Rhetorical use of Sobolo (Hibiscus drink) as Yesu Mogya (Blood of Jesus) for Holistic Healing in Contemporary Ghanaian Christianity: A Critical Analysis from the Perspective of Biblical Theology and Christian Ethics

Rhetorical use of Sobolo (Hibiscus drink) as Yesu Mogya (Blood of Jesus) for Holistic Healing in Contemporary Ghanaian Christianity: A Critical Analysis from the Perspective of Biblical Theology and Christian Ethics

John Kwasi Fosu & Mary Fosu

Issue: Vol.5 No.10 Special Issue Article 1 pp.1-11
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245101 | Published online 19th September, 2024
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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ABSTRACT

This article sought to survey the rhetorical use of Sobolo (hibiscus drink) as Yesu Mogya (the blood of Jesus) for holistic healing in contemporary Ghanaian Christianity. From the perspective of Biblical Theology and Christian Ethics, it argued that the phenomenon of using plant products and symbolic objects for miraculous healing is both explicitly and implicitly rooted in the Bible. Contrary to the dispensationalist perspective with its emphasis on the cessation of miraculous healing in some Western contexts and within scholarship, the continuous relevance of miraculous healing in Ghanaian Christianity is not much debated in the ecclesial context. It is, therefore, maintained that the use of symbols such as Sobolo for healing creates opportunities for the wholistic needs of the members of the church to be met. These needs are claimed to be fulfilled by spiritual means. From a Christian ethical perspective, this paper, however, cautions that sobolo as a miraculous drink in the Ghanaian Christian context should not be used as an exclusive means of physical well-being and development of society. It is further argued that the cyclical use of sobolo as a healing juice for all and diverse kinds of miraculous healings needs to be questioned in the light of biblical theology.

Keywords: Wholistic Healing, Worldview, Biblical theology, Christian Ethics, Sobolo

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ABOUT AUTHOR(S)

Rev. Dr. John Kwasi is the Senior Lecturer at the School of Theology and Ministry of the Ghana Baptist University College, Kumasi. He is also the Executive Director of Glocal Compassion gGmbH, Germany.

Rev. Mrs. Mary Fosu is the Senior Associate Pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Amakom, Kumasi Ghana. She also serves as the Adjunct Lecturer and chaplain of the Ghana Baptist University College. She is also a PhD candidate at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Fosu, John Kwasi and Mary Fosu. “Rhetorical use of Sobolo (Hibiscus drink) as Yesu Mogya (Blood of Jesus) for Holistic Healing in Contemporary Ghanaian Christianity: A Critical Analysis from the Perspective of Biblical Theology and Christian Ethics,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 5, no.10 Special Issue (2024): 1-11. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245101