Isaiah Shembe’s Prophetic Uhlanga: The Worldview of the

Isaiah Shembe’s Prophetic Uhlanga: The Worldview of the Nazareth Baptist Church in Colonial South Africa

Isaiah Shembeâ€™s Prophetic Uhlanga: The Worldview of the Nazareth Baptist Church in Colonial South Africa examines the worldview generated and sustained by the Zulu Zionist prophet Isaiah Shembe and his congregation, the Nazareth Baptist Church, during South Africaâ€™s colonial era. The book contends that the worldview embraced by Shembe and his congregants was prophetically defined and reified. This argument challenges nationalist and postcolonialist discourses about colonized populations that have viewed empire and its consequences as the prime determinants of colonized individualsâ€™ lives. Through a close reading of the churchâ€™s records, Joel E. Tishken demonstrates that at the heart of the narrative Shembe and church members told of themselves was a sincere and faithful conviction that Shembe was Godâ€™s anointed prophet and his followers Godâ€™s new chosen people. Within their understanding of colonial South Africa, British imperialism and white supremacy were part of Godâ€™s cosmic vision to provide atonement and salvation for Africans â€“ plans they believed God was prophetically communicating to Shembe. The historical narrative, theology, and identity of Shembe and his parishioners revolved around this prophetically prescribed explanation for the conditions of colonial Africa. Thus, Tishken argues that colonized communities interpreted their worlds in much more creative and complex ways than scholars have recognized. This book is applicable to courses on imperialism, South Africa, African religions, and the history of Christianity.

Country	USA
Brand	Peter Lang Gmbh, Internationaler Verlag Der Wissenschaften
Manufacturer	Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers
Binding	Hardcover
ItemPartNumber	illustrations
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781433122859
ReleaseDate	0000-00-00

Isaiah Shembe’s Prophetic Uhlanga: The Worldview of the Nazareth Baptist Church in Colonial South Africa

Customers who purchased this also purchased....