A. A. S. A. S. Meeting

(Part Two)

 

 

The third discussion of the A. A. S. A. S. Natal,

on

“AMADLOZI (ANCESTOR) CULT”

held on

Wednesday, 21^st April 1965

at

Mbubu Catholic Mission

 

Present at the meeting were the following: Revv. Fathers J. J. Mavundla, J. B. Ngubane, P. P. Sibisi and D. J Khumalo, all OMI. There were present also two lay gentlemen, Mr. Ngcobo, our well known friend, and Mr. Dlamini, both men outstanding experts in the field of this cult. Of the absent members, two i.e. Revv. Fathers L. Mkhize and P. Mzolo OMI, sent in their apologies for their absence.

 

The whole discussion was based on these three points:

 

·       The Practice of Amadlozi cult

 

·       The reasons for its grip

 

·       Recommendations for combating it.

 

The Practice of Amadlozi Cult

 

After a lengthy exposition of experiences and findings it became clear to all that the forms of practice varied practically with every district. Incidentally none among the members had grown up and lived together in the same district.

 

It became the feeling of all present that the practice of the cult in question consisted essentially in the offering of bloody sacrifices, most often of cattle and/or of goats, prompted either by hope for good luck or more often out of some big fear for Admadlozi; who were for some inexplicable reasons believed to possess an unlimited power over those on earth, because of this hope, or more often fear, the sacrifices were offered as the need was felt:

 

·       to appease Amadlozi: in their wrath which they were supposed to manifest whenever some misfortune, bad luck etc. befell the family as a whole or one of its members. The manifestation of this anger was either taken for granted at the mere occurrence of the misfortunes, or it was interpreted by “isangoma” (a witchdoctor) when consulted.

·       to make supplication to Amadlozi: for good luck in life generally or for some specific favour needed, or lest any misfortune or bad luck occurred.

 

·       to express gratitude to Amadlozi: for good luck or fortune received and believed to have been bestowed on them.

 

·       to pay respects to Amadlozi: lest they be angered at being “neglected” thereby sending misfortunes down to the family.

 

The most common practices along sacrifices which were often made were the “UKUBUYISA”, i.e. “installation” and the “UKWENZA ISIKO CUSTOM”.

 

(1) UKUBUYISA: Much has already been said about this sacrifice in the first part, and so only a little was said here. The sacrifice and ceremony of UKUBUYISA was an essential and central part in the whole cult because, since it was the installation of the new Idlozi, no favours could really be either petitioned from or expected of him until this ceremony had been satisfactorily performed. Further, there would be great fear that this “neglect” would bring all sorts of misfortunes upon the family. The UKUBUYISA ceremony is well known and carried out much the same way nearly everywhere.

 

(2) UKWENZA ISIKO: This is a sacrifice of general or tribal custom or tradition, the ceremony of which most often though not always demands a blood sacrifice. The AMASIKO tradition or custom practices are always directed to Amadlozi. At first sight they seem to be performed more or less as an indefinite “safeguard” in life. But they are really an invocation of Amadlozi in one way or another, either to prevent misfortunes or to heal from them. Furthermore blood must as far as possible be shed, i.e. a bloody sacrifice is wanted whenever it is possible.

 

The Amasiko practices may be grouped into two, i.e. the general, and the strictly tribal customs or traditions.

 

(a) GENERAL AMASIKO: These are observed by practically every tribe without discrimination, and they are fairly often performed in the same way. Amongst these is “UKUNIKA UMNTWANA IMBELEKO”, the sacrificial ceremony by which a bewly born baby is given “imbeleko”, the skin with which he or she is to be carried on the mother’s back. The skin is made from that of the goat which is slaughtered as sacrifice. At a glance this may appear to no more than a wise economical “device”. But in fact so much belief is involved that the sacrifice is carried out even when there is neither no need nor intention to use “imbeleko”. It is performed for every newly born baby, whether he or she is to be carried with skin on the mother’s back or not, whether there is an old imbeleko or not.

 

(b) TRIBAL AMASIKO: those which are strictly particular to each tribe. They are quite clearly very varied and numerous. Many are in fact said to be UPHAWU LOBUKUBO, the tribal mark, i.e. distinctive mark. Hence no two tribes have an identical “isiko”, except when there is a very close connection between them. It is in a way the same as “ISITHAKAZELO” the tribal TITLE or SALUTATION. e.g.

 

·       the chipping off of the little finger of the left hand.

 

·       the various incisions made, mostly differing in size, number and spot on the body where they are made, although oftenest on the face. Many tribes do not have any customs proper to them.

 

No clear explanation was found as to the origin or meaning of these Amasiko. Whenever the ceremony includes the sacrifice of a goat, an “ISIPHANDLA” a skin-armlet, is cut from the skin of the slaughtered goat and put round the wrist of the baby or the person in whose favour the ceremony is performed. This is as it were a kind of sign and a continuation of supplication to Amadlozi.

 

From the foregoing discussion it became clear that the practice of the cult to Amadlozi was a form of deeply rooted Paganism which was predominantly superstitious in very many of its forms. That hope in and fear of, probably more fear than hope, Amadlozi was the whole secret of the strong grip which the Amadlozi cult had over the mind and heart of the Africans generally, that bloody sacrifices were an important part of the cult. Throughout the above discussion, no explanation, no good reason of any logic, no facts of any kind, could be found to support adherence to Amadlozi-cult. True religion and enlightened education have already for some time been introduced among Africans. Then why is it that the Amadlozi cult should have so strong a grip on them?

 

Reasons for the Grip

 

No complete explanation. The following were however felt to be among the most influential factors of the thriving of the Amadlozi cult.

 

(1) Paganism: The sum total of the opposite of Christianity is still very deep and widespread amongst the Africans. Consequently the prevailing environment is more heathen than anything else, a fact which is no easy challenge to the African Christians.

 

Closely allied with heathenism is illiteracy or ignorance in general, on account of which the “stupidity” or the “contradiction” of the Amadlozi cult remains undetectable.

 

(2) Ignorance of Christian Doctrine: Even among the literate there is a lot of ignorance about the riches of Christian Doctrine. In some case real confusion is traceable, e.g. when the same Christian has both the sacrifice of the Mass and that of Ukubuyisa offered for the same person at the same time.

 

(3) Weak Foundation of Christian Education: This was said in no way as either underestimating the grand work of the Missionaries and their assistants, or ignoring insurmountable difficulties of all kinds which these men heroically faced. The African people in general and, in a very special manner, the members of the meeting are most grateful to all the Missionaries for the priceless inheritance of Christianity and Christian education.

 

The members nevertheless felt that as, due to many difficulties and indeed sheer need much of the instruction of the catechumens and the children was done by catechists and teacher, a weak foundation of Christian Education became inevitable. These pioneer lay apostles, the catechists and the teachers deserve our great esteem and deep gratitude after the Missionaries whom they helped. Nevertheless they lacked adequate knowledge, and so could not lay a solid foundation.

 

(4) Catechumenate or Probation too Easy: In recent times tendency to be either easily satisfied with the progress made by catechumens or to receive catechumens too soon into the Church, or also to entrust the instruction entirely to the ordinary lay Christians. These and many similar facts, it was felt, could but produce only inefficiently trained Christians who could hardly be capable of making any distinction between Christian and heathen living.

 

Further, against too easy or too short a period of catechumenate, there is this danger: an African is generally a “good actor”, he can very well play the role he believes he is expected to play without really assimilating much or being considerably changed in his attitude. Finally, very often everything is over with most Africans, once the catechumenate is officially complete.

 

(5) Many Churches: The many conflicting churches bring to a simple and pagan mind obscurity and consequent weakness about Christianity. All these and perhaps others, directly or indirectly contribute to the weakness of Christianity and the strong grip of Paganism, the focal point of which is the Amadlozi cult. What can be done to combat it?

 

Some Recommendations for Combating It: The problem of eradicating paganism in general and some of its deeply rooted traditional major forms, such as the Amadlozi cult was, the members agreed, a most difficult one. It really involved supernatural means, and so ultimately only the divine was the required means. But as far as the human side goes the following were recommended:

(1) Great Devotion To and Thorough Teaching About Holy Mass

 

a)    Besides the infinite value regarding our souls, there is also in the Mass that sacrificial ritual aspect, by which the Amadlozi sacrifices are attractive. Some tangible means are employed visibly to satisfy the interior religious craving inherent in any man. If a thorough teaching about the Mass, and as a concrete devotion, was insisted upon time and time again, much would be achieved.

 

b)    Some explanatory comparison of the Amadlozi and the souls in heaven, or better in purgatory, the position and effect of Holy Mass to all.

 

c)     Intensification of the Liturgical life.

 

d)    The use of blessings in the ritual.

 

(2) Prayer

 

a)    As a supernatural means with which to win the grace of conversion.

 

b)    To be taught to and practiced by the catechumens.

 

(3) Intensive and Thorough Religious Instruction

 

a)    To be conducted as far as possible by Priests or thoroughly trained and exemplary lay Christians.

 

b)    To be spread progressively, not only during the period of formation and catechumenate, but at all levels of life up to old age.

 

(4) Lay Apostolate

 

As thoroughly trained lay apostles as possible, out of whom both efficient catechists and staunch Christian leaders may be found.

 

(5) Education

 

To eradicate illiteracy and to train the mind.

 

(6) Christianisation of African Customs

 

A serious and responsible effort to sort out and adopt those African customs which are compatible with Christianity, and to invent or replace where necessary. Indiscriminate condemnation of African customs is a positive disservice to the cause.

(7)  Minimum Knowledge of Church History

 

To enable the Christians to understand more clearly the credentials of the true Church, and the grounds for rejecting other churches.

 

 

D. J. Khumalo OMI

(Secretary)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Cult of Ancestors and Christian Antiquity

 

by

 

Aideen Gonlag

 

It is my view that much of the current interest in the revival of the cult of Ancestors is based on the misconception that the rejection of the cult is Euro-centric in origin and in the light of new trends, should be revived as it is pre-eminently Afro-centric.¹ Granted there have been Euro-centric influences in the spread of the Gospel during the period of colonialism, as John Mbiti says “The Gospel had already travelled far, in time and distance, before reaching and settling in modern Africa. Along with the way it was wrapped up with many layers of cultures and histories and many layers of theology and traditions. These layers have both riches and weaknesses contained in them.”²

 

One of those “weaknesses” is most certainly the excess of Alexandrian Theology as epitomised by Origen. According to Brandon “his eclectic Stoicised-Platonism with its depreciation of matter and its overemphasis of the divinity of Christ at the expense of his humanity led not only to its flights of fancy into allegory but also into the depreciation of the literal meaning of the sacred text.”³ It also led to an excess of ascetism and unscriptural over emphasis on a singularly un-African concept – celibacy.⁴ However, the rejection of the cult of ancestors is not Euro-centric but firmly Christ-centric. As Parrinder explains:

 

“The ancestors were as important to the traditional Romans as to the traditional Africans. The aristocrat kept the ancestral busts or masks to be produced on appropriate occasions, the Lares were general ancestral spirits; the moral norm of Rome was the Mos Maiorum, the way of the ancestors; the Di Manes were the spirits of the dead and were feared and honoured.”⁵

 

Indeed there are many parallels between the cult of Ancestors amongst the Romans and in the Roman religion.

 

“[African traditional religions] are quite unashamedly this worldly in orientation... One of the most striking features of [their] belief system is the almost complete absence of what might be called ‘theology’. There is little speculation as to the nature of the spirit world or life after death, and unlike some other peoples, a rather poorly developed corpus of myths,”⁶ This quotation from Hammond-Tooke could be applied almost word for word to Roman religion.⁷ As Carson says:

 

“The Romans... offered sacrifices mainly to avert danger and protect family from evil, their religion did not seek to improve them morally. Of the two main forms of religious observance those dedicated to the well being of hearth and home under the protection of Janus, Vesta and the Lares entered more deeply into the lives of the average Roman than did the official ceremonies of the priests. At every meal in pious households a small portion of food was placed before the little household shrine [Lararium] on which were often represented a gay dancing little Lar or two, with a man in a toga for the genius of the family or clan and a snake personifying the spirit of the household. Three time each month a small offering of flowers was made as well. Wealthier households had elegant statues of the Lares which would be brought to the table if the meal was not in the living room containing lararium.”⁸

 

Their funeral rites are worth recording too. According to Brandon “[The] shade acquired individuality only on ritual occasions of revisiting its family. The dead had to properly buried; it was naturally the family’s duty to arrange the elaborate funerary rites, which included a sacrifice to Tellus (the ‘earth’) and a funeral banquet for the dead. Lack of proper burial meant the shade had no proper place in the underworld and would be vengeful toward the living...

 

The elaborate funerary rites began with “the conclamatio... an attempt to call back the spirit. During preparatory rites the body was dressed in full insignia, and a wax mask taken of the face to join that of the other ancestors. A branch of cypress or pine at the entrance to the house denoted death. The funeral procession including the family, special officers, professional musicians and dancers; the death masks of the ancestors were also carried. After the laudatio in the Forum, the body was cremated at an appointed place. After cremation, the os resectum (usually a finger joint) was buried, an act symbolic of ancestral inhumation, and a funeral meal was held. The ashes were placed in the [family] tomb after nine days of mourning.”⁹

 

“Memorial festivals were held on various appropriate occasions: they consisted of visiting the tombs, lighting lamps, funeral banquets and offerings to gods and manes (spirits of the dead) [chief amongst these were] the Lemuria (Feb13-21) which ended with the ritual expulsion of ghosts and was a primitive apotropaic (‘god making’) rite... [which] may be compared to All Souls day, and the Parentalia (May 9-13) which was a festival of Parents, when families decorated the graves of ancestors and made offerings.  Roman mortuary customs were essentially connected with the family. The concept of the genius was epitomised in the genius [i.e. lineage] of the Paterfamilias (male head of household), and families preserved with masks of the Ancestors.¹⁰ [So important were these acts that] freedmen and artisans formed collegia funeraticia to ensure proper funeral rites.”¹¹

 

“Roman religion was essentially that of maintain peace with the gods, whose rites were meticulously defined and respected... [It] was not concerned with the spiritual needs of individuals [but with family and state]. The traditional celebrant of the religious rites was the paterfamilias and the magistrate a role played by Augustus as Princeps i.e. Chief Magistrate). However as imperial power grew, the genius of the Emperor was worshipped during life, and elevated to the company of State gods after deatht.”¹² As Tenney says: “The Romans felt that their security was personified in the head of state who was responsible for their food, their pleasure, their safety and their future.”¹³ Exactly the same situation prevailed (and in some cases still prevails) in many places in Africa. As Hammond-Tooke explains: “Although the chief is primarily a political officer, he also stands at the apex of the religious system. This is often expressed in literature in the phrase ‘the chief is chief priest of the tribe’¹⁴ [even as the Roman Emperor was the Pontifex Maximus¹⁵].  At no time is this more relevant than at the most important communal festival of all the tribes of Southern Africa, the annual festival of the ‘first fruits.’”¹⁶ “In the annual incwala rite of the Swazi” writes Brandon “the King ‘strengthens’ his person and hence the nation with magical substances and later participates in sacrifice to the spirits of past kings [as the mystical power of the dead king was said to extend over the country he once ruled¹⁷]. Both acts are prescribed and both are essential to secure the future of the kingship and of the nation.”¹⁸ So too did the Romans feel that the Emperor was the Empire. Small wonder then that even sober and conscientious Pliny felt that “when a man persisted in refusing to make the customary gesture to the traditional gods and the imperial statue, then he was clearly actionable for contumacia – criminal obstinacy... and deserved the death penalty.”¹⁹

 

At first the Roman authorities were tolerant of Christianity regarding it as merely one more foreign cult that had been imported from the East and not in keeping with the “best” in Roman culture.²⁰ It was only when Christian became more numerous and, by refusing State gods and Emperor worship, became a threat to the state that persecutions began in earnest.²¹ The same says Mbiti  is true of Christianity in Africa, because religion in Africa is (as was in Rome) a “communal and corporate religion  and those who are persecuted and killed within African traditional religions are made to suffer for political, social, economic and other reasons.”²²

 

From all that has been said it is abundantly obvious how Roman religion is mirrored by African traditional religion – the use of masks;²³  the rituals carries out by the head of the household; the exaltation of the blood-line (the genius); snakes representing the spirits of the dead; shades requiring rituals to “exist’; the gift of food for the dead; the calling back of the spirit; the visit to graveyards for important occasions; a special place in the house dedicated to the dead – the umsano,²⁴  a type of shrine like the lararium; the mos maiorum like the mekgwa ya borr arona or amasiko,²³ the same ways of the ancestors; the mystical powers of the kingship etc. to mention only a few. Moreover from the above it also abundantly clear those ancestor cults were decidedly Roman, i.e. European, yet they were totally rejected by the Early Church. To this aspect we must now turn.

 

It is not my intention to stress the profound differences in faith and morals that took place, but rather for the sake of brevity to mention only three radical social and religious changes in the way of life of the Christians at Rome. Firstly with regard to the home: Instead of a religion based on family ties, a house church was established. In families as wealthy as Gaius (or Erastus a city treasurer) this church would probably include his entire house hold, not only relatives, but retainers, slaves and even visiting Christians from ‘abroad’ i.e. Jerusalem or Antioch, and would span a great part of the social specttum.²⁶ In the atrium prayer meetings would be held, the Scriptures read and studied, and instructions given.²⁷ At certain times an agape was held, a fellowship meal at which rich Christians would feed the poor.²⁸

 

The triclinium (living room) which had once contained the shrine of the household gods (lares and penates) and the masks of the ancestors, was often changed into a small chapel.²⁹ In place of the wooden lararium, there was a wooden chest which contained copies of the Septuagint, writings of St. Paul and at least one of the Gospels – probably Mark.³⁰ It also contained vessels for Holy Eucharist. When a bishop or one of his representatives was able to be present, Mass was celebrated here,³¹ and communion received by all who had been baptised whether bond or free, male or female, Greek or Jew³² or Roman. Far from feeding household gods and ancestors, these Roman Christians obeyed the commandments of Jesus and fed themselves on the Word of God³³ and the Bread of Life.³⁴

 

Secondly, with regard to funerals, the change was equally radical. In contrast to the elaborate funerals of the pagan Romans, simplicity and even plainness Characterised Christian entombment.³⁵ This was partly because of the poverty of an association (collegium³⁶ as the Roman authorities called them) whose members included a substantial number of slaves. But it was also because of their strong beliefs in resurrection and immortality³⁷ for as Meeks points out by the end of the 1^st Century a Christian congregation generally reflected a fair cross section of urban society and not a destitute ghetto.³⁸ In keeping with their new beliefs no masks were taken from the deceased, nor were ‘memorials’ (ancestors) carried in procession. While they had no objection to cremation, they practised inhumation (burial) as more fitting because it was what the Jews did and thus must be more Scripural.³⁹

 

But most striking of all was the fact that Christians began to acquire common cemeteries for all Christians instead of family tombs.⁴⁰ This was particularly necessary when persecutions began in earnest. Thus it was that the famous ‘catacombs’ developed. One of the oldest and most distinguished is the famous catacomb of Domitilla. This catacomb begun in 100 AD and continued for more than 300 years eventually contained the remains of more than 500,000 Christians.⁴¹ It was housed in ground donated by a most noble Roman lady, Flavia Domitilla, the grand-daughter  of the Emperor Vespasian. Her husband Flavius Clemens was a cousin of the Emperor Domitian. Both suffered for the faith during a persecution by Domitian. Clemens was executed and Domitian exiled.⁴²

 

“In Uganda says Dielwart” “Christians were condemned to death because they were considered as strangers and enemies of their people when they dared to oppose their own king in favour of a foreigner, a stranger – Jesus.”⁴³ For the Roman martyrs the cost of conversion must have been, if possible, even greater because they forsook their “ancestral usages” to follow whose leader was nor a “stranger” but someone who had been regarded as a enemy of the Roman state, and executed by them in a most shameful way as a common criminal, the “scandal of the cross” could not have been greater.⁴⁶ Yet barely 30 years after this “shameful” event in a backwater of the Empire, Roman Christians were dying for Christ, and before the century was out, Christian martyrs were found in the very heart of Rome itself  - the Imperial family.⁴⁵ What a glorious triumph for the Conqueror of Death itself.⁴⁶ “Faith in the Risen Christ” says Dielwart⁴⁷ “should purify all traditions, rituals, customs and attitudes from an unhealthy fear of death.” This is precisely what it did for the Christians of Rome.

 

As persecutions grew and intensified, the growing number of martyrs and the need to meet in secret meant the underground graveyards became places par excellence to celebrate Holy Eucharist. Here Roman Christians gathered to celebrate not elaborate rites of genius, but their oneness in Christ who, though, they had been strangers now brought them close together as members of God’s household.⁴⁸ For through the Gospel the Gentiles became heirs together with Israel, members of one body, moved by one Spirit, acknowledging one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.⁵⁰ The catacombs were indeed a fitting place to partake of Holy Eucharist, a sign of their oneness not only with one another in the common meal, the Lord’s Supper, which they shared, or the common burial ground they shared, but also a sign of their oneness with their holy dead. To Roman converts all who died “in Christ” became, as the Communion of Saints,⁵⁰ ancestors in faith and not by blood line, to all Christians. So too did they claim Abraham, father of the Jews as their own ancestor in faith, thereby fulfilling the prophecy that he would be the father of all who rely on faith and not on descent.⁵¹ As Latourette says “Christianity was inclusive. More than any of its rivals it appealed to men and women from all races and classes... [unlike] its parent Judaism.”⁵²

 

 The Agape too was celebrated in the catacombs and became as it were a Christian festival of Parentalia,⁵³ where all who were of the family of God, all who, by the Spirit, called God “Abba”,⁵⁴ celebrated a “family” reunion, feeding their poor brothers and sisters in Christ, at a feast honouring their glorious dead members in faith, the martyrs of “every nation under the sun.”⁵⁵

 

But if the Christians were unlike Jews in their inclusiveness of all people to whom the Gospel must be preached, they were Jews in that having become Christians, they had to be a “holy nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called them out of darkness into his wonderful light.⁵⁶ They were to be as Jesus said, in the world but not of it. For that reason St. Peter urged them to live such good lives among the pagans that though they might accuse them of doing wrong they might see their good deeds and glorify God...⁵⁷

 

Unfortunately that was not to be, as Latourette explains “Through their abstention from much of the community life – the pagan festivals the public amusements which were [to Christians] shot through and through with pagan beliefs, practices and immoralities – they were derided as haters of the human race...”⁵⁸ Yet in actual fact this was far from the truth, for Christians did try and live up to the directives of St. Peter. Even one of their fiercest critics, Julian the Apostate, bewailing the triumph of Christianity over paganism had to declare (I quote from Johnson):

 

“Why do we not observe that it is in their benevolence to strangers, their care for the graves of the dead, and the apparent holiness of their lives that they have done most to increase atheism? (i.e. Christianity). It is disgraceful that when no Jew ever has to beg, and the impious Galileans support not only their own poor, but ours as well. Everyone can see that our people lack aid from us.”⁵⁹

 

Yet Christians remained unpopular to the general public and subject to periods of severe persecution by a government normally extremely tolerant on matters of religion. Why? Gibbon gives the answer.

 

“It was natural for every community to respect the sacred institutions of their neighbours, it was incumbent on them to preserve those of their ancestors... [but] every Christian rejected with contempt the superstitions of his family, his city and his province. The whole body of Christians unanimously refused to hold any communion with the gods of Rome, of empire and of mankind.”⁶⁰ It was their refusal to worship the gods of Rome and to pay divine homage to the Emperor which sealed their fate as far as the Roman authorities were concerned.⁶¹ As Pliny said, this made them guilty of criminal obstinacy deserving the death penalty.

 

Moreover by the 3^rd Century there were according to Latourette “many pagans [who] held that the neglect of the old gods who had made Rome strong was responsible for the disasters which were overtaking the Mediterranean world.”⁶² Indeed Julian the Apostate had no doubt that it was “a sect of fanatics, these Galileans, contemptible to man, and odious to the gods, by whose folly, the empire had been reduced to the brink of destruction.”⁶³

 

Granted that Roman religion was an integral a part of Roman life as is African traditional religion, it is therefore hardly surprising to find similar ideas being expressed in Africa today.⁶⁴ As Wilson says, with the growth of African nationalism beliefs in the power and righteousness of the ancestors are linked to new causes. The “old gods” of Africa are invoked to aid leaders against colonialism.⁶⁵ In the wake of all the disasters and troubles that have befallen Africa the past 30 years we must expect to see an upsurge in this desire to return to the “old religion”⁶⁶...or at least to come to terms with it irrespective of whether or not such accommodation leads to syncretism. Indeed Mbiti has already observed this in some circles.⁶⁷ This too is not new.

To be sure Roman Christians did indeed make use of certain pagan customs and artefacts e.g. naming December 25^th, the birthday of the pagan god, Sol Invictus,⁶⁸ as the birthday of the true victor of light over darkness, the Sun of Righteousness – Jesus the Christ;⁶⁹ and the use of pagan buildings ‘basilicas’ as the first public Christian Churches.⁷⁰ However the cult of ancestors, so integral a part of the ancient Roman religion and way of life, never became part of the Christian religion and way of life. As Gaudium Spes explains... “although the Church has contributed much to the development of culture, experience shows that because of circumstances, it is sometimes difficult to harmonise culture with Christian teaching.”⁷¹ But what was best in that culture is often carried forward, so much so that “when at last the political power of the emperors collapsed, the Church endured – and, in the dark ages that followed, helped to preserve the Roman heritage.”⁷² This was an excellent example of Connors’ statement of how the Gospel can [and should] “become a power to transform, convert, upset and borrow from human cultures.”⁷³ That time it was Rome – next time, God willing, may it be Africa.

 

To conclude with two quotations from Christian Antiquity.

 

“The pressure to recast Christianity as one among many mystery religions was indeed so strong, albeit unobtrusively so, that the wonder is not that there was so much accommodation as there was, but rather that the original essence of Christianity as a faith and life based not on a mystery drama but on a historical person and datable events triumphed as it did.”⁷⁴

 

“[Christians] had every inducement to syncretise [or apostatise] in the first three centuries when death was often the penalty for refusing to do so, and they withstood the temptation.”⁷⁵

 

To imply as many would today that the cult of Ancestors is such an integral of the African worldview that it must be accomodated⁷⁶ in spite of its obvious unchristian character viz its denial of Christ as sole mediator and its pagan rites, is to imply the worst form of racism, namely, that European Christians, the Romans, were able to reject these very intimate and important but unchristian beliefs and practices, but African Christians are not. What a terrible indictment that would be against a Church and a people who have given us the glorious martyrs of Uganda!

 

I end with a comment by a noble African lady, Princess (nKosazana) Paulina Nomguqo Dlamini, descendent of King Sobuza of Swaziland⁷⁷ and King Mzilikazi of Matabeleland,⁷⁸ who as a young maiden  was part of the Royal household (isigodlo) of King Cetshwayo of Zululand, and who later became an Apostle⁷⁹ to northern Zululand.

 

“It was a delusion of our people, believing that the spirits of the ancestors would partake of the meat by coming at night to lick it. What help can ancestors give us? I now wish our people would free themselves from these incomprehensible delusions!”

 

To this wish I gladly and prayerfully say “AMEN!”

 

Aideen E. Gonlag

Footnotes

¹  AASAS, p.2;  G+T 8/2, p.66.  G+T 1/2  p.93,94

²  J.M. p7

³  S.B.  pp.56,57

⁴  G.+T.  2/3, p.125

⁵  P. p.146;  Cicero so honoured his dead daughter

Tullia by having a household ‘shrine’ around her

death mask even as in African traditional societies

the spirits of dead children are called back. See

B. Tyrrell, Tribal Peoples + Suspicion is my Name.

CCHS 393e

⁶  H.T.  p.319. S.B.  p.41

⁷  M.H. p.123;  CCHS 559i

⁸  W.C.  p.213

⁹   S B  pp. 78-79, 296

¹⁰ S B p.79; P+H  p.26

¹¹ S B p.296

¹² S B p.541

¹³ M.T.  p.116

¹⁴ H-T. p.350

¹⁵ M.T.  p.132  High Priest

¹⁶ H-T.  p.355

¹⁷ W.  p.27

¹⁸ S.B.  p.39; G+T. 8/2 pp.66,67

¹⁹ M.G. p.47/48; E.  p.121

²⁰ M.T.  p.292

²¹ W.C. p.277

²² J M  p.107

²³ ART p.3

²⁴ H-T.  p328 referred to as “shrine” by Berglund p.45.

²⁵ G.+T. 3/4  p. 195 AASAS II p.2

²⁶ See Romans Chapter 16;     FFB(P) p.30;

WM  p.52,58,68,73

²⁷ MG p.263

²⁸  See Jude v.12, 2 Pet. 2:13; SB p.45; ODCC p.23;

WM  p.68/69

²⁹ M.G.  p.261

³⁰ M.G.  p.259/60

³¹ See Letter of St. Ignatius to Smyrnacans quoted in

J. Martos, Doors to the Sacred, p.466

³² Gal 3:28f

³³ Matt. 4:4

³⁴ John  6:35

³⁵ ERE,  p.456

³⁶ ERE,  p.456,  W.M.  p.64

³⁷ ERE,  p.456

³⁸  op. cit. p.73

³⁹ ERE,  p.457

⁴⁰ ERE,  p.457

⁴¹   M.W. p.170/171

⁴²   FFB p.391/2

⁴³   G.+T. 11/1 p.6

⁴⁴  M.G.  p.50, WB p.41

⁴⁵   FFB p.392; SN p.30

⁴⁶  1 Cor. 15:54-57; Rom. 8:37

⁴⁷  G.+T.  11/1 ; p.12

⁴⁸   EP. 2:19

⁴⁹   EP. 4:4-6

⁵⁰   ERE p.457

⁵¹   Gal. 3:6-9; Heb. 11

⁵²   K.L. p.81

⁵³   SB p.45

⁵⁴   Gal. 4:6

⁵⁵   Rev. 7:9

⁵⁶   1 Pet. 2:9

⁵⁷   1 Pet. 2:12

⁵⁸   K.L. p.81

⁵⁹   PJ p.75

⁶⁰   EG p.112

⁶¹   B.G p.29 Domitian was the first of the Emperors to

call himself ‘Dominus Deus’ in contrast to

Paul’s declaration – “Jesus is Lord” Rom. 10:9

CCHS 969c

⁶²   K.L. p.82

⁶³   EG p.156

⁶⁴   AASAS (2) Um Africa more than 30 years ago

See Ap p.4

⁶⁵   W p.42

⁶⁶   Prof Ali Mazrui of Kenya quoted in weekly mail

13/9/91 deplores the fact that there are no public

holidays “to praise the deities of our ancestors -

that is the litmus test of our cultural self esteem”

⁶⁷   J.M.  p.57; SN p.451

⁶⁸   Principal deity of Mithraism – great rival of

Christianity. S.B  p.446

⁶⁹   M.G. p.150 Mal. 4:2

⁷⁰   W.C.  p.333

⁷¹   J+P p.118

⁷²   MH p.175

⁷³   G.+T. 1/1 p.49

⁷⁴   FFB p.264

⁷⁵   M.G.  p.190

⁷⁶   ATR p.6

⁷⁷   P.D.  p.12

⁷⁸   P.D. p.15

⁷⁹   P.D.  p.9,87

⁸⁰   P.D. p.74

 

 

 

 

 

 

F

 

 

 

Bibliography

	Dictionaries and Encyclopaedias
CCHS	Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture: (ed) Dom B. Orchid                                                                        T. Nelson + Sons    rep 1955
ERE	Encyclopaedia of Religion + Ethics – Vol 3 (ed) J. Hasting                                                                              T+T Clark – Edinburgh 4th imp 1958
SB	Dictionary of Comparative Religion  (ed) S.G.F. Brandon                                                                  Charles Scribners + Sons New York 1970
ODCC	Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (ed) F.L. Cross                                                                    Oxford University Press 5th rep 1971
P	Man + His Gods (encyclopaedia of the Worlds’ Religions) (ed) G. Parrinder                                                                             Hamlyn 1971
	Books
WB	W. Barclay: Ambassador for Christ: St. Andrew Press rep. 1980
FFB	F. F. Bruce: New Testament History: Oliphants  London rev. ed 1971
FFB(P)	Paul and his Converts: Highland Books    1985
PD	P. N. Dlamini: Servant of Two Kings (complied H. Filter, trans+ed. S. Bourquin)                                                             Killie Campbell African UNP  1986
E	Eusebius: The History of the Church: Penguin Classics rep 1989
E.G.	E. Gibbon: Decline and fall of the Roman Empire (abridged) Bison Books rep 1984
B.G.	B. Gascoigne: The Christians   Jonathan Cape: London 1977
W.C.	M. Grant (ed):  The Birth of Western Civilisation – Greece + Rome Thames+Hudson 3rd 1968
M.G.	M. Green: Evangelism in the Early Church: Highland Books 1984
M.H.	M. Hadas: Imperial Rome: Tume/4fe rep 1974
H.T.	W, D. Hammond-Tooke ed) The Bantu Speaking Peoples of Southern Africa                                               Routledge+Kegan Paul, London 2nd ed. 1974
PJ	P. Johnson: A History of Christianity: Pelican Books 2nd rep. 1982
KL	K.S. LaTourette: A History of Christianity Vol I Harper+Row 1975 rev. ed.
JM	J.S. Mbit: The Bible and Theology in African Christianity O.U.P. Nairobi rep 1992
WM	W.A. Meeks: The 1st Urban Christians: Yale 1983
SN	S. Neil: A History of Christian Missions: Pelican Books 2nd ed. 1986
P+H	G.J. Pillay+J.W. Hofmeyer (ed) Perspectives on Church History: HAUM 1991
MT	M.C. Tenney:  New Testament Times I.V.P London rep 1971
MW	M. Walsh. Roots of Christianity  Grafton Books 1986
J+P	M. Walsh+B. Davies: Proclaiming Justice +  Peace: Collins  1984
W	M. Wilson: Religion and the Transformation of Society Cam U.P. 1971
	Journals  + Papers
G+T	Grace + Truth (Published by Fedosa)
Vol 1/1+1/2	Religious Life in Cross Cultural Context of Africa: B. Connor OP 1980
Vol 2/3	Call to Religious Life. J.M. Shange CMM 1981
Vol 3/4	Image of God among Sotho-Tswana: G.M. Setiloane (review) 1982
Vol 6/4	Inculturation+the Mission of the Church: E. Lapointe OMI 1985
Vol 11/1	Christ- Stranger or Friend? P. Dielwart OP 1991
ATR	The Ancestors in African Traditional Religion Appendix III E.P. Gwembe SJ 30/11/93
AASAS	The Report of the Association of the Alumni of St. Augustine’s Seminary on the Amadlozi Parts 1+2 20/7/64 + 21/4 65
AP	African Press = Ancestor Worship J.B. Sauter  2/7/1963
	Bibles Used
	The Jerusalem Bible: Darton Longman+Todd, London 1966
	Holy Bible: New International version: New York International Bible Society 1987 3rd S.A. Edition 1985

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                     

 How much pagan culture should the Church allow in?

 

Questions answered. By Bonaventure Hinwood OFM

 

 

What is the Church’s attitude toward pagan customs? Can one allow sacrifices associated with African traditional religions to be offered in Catholic Churches in the name of inculturation?

 

VATICAN II put beyond doubt the Church’s appreciation of the cultures of different peoples, as well as the Church’s willingness to express herself in terms of such cultures and absorb into her life those elements in them which fit in with Christian revelation.

 

This policy is clearly expressed in passages such as this one: “The Church or People of God takes nothing away from the earthly welfare of any people by implanting the kingdom (of God). She rather fosters and takes to herself whatever is good in the talents, resources and customs of each people. At the same time as taking them to herself she purifies, strengthens and enriches them” (Church 13; see also Church 17, Missions 22, and Church in world 58).

 

Respectful  

 

That this continued to be the Church’s attitude after the Council is clear from Pope Paul VI’s words to the bishops and people of Africa in 1967: “The Church takes into account with much respect the moral and religious values of African tradition, not only because they are worthwhile, but also because she sees them in a providential vehicle for carrying the Gospel message and for building up a new society in Christ” (Message to SECAM, October 1976).

 

This does not however mean a holus-bolus takeover of all beliefs, customs and practices existing in pre-Christian African cultures.

 

As Pope Paul said in that same message: “It is ones duty to respect the heritage, moral and religious, as a culture patrimony of the past, but one is equally bound to give new meaning and expression to it”.

 

Norms necessary

 

There are several norms which must control such a process:

1. Nothing is to be allowed in any way to damage the Church’s Catholic unity. As Pope Paul VI said to the bishops at Kampala in 1969, when dealing with the Africanization of the Church: “Your Church must be first of all Catholic. That is, it must be entirely founded upon the identical, essential, constitutional patrimony of the self-same teaching of Christ as professed by the authentic and authoritative traditions of the one true Church. This condition is fundamental and indisputable. We are not inventors of our faith, we are its custodians”.

 

Content intact

 

2. Consequently, as Pope John Paul II puts it, the Church must at one and the same time bring forth “from cultures original expressions of Christian life, celebration and thought whereby the Gospel is brought into the heart of peoples”, and yet preserve “unaltered the content of the Catholic faith” (address to the bishops of Ghana in May 1980).

 

3. There must be no indiscriminate mixing into Catholic practice of elements from other religions which are not compatible with Christ’s revelation – what Vatican II called syncretism (Mission 22). This is because God’s word remains always the norm for judging what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in any culture.

 

At its very beginning the Church discarded many elements of the Jewish religion out of which it was born, such as circumcision, animal sacrifices, and the Sabbath.

 

She was even more radical in rejecting many of the practices of ancient Roman religion.

 

She has exercised this cultural-critical function in the name of the Gospel of Jesus Christ towards every people with which she has come into contact throughout history.

 

All together

 

4. Inculturation must always be done by the whole diocese under guidance of the bishop, not by pastors or lay people. It should be done in union with the national bishops’ conference, and under the ultimate control of the Church’s central administration in Rome, as Vatican II laid down (Liturgy 22).

 

5. A thorough investigation must be made into what meaning a particular custom, rite, dance, song or musical instrument has for the local people before there is any thought of introducing it into Catholic life and worship.

 

If it carries with it meanings which do not fit into the Catholic view of reality, it may not be used. But if it has a meaning which can help people grasp and live out some aspect of Catholic truth it may be incorporated in a suitable way.

 

 

 

China experience

 

6. Useful in this regard is the criterion given to the Church in China by the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith on December 8, 1939.

 

Some customs had originally been part of pagan religions. Over centuries they had lost their religious meaning, and become simply social customs. They could be practiced by Christians as signs of respect for ancestors or courtesy toward others.

 

This, of course, already means to give them the sort of new Christian meaning mentioned earlier by Pope John Paul II.

 

Need in Africa

 

With regard to these last two norms, Catholics in Africa still have a great deal of serious work to do. As J. M. Walligo puts it: “Inculturation will move at the pace on which African Christians seriously study their local cultures to discover those fundamental elements that must be purified, those which need substitutes, those which have to be rejected without a substitute and those which can be incorporated into Christianity without any change”. (Inculturation of Christianity in Africa, in African Christian Studies occasional papers 3 and 4 (1985, 64).

 

With regard to the sacrifices mentioned specifically in the question, the attitude of the Church throughout the ages has been against bringing any form of sacrifice from other religions or cultures into her life.

 

One enough

 

The reason for this is her respect for the one all-sufficient and eternal atoning sacrifice of Christ made present and available to the members of the Mystical Body in the Mass.

 

The letter to the Hebrews is a lengthy explanation of why Christians should have nothing more to do with Jewish ritual sacrifices.

 

So while other elements of Jewish worship were taken over, adapted and given new meaning by the Church, none of its various sacrifices were incorporated in this way.

 

The same goes for the various sacrifices found in the ancient Greek and Roman religions, as well as those found among the Arabs and other peoples to the east of Palestine.

 

While the Church expressed herself through various cultural forms belonging to these peoples, and absorbed those elements of their cultures which fitted in with the Gospel, she never took on their sacrifices.

 

Same in Europe

 

The same thing happened when the Church met up with the Germanic people of northern Europe and Britain.

 

In the year 601 Pope Gregory the Great sent some advice about this to St. Augustine, archbishop of Canterbury, via a letter to Abbot Mellitus.

 

People who joined the Church were to stop sacrificing oxen for the purpose of their old religion.

 

The archbishop should, however, establish Christian feasts to replace pagan celebrations. As part of such a celebration, oxen should be killed for food, so that the people could praise and thank God as the One who gives all gifts.

 

He argued that if people had this physical enjoyment, they would also come to enjoy the spiritual and Christian side of the occasion.

 

A mountain is not climbed in one jump, but step by step (Bede the Venerable, A History of the English Church and People, 1,30).

 

There are more ways of using a slain ox than offering it as a sacrifice.

 

Southern Cross 5/8/1987

 

Post script by Blog Editor:

 

“In a letter to the Emperor Trajan, the younger Pliny, [writing c.112 AD], complained that there was a slump in the agricultural markets because people were no longer buying beasts for sacrifice. This was the fault of people called Christians who formed a secret society and refused to offer sacrifice to the god emperor”. (Youth Faith, CSSR Publications, 1975, p.3).

Freedom from Ancestral Bondage

 

Family weaknesses don't have to keep you from enjoying your new Life in Christ. By Brother Daniel F. Stramara. OSB (USA)

 

Have you ever wondered why you end up caught in the same trap in which your parents and found themselves? Perhaps you very easily get angry with the kids or even occasionally hit them. Maybe you find yourself like your father, cold and aloof toward you wife; or like your mother, always nagging and ridiculing your husband. Do you feel helpless to change these family patterns, even though you'd like to?

 

Part of the good news of Jesus’ saving grace in our lives, albeit a neglected part, is His wish to set us free from such ancestral bondage. In fact, the Gospel of Matthew begins with Jesus’ genealogy; Luke likewise provides us with the ancestry of Jesus, tracing Him back through David, Abraham and Noah, to Adam, "son of God”. The Bible shows Jesus to be fully human, having a chequered pedigree, yet ultimately originating from God the Father. No matter what unsavoury qualities we might have picked up from our ancestors, Jesus comes to show us our true roots which lie in God.

In this article we will take a brief look at the importance of being liberated from the brokenness and negative patterns of our ancestors. This is one facet of the recently recovered “healing the family tree” ministry. Freedom from ancestral bondage is possible! God frees all.

 

Original Sin

Paul sets forth for the Church at Rome an explanation of God's plan of salvation in Jesus Christ. He neatly sums it up in one phrase, “One man's offence brought condemnation on all humanity; and, one man's good act has brought justification and life to all humanity” (Romans 5:18). Through Adam all have been infected with the propensity to sin, but through Jesus Christ, the New Adam, all are given the potentiality to be righteous.

 

No matter how hard we try not to, we do in fact end up acting like our parents, even our first parents, Adam and Eve. Of course we received good traits from our parents as well as bad. Yet the psalmist, like most of us, is more aware of inherited family woundedness and thus begs God to remember, “I was born guilty, a sinner from the moment of conception” (Psalm 51:5). Likewise Yahweh declares, “Their heart contrives evil from their infancy” (Genesis 8:21). Of course this does not refer to personal sin but to an inclination towards evil.

 

Jesus came so that we might be born again and empowered to master this evil inclination (John 1:12-13). In Christ we can break the negative patterns in our life.

 

In my own life my ancestors on my mother's side were overachievers. Part of me tended to be compulsive about performance and public recognition. I was striving to be successful and popular until I recognised that quite often I wasn't making my own free choices. I was living out my ancestral reputation more than being my true self. I didn't know the real me until, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, I consciously broke free from the need to be always successful.

.

God's Self Revelation

God wants us to know who we really are and who God really is. Early in the book of Genesis we discover that God is known as the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. In other words, Yahweh was a personal ancestral God. Jacob even boasts to his intimacy with God who is the kinsman of Isaac (Genesis 31:42,53). Ultimately this “Kinsman of Isaac, God” became flesh in Jesus, Son of David.

 

But before this revelation of God in Jesus Christ, God revealed the true divine nature to Moses in the following manner: “Then Yahweh passed before Him and called out, Yahweh, Yahweh, God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in faithful love and constancy, maintaining His faithful love to thousands, forgiving fault, crime and sin, yet letting nothing go unchecked, and punishing the parents’ fault in the children and in the grandchildren to the third and fourth generation!” (Exodus 34: 6_ 7). God's nature is one of faithful covenanted love and forgiveness. Yet in this passage we read that God will punish the parents’ faults in the children. Actually the Hebrew verb paqad, translated as “punish" means to visit upon, deposit, bear consequences. God readily forgives us our sins, but due to the human condition we cannot avoid all the consequences of our parents’ faults.

 

The Weight of Sin

But does the Bible really say that our ancestor’s sins affect us?  Yes, there are scores of such passages. Yahweh declared to stiff-necked people in the desert, “Your children will be nomads in the desert for forty years, bearing the consequences of your faithlessness” (Numbers14:33). The prophet Jeremiah laments. “Our ancestors sinned; they are no more, and we bear the weight of their guilt.” (Lamentations 5: 7). And the Jews regularly prayed 79:8: “Do not count against us the guilt of former generations, in your Tenderness come quickly to meet us”...

 

But how fair is this?  What about an individual's responsibility?  The prophet Jeremiah has this to say in prayer to God, “You show faithful love to thousands but repay the father's guilt in full to their children after them. Great and mighty God, whose name is Yahweh Sabaot, great in purpose, mighty in deed, whose eyes are open on all human ways, rewarding every individual as his ways and the results of his actions deserve!” (Jeremiah 32:18-19). You see, both aspects are true: there is personal sin and corporate sin. We are all responsible for our individual decisions, but in some mysterious way our decisions affect everybody else. Paul states that we are all members of one another (Ephesians 4: 25) and that if one member is wounded, all share in the pain (1 Corinthians 12:26).

 

Brokenness and sin affect the whole family. Take for instance the present problem of divorce. Because love often isn't modelled by the parents, when the children grow up, they don't know how to love their spouse either. Such broken relationships affect the next generation of children who are likewise wounded by their parents “coping mechanism” of coldness, feigned love, partial commitment, alcoholism and so on. You can tell how healthy the family tree is by its fruit!

 

Confession of Sins

If indeed the weight of our ancestor’s fault is upon our head, what can we do to be healed? God already provided a means for healing this bondage in the Law of Moses: “They shall confess their sins and the sins of their fathers” (Leviticus 26:40). Hence after the Jews returned from exile, “those of Israelite stock who had severed relations with all foreigners stood up and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors” ( Nehemiah 9:2). Confession of sin breaks the evil bonds that grip us. Baruch, the scribe of Jeremiah, prays on behalf of the people in bondage, “We long to praise you in our exile, for we have emptied our hearts of the evil inclinations of our ancestors who sinned against You” (Baruch 3:7). Now in the Son of David, our hearts cannot only be emptied of our parents’ evil inclinations, but refashioned and filled with our Father’s desire for holiness.

 

We do need to consciously empty ourselves of the evil inclinations, compulsions, bad habits that shaped the lives of our ancestors. A young child models itself on its parents, even unconsciously. As if by osmosis, we pick up the woundedness of our parents along with their sinful attitudes. Paul sets forth the solution to our dilemma: “You must give up your old way of life; you must put aside your old self, which gets corrupted by following illusionary desires,” these can be negative life-patterns passed down in the family, “your mind must be renewed by a spiritual revolution so that you can put on the new self that has been created in God's way, in the goodness and holiness of truth” (Ephesians 4:22-24). This spiritual revolution requires much energy and perseverance. We can and must break with anything that hinders our conformity to the gospel, even family ties if need be (Matthew 10:34-39).

 

The Good News

The Old Testament closes with a promise uttered by God through the prophet Malachi, “Look, I shall send you the prophet Elijah before the great and awesome Day of Yahweh comes. He will reconcile parents to their children and children to their parents” (Malachi 3:23-24). This was partially fulfilled in John the Baptist. I say partially, for the work of reconciliation still needs to take place. The Angel Gabriel declared concerning John, with the spirit and power of Elijah, he will go before Him to turn the hearts of fathers to their children... preparing for the Lord a people fit for Him (Luke 1:17).

 

The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, indeed the Holy Trinity wants to form a people who will claim the Lord as their inheritance., The kinsman of Isaac has come into our midst as the Son of David, Jesus Son of Mary. He has become flesh of our flesh, bone of our bone, blood of our blood. God comes to heal us in our blood lines when we eat of His Body and drink of his Blood. While Jesus kept the Passover feast as his ancestors had done, He took the cup and gave thanks to God, saying to all, “Drink, for this is My Blood, the Blood of the New Covenant, poured out for many, for the forgiveness of sins.”

 

At the Eucharist we can confess our own sins as well as those of our ancestors, ridding our hearts of the evil inclinations. Saint Paul instructed the Corinthian church that when they celebrate at the Lord's Supper they should be mindful of their Jewish predecessors so as not to follow their sinful example (1 Corinthians 10-11).

 

Ask the lord Jesus, who knows all things, to reveal to you in what ways you might be living out inherited sinful patterns such as gambling and other addictive behaviour, depression, bitterness, anger, fear, sexual perversion, child abuse, greed, prejudice, dependency and so on. It might be helpful to meditate on Galatians chapter 5, asking the Lord to show you in what ways you might be losing your liberty. Afterwards, take these matters to the Lord either in prayer or more effectively during Eucharist when we commemorate Jesus' death and resurrection, freedom from bondage. Allow yourself to be crucified with Christ, so as to be revivified in the Spirit. Drink in deeply of his life giving Blood so as to cleanse your bloodline from contamination with sin.

 

Jesus has come so that we might be born again into the family of God. Every human family is a reflection of the fatherhood of God (Ephesians 3:14-15). By adoption in grace we can partake of the divine nature and have our households cleansed and liberated from bondage to evil inclinations that are passed down. We have been grafted onto the olive tree of Israel's heritage (Romans 11:13- 24). The root of Jesse has come to heal our family tree!

 

This article was first published in October 1987 in the PECOS BENEDICTINE, Newsletter  of the Pecos Benedictine Monastery in New Mecico, USA. 

 Witchcraft

What the Bible teaches by Fr. Joseph Wilson MSC

 

Witchcraft was the Direct cause of martyrdom of Blessed Benedict Daswa. Witchcraft is prevalent in South Africa, that it is estimated that 8 out of 10 South Africans (of all races) resort to it: Visiting mediums, using umuthi, korobela (charms and spells), to help them find work, solve marriage problems, get back their long-lost lover and keep him, "extend manhood”, drive off evil, find out the cause of mysterious sickness, protect from illness, the evil eye and even the tokoloshe (‘the short man’): win court cases, and get a raise in salary, overlook mistakes and take revenge on those who we believe bewitch us. We even use it to try to win soccer matches. It seems that we South Africans can hardly live without it.  Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg has noted that mediums are on the increase and they are getting younger. That is because we are using their services. “The land is full of mediums." Isaiah 2:6

 

In God's plan, the death of Benedict Daswa was no mistake. God called him to offer his precious life to witness to a far better way (1 Corinthians 12:31) "I the Lord have called you (Benedict) for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and  from the dungeon, those who live in  darkness." Isaiah 42:6-7 

 

Study the following Bible verses on witchcraft; understand that it does enormous damage to our lives. It never brings a blessing

 

Witchcraft violates the First Commandment and it ‘makes our hearts turn from the Lord’ Jeremiah 17:5; Baruch 4:7

 

Witchcraft is a work of the flesh and is a sign that we are not guided by the Spirit of God. Galatians 5:20

 

Witchcraft is a work of the darkness, so it darkens our minds and hearts. Darkness was one of the 10 plagues. Exodus 10:21 "You were darkness once, now you are light in the Lord!" Ephesians 5:8

 

Witchcraft makes us Followers of the Path of Balaam. 2 Peter 2:15

 

Witchcraft brings us under a curse. Deuteronomy 18:9- 14; Numbers 22:6

 

Witchcraft seeks knowledge outside the Lord. 1 Samuel 28:3-25; Isaiah 47:9-15

 

Witchcraft is prohibited to Christians. Deuteronomy 18:13-14

 

Witchcraft will block us from entering heaven. Revelation 22:15 

 

The community was afraid to come to Daswa’s wake.

 

Witchcraft is a useless way of life 1 Peter 1:18

 

Witchcraft builds up the devil's kingdom: 2 Chronicles 33:1-10 2 Kings 21:6 

 

Astrology and fortune telling are mocked and condemned. Isaiah 47 & Hosea 4:12

 

Charms and magic bands are condemned. Ezekiel 13:18f; Letters of Jeremiah 6:42; Mica 5:11; 2 Maccabees 12:40

 

Deuteronomy 18:9-14 is the most comprehensive list of witchcraft in the Bible: every aspect of Witchcraft and the occult is mentioned and condemned as an abomination.

 

Leviticus 19:31 & 20: tells us to steer clear of mediums.

 

There are five instances of the occult and witchcraft in the Book of Acts 8:8; 13:6, 16:16, 19:13-19 and 19:25

Of Simon the medium, Saint Peter says: "your hearts are warped; you are trapped in bitterness of gall and chains of sin.”  8:23

 

Acts 19:25, we read how people depend on false gods to make a living and prosper. Witchcraft has become a way of making money for many in Africa.

 

Witchcraft and Christianity incompatible: 1 Corinthians 10:21; Acts 8:21; 13:10

 

Satan can replace some of the wonders of God, but God's power is far superior.  "it is the finger of God! "Exodus 8:18 

 

 When Shepherds fail to warn people, Idolatry and witchcraft begin to grow: Hosea 4:4-5; Jeremiah 23; 1 Timothy 4:1.

 

Christianity in Africa is certainly  vibrant and alive, but many Catholics have not fully cast off the cloak of witchcraft, ubungoma and brujeria. Some mistakenly think these are intrinsic to our culture. We look back at them (like Lot's wife) in time of crisis, as if we cannot really survive without them. This is the time to cast them off, as Bartimaeus cast off the old cloak of his sickness (Mark 10:50). Just look what happened in the Church of Ephesus (Acts 19:18-20), when they got rid of witchcraft, the Church became alive, vibrant and grew.

 

 "Some believers, too came forward to admit in detail how they had used spells and a number of them who had practiced magic collected the books and made a bonfire of them in public. The value of these was calculated to be 50,000 silver pieces. In this impressive way the word of the Lord spread more and more widely and successfully” (Acts 19:18-20).

 

Loving Father, keep our family free from all deeds of darkness. Protect us when we come under attack from witchcraft, jealousy and all the burning arrows of the evil one. Following the example of blessed Benedict Daswa, give us that personal integrity and courage to be fearless witnesses to your Gospel of Light. Grant this through Christ our Lord.

How to Protect Yourself Against

Witchcraft by Fr. Joseph Wilson MSC

 

Witchcraft is a very real fear in South Africa. It really does work and damages people - whether you believe it or not! The good news is that we can be protected from it completely by God, but we must do it God's way. We sometimes think that if we can pray and also mix protective muthti, we will be protected. The Bible teaches that the opposite is the case, because God is Holy and will ‘not share his glory with an idol’. (Isaiah 42:8; 48:5)

 

The first thing the Bible teaches us is to identify our real enemy. We don't have to go to a medium to find out who our enemy is. God's word tells us clearly that "our enemy is not a human being,” not even the person who hates us. The real enemy is ‘the spiritual army of wickedness in the heavenlies who cause the darkness in the world’ (Ephesians 6:12)

 

Jesus teaches us how to deal with our human enemy.  In Luke 6:27, Jesus gives us four words of Light to deal with ugly people. He teaches us to Love, Do good and Pray for the person(s) who treated us badly. If we all did this, South Africa would be transformed overnight.

 

Mediums tell us to send back the evil that has been sent to us. ‘Fight fire with fire’ so as to teach your enemy a good lesson. Well, that is a lie from hell. The Israelis and Palestinians follow this faulty thinking and see how it is only multiplying hatred, war and mutilations and big walls. Jesus teaches us a better way. Einstein said, "you can't solve a problem with the same thinking that caused it”. 

 

If we have ever consulted a medium to use his/hers services, then we have gone into the territory of darkness and opened our spirits to darkness. We need to repent of this because mediums call on spirits and many of them are not ancestral spirits but in fact familiar spirits, that is, demons. In fact, Scripture forbids us from ‘calling up the spirits of the dead’ Deuteronomy 18:11. South Africans of all races do not confess this as a sin, because they don't see it as sinful. They simply see it as a way of ‘finding out who or what is blocking me, my business or bringing me bad luck.’ In consulting a medium and divining (trying to find out the hidden, spiritual cause, by using divining methods such as reading tarot cards, viewing entrails, throwing bones), we fall  foul of God's command not to do this, please read Deuteronomy 18:9-14. 

 

Some Practical Steps to Protect Yourself  

 

Remove all spiritually contaminated muthi and magic from your homes and your bodies. Gideon (Judges 6:25) removed all witchcraft items from his father's house, pulling them down. In Acts 19:18 we see how the early Christians of Ephesus took out all the witchcraft from their homes for which (like South Africans) they had spent a lot of money on, and burned them publicly. "Have nothing to do with the futile works of darkness.”  (Ephesians 5:11) 

 

Ask forgiveness in the Sacrament of Confession for putting your trust in these mediums and trusting their dark answers. "You were darkness once. Now you are light in the Lord." (Ephesians 5:8). Going to mediums opens a door in our spiritual immune system and makes us vulnerable. Jesus has to close our spirits again (see Revelation 3:7). Witchcraft is a sin that needs cleansing. (Leviticus 19:31) .

 

Put your trust entirely in God. The young David came Goliath, not with similar weapons, but in the name of God. Your primary protection is Jesus, His Name, His Blood, His Cross. "Let your armour be the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 13:14)

 

Don't mix. You cannot trust both witchcraft and your Christian faith. Blessed Benedict Daswa taught his students to trust only in God, not to mix.

 

Next you put on the Full Armour of God, the six pieces of spiritual armour mentioned in Ephesians 6:10-17).

 

Our Secondary Armour are all the powerful Sacramentals of the Church. They must first be blessed by a priest or deacon. Exorcised salt (2 Kings 2:22) and water, blessed incense, candles, oil, rosaries, holy medals, scapulars, crucifixes. 

 

Next you pray hard for the person who is sending you evil. (Luke 6:27) This will give you the biggest breakthrough in your life. Remember, your real enemy is not a human being (Ephesians 6:12), but a spiritual army of wicked spirits (Ephesians 6:12). No matter how much you are hurt, never send back evil to your enemy. If you do, you are only increasing the darkness. (1 Peter 3:9) 

 

Have you home, your marriage, children and all your possessions protected by God not man. Pray the Psalms: 91