“Bless and do not curse”: Contemporary Pentecostalism, African cultures, and the practice of cursing

Abstract

We discuss in this article the phenomenon of cursing in African Christianity, specifically contemporary Pentecostalism, and how this relates to African cultures and the teachings of Scripture. In both African cultures and contemporary Pentecostalism, the phenomenon of cursing is quite widespread. In Romans 12:14, Paul states: “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.”53 Pentecostalism is a religion that believes in biblical authority and so we must ask the question why do their leaders encourage cursing which goes against the grain of Scriptural teaching? The sub questions guiding these reflections include the following: What is a curse? How does it feature in the African traditional worldviews? Why have charismatic leaders of contemporary Pentecostal churches and ministries adopted cursing as an arsenal against their enemies? What does the weaponization of curses teach about contemporary Pentecostal notions of spiritual authority and to what extent does Christian cursing resonate with traditional cultural practices?