tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19384577.post537378048522843766..comments2024-03-20T19:23:09.857+02:00Comments on Notes from underground: More on child witches in AfricaSteve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19384577.post-46862244919233390842009-03-24T17:32:00.000+02:002009-03-24T17:32:00.000+02:00Alby some comments:1) There was no real astonishin...Alby some comments:<BR/>1) There was no real astonishing growth of Afro-Brazilian religions in the 1970s, albeit this was a period when they received support from the military dictatorship and became fashionable amongst academics. In the 20th century the overall narrative was one of continuous decline, not directly related to any strategy of the UCKG<BR/>2) Equally to claim that over 30% of Brazilians have become pentecostal is not backed up by hard data (existing statistics point to 15-20% of evangelicals in Brazil, a considerable growth in itself). If one factors in Charismatic Catholics, than such a statistic may be reached, but on the whole Charismatics do not have such an aggressive approach to the Afro-brazilian religions. <BR/>3) The criticism made of the UCKG from fellow-evangelicals in Brazil is that they accept the ontological reality of the "gods" of these other religions. I.e. they believe that the "orixas" and others actually are real beings, as opposed to being some form of representation of demonic beings as suggested by other evangelicals.Daniel Clarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11858729196901285330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19384577.post-84779974430622096872009-03-24T07:17:00.000+02:002009-03-24T07:17:00.000+02:00Well, I have in the UCKG, as a watcher, for a long...Well, I have in the UCKG, as a watcher, for a long time and experienced that there are forces in combate there. Their war against evil is strong, Candomble, Umbanda and general macumba is being desmantled by UCKG. The Afro-Brazilian religions were raising in Brazil in an astonishing way back in the 70s and UCKG together with thousands of others (important to say) stopped this movement. This is due to the poor Christian practices of the Catholic church in Brazil that is more concerned about the millions of real estate they own than with catholics who move easily from catholicism to pentecostalism. The number is astonised, in the last 35 years one third of brazilian population became petencostal (and its combinations)and the number is raising. The UCKG in Africa has nothing to do with witchcraft. On the contrary, they fiercely combate evil forces in their meetings. A good place for witches to avoid when visiting a church.Albyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14555428131609915875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19384577.post-32763657586347213862008-11-19T01:14:00.000+02:002008-11-19T01:14:00.000+02:00Daniel,I find that very interesting indeed. I hope...Daniel,<BR/><BR/>I find that very interesting indeed. I hope you won't mind if I copy it to the <A HREF="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nurel/" REL="nofollow">New Religious Movements</A> discussion forum, and hope that you will also join us there. <BR/><BR/>Like the UCKG, several Nigerian denominations, like the Liberty Gospel Church and Winners Chapel, have also established themselves in South Africa. I don't know if their "clientele" is composed mostly of Nigerian immigrants, or whether it includes a lot of South Africans as well. Do you know what it teaches about witchcraft?Steve Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19384577.post-73110153457358360702008-11-18T16:02:00.000+02:002008-11-18T16:02:00.000+02:00Some comments from a Brazilian perspective to see ...Some comments from a Brazilian perspective to see how they overlap with Africa;<BR/><BR/>1) References to foreign influence tends to be a "red herring". In a globalised world most religions suffer international influence (Where is the centre of Catholicism...?). Yet Pentecostal and NeoPentecostal churches are the most indigenous in Brazil.<BR/><BR/>2) Arguably one can see the influence working the other way. Many of the proponents in the West of Spiritual warfare (e.g. Peter Wagner, Charles Kraft and to a lesser extent Paul Hiebert who developed the concept of the "excluded middle") have developed their teachings in the light of their experience in Africa, Latin America and Asia. In turn, they influence a generation of leaders from these continents.<BR/><BR/>3) In the case of the UCKG (Universal Church) its teachings on Spiritual Warfare are mainly derived from Afro-Brazilian religions such as Umbanda and Candomble, parallel to what you described in Nigeria.Daniel Clarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11858729196901285330noreply@blogger.com