Sowing seeds: A pastoral critique to the theology of survival by the mega-church movements of Makandiwa’s United Family International Church and Magaya’s Prophetic, Healing and Deliverance in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The political instability and poor governance of Zimbabwe since the Mugabe era have led to gross socio-economic deprivation that caused many citizens to sink into abject poverty. This has created a sense of insecurity and despondency among the citizens. Amid the suffering, the mega-church prophets rose, who seemed to provide an alternative route to recover from the political and socio-economic crisis. This article gives an overview of the crises in Zimbabwe and the rise of prophets Emmanuel Makandiwa and Prophet Walter Magaya and their doctrine of seeding. The focus of the article is interrogating the purpose of the doctrine of seeding in the life of the prophets, their followers and their challenges. This is achieved by employing the four tasks of theology conceptual framework. These tasks prompt four important theological questions that can assist in addressing societal challenges. This is a qualitative desktop research article that generates data from secondary sources such as books, journal articles, newspaper articles. Firstly, this article enunciates some of the contextual challenges that arose because of the rise of Magaya and Makandiwa. Secondly, it discusses the desire for survival by using the doctrine of seeding. Thirdly, the article concludes by analysing the mega-prophets’ doctrine of seeding.

Contribution: The scholarly significance of this article lies in the current discourse of religious movement and theological challenges within the discipline of practical theology. It raises concerns about theology that is self-serving instead of seeking the greater good by addressing the social injustices prevailing in the Zimbabwean context.