In the past six months, two important books have been published on 'the mafanikio gospel' or 'mafanikio theology'. One is by a theologian and missiologist from East Africa; the other is by a missiologist from Australia who served as a missionary in Tanzania from 2013-2023. Both see mafanikio theology as a positive development that challenges our understanding of the prosperity gospel.
Prosperity Gospel Redefined
Title: Prosperity Gospel Redefined: The Impact of Charismatisation of the Mainline Churches in Tanzania
Author: Leita Ngoy
Publisher: Brill | Schöningh
Description
This book provides an in-depth discussion of the cultural and missional implications of the explosion of charismatic Christianity on mainline denominations in Africa. The book proposes that the charismatization of mainline churches is a contextual, missional, and transcultural phenomenon that enriches and invigorates African Christian communities. Focused on the experience of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania and using Prosperity Gospel as an example, the book explores how some mainline churches are being enriched by adopting practices of charismatic Christianity. It proposes a holistic and contextual understanding of the Prosperity Gospel, understood as the mafanikio gospel in Tanzania, as a relevant theological resource for Lutherans in Dar-es-Salaam. In doing so, it intends to contribute to the needed paradigm shift in theological discourses around Prosperity Gospel to challenge stereotypical criticisms that label it false and misleading.
Mafanikio Theology
Title: Mafanikio Theology: Learning Prosperity with Tanzanian Women
Author: Tamie Davis
Publisher: Langham Academic
Description
While the prosperity gospel is thought to be widespread in Africa, there has been little scholarship exploring the variations in prosperity theologies across the continent or the impact of such theologies at a grassroots level. In this study, Dr. Tamie Davis uses ethnographic methods, including participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups, to synthesize the prosperity (mafanikio) theology embraced by female graduates of the Tanzania Fellowship of Evangelical Students (TAFES). Taking an appreciative approach, Davis examines mafanikio theology’s hermeneutical framework and historical and cultural influences, highlighting its commonalities and discontinuities with other prosperity theologies, and bringing it into conversation with global models of holism. In doing so, she demonstrates that this indigenous Tanzanian theology offers a holistic alternative to profligate versions of the prosperity gospel by emphasizing both human flourishing and devotion to Christ. Mafanikio theology thus integrates prosperity into a holistic life of discipleship, emphasizing biblical grounding, and encouraging hard work and perseverance.
Endorsements
Tamie Davis offers a significant contribution to the discourse on the prosperity gospel by illuminating a crucial dimension of African Christian experience: the interconnectedness of life and the holistic nature of God’s blessings. Drawing from a local Tanzanian mafanikio theology, Davis presents a contextual understanding of a God who is deeply involved in the everyday lives of people, desiring their well-being and success.
Harvey Kwiyani, PhD
Executive Director, Missio Africanus
With ethnographic rigour and theological depth, Davis has enabled the voices and practices of Tanzanian women to be heard in their mafanikio theology, which critiques the profligate prosperity gospel and offers a constructive alternative. Don’t read this book to learn about Tanzanian women; read it to learn from them.
Rev. David Williams, PhD
Development and Training Director,
Church Mission Society, Australia
Tamie Davis narrates a grassroots story of women whose social positions nevertheless identify their middleclass status, yet whose contribution to spiritual insight is overlooked. This is an important trajectory in the emerging perspectives on the demographic transition of the continent in the twenty-first century, the place of Christian faith in shaping that transformation and therefore the agency of African Christians in determining the future of the continent.
Wanjiru Gitau, PhD
Assistant Professor of World Christianity and Practical Theology,
Palm Beach Atlantic University, Florida, USA
Through ethnographic study and interviews with Tanzanian women, Tamie’s attentive listening discloses a new understanding of and approach to what we have commonly called prosperity theology. I warmly recommend Tamie’s work not only for the new understanding it offers but also for how this is rooted in the lived experience of Tanzanian women seeking to be faithful to God.
Cathy Ross, PhD
Lead, Pioneer Mission Leadership Training Centre,
Church Mission Society
Canon Theologian, Leicester Cathedral, UK