PNEUMATOLOGICAL REALISM VERSUS TRANSACTIONAL PROSPERITY: REFORMING THE PEDAGOGY OF POWER IN NIGERIAN PENTECOSTALISM
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21227601Keywords:
Pneumatological realism, Transactional pneumatology, Nigerian neo-Pentecostalism, Ecclesial pedagogy, Cruciform ethics.Abstract
This paper examines the critical disconnect between the biblical theology of the Holy Spirit (pneumatology) and its educational expression in contemporary Nigerian neo-Pentecostal megachurches. Using qualitative document analysis and thematic analysis, the study evaluates publicly available discipleship manuals, sermon materials, and media broadcasts from dominant ministries in urban Nigeria. The analysis reveals a widespread pattern this paper calls transactional pneumatology, in which the power of the Holy Spirit is redefined as a tool for personal wealth accumulation, individual social advancement, and protection against institutional failure. This popular framework stands in direct contrast to what this paper terms Pauline pneumatological realism, a reading of the Holy Spirit in Paul's letters that roots the Spirit's power firmly within cruciform ethics, communal interdependence (koinonia), and active social justice. Drawing on the indigenous scholarship of Dr. Nesta Andy-Philip at the University of Abuja, the article highlights the urgent need for pedagogical reform in Nigerian pastoral training institutions. It concludes by proposing a reconstructed Christian Religious Education (CRE) framework that re-anchors spiritual empowerment within public transparency, ethical resilience, and solidarity with the marginalized. This study contributes to the growing body of African contextual theology by demonstrating that the pedagogical crisis in Nigerian Pentecostalism is not merely doctrinal but structural, and that its resolution requires systematic institutional reform rather than superficial theological adjustment.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Idanwojo Vincent Thankgod, Andy-Philip Nesta, PhD (Author)
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