‘Amadodana enu abone imibono’: The interpretation of Ntsikana’s vision against the book of Acts’s vision experiences

Verbum et Ecclesia

 
 
Field Value
 
Title ‘Amadodana enu abone imibono’: The interpretation of Ntsikana’s vision against the book of Acts’s vision experiences
 
Creator Jentile, Thembelani E.
 
Subject Church History; Religion; theology Ntsikana; conversion; visions; African; Acts of the Apostles
Description The specific aim of this article is to interpret Ntsikana’s kraal vision by considering the vision narratives or experiences found in Acts of the Apostles. In 1987, J.B. Peires interpreted this vision as a mere ‘hallucination’ and further argued that there was nothing Christian about it, stating that Ntsikana had experienced a mystical vision, like any other heathen diviner. This article partly differs from this interpretation, and an argument is pursued that in South African church history vision narratives have led to ‘conversion(s)’ of many church leaders, including Ntsikana, and have subsequently shaped the direction of the church, especially the African indigenous churches. It is noted that the writer of Acts employed visions more frequently than any other author in the New Testament and that at strategic places throughout his work, Luke reported epiphanies in which God, or a divine agent, appeared and guided the course of events. These experiences, as reported by Luke, are not far from what Ntsikana experienced and should therefore be read as constituting the act of God in an African context.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The study has significance for Church history, African traditional religion and the New Testament. It is undertaken within (intra-) the African traditional and Christian religions discourse, with an interest in Church History that combines philosophical and theological approaches, especially with reference to South African sociopolitical and ecclesiastical contexts. The research builds on the existing Church history and New Testament discourses.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor Thembelani jentile
Date 2024-07-31
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Historical Inquiry; Literary Analysis
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/ve.v45i1.3163
 
Source Verbum et Ecclesia; Vol 45, No 1 (2024); 7 pages 2074-7705 1609-9982
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/ve/article/view/3163/7589 https://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/ve/article/view/3163/7590 https://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/ve/article/view/3163/7591 https://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/ve/article/view/3163/7592
 
Coverage Southern Hemisphere South African Church History N/A
Rights Copyright (c) 2024 Thembelani E. Jentile https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
ADVERTISEMENT