Isaiah Shembe'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 Africa'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 individuals' lives. Through a close reading of the church'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 God's anointed prophet and his followers God's new chosen people. Within their understanding of colonial South Africa, British imperialism and white supremacy were part of God's cosmic vision to provide atonement and salvation for Africans - 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.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Peter Lang Publishing Inc
ISBN-13
9781433122859
eBay Product ID (ePID)
189140663
Product Key Features
Author
Joel E. Tishken
Publication Name
Isaiah Shembe's Prophetic Uhlanga: The Worldview of the Nazareth Baptist Church in Colonial South Africa
Format
Hardcover
Language
English
Subject
History
Publication Year
2013
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
232 Pages
Dimensions
Item Height
225mm
Item Width
150mm
Item Weight
460g
Additional Product Features
Title_Author
Joel E. Tishken
Topic
Religious History
Country/Region of Manufacture
United States
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