Abstract:
Prophets and prophecy are not strange phenomena in most religions and
communities around the world. Ghana’s experience with the prophetic
phenomena has been ambivalent and paradoxical. There have been times and
places where the prophetic movement and ministry have been widely embraced.
Whereas in some others, the phenomena have been criticized and called into
question by many people in Ghana. The abuses perpetrated by some so-called
prophets, and executions of prophetic excesses have been the main factors leading
to such public outcries. It was in this vein that an attempt was made to examine
the prophetic phenomena in Ghanaian Christianity, using the Old Testament as a
framework. As a qualitative study, the Old Testament text and other scholarly
works that reflect on the phenomena of prophets and prophecy in Ancient Israel
and Ghana were reviewed. In addition, a researcher’s observation on the
ministrations of the so-called prophets in Ghana was done in order to gather
relevant information that could facilitate the intended Old Testament-Ghanaian
prophetic parallels. The paper contends that though the phenomena in the Old
Testament context are somewhat nuanced, which makes theologizing quite
challenging, the authors of the Old Testament corpus have provided adequate
information on the prophetic phenomena that can evolve a framework for
Ghanaian prophets and prophetic ministrations. This paper is relevant for
scholarships in relation to Old Testament studies, prophetism, neo-prophetic,
Christianity in Ghana, contextual theology, and Christian religious excesses.
