Dynamics In Healing and Deliverance During Covid-19 Within Africa NeoPentecostalism: Towards A Contextual Interpretation of Mark Gospel

Abstract

The outbreak of covid-19 has brought both the positive and negative sides to most miracle
workers in the continent of Africa that use the name of religion in exploiting followers of their
rationality, specifically women. COVID-19 appears to have exposed the reality that not all
healing and deliverance are from God and can be physically healed. The 21st
-century miracle
workers in Africa are busy promoting themselves and making millions of money from their
congregations especially on women in the name of physical healing or deliverance through
misinterpretation of Mark gospel. The challenge is that the said men of God claimed to be
healing various kinds of diseases of which COVID-19 should not be excluded. This poses the
question that this paper addresses: How can Christian women interpret Mark gospel to
differentiate the real healing/deliverance from the fake ones within Neo-Pentecostal churches
in Africa? Hence, this paper used a desk research method through contextual interpretation of
Mark gospel on the concepts of healing and deliverance especially on women so that they are
not exploited or abused. This paper discovers that a contextual interpretation of Mark gospel
through desk research method shows how healing and deliverance appears very different from
Neo-Pentecostal approaches where substances such as eating grass, drinking petrol among
other dangerous practices being used in Africa toH exploit women of their resources and
rationality. This paper shows how contextual interpretation of Mark gospel idea of healing or
deliverance needs to be understood to teach women how false healers are exploiting them