THE HEART OF MAINSTREAM GHANAIAN ‘CHRISTIANITY’ AS THE REASON FOR THE SUCCESS OF THE ONE-MAN SPIRITUAL CHURCHES
By Nana Yaw Aidoo The Basel missionaries arrived in Ghana in 1835. Yet, for twelve years, they did not record a single convert. Paul Glen Grant notes, “Not a single man, woman, child, or slave converted to Christianity during the Basel Mission’s first dozen years in the Gold Coast” (165). Interestingly, these missionaries came well-prepared. They learnt the local language, engaged in the education of the people, and traversed the Akuapem mountains and plains with the message that Jesus was willing to forgive the locals of their sins. Even so, the indigenes were unresponsive. Why was this the case? According to Grant, it was because, in the eyes of the locals, the missionaries “had nothing of value to offer” (165). What did the people feel they needed, such that, after hearing the missionaries’ message, they deemed Christianity irrelevant? In a society where belief in witchcraft was deeply embedded, the pressing need was not for forgiveness of sins but for protection from ...