Embodying the Spirit(s): Pentecostal Demonology and Deliverance Discourse in Ethiopia

Abstract

The article explores Pentecostal embodiment practices and concepts with regard to Holy Spirit baptism and demon possession. The studied material is connected to a specific and highly controversial debate in Ethiopian Pentecostalism, which revolves around the possibility of demon possession in born-again and Spirit-filled Christians. This debate runs through much of Ethiopian Pentecostal history and ultimately is concerned with whether or how Christians can host conflicting spiritual forces, in light of the strong dualism between God and evil in Pentecostal cosmology. The article shows that the embodiment of spirits and/or the Holy Spirit is related to theological concepts of the self, because these concepts define what may or may not be discerned in certain bodily manifestations. Moreover, the article contends that this debate thrives on a certain ambiguity in spirit embodiment, which invites the discernment of spiritual experts and thereby becomes a resource of power.

Leveraging the Deliverance Phenomenon: Penteco/Charismatic Vista

“…From the Ethiopian Pentecostal context, the controversy about demon possession among Christians may also take place within Pentecostalism itself, with the majority of Ethiopian Pentecostals holding that the Holy Spirit and demons may not cohabit in a human being, thereby understanding possession in Christians as a soteriological relapse (Haustein 2011).…”

Why Can't a Pastor Be President of a “Christian Nation”? Pentecostal Politics as Religious Mediation

“…This conclusion is not quite as damning as it sounds, although it is nevertheless a strong indictment. In the dualistic framework that characterizes Pentecostal theology, especially in Africa (van Klinken , 526–528; see also Haustein ), almost everything that is not obviously embedded in Pentecostal practice is described in terms of the occult. For example, some believers on the Copperbelt told me that Hindus are Satanists.…”

“Who are you in this body?”: Identifying demons and the path to deliverance in a London Pentecostal church

“…The ‘prophet’ informs the audience that he has specially sent blessed water to be sprayed on the congregants by the evangelists in London. It is after this address and the ‘prophet's’ prayer that many members of the audience start to exhibit agitated forms of behaviour, which can be categorised as indexes of possession (Haustein 2011), such as vomiting, crying, falling to the floor, shaking, and convulsing. The evangelists' attendants bring these individuals to the front of the theatre, but not onto the stage, and position them in a horizontal line.…”