Christianity in Zambia
The Church and the Christian Nation
Chiluba had an understanding of how Pentecostal churches view his presidency as God appointed. Rev. Sky Banda as senior Pentecostal pastor in the nation says of Chiluba, "when he finally got into the presidentship position we were very happy. We felt it was a God-ordained situation." Haynes proposes, "independent churches… theologically towards the conservative end of the religious spectrum, regarded government as divinely sanctioned, that they rule because God allows them to." By using scriptures such as Romans 13:1a, "Everyone must summit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established." Chiluba was confident he would be able to push his harsh economic policies through with little opposition from the Pentecostal wing of the church. An even more powerful inference in Pentecostal terms was that his presidency was like that of an Old Testament king. Using a scripture, "the Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master the Lord's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the Lord", 1 Sam 24:5, often appropriated by Pentecostal faith prosperity teachers to hide excesses in their ministry and prevent serious investigation, he and his supporters were able to fend off difficult questions from Pentecostal quarters, see also.
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