The Pauline Concept of Supernatural Powers

'This book tackles an extremely important topic for African Christianity. Bringing Paul into relation with African religion requires considerable skill in hermeneutics, and Dr. Gatumu's success in this task is admirable. His discussion of the Pauline language of "powers" and of the problems in "demythologizing" is among the best I have seen.'

-- John Barclay is Lightfoot Professor of Divinity, University of Durham, UK



'I expect Dr. Gatumu's book to attract a good deal of attention from those who are seriously engaged in cross-cultural communication. And I hope and pray that it will achieve its goal of facilitating the sound words of 2,000 years ago to speak with clearer and better effect to the challenges and concerns of the present.'

-- James D.G. Dunn is Emeritus Lightfoot Professor of Divinity, University of Durham, UK, from the Foreword



'This book explores the Pauline conception of supernatural powers from an African perspective. It draws parallels between the African context and that of Paul's original audience--two contexts which share common beliefs about the existence of supernatural powers and of how such powers hold sway over human lives. This clear, concise and engaging volume powerfully recasts a subject that has largely been ignored in our post-Enlightenment world. The contribution of Gatumu's excellent work is to suggest cultural hermeneutics as a fruitful way of interpreting the Bible for modern day readers. He finds, in this regard, "indigenous socio-political and religio-cultural context" and effective heuristic key into the world of the Bible. I commend this important book as one of the best resources available on the subject.'

-- Joseph D. Galgalo is a Professor and Dean, Faculty of Theology, St. Paul's University, Limuru, Kenya