The Rhetoric of Commercial Prophets in Ghana: A Case Study of Bishop Daniel Obinim and Reverend Obofour

ISSUE: Vol.5  No.3 September 2019 Article 10  pp.94-105
AUTHORS:  Isaac Forson Adjei, Thomas Oduro-Kwarteng, Victoria Nana Poku Frimpong
DOI : 10.32051/09301910

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ABSTRACT

Lately, the Christian church has suffered both public and scholarly criticisms. This because of the way some of its religious leaders, especially, those of the prophetic strand christened Commercial prophets in this paper, by virtue of their high inclination merchandize the gospel to gullible patrons. Characteristically, these Neo-prophetic prophets with unique nicknames, persuasively sell self-prepared religious products, adopt aggressive media campaigns and organize fee-paying counselling sessions called emergence consultations for financial gains. Steadily, this seemingly weird religious routines by these Neo-prophetic prophets appear to be tarnishing the image of the prophetic office. Using the qualitative research methodology, the study investigates the prophetic ministration of two popular Neo-prophetic prophets in Accra and Kumasi and highlights their rhetorical strategies deployed to hoodwink their audience into submission. The paper is significant because its findings help deepen the understanding of the ways most commercial prophets use language persuasively in their sermonic discourse to win the attention of their listeners.

Keywords: Christianity, commercial, Ghana, prophet, religion, rhetoric.

ISAAC FORSON ADJEI, MPhil, currently a PhD student in the English Department, KNUST. A lecturer in the Department of Modern Languages, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi. His research interests are in Rhetoric, Cultural linguistics, Language and communication, Ethnography of Communication. Email: iadjeiforson@yahoo.com; THOMAS ODURO KWARTENG, MPhil, currently a PhD student in the English Department, KNUST. A tutor, Language Department, Mampong College of Education, Mampong. His research interests are in Phonology, Rhetoric, Semantics and Pragmatics; VICTORIA POKU FRIMPONG MPh.il, currently a PhD student in the English Department, KNUST. A tutor, Language Department, Wesley College of Education, Kumasi. Her research interests are in Language and communication, Sociolinguistics and Rhetoric

Adjei, Isaac F., Oduro-Kwarteng, Thomas., and Frimpong, Victoria N. P. “The Rhetoric of Commercial Prophets in Ghana: A Case Study of Bishop Daniel Obinim and Reverend Obofour.” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies 5, no.3 (2019): 94-105. https://doi.org/10.32051/09301910

© 2019 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Publishers. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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