A Biblical Response to the African View of the Spiritual Realm

Abstract

This article explores the African Traditional Religious (ATR) worldview regarding the spiritual realm and offers a biblical response through the apostle Paul’s engagement with the Ephesian context. The ATR framework presents a hierarchically ordered spiritual universe governed by the Supreme Being and mediated through divinities, spirits, ancestors, and mystical powers—often manipulated through ritual specialists. These beliefs are not dismissed but taken seriously as a framework that reveals deep spiritual concerns for power, safety, and protection. By drawing parallels between African spiritual assumptions and the Ephesian cultural context, particularly in Acts 19 and the Epistle to the Ephesians, the article demonstrates how Paul affirms the reality of spiritual powers while proclaiming Christ's supremacy and victory over them. The gospel offers not only deliverance from fear but also a new spiritual identity that empowers believers to stand firm against evil. In this way, ATR worldview is not obliterated but transformed by the redemptive power of the risen and exalted Christ.