West African Neo-Pentecostal Perspectives on God’s Immutability and Changeability

West African Neo-Pentecostal Perspectives on God’s Immutability and Changeability

Eric Manu , Emmanuel Kojo Ennin Antwi & Isaac Karkari Osei

Issue: Vol. 11 No. 11 2025 Issue Article 14 pp. 561 – 573
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.202511114 | Published online 27th November, 2025.
© 2025 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 explores West African neo-Pentecostal perspectives on God’s immutability and changeability by analysing the perspectives of leading indigenous neo-Pentecostals in Ghana and Nigeria. The paper’s importance stems from its neo-Pentecostal delineation of God’s immutable nature and its proposition of God’s relational receptiveness to his creation. Using a literature approach, the study reveals how West African Pentecostals understand God’s immutability and changeability. The paper reveals that some neo-Pentecostals embrace the doctrine of changeability, believing that God may alter His decisions in response to prayer and fasting. It underscores African Pentecostal teachings that suggest that God can be influenced by human prayer, decisions and actions. However, the paper argues that not every claim of God responding to human fulfillment of divinely ordained conditions should be seen as rejecting divine immutability. Within neo-Pentecostalism, the doctrine of God’s immutability remains fundamental, even amid the movement’s innovative tendencies. Framed as conflicting doctrines within traditional Christianity, the debate over God’s immutability and changeability among West African Pentecostals enriches global Pentecostal theology by showing how these teachings deepen believers’ understanding of God.

Keywords: West African Pentecostalism, Systematic neo-Pentecostal Theology, Christianity, Divine Nature, Immutability and Changeability, Relational Receptiveness.

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AUTHOR(S)

Eric Manu is a lecturer in the Department of Religion and Human Development at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana. He holds a PhD in Religious Studies, with his doctoral research examining the impact of Ghana’s neo-prophetic Christianity. His scholarly interests include the history, mission, and future of Pentecostal Christianity; the influence of Pentecostalism on individuals and communities; and the intersections of African Pentecostalism and development. His recent work explores neo-Pentecostal approaches to healthcare and poverty reduction in Ghana.

Emmanuel Kojo Ennin Antwi is an Associate Professor at the Department of Religion and Human Development, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana. He holds a BA in Sociology and the Study of Religions from the University of Ghana, PGDE from the University of Cape Coast, a Licentiate in Biblical Theology from the Pontifical Urbaniana University, Rome, a Doctorate in Sacred Theology (Old Testament Literature and Exegesis) from the Albert-Ludwig’s University, Freiburg, Germany and a Certificate in Theology and Religious Studies from the International Graduate Academy, Freiburg. His research area is Bible and Society with focus on Bible and African Life and Thought.

Isaac Karkari Osei is an Ordained Minister of the Methodist Church, Ghana, and lecturer in the Department of Religion and Human Development at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana. He holds a PhD in Religious Studies, with a doctoral research focus on Public Theology. His primary research interests include religion in public life, religion and social issues, and theology in the public sphere. He currently serves as the Minister in Charge at St. Georges Church in Adum–Kumasi.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Manu, Eric, Emmanuel Kojo Ennin Antwi & Isaac Karkari Osei. “West African Neo-Pentecostal Perspectives on God’s Immutability and Changeability.” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies 11, no.11(2025): 549 – 561. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.202511114.