Rev. Prof. J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, Baëta-Grau Professor of African Christianity and Pentecostal Theology  at the Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon, delivered an inaugural lecture at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) in Accra on Thursday, March 31, 2016. 

The theme of the lecture was “Channels of Prayer, Prophecy and Power: Contemporary Religion, New Media and Transformation of the Public Sphere in Africa”. This follows his recent election as a Fellow of the GAAS.   

Tracing the history of prophetism in the Christian tradition in West Africa, Prof. Asamoah-Gyadu, who is also Director of the Centre for the Study of Christianity in Africa at Trinity, observed that there had been significant growth and mass appeal of prophetic ministries in Africa in the last two decades.  This he explained is due in part to increased use of the media, including social media, and modern marketing strategies by the leaders of prophetic ministries. According to him, prophetic Christianity deserves attention on account of the impact it was having in various countries, including Ghana and its transformation of the public sphere.  He noted that prophetic Christianity is gaining both significance and notoriety in Africa and therefore called for discernment in order to distinguish true from false prophecy.

“Technology advancement and sophistication have led to new inventions in media that have gripped human life and imagination. Even in the modern secular West, televangelism is still a major religious enterprise. Prayer, prophesy and power are invisible by-products of religious experience that can be made visible or communicated through symbols, word and actions available through media technology”, he noted.

He therefore emphasized the need for discernment if Christians were to be able to distinguish genuine prophetic ministries from those that exploit God’s name by creating fear and panic in the minds of people for their own selfish gain. “We must be wary of the fact that when religion flourishes, especially religion of the prophetic kind, it often generates its own charlatans and false prophets that undermine faith in a faithful God, demonize the religious other, and undermine the divine benefits of science and technology.”

The new Auditorium of the GAAS was filled to capacity by an audience drawn from a cross section of the Ghanaian public including religious leaders from various denominations as well as Academia, Business Executives, Students and private individuals.

The event was chaired by Prof Emerita Mrs. Elizabeth Ardayfio-Schandorf, a Vice Chair of GAAS.  She was assisted by Prof. B. K. Ahunu, Honorary Secretary of GAAS who gave the opening and closing remarks.  The two Fellows both commented on the stimulating nature of the lecture and its relevance for our times in view of the dominance of contemporary religion in the media landscape today.