Book Critique: A Problem of Presence by Matthew Engelke
A Simple Literature Review Upon The Ethnography.
A question that contradicts the Christian faith is “How do we know the Bible is real?” As a person raised in the Christian faith, I often deliberate this question in the back of my mind. Its difficult to confront questions like this and ask for answers due to the fear of being exile from the Christian community. In the ethnography, entitled A Problem of Presence: beyond Scripture in an African Church, social researcher Matthew Engelke, questions the Bible credibility and importance within the Christian faith in his study of the people who have deemed themselves Friday Apostolics. Despite the fact that the book can feel quite long due to its academic language, Dr.Engelke does a great job at analyzing Christianity within the domination of the Friday Apostolics in Africa.
The Friday Apostolics are a truly unique domination of Christianity that originated in Zimbabwe, Africa. According to Dr.Engelke, the Friday Apostolics were founded under guidance of Prophet Shoniwa-Johane in 1932. What makes them special is that they “reject the Bible and …have developed this specific understanding of a live and direct faith” (Engelke, 2007). Within his research, Dr. Engelke studies how these Friday Apostolic view the problem of presence that represents God “representation and authorization” (Engelke, 2007). He frames his research within the perspective of semiotic ideology. Semiotic ideology questions “what signs are and how they function in the world” (Engelke, 2007)? He also discusses “how language and material culture function in modes of signification” of the faith (Engelke, 2007).
Dr.Engelke argues that the Friday Apostolics distrust of the Bible is rooted in a “terror of the text” which is both theological and political (Engelke, 2007). On an interpersonal and social level, Dr.Engelke employed ethnographic methods to assist him in arguing this claim. In the first part of the book, he employs historical analysis to reveal the historical use of the Bible in colonial and postcolonial Africa as a tool of subjection and liberation. To discover this information its appears he reads through many historical texts and conducts interviews. In the second part of the book, he examines the ritual and everyday life of Friday Apostolics. He heavily relies on the the practice of participate observation and in-depth personal interviews with followers to explain the culture. From 1992 to 1999, Dr.Engelke’s research was conducted over a seven year period.
In the eyes of Dr. Engelke, there are somethings about the culture of Friday Apostolics he does not feel comfortable about. In a later section of the book, he raises questions about the role of ‘prophets’ among the Friday Apostolics. He observes that prophets are considered mediums for communicating the ‘live and direct’ faith. Dr.Engelke ponders questions about this endangering the reliability of a live and direct faith. Implying, that prophets could possibly construct messages and practices that are harmful to the faith of Friday Apostolics. In the text Dr. Engelke states,
“In semiotic terms, a prophet is a dangerous and unstable sign. Too often, according to most apostolic, prophets skirt the fine line between messenger and message; too often they assert themselves, or are asserted as, the presence that faith is supposed to manifest. The question of leadership is a question of how the charismatic figure poses the problem of presence” (Engelke, 2007).
This ethnography is an interesting reading for those who are fond of religious and cultural studies. Personality, I found historically examination about Zimbabwe’s politics most interesting because it discusses acts of displacement that compliment my current research project. I also believe, that this research contributes greatly to the scholarship of Christianity and African studies.
