Dreams and Visions in African Pentecostal Spirituality

Rev. Anna M. Droll, Ph.D. (2021), Fuller Theological Seminary, is Division Chair for Ministry at South Florida Theological Seminary. Ordained by the Assemblies of God, she has published several articles, including "Dreams, Visions and the African Melodrama” (in PentecoStudies).

Although established wisdom in scholarship has confirmed the assertion that Pentecostalism has blossomed across sub-Saharan Africa precisely because the movement resonates with Africa’s primal cosmologies, this thesis has not been tested in relation to African Pentecostalism’s appropriation of dreams and visions. Anna Droll’s Dreams and Visions in African Pentecostal Spirituality not only probe these issues in West Africa – Pentecostalism’s epicenter – but explores how the movement’s practices reflects contexts similar to what obtains in the Ancient Near East. By this tripartite exploration of the biblical material, African primal worldview and the espoused theologies of key Pentecostal actors in West Africa, Droll’s volume succeeds in showcasing how the theologies about dreams and visions produced by African Pentecostalism interacts with these sources to make sense to constituents. - Dr Bosco Bangura, Catholic University of Leuven and Protestant Theological University, GroningenThere is no better study of the narratives of dream and vision in African Pentecostal spirituality than this brilliant book. Droll offers a perceptive appraisal of their epistemic valence, missiological import, spiritual meaning, and theological framing. This book is a nuanced and delicate study of a pentecostal way of knowing. - Nimi Wariboko, Boston University

• AcknowledgementsList of Figures and TablesAbbreviations1 Dreams and Visions in African Pentecostal Spirituality1 Dreams, Visions, and Pentecostal Epistemology1.1 Dreams and Visions in Africa: Piercing the Veil for Pentecostal Knowing1.2 A Dream in Dar es Salaam2 Methodology: Mark J. Cartledge: Practical Theology for Charismatic Practitioners2.1 Renewal Methodologies2.2 Renewalist Hermeneutics2.3 Experience and Affectivity3 Concepts for Exploring Dream and Vision Narratives3.1 The Big Dream and the Spontaneous Dream or Vision Narrative3.2 Root Metaphor and Piercing the Veil3.3 Populations, Codes, Frequencies, and Associations for Narrative Analyses4 Author’s Location, Thesis, and Map of this Book2 Dreams, Visions, and Near East Religions1 Dreams and Visions and Hebraic Theology1.1 Dreams, Visions, and Patriarchs1.2 Dreams, Visions, Kings, and Prophets1.3 Dreams and Visions in the Apocrypha and Jewish Thought2 Dreams and Visions in Christianity2.1 Dreams and Visions in the New Testament and Early Church2.2 Dreams and Visions in Late Patristic Thought2.3 Aquinas, Kant, and Swedenborg on Dreams and Visions3 Dreams and Visions in Islam3.1 Dreams and Visions in the Qurʾān and Hadith3.2 Dream Manuals and Their Transmission in Islam3.3 Dreams and Visions as Legitimizing Elements in Islam4 Conclusion3 Dreams and Visions in African Contexts1 Dreams in Traditional African Religions1.1 Dreaming and the Akan1.2 Dreams and the Diola of Senegambia1.3 Islam and Dreaming among the Tukolor Weavers2 Dreams and Visions in the aic s and among Zambian Baptists2.1 Dreams and Visions in New Movements of West Africa2.2 Dreams and Visions and the Bantu Prophets2.3 Dreams and Visions among Zambian Baptists3 Opoku Onyinah on Pentecostal Dreams, Prophecy, and Angels3.1 The Role of Dreams and Visions in Abisa3.2 The Sleeping State and the Diagnosis of Witchdemonology3.3 The Sleeping State and Angelology4 Conclusion4 Epistemology: African Perspectives1 Knowledge, Ontology, and the Holy Spirit1.1 Voices from African Studies1.2 Voices from African Christianity1.3 The Holy Spirit and Knowing2 Nigerian Perspectives for Dreams and Visions Analyses2.1 Pentecostal Principle and Emergence for Dreams and Visions Analyses2.2 Piercing the Veil for Dreams and Visions Analyses2.3 Spiritual Warfare and Dreams and Visions3 Conclusion5 The Big Dreams of African Pentecostals Visionary Impact and the Christian Life1 Continuity and Discontinuity: Dreams and Visions and the Spirit in Africa1.1 Spirit Hermeneutics and Universal Dreams1.2 The Spirit and Ancestor Dreams1.3 The Agency of the Spirit and Pentecostal Visioners2 Dreams and Visions and the Christian Life2.1 Visioners and Spirit–Word–Community2.2 Dreams, Visions and Practical Spirituality2.3 Attitudes in the Church toward Dreams and Visions3 Conclusion6 Dreams and Visions and the Pentecostal Warrior Prayer, Identity, and Agency1 Dreams and Visions and the Pentecostal Pray-er1.1 Dreams and Visions and the Pentecostal Warrior1.2 The dame Dream or Vision and Pentecostal Agency2 Dreams and Visions and Pentecostal Agency2.1 The Agency of Visionary Women2.2 Visionary Love and Ministerial Agency2.3 The Visionary Church and Missionary Agency3 Conclusion7 African Dreams and Visions for Pentecostal Epistemologies1 African Dreams for African Pentecostal Theology2 African Dreams for Western Pentecostal Epistemologies2.1 Religious Language and Hearing God’s Voice2.2 Relational Knowing and Orthopathy2.3 Embodied Knowing2.4 Knowing in the Trialectic of Spirit–Word–Community3 Conclusion8 Conclusion Dreams, Visions, and the Missiological SpiritAppendix 1 Written Survey and Interview GuideAppendix 2 Coding for Surveys and Personal InterviewsGlossaryBibliographyIndex