New Prophetic Churches and Syncretism: A Critical View
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe study is fine and addresses a very relevant issue. Please, consider the following minor issues:
The source Osmer (2008) is cited in the text and even used to underpin the theoretical framework of the study but is not referenced in the bibliography.
The word “syncritic” recurs a few times in the text. If it is a neologism, it would deserve a short note or comment. If it is a spelling mistake, kindly correct it.
In addition, please check the following words/phrases for possible mistakes.
Page 4: “prophecy was challenge by Ms. Mpane”
Page 4: “Empirical research where 14 traditional healers comprising of diviners, herbalists, and faith healers, were interviewed on their diagnosis methods in treating mental illness (Shange and Ross, 2022)”.
Page 5: “When he was done praying”
Page 8: “This is a called an uncritical syncretism”
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageNo major issues detected except for the issues mentioned above.
Author Response
Reviewer 1 [R1.1-6]
Minor editing of English language required.
Edited the language
The study is fine and addresses a very relevant issue. Please, consider the following minor issues:
The source Osmer (2008) is cited in the text and even used to underpin the theoretical framework of the study but is not referenced in the bibliography.
The source has been referenced in the bibliography [R1.1]
The word “syncritic” recurs a few times in the text. If it is a neologism, it would deserve a short note or comment. If it is a spelling mistake, kindly correct it.
Spelling mistake corrected [R1.2]
In addition, please check the following words/phrases for possible mistakes.
Page 4: “prophecy was challenge by Ms. Mpane”
Rephrased [R1.3]
Page 4: “Empirical research where 14 traditional healers comprising of diviners, herbalists, and faith healers, were interviewed on their diagnosis methods in treating mental illness (Shange and Ross, 2022)”.
Rephrased [R1.4]
Page 5: “When he was done praying”
Rephrased [R1.5]
Page 8: “This is a called an uncritical syncretism”
Rephrased [R1.6]
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe author discusses a recurring theme in literature, both in theology and in the social sciences of religions: the syncretism of a cluster of prophetic churches of the Pentecostal and charismatic area in sub-Saharan Africa. The strong points of the article are two: the clarity with which the author distinguishes two types of syncretism (critical and uncritical) considering biblical sources and the empirical references she/he offers in the analysis of this distinction. The text, however, can be improved in the following points:
a) Provide more explanation about Osmer's theoretical approach (please, check the bibliography and quote extensively Osmer's book, I suppose Practical Theology); this would help readers who are not familiar with Osmer's work to better understand how it relates to the author's argument.
b) Provide more basic information about the two churches and their respective charismatic leaders (age, level of education, cultural and religious background, are the founders of the church and how long have they been working as healers...?). Furthermore, provide some socio-personal data on the profile of the fourteen interviewees, as well as clarifying how they were identified (with a random criterion or by weighing variables such as age, gender, level of education and so on). All this could be useful to give the reader an idea of the type of audience follows these two leaders.
Author Response
Reviewer 2 [R2.1-4]
The author discusses a recurring theme in literature, both in theology and in the social sciences of religions: the syncretism of a cluster of prophetic churches of the Pentecostal and charismatic area in sub-Saharan Africa. The strong points of the article are two: the clarity with which the author distinguishes two types of syncretism (critical and uncritical) considering biblical sources and the empirical references she/he offers in the analysis of this distinction. The text, however, can be improved in the following points:
- Provide more explanation about Osmer's theoretical approach (please, check the bibliography and quote extensively Osmer's book, I suppose Practical Theology); this would help readers who are not familiar with Osmer's work to better understand how it relates to the author's argument.
Osmer’s Theoretical framework fully explained, included in the bibliography, extensively quoted to align it with the article’s argument [R2.1] [R2.2]
- b) Provide more basic information about the two churches and their respective charismatic leaders (age, level of education, cultural and religious background, are the founders of the church and how long have they been working as healers...?). Furthermore, provide some socio-personal data on the profile of the fourteen interviewees, as well as clarifying how they were identified (with a random criterion or by weighing variables such as age, gender, level of education and so on). All this could be useful to give the reader an idea of the type of audience follows these two leaders.
The two charismatic leaders and their churches detailed [R2.3]
Socio-personal data on the 14 interviewees and their identification. [R2.4]
