Adventist International Institute

of Advanced Studies

MISSION THEOLOGY FOR REACHING

WAAQEFFANNAA: A PRIMAL
RELIGION OF THE OROMO
PEOPLE OF ETHIOPIA

A Paper

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the

Class MSSN 890 Seminar in

The Theology of Mission

by

Aytegeb Berhanu Awoke

July 2018
 Table of contents
1. Introduction .............................................................................................. 1

Background of the Study ................................................................... 4

Statement of the Problem................................................................... 8
Purpose of the Study .......................................................................... 8

2. Waaqeffannaa: Primal Traditional Religion of the Oromo ...................... 8

Waaqa God of the Oromo ................................................................. 11

The Concept of Creation and Death .................................................. 13
The Creation of Good and Evil Spirits .............................................. 15

3. Waaqa and the Concept of Cosmic Conflict ............................................. 16

The Concept of Spirits ....................................................................... 19

The Existence of Devil and Evil Spirits ............................................ 23

4. Law, Sin, Salvation and Eternal Life in Waaqeffannaa ............................ 25

The Law of Waaqa............................................................................. 26

Waaqeffannaa’s Concept of Sin ........................................................ 27
The Consequence of Sin .................................................................... 28
The Separation of Waaqa and His Creatures ..................................... 29
Life After Death in Waaqeffannaa .................................................... 30
Human Salvation ............................................................................... 33

5. A Proposed Mission Theology to Present the

Gospel Message to Waaqefannaa ...................................................... 34

6. Conclusion ................................................................................................ 53

ii
 INTRODUCTION

For centuries scholars argue over the definition of religion. Several definitions are

given about religion. One of these definitions is given by Rudolf Otto. He defined religion

as “the experience of the holy.”1 But for Friedrich Schleiemacher religion is “feeling of

absolute dependence.”2 The common western definition of religion is the belief in a

Supreme Being.3 Religion is a set of beliefs and practices an individual or group of people

accept about a Creator. It is a means where by people understand their creator and believe

in Him.

Faith is the essential element of religion. Faith is what human beings accepted

wholeheartedly and believe to be true about the creator. In other words, faith is the belief

in holy and transcendent God who is a creator of the whole universe, and redeemer and

suspensor of his creatures. This belief leads human beings to honor and worship Him by

living according to His holy will.

Africa is the home of traditional religions. Followers of these traditional religions

are known for worshiping not only various spirits but also the spirits of their ancestors.

Spirits are believed to be mediators between human beings and gods. Due to that,

1
Rudolf Otto, The Idea of the Holy (London: Oxford University Press, 1980), 5-7.
2
Nancy C. Ring et al., Introduction to the Study of Religion (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2012), 81.
3
Winston L. King, “Religion,” Encyclopedia of Religion (ER) 2nd. ed. Lindsay Jones, (New
York: Thomson Gale, 2005), 11:7694.
1
worshipers believe that devotion to these spirits will enable them to receive the protection

and blessings of the spirits, but failing to do so will bring curs upon them. Followers of

traditional religions of African are known for their sincerity.

As one of African countries, Ethiopia has rich history of traditional religious. But

the country is more known as “the island of Christianity” in the continent of Africa. This

is because Ethiopia is the only country that preserved Christianity since she accepted it in

the fourth century by resisting all foreign political and religious pressures when other

African Christian countries, including her mother Alexandria (Egypt), surrendered to

Islam.

According to the revision of the World Population Prospects 2017, the population

of Ethiopia is 107,091,450.4 Among this total population, 45% or 47.7 million is Orthodox

Christian, 33% or 34.9 million is Muslim, 19.6% or 19.3 million Protestant, and 2.7% or

2.6 million is traditional beliefs. Some of the traditional religions are as old as the country

itself.

There were many ancient traditional religions in Ethiopia, and one of them is

Waaqeffannaa. Waaqefanna is not only one of oldest Ethiopian traditional religions, but it

is also one of the oldest African traditional religions. Traditional Religions are indigenous

religions that do not evangelize others to spread their beliefs and practices like many world

religions but remained in their original environment. Likewise, Waaqeffannaa is

indigenous Ethiopian Religion of the Oromo people.

Department of Economics and Social affairs, “Total Population.” United Nation

4

Population Division World Population Prospect 2017 http://www.un.org/en/

development/desa/population/ pdf (Accessed May 1, 2018).

2
 According to Tasie, African traditional religions are different from other parts of

the world for various reasons. One of these reasons is that though there are many ancient

traditional religions, it is very difficult to know when they were founded and who founded

them due to lack of documented records. Their beliefs and practices were handed down

orally from generation to generation.5

This has two major problems. First, when they are handed down from one

generation to the next, information may not be fully transmitted, and some of the original

beliefs and practices may be altered. Second, when the people or the country who originally

practiced these traditional religions are attacked by neighboring countries or foreign

powers, they will be forced to abandon their traditional beliefs and practices and accept the

beliefs and practices of their oppressors. This will cause the indigenous religions to either

be totally forgotten or lose the major beliefs and practices, or the original beliefs and

practices will be mingled with the beliefs and practices of the foreign powers.

This paper presents a brief study about the beliefs and practices of the Oromo

traditional religion, one of Ethiopia’s primal religions, known as Waaqefannaa and finally

seeks to set a position how to rich traditional religions based on biblical principles.

5
George I. K. Tasie, “The Heritage of the Mouth: Oral Sources and the Study of African
Traditional Religion,” International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention Volume
2 Issue 3 March. (2013): 26-34

3
 Background of the Study

Waaqeffannaa is one of the ancient African indigenous monotheistic religions6 that

has been in Ethiopia since the existence of the Oromo people in 5000 B.C.7 The Oromo

people constitute one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. They belong to a Cushitic group

in East Africa. Today the Oromo are found from the north to the south, and from the east

to the west and beyond, though their territories are not always contiguous. They are also

found in neighboring Kenya.8 But, the Ethiopian Oromo are far greater in number than

Kenyan Oromo. In Ethiopia, they constitute 40% of the country’s total population and

occupy the largest regional state of the federal state.9

Reaching to consensus regarding the origin and expansion of the Ethiopian Oromo

seems impossible due to many different views held by scholars who have studied about the

origin of Oromo in the past and present. One of the challenges is that linguists could not

determine the relationship between the Oromo language and the Eastern Cushitic

languages.

Likewise, archaeologists also could not find indigenous cultural artifacts that can

make a link between Oromo and the Eastern Cushite. According to the hypothesis held by

Bedassa Gebissa Aga, “Oromo Indigenous Religion: Waaqeffanna,” International

6

Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation Volume III, Issue IV, April (2016): 2.
7
Feyisa Demie, “The Origin of the Oromo: A Reconsideration of the theory of the Cushitic
Roots,” Journal of Oromo Studies Vol 5 Number 1 & 2, July (1998): 155-156.
8
Workineh Kelbessa, Indigenous and Modern Environmental Ethics: A Study of the
Indigenous Oromo Environmental Ethic and Modern Issues of Environment and Development
(Washington, D.C: The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, 2010), 15.

Jeylan Wolyie Hussein, “A Critical Review of the Political and Stereotypical Portrayals,”
9

Nordic Journal of African Studies Vol. 3 (2006): 256–276.

4
many of the scholars who are engaged in the study of the origin of the Oromo people, as

one of the Cushitic peoples, they originally lived in the current Ethiopian highlands. They

settled on the central Ethiopian plateau as early as 5000 B C, and later some group moved

towards the south and settle there.

The Oromo and other Cushitic groups of Ethiopia had lived there long before the

migration of the Semitic speaking groups from Southern Arabia. Then the Oromo were

pushed out of the central highlands which they had occupied as early as 5000 B.C. by

Semitic emigrants and went to the East, South, and Southwest where they have currently

settled.10

One of the current Oromo historians Addisu Toles argued that the Semitic speaking

people, who claim that they are the first to come and settle in Ethiopia and consider the

Oromo as late comers, did not appear in the area until 1000 B C.11 According to Robin,

archeological evidence of the 19th century suggests that the migration of Cushite and other

groups into the highlands Ethiopia through the Rift valley began at a very remote date.12

This was a gradual migration from the North to the South and East.13

When Christianity came to Ethiopia in the fourth century, the first converts were

the royal families, and Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church was founded.14 The

Feyisa Demie, “The Origin of the Oromo: A Reconsideration of the theory of the Cushitic
10

Roots,” Journal of Oromo Studies Vol 5 Number 1 & 2, July (1998): 155-156.
11
Addisu Tolesa, "Historical Transformation of the Folklore Genre: The Geerarsa as a
National Literature of Amhara Colonization," Ph. D. dissertation, University of Indiana, 1990, 37.
12
Hallett Robin, Africa to 1895, (London: Hinemannt Educational Books, 1970), 75-76.
13
Tolesa, Historical, 37.
14
Elizabeth Isichei, A History of Christianity in Africa: From Antiquity to the Present,
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 33.
5
conversion of the royal family and the nobility into Christianity opened the way for the

Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity to be state religion. According to Kane, two-thirds of the

population was converted into Christianity just only within ten years.15 It is obvious that

the rapid conversion of the people into Orthodox Christianity was mainly by the order of

the royal families and the nobilities.

The Church and the crown considered all traditional religions as pagan religions

and forced them to embrace Christianity. One of these traditional religion was

Waaqeffannaa. Later, when Islam came to Ethiopia and expanded mainly in the Oromo

region, it also considered Waaqeffannaa and other traditional religions as idol worship and

forced them to accept Islam. Alike Orthodox Christianity and Islam, when Protestantism

came to Ethiopia at the beginning of the 20th century, it also denounced all traditional

religions as paganism and condemn their followers, and focused their mission on

converting the followers of traditional religions including Waaqeffannaa.

Finally, when communism took over the leadership of the country in 1974 by

overthrowing the long-reigned monarchial system, it also focused on eliminating

traditional religions, including Waaqeffannaa, considering them as primitive traditions and

obstacles for the development of the country and the people. One of the reasons that

Waaqeffannaa was to be condemned as paganism, animism, or heathenism was due to

practice of Irreecha (thanksgiving) and other rituals of Oromo people. This ritual is

normally celebrated near rivers, lakes, mountains or under trees, and the worshipers throw

15
J. Herbert Kane, A Global View of Christian Mission: from Pentecost to Present, (Grand
Rapids: Baker, 1975), 374.

6
foods, and drinks as thank-offerings into the lake and under the big tree found near the

place of the celebration.

Though many of the Oromo people have converted to Christianity and Islam, 4.2%

of the population were still hold onto their traditional religion Waaqeffannaa. But most of

the Oromo who are converted to Christianity and Islam were still partaking in various

Waaqeffanna festivals and rituals side by side with their new religion, Christianity or Islam.

The fascinating thing is that since 1991 things are rapidly and unexpectedly changing. The

current government under the leadership of Ethiopian People’s Revolution Democratic

Front (EPRDF) ratified a new constitution in 1987. In this constitution, article 27/1 says

“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall

include the freedom to hold or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and the freedom,

either individually or in community with others, and in public or private, to manifest his

religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.”

Using this constitutional right, Waaqeffataa (followers of Waaqeffanna) began to

celebrate the Irreecha festival which was condemned by Christianity and Islam and totally

abandoned by previous communist leaders. The EPRDF government in fact accepted it as

a one of Ethiopian unique cultures and advertised it as one of the tourist attractions of the

country. Many tourists from different parts of the world began to attend Irreecha

celebration of Waaqeffannaa every year.

The advertising of the Irreecha celebration by EPRDF the government as the

ancient Oromo tradition, widely got the attention of majority of the Oromo people. This

helped Waaqeffannaa to reemerge and attract all Oromo people to participate in Irreecha

ritual celebrations irrespective of their religion. Currently, millions of Oromo people, even

7
many protestant including seventh-day Adventists, are participating in Irreecha festivals

and performing its rituals. This not only created syncretism between Christianity and

Waaqeffanna, but also became a threat for Christianity.

Statement of Problem

Though Waaqeffannaa is a monotheistic traditional religion strongly believing in

one creator called Waaqa and refrain from worship of graven images, it is condemned by

Christianity as a pagan religion worthy of total extermination due to some of its beliefs and

practices associated with nature without an attempt to know the bases of its beliefs and the

meanings of its rituals (forms) and giving a functional substitute. It also was condemned

as backward tradition as well as an obstacle for the development of the country and the

people of Ethiopia by political leaders and determined to be eliminated. This created hatred

against Christianity and currently it led the Oromo people to be more attracted to

Waaqeffannaa irrespective of their religion.

Purpose of the study

The purpose of this research paper is to study the origin and progress, and the beliefs

and practices of Waaqeffannaa; the methods used by Orthodox Christianity and Islam to

convert followers of this traditional religion of the Oromo people and its negative effect

after five hundred years, and finally to a theology of mission that can help to reach the

traditional religions, including Waaqeffannaa, with the message of the everlasting Gospel.

8
 WAAQEFFANNAA: PRIMAL TRADTIONAL
RELIGION OF THE OROMO

Before the coming of Christianity and Islam to Ethiopia in the fourth and seventh

century respectively, the Oromo people had their own traditional belief called

Waaqeffannaa. They have been practicing this indigenous religion over the past three

thousand years.16 Waaqeffannaa is a monotheistic religion that believes in one Supreme

Creator Being called Waaqa,17 the creator of all things in heaven and on earth. According

to tradition, the Oromo were followers of Waaqeffannaa religion long before the

introduction of Christianity and Islam to Ethiopia.

For centuries the Waaqeffannaa religion has been accused by Christianity and Islam

as one of the animistic beliefs of Ethiopia, because the Oromo thank Waaqa by going to

various physical sites that he created, such as water bodies and mountains. This act of

worship was considered as nature worship by Christianity and Islam. Due to that

Christianity and Islam believed that Waaqeffannaa should be eliminated from the country.

Since Christianity was the dominant religion in the country and was the state

religion for more than 1,500 years, the followers of Waaqeffannaa were forced to abandon

their faith and accept Christianity. But later when Islam began to spread from the eastern

part to different parts of the country through military power, they were also forced to accept

Islam. Today more than fifty percent of the Oromo people are Muslim.

Though Waaqeffannaa is accused of being animism by Christianity and Islam, strict

followers of this traditional Oromo religion reject the accusation and argue that it is a belief

16
Aga, Oromo, 2.

Charles Verharen, “Comparing Oromo and Ancient Egyptian Philosophy,” Journal of

17

Oromo Studies, Volume 15 Number 2 (2008): 3.

9
in one Supreme Creator. Some scholars reject the view of Christianity and Islam against

this Oromo traditional religion and supported the view held by followers of Waaqeffanna

for three reasons. First, Waaqeffannaa is a monotheistic religion because it does not involve

belief in many gods like many ancient African traditional beliefs18 as well as the northern

Ethiopia Semitic groups,19 but only Waaqa as the creator of the universe. Second, there is

no African people or religion that has only one word for God, but Waaqeffannaa does.20

Third and most importantly, they do not worship carved images as many African

traditional religions. Due to that, it is absolutely wrong to call Waaqeffannaa animism.

These scholars also argue that the Oromo believe that the existence of Waaqa can be

perceived by looking at his creations, such as rain, the growing of crops, mountains, trees,

and different water bodies. That is why they worship Waaqa by going to various physical

sites he created to express their acknowledgement that he is creator of everything. So, there

is no ground to call Waaqeffanna as animistic religion.

A follower of Waaqeffannaa is called Waaqeffataa. In order to be called

Waaqeffataa, believers must maintains at least five major ancient religious and cultural

practices of Waaqeffannaa. First they should not bow down and pray. Second, they should

pray to Waaqa carrying roasted coffee beans. Third they should carry killa, a wooden bowl

used for holding roasted coffee, as they pray to Waaqa. Fourth, prayer should be performed

C. J. Momoh, “Godlessness in Ancient African Metaphysics,” Journal of Philosophy and

18

Development, Vol. 2, Number 1 and 2, (1996): 63.

19
William Y, Adams, “The Aksumite Religion,” Encyclopedia of Religion (ER) 2nd. ed.
Lindsay Jones, (New York: Thomson Gale, 2005), 1:224-225.
20
Momoh, Godlessness, 63.

10
on top of or at the foot of a mountain, under a big tree, or by the side of a river or lake. Due

to that, believers should go to the mountains and water bodies to pray at the appointed

seasons of prayer.

Fifth, they should slaughter a bull every eight years to mark the end of eight years

cycle in the Gadaa system (the traditional social stratification system of Oromo). Finally,

they should be a person who follows the five Gadaa grades (stages of development through

which a Gadaa class passes).21

Waaqa: God of the Oromo

There are five pillars of the Oromo traditional religion. These are Waaqa (God),

Ayyaana (spirit), Nama (human being), Waayyuu (persons who know and obey the law

God), and Safuu (virtue).22 The Oromo religious belief is based on the view that there is

only one Waaqa (God). According to the Oromo traditional religion, Waaqa has multiple

attributes. Waaqa is the one who is before everything else and creator of everything in the

world. He also is Omnibenevolent, Omnipotent, and source and lover of truth and purity.

Waaqa is eternal and the final cause of all things, intolerant of injustice, crime, sin and all

falsehood. The Oromo believes that followers of Waaqeffannaa should not worship carved

statues, trees, rivers, mountains or animals as visible substitutes of the invisible Waaqa.

According to Kalbesa, the Oromo have had the concept of the monotheistic

supreme God from the time they existed. This is demonstrated by using only one name for

Gemechu J. Gedda. “Pilgrimage and Syncretism: Religious Transformation Among Arsi

21

Oromo of Ethiopia” (Ph.D. Dissertation, Faculty of Cultural Studies University of Bayreuth

Germany, 2013), 48.
22
Aga, Oromo, 1-3.

11
Waaqa (God).23 Momoh said that in many ancient traditional African religions, they used

several names for divine beings, because they worshipped many gods. He mentioned

different common gods: “the ancestors and founders of the clan, the god of the water,

mountain, forest or desert, and the god of the staple crop or animal…gods of the elements

-wars, trade, hunting, moral gods -vengeance, protection; destiny gods-luck, blessing,

misfortune and fate."24

However, as stated earlier, the Oromo has only one word for the Supreme Being,

Waaqa (God). There are various Oromo proverbs which are used not only to praise Waaqa,

but also to express what kind of God he is. For instance: There is no one who is kind except

Waaqa (God); Whatever Waaqa brings the Earth does not fail to carry it; One who worships

God will get everything25

According to Kelbessa,26 there are diverse views among Waaqeffattaa (followers

of Oromo traditional religion) about the outside appearance of Waaqa. Some say he is

black, but others said he is red. This comes from their personal perception of the identity

of Waaqa. Those who say he is black regarded him as the guardian and protector of his

creation, and those who say he is red considered his character of punishing men who do

wrong against him and their fellow human beings.

23
Workineh Kelbessa, “Traditional Oromo Attitudes towards the Environment,” Social
Science Research Report Series, Number. 19 January (2001): 22.
24
Momoh, Godlessness, 63.
25
Kelbessa. Traditional, 22.
26
Kelbessa. Traditional, 23.

12
 The Bible tells us that God has many attributes. One of those attributes is that God

is “Alpha and Omega, the first and the last,” (Rev. 1: 8; 21: 6; 22: 13), “the beginning and

the end,” (v. 17). This is simply to mean that God was before everything, and He is the

source of all creation. But Waaqeffanna does not accept the Christian understanding of

Alpha and Omega. For them “Alpha” and “Omega” are the first and the last letters of the

Greek alphabets. Saying Waaqa (God) is Alpha and Omega means, He has beginning and

end. If God has beginning and end, He is not God. Due to that they argue Alpha and Omega

cannot be used for Waaqa.

The Concept of Creation and Death

There are similarities and differences between the Biblical account of creation and

of the Oromo traditional religion (Waaqeffanna). The Bible tells us not only all creation,

living and non-living, was created by God, but also he created them within six days (Ex.

20: 11). It also tells us what was created first and what was last (Gen. 1: 1-31). God created

man with His own hand and in His own image and likeness on the sixth day of the creation

week (Gen. 1: 27-28).

Alike Christianity, the Oromo believe that all things was created by Waaqa (God)

and belongs to him. He first stretched out the earth, and then created all other things one

after another by His word. Finally, Waaqa created the first human being from the soil by

his own hand and made him a living being by giving his own breath. Though Waaqeffannaa

believe that all creation is created by Waaqa, it doesn’t give the details of creation, in what

sequence and within how many days he created them, and in whose image he created man.

Christianity believes that heaven is the permanent dwelling place of God. He

created man and other creatures on earth coming down from heaven. But, The Oromo
13
traditional religion (Waaqeffannaa) believes that in the beginning Waaqa created all

creatures and was living here on earth and was visible to man. But when man sinned against

Waaqa by doing evil things against his fellow human being, Waaqa became annoyed and

departed from the earth and became invisible living above the sky.

The Bible says that when man was created, he was created to live eternaly. But after

man sinned God pronounced “for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Gen. 3:

19). It is sin that interrupted man’s privilege of living for eternity given to him by God at

creation.

Waaqeffannaa believe that when Waaqa created the first human being from the dust

of the ground, the earth was not happy about it and cried out and asked Waaqa the reason

why he took “its meat and bone” to create a human being. Then Waaqa replied and said

that as the earth cried now, human beings will cry when they die and return to the dust, but

the Soul or spirit will return to Him.27 There are three things to be noticed here. First, death

came to man not because of his sin but because of the opposition of the earth against man.

Man was subject to death from the beginning. Second, God pronounced physical death

upon man right after creation.

Unlike Christianity, waaqeffanna does not believe that death as a result of human

sin. This makes Waaqa an unjust God. Third, according to this creation account, alike the

other Christian and non-Christian religions Waaqeffanna also believes in the immortality

of soul. They believe that soul will go to Waaqa immediately after the death of the person.

27
Kelbessa, Traditional, 26.

14
 The Bible also says that after God created man, animals, birds, and all creeping

things on earth, He gave them the herbs of the ground and the fruits on the trees as their

food (Gen. 1: 29-30). Using animals for food was officially allowed after the flood (Gen 7:

2-3). But, according to Bertels,28 Waaqeffanna believes that man was allowed to kill

animals and cut down plants for food from the beginning.

Alike many Christian religions, the Oromo believe that at the moment of death the

soul is separated from the body and goes to Waaqa. This led them to pray to the Ekeraa

(spirits) of the deceased person. They prepare a thick local bread, cheese with melted butter,

local beer, and honey and celebrate the Ekeraa ritual in December every year.29

The Creation of Good and Evil

The Oromo also believe that Waaqa is the one who created good and bad

things. We can understand why he created good things, but why did he create evil?

Generally, illness and misfortune is often considered as a punishment from Waaqa for sins

a person has committed. These things had never been existed before but Waaqa allowed

evil things to exist due to human beings persistence sin. If Waaqa had not tolerated both

good and evil things, His Omnipotence and Omniscience would not have been known to

his creatures, especially to human beings. The Oromo believe that the coexistence of good

and bad, beauty and ugly is necessary.

28
Lambert Bartels, Oromo religion: Myth and Rites of the Western Oromo of Ethiopia

(Berlin: Dietrich Reimer, 1983), 91-92.

29
Kelbessa, Traditional, 24.

15
 Individuals who love to do good things and live according to the will of Waaqa will

receive the blessing of God and be happy in their life, and be respected members of their

society. But, people who fail to live according to Waaqa's will, he will punish by making

them blind, lame, cripple or bent. The evil things that a person does against Waaqa or

human beings can affect him, his families and immediate relatives, and bring upon them

mishaps or bad lucks.30

For followers of Waaqeffannaa, Waaqa and the earth are two different but

inseparable things. They consider Waaqa as their Father and the earth as their mother.

Waaqa as a Father gives rain and makes the earth to grow different kinds of plants, and

cover countless blessings under the earth so that human beings may extract and use it. The

reason why they consider the earth as their mother is that all necessary blessings to sustain

temporal life comes from it. Since the creation until the present day, human beings are

using its resources for nourishment, survival and life. The Oromo believe that human

beings “suck the breast of the earth as the baby sucks its mother's breast.” That is why they

consider the earth as their mother. But this does not mean that Waaqa and the earth are

husband and wife.

WAAQA AND THE CONCEPT OF COSMIC CONFLICT

In Christianity the origin of evil is the cosmic conflict. This conflict is started in

heaven between the Creator God and Lucifer, one of the created beings in heaven. The

Bible also pointed out that Lucifer was the highest created being in the whole universe.

Though it is beyond human comprehension of how it happened, Sin was conceived in the

30
Ibid, 25.

16
heart of Lucifer and was born before the creation of man. But, in Waaqeffanna, there is no

a concept of cosmic conflict or definite explanation of how evil came into existence. Due

to that, it is obscure how sin entered into this world.

In Christianity we believe that God was and is living in heaven, but He created the

earth and all creatures including man on this earth. After He created man, God was coming

down from heaven and consistently visiting man and teach and guide him. But when man

sinned against God, he could not approach God because of shame and fear due to his

nakedness that is resulted from his sin.

Though God came to visit man as usual, man run away and hide himself from his

creator. It is not man but God who sought man in the Garden of Eden after sin. Not only

that, when humanity abandon God and went astray, He sent His only begotten Son to seek

the lost humanity. Though God is putting a lot of effort to restore the original relationship

and to bring back humanity into their original dominion, it is human beings who rebel

against God and refused to accept His call.

Waaqeffanna also believe that all creatures are created by Waaqa. But in Oromo

worldview, in the beginning human beings were “pure in heart and truthful,” and Waaqa

was living among them here on earth. But, as time went by, they began to practice different

sins that made Waaqa to decide to depart from and go far from them. The people felt so

sad at the departure of Waaqa from among them because of their sin and intended to return

back from their evil practices so that Waaqa may return to them.

When four people heard that Waaqa has departed, and realized the desire of the

people to repent to Waaqa, they decided to reach him and tell him about the desire of the

people and invite him to come back to his people. But among these four people, only one

17
managed to reach where Waaqa was living. This man told Waaqa that the people repented

and invite him to return back to his people, but unfortunately Waaqa did not accept the

request of the man, but sent him back with a new title “abbaa-gedda.” Not only that, he

also made him the father of the country and put him in charge of teaching and advising the

people, and disciplining trouble-makers on his behalf.31 As a consequence of the

withdrawal of Waaqa, man not only lost all the blessings of Waaqa, but also was exposed

to the attack of the spirits who cause most troubles, including diseases.32

In Christianity the earth belongs to God but He ordained Adam, the living man, not

only to have a dominion over all creation but also to “subdue the earth.” To subdue means

to “utilize the vast resources of the earth by agricultural and mining operations, by

geographical research, scientific discovery and mechanical innovation.”33

There is a varied worldview among the Oromo regarding to whom the earth

belongs. Some argue that since the dead know nothing, the land belongs to the living to use

its resources for their survival. But others contended that since the dead are buried in the

earth, it belongs to them because nobody can force them to leave the earth or to change

their place to somewhere else. Proponents of this view even say that since they rested in

the earth forever, it is the private property of the dead. The third opinion says that the living

get the necessities of life from it; the dead buried in it; the living uses its resources for their

survival; and it is even the future hope of the unborn. Due to that the earth belongs to all.34

31
Gedda, Pilgrimage, 50.
32
Bartels, Oromo, 102-104.
33
H. D. M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell, ed. Genesis and Exodus, The Pulpit Commentary
(PC) 1 (Grand Rapids MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1977), 31.
34
Kelbessa. Traditional, 25-26.
18
 The Concept of Spirits

Christianity believes in spirits. There are two kinds of spirits; the Holy Spirit and

evil spirits. Holy Spirit is one of the Godhead and He is God himself. There are several

activities that Holy Spirit performs. The Holy Spirit played important roles in creation and

the plan of redemption. When God was creating the world, he was involved in the work of

creation (Gen 1: 1). The incarnation of Christ was performed by the power of the Holy

Spirit (Matt. 1: 18-21), and now He is working in this world representing Christ. He leads

into the truth, (John 16: 13), He guides the operation of the Church (Acts 13: 1-4), He

equips the Church with special gifts (1 Cor. 12: 7-11).

In Waaqeffannaa there is no the concept of the Trinity, and there is no a divine

being called the Holy Spirit. Waaqa is the only true God. But, Waaqeffanna teaches that

there is are supernatural beings called Ayyaana (spirit). Ayyaana (spirit) were created by

Waaqa and believed to be the manifestation of Waaqa.35 The spirit was not only created by

Waaqa, but was also they are the power through which Waaqa created everything. The

fascinating thing about the spirit is that it both “causes anything to come into being and

becomes that which it has caused.”36

There are numerous spirits, and they have different ministries or functions. The first

function or ministry is that they are instruments of Waaqa to create all creations. According

to them, there is not a single creation that is created without the spirits in the whole

universe. The second ministry of sprits is that they regulate circumstances, control, protect,

35
Kelbessa. Traditional, 26.

Gemechu Megersa, “The Oromo World-View,” Journal of Oromo Studies, Volume 12,
36

Numbers 1&2 (2005): 69.

19
and guide all human beings to live in harmony with Waaqa’s laws and safuu. When spirit

possesses a person, it will protect him from any harm and danger.37

The third ministry of the spirits is mediating between Waaqa and human beings.

They communicate the problems of humans to Waaqa. When humble people pray to

Waaqa, their spirits will accept their supplication and plead on their behalf before Waaqa

to help them. Then Waaqa accepts their petition and grant their request according to his

will.

It is also believed that they are manifestations of Waaqa. Human beings have no

direct access to reach to Waaqa, but only through the spirits.38 In Christianity human

beings have direct access to God through Jesus Christ. But this does not mean that the Holy

Spirit has no part in humans attempt to reach God. It is the Holy Spirit who directs our

heart to communicate with God (Gal 4: 6).

The fourth ministry of the spirits is guarding or protecting God’s creatures. Every

living creature, human being and animal, has their own guardian spirits. Each tribe, clan,

family and person has their own spirits. Spirits act only according to the will of Waaqa.

They do not directly communicate with people, but rather through a person called Qaalluu.

Qaalluu is a spiritual leader like bishop, priest, or pastor.

The followers build a hut called Galma for Qaalluu in isolated place, and he lives

and minister to the people there. Those who need special prayer used to go to the Qaalluu

Addisalem Bekele Gemeda and K. R. Rajani, “Indigenous religion and being human: The
37

case of ‘Waaqeffannaa’ religion of the Oromo people,” International Journal of Academic

Research and Development Volume 3 Issue 2 March (2018): 566-574.

Brita Marie Servan, “Sacred Networks: Religion and Social Life Among Oromo in
38

Norway,” (Ph. D. Dissertation, Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies, and Religion
Faculty of Humanities the University of Bergen, 2008), 11.

20
and perform the ritual by dancing, singing and beating drums. As they are dancing and

singing with drums, the spirit will possess them and they will begin to speak in strange

languages. At that high time the spirit will speak through the Qaalluu and answer their

prayer. In some instances spirits are considered as the angels of Waaqa.39

There are two different views regarding authority of spirits. The first group says

that spirits have no authority to directly act against those who do not live according to the

will of Waaqa. They cannot do anything against human beings without the command of

Waaqa. But according to Ofgia the second group says that they have authority to kill or

heal, to multiply or destroy the properties of human beings who violate the laws of Waaqa

and the traditions of Oromo. They are vengeful toward the wicked but benevolent to the

faithful.40 Daniel also agrees with Ofgaia and went further and said that when a man is

born, he will born with his spirit that determines his future or destiny.41

The lifelong believers do not agree with this idea. For them spirits are powerless

and cannot hurt or kill human beings without the help of Waaqa. But by the help of Waaqa,

they can bring misfortune upon those who violate the tradition of the society.42 The Oromo

traditional religion also believes that spirits are found in every living and non-living thing.

39
Kelbessa, Traditional, 26.
40
Fekadu G. Ofgaia, “The Religious and cultural Identity of the Second Generation Oromo
in Norway, Oslo,” (MA Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the MA
degree at MF Norwegian School of Theology, 2015), 39.
41
Ayanna Daniel, The Concept, 107.
42
Kelbessa. Traditional, 26.

21
All created things in the universe have their own spirits. Bartels says “every human, animal,

plant, geographical area, and even every day have their own spirits”43

It seems that there is a hierarchy of the spirits. There is an individual’s spirit, the

spirit of the father, the spirit of the clan, and spirits of the lineage. The spirit of the lineage

is more power than the spirit of the clan, the father and the individual. Likewise, the spirit

of the clan is more powerful than the spirit of the clan and the father. Due to that, an

individual can invoke the spirit of his/her father or the clan, not only to help him/her to

perform his/her duties successfully, but also to protect them from evil.

If somebody is hurt or killed by someone, it is believed that he died because the

spirit of his father left him/her alone to die.44 There are also different spirits assigned for

special purposes. For example, a spirit called Araashittii is in charge of the pregnant

women, and Booranticha is in charge of the cattle.

As it is mentioned earlier, every created being, living things, non-living things, and

even geographical areas have their own spirits. Due to that rivers have their own spirit. The

purpose of this spirit is to control them not to break their boundaries and cause problems

for people, cattle and crops. According to Kelbessa, in order to appease the spirit of the

rivers, Waaqeffataa (believers) are “required to prepare traditional beer, Niger seed, flour

of roasted barley with butter, salt, pancake-like bread, sauce of lentils, nine large local

bread cooked only on one side, and celebrate the ritual called Booranticha at the riverbed”45

43
Bartels, Oromo, 113.
44
Ofgaia. The Religious, 39.
45
Kelbessa, Traditional, 26-27.

22
every year. Otherwise the spirits will let the rivers to cross their boundaries and kill people,

cattle and damage some part of or completely destroy the crop.

The Existence of Devil and Evil Angels

Christianity believes in the existence of evil power in the world. Lucifer, the one

who was the highest created being in the whole universe, rebelled against his Creator.46

Not only that, in the war against God, Lucifer wanted the allegiance of the other

supernatural beings who dwell in heaven like him and deceived one-third of the angels to

rebel against God.

Finally Lucifer and his angels lost the war they fought in heaven against God, and

God cast them out of heaven.47 As they were driven out from heaven, they came to our

planet and deceived our first parents and brought the controversy to this earth. Since then,

the two contending powers, God and Satan are in a constant fight. Human beings are

involved in this great controversy.

Another interesting aspect of Waaqeffannaa is, that it doesn’t believe in the

existence of spiritual evil power called Satan who acts against the will of the Almighty

Waaqa. Some believers accept the existence of a devil. After the expansion of Christianity

and Islam in the Oromo region of the country, the Oromo worldview of the evil power is

influenced by the understanding of the two dominant religions. Due to that, there is a varied

46
Steven A. McKinion, ed. Isaiah, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (ACCS) 10
(Downers Grove: Inter Varsity, 2004), 120-125.
47
Ranko Stefanovic, Revelation of Jesus Christ (Berrien Springs: Andrews University
Press, 2001), 385-389.

23
opinion between those who are converted to Christianity or Islam and the lifelong believers

of Waaqeffannaa.48

But lifelong followers argued that the concept of Satan is not the original belief of

this Oromo traditional religion, but rather crept into Waaqeffanna from Christianity and

Islam. It is the Almighty Waaqa who is doing everything in the whole universe. They refute

the existence of Satan or the devil and his angels. They argue that devils are people who

cause hurt or kill other people, taking the property of others by force or stealing, and

committee any sin intentionally. It is human devils that are the ones who themselves

violates the laws of Waaqa and the tradition of the Oromo and attack those who live

according to these laws and the tradition that governs the Waaqeffanna.49

Sin is a result of man’s failure of following the principle of reality.50 When Waaqa

created man, he give him a wisdom to understand the principle of reality. The principle of

reality is knowing what is good and what is bad from what they see and what they hear.

This wisdom is given to all human beings. Sin is doing what is bad in reality. According

to the principle of reality, sin has a consequence, and the consequence of sin can be

inherited. Due to that every person should not only keep himself/herself from committing

sin, but also is responsible for the consequences of his/her sin.

48
Kelbessa, Traditional, 27-28.
49
Gedda. Pilgrimage, 56.

50
______“Waaqeffannaa: the African Traditional Faith System,” https://unionoromia.
wordpress. com /2016/05/01/waaqeffannaa-the-african-traditional-faith-system-2/ Waaqeffannaa
May 1, 2016 (accessed May 24, 2018).

24
 Waaqa protects man through the spirit that he created and assigned to every human

being. This protection will be removed when people commit evil things against Waaqa and

their fellow human beings, or break tradition and moral codes. This implies that

Waaqeffannaa gives special place for traditions and ethics. According to Gedda,51 Waaqa

does not punish human beings “directly and purposefully’ for sins that they have

committed, but rather he simply withdraws His protection. When he withdraws his

protection, they will face some problems or difficulties. But, he himself never punish his

creatures. Waaqeffannaa do not accept the Christian concept of God punishing sinners and

finally destroying them with eternal fire.

LAW, SIN, SALVATION AND ETERNAL LIFE IN WAAQEFANNA

Christianity teaches that the Ten Commandments are the Laws of God. The wise

man says: “Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”

(Eccl. 12: 13). Why keeping the Law is so important? Bunch52 said that “this laws

constitutes a summary of right principles,” and existed from the beginning. God inscribed

His Law in the mind of Adam and Eve when they were created.

When Adam was created, the first four laws of the Ten Commandments that

constitutes his duty to his Creator began to operate. Likewise, when Eve was created, the

second part of the Decalogue which constitutes their duty to one another’s relationship

51
Gedda. Pilgrimage, 50.
52
Taylor G. Bunch, The Ten Commandments (Washington DC: Review and Herald, 1944),
13-14.

25
automatically began to apply. But the written form of the Law of God was given to Moses

at mount Saini (Ex. 31: 18).

The Bible says that the Law of God stands forever because they are based upon the

character of God (Ps. 111: 7, 8). In general, “the Ten Commandments sum up what God

requires of man and defines his duty towards God and his fellow human beings (Matt. 22:

32-40).” God’s Law is the foundation of God’s government.53

The Laws of Waaqa

In Waaqeffannaa, there are two different views regarding to the law. The first group

believe that no one has ever seen Waaqa or received a written laws from him. His laws

have naturally existed and are known by human beings and other creatures. For example,

when children are born and grow up, they automatically follow the law of marriage. The

girl marries a man and a man marries a girl; a man never marries a man, and a woman

never marries a woman because that is the law of Waaqa written in their heart from the

beginning.

Waaqa doesn’t need to write a law on something and give it to his creatures, but

rather he writes his laws in the heart of his creatures when they are created. Then as they

grow, they begin to understand and also develop their knowledge of the laws of Waaqa by

hearing and seeing from their parents, society and environment. They don’t need someone

to teach them because they know them by heart naturally and abide by these laws.54

53
Ellen G. White. Christian Experience and the Teachings of Ellen G. White (Washington
D.C: Review and Herald, 1922), 207).
54
Gedda. Pilgrimage, 53
.
26
 The second group said that Waaqa (God) granted his laws to their ancestors to guide

their lives. All creatures should be ordered to live according to these laws. Violating these

laws and social orders is sin. Every person is responsible for the sins that he/she has

committed in his/her life. There are only five major laws from which all other ordinary

laws are formulated. These are: the laws of Inno, the laws of Irro, the laws of Tajoo, the

laws of Latoo and the laws of Faanoo.55

Waaqeffannaa’s Concept of Sin

Every religion, traditional or modern, has the concept of sin. They also have their

own meaning and origin of sin. Most of them believe that sin is the cause for all problems

and tragedies that human beings face here on earth. Sin is anything that is against the will

of God. In the Oromo traditional religion, the concept of sin is closely related to the concept

of moral values.

According to Andres, “Moral value constitutes the ethical basis upon which all

human action should be founded; it is that which directs one on the right path; it shows the

way in which life can be best lived.”56 Sin would not have existed without the existence of

the concept of moral value.

In Waaqeffannaa, there is the concept of safuu (virtue), Laguu (taboo), and cubbuu

(sin). Safuu (virtue) is the list of things that Waaqa wants human beings to do and Laguu

is the lists of things not to do. Cubbuu (Sin) is both doing what God said not to do (the

taboos), and not doing what God says do (the virtues). Therefore, followers of

55
Aga, International, 2-3.
56
Tomas D. Andres. Understanding Values. (Quezon: New Day, 1980), 24, 31.

27
Waaqeffannaa religion are expected to shape their lives by doing what they ought to do

and by refraining from things they are told not to do.57 In general, the Waaqeffannaa

definition of sin is wrongdoing58 or something that is not morally right, or unjust.59

The Consequence of Sin

The Bible teaches that one of the attributes of God is that he is merciful. The Word

of God says “And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord

God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping

mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no

means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the

children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” (Ex. 34: 6, 7). The reason

that God bear with the children of Israel for forty years in the wilderness is because of His

mercy. The mercy of God originates from His unconditional love for all humanity.

According to the Oromo traditional religion, Waaqa has multiple attributes.

Waaqa is Omni benevolent, the source and lover of truth, pure and kind for those who

refrain from the violating the moral codes and traditions of the Oromo, but he also is

intolerant of injustice, crime, sin and all falsehood. Waaqa is not portrayed as merciful

God. In fact, when a person breaks one of the virtues (safuu) given by Waaqa, or tradition,

57
Addisalem, Indigenous, 566-574.
58
Gedda. Pilgrimage, 58.
59
Gamta Tilahun, Oromo-English Dictionary. (Addis Ababa: Addis Ababa University
Printing Press, 1989), 125.

28
which means when a person commits sin, he will face the punishment of Waaqa. For every

sin man commits in this earth, he will be punished before he dies.

Waaqa himself does not punish man directly for the sin that he committed, but

rather removes his protection from that person and exposes him to the attack of lesser evil

spirits and the spirit may harm or kill him.60 One of the uniqueness of Waaqeffannaa is that

“Waaqa removes his protection even from animals for committing a sin.” 61 They will be

attacked by other animals that are stronger than them or evil spirits will kill them.

According to the Oromo, when a person or people commit sin, they can confess their sin

and ask Waaqa for his forgiveness and resumption of his protection.

The Bible also tells us that God punishes human beings for their sins (1 Sam 3: 13),

but he is not punishing every sin because “The Lord God, merciful and gracious,

longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands…” (Ex.

34: 6). God punishes when the person is not willing to return from his sin or deliberately

commits sin ignoring the warning of God sent to him in various ways. But when men

commits sins unintentionally or without knowledge, he will forgive their sin whenever they

confessed it.

The Separation of Waaqa and His Creatures

According to the Oromo, long, long ago, after Waaqa separated from human beings

due to their sins, he was living very close to the earth and had intimate relationship with

human beings. People could ask him directly whatever they needed as a man would talk to

60
Bartels. Oromo, 106.
61
Ibid, 104.
29
his friend. Whenever Waaqa draw close to the earth, there was always plenty of rain and

other necessary blessings of life. Bartels briefly tells the myth about how Waaqa withdrew

himself from this direct communion with his creatures.

Once upon a time, Waaqa gathered all animals before him and told them to speak

freely if they have any complaint about anything including himself. When all the animals

express their joy and satisfaction, and thanked him for his provision, the mule stood up to

complain and said: “O Waaqa, you ordered me to speak up. All right, I do have a cause to

complain. You are lying with your belly too close to the earth. It is raining far too much.

And while speaking in this vein, he grew angrier until he actually kicked Waaqa’s belly.

At that Waaqa withdrew going upwards from the earth. He withdrew from all of us, but he

withdrew in a special way from the mule: from that day onwards the mule was unable to

produce young.”62

Life after Death in Waaqeffannaa

While death is universal, the issue of life after death is a matter of controversy

among different religions. Although it can take many forms, most of the religions of the

world today have a strong viewpoint regarding life after death. They believe not only

in resurrection and afterlife, but also in heaven and hell. Some others like Hinduism believe

in reincarnation.

While most believe that those who live good or ethical lives will enjoy an

unimaginable life as a reward in the hereafter, others believe that the idea of life after death

62
Ibid, 104.

30
is deception, and man should do his best to make this life pleasing and meaningful here on

earth before he dies. Those who hold the idea of life before death are not religious people.

The understanding of Waaqeffanna about death, afterlife and punishment for sin is

different from Christianity. For Christianity, the physical death is rest until the end of the

earth and the establishment of the eternal kingdom of God (1 Cor. 15: 51-55, 1 Thess. 4:

13-18). Of course Seventh-day Adventists do not believe in the immortality of soul.

Almost all Christian denominations teach that soul is immortal and the soul of the

saints will go to heaven right after death, but the sinners will go to hell and be tormented

there with eternal fire day and night. But all Christians believe that at the end of the world,

saints will enjoy life in the kingdom of God and the sinners will receive eternal punishment

for the sins they have committed while they are living on this earth. Of course the concept

of punishment is different among Christians.

In Oromo traditional religion, there are two different views about life after death.

The first group says that all human beings continue to live after death in the form of Ekerraa

(soul/spirit) with Waaqa without the punishment of sinners. They believed that after

leaving the body of the person, the soul/spirit will not totally abandon the place and go

somewhere, but rather it will stay near the place of the person who has died. This led them

to spirit worship.

Every person must pray to the souls/spirits of his/her parents by sacrificing animal

every year near to cemetery of the family or clan. They prepare a thick local bread called

Dibaa, cheese with melted butter, locally made beer called tella, and honey as offering and

celebrate the Ekeraa ritual (prayer for the spirit of their ancestors) in December every year.

31
 The second group says that there is no life after death. What followers of

Waaqeffannaa believe and ask Waaqa to do for them is to grant them abundant life on this

earth. They pray to Waaqa to bless them and their family with good health, abundant

wealth, long life, and to multiply their cattle and make their farmland fertile and fruitful.

They are concerned only for their earthly life. They say nobody knows what happens after

death, it is only Waaqa who knows what happens. They also believe that when man dies,

the soul will leave the body and goes somewhere and nobody knows what will happen to

it. The soul does not come in contact with the living anymore.

But, like other religions, death and burial are integral parts of Waaqeffannaa. They

believe that a specific date is assigned by Waaqa for every person to die, and he/she cannot

pass that day. Not only that, Waaqa also decided in what manner that person will die.

According to the tradition of Waaqeffanna followers, when a common person dies, before

burial the corpse will be thoroughly washed with water by its relatives before it is anointed

with butter and rubbed with a burial cloth. But if the person is a wise, respected, or a

powerful man, he will be smeared with locally made mead called Teji. Finally, it will be

covered with a new white homemade cotton blanket called bullukko. Sometime when the

person is poor and his family cannot afford to buy a new bullukko, his relatives and friends

contribute money to buy that bulluko.63

63
Gedda. Pilgrimage, 62-65.

32
 Human Salvation

The Bible teaches there are two important things for human salvation. The first is

the death of Christ on the cross of Calvary to pay the wage of sin which is eternal death.

Christ died on the cross of Calvary bearing the sins of the world and set man from the

condemn of the law and the punishment of eternal death (Isa. 53: 3-5). This is what God

has done for man. It is a free gift of God (Gal 2: 21). Man will be saved by grace alone

through faith in Jesus Christ (Gal. 2: 16).

The second important thing for human salvation is that he should believe in Jesus

Christ and accept Him as his personal savior. When he believe in Christ, the righteousness

of Christ will be counted for him and he will be accepted as a child of God and will get a

right to inherit the kingdom of God. In addition to that the person who accepted Christ has

to live a sanctified life by the indwelling Spirit of God (Heb. 12: 14).

The Oromo traditional religion does not accept the death of the Creator for the sin

of human beings. Not only that, there is nothing that man should do in this life in order to

get eternal life after death. It is a free gift of Waaqa for all human beings irrespective of

their faith and what they have done here on earth. The only thing that is expected from man

is doing the daily and the yearly rituals and celebrations. There is no hell that Waaqa

prepared to punishment sinners after death or at the end of the world.

The final consequence of sin is not eternal death but rather physical death that

human beings are dying now. No one can escape the consequence of the sin that he/she

committed. He will suffer on this earth before he dies for all sin that he has committed. No

one will lose eternal life because of his sin. Right after death everybody will go to Waaqa

and live with him.

33
 The benefit of living a sanctified life here on earth is just to escape the suffering

that we can face in this life as a punishment. Suffering as a consequence of sin is only on

this earth while the person is alive not after his death. According the Oromo, this is good

news for those who are living under fear of hell and eternal punishment.

According to Aga, Followers of Waaqeffannaa believe in ten fundamental truths.

These truths are just like creeds in Catholic and Orthodox churches. They are: “We believe

in one God (Waaqa Tokkicha), We believe only in power and Wisdom of Waaqaa; Believe

in meaningfulness of all creatures created by Waaqaa; Supremacy of human being over all

creatures; Untainted nature of human being while coming to this earth; all human beings

were born Waaqeffataa to this world; everybody should perform under the umbrella of

Waaqaa to live in peace and order; Waaqaa does not punish anybody unless He show the

true way; We believe that from those created by Waaqaa, the vast majority were created

for goodness and instead of merely believing in Waaqaa one has to develop his/her

knowledge of Waaqeffannaa through doing research.64

A PROPOSED MISSION THEOLOGY TO PRESENT THE GOSPEL

MESSAGE TO TRADITIONAL RELIGIONS

The world is heading to its end rapidly. Biblical prophecies that are recently

fulfilled and those that are on the process of fulfilling confirms that soon and very soon our

“blessed hope,” which is “the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus

Christ” will take place. God is eagerly waiting His end-time Church to engage in

64
Aga, Oromo, 3.

34
proclaiming the everlasting gospel in the context of the three angel’s message with all its

power. This includes reaching traditional religions that have great number of adherents.

What kind of theological model we can use to reach traditional religions, including

Waaqefannaa, with the everlasting gospel is crucial. Here are five proposed biblical

methods. This five methods sets my personal position in reaching traditional religions

including the Oromo traditional religion.

1. Appreciating the positive things that Traditional Religion has

In developing a theology of mission for reaching traditional religions, it is important

to consider the method Paul used when he addressed the Athenians. “So Paul, standing in

the midst of the Areopagus, said: Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very

religious.” (Acts 17:22--ESV). The adjective “Very religious” in this verse is the key word

to understand Paul’s intention in addressing the Athenians, and to draw important

principles for reaching traditional religions. The Greek word deisidaimonesterous can be

translated in a positive (good) or negative (bad) sense. That is why some versions have

translated it as “very religious,” and other versions as “superstitious.”

Scholars agree that the meaning of “superstitious” is primarily a later development

in the meaning of this word. Johnson says that as a missionary, Paul did not condemn, but

rather appreciated the piety of the Athenians to their gods. Due to that, translating

deisidaimonesterous as “religious” is an appropriate translation.65 Fernando agrees with

Johnson and said that Paul’s approach to the Athenians is a good model of how to address

65Luke Timothy Johnson, The Acts of the Apostles, Sacra Pagina Series (SPS) 5
(Collegeville: The Liturgical, 1992), 314.

35
a very sensitive issue. He was straightforward but wise in his approach. His wisdom was

portrayed in calling the Athenians “Very Religious.” Calling people “superstitious’ is “an

unlikely way to start an evangelistic speech.”66

Why Paul appreciate the Athenians, who were worshipers of many gods, instead of

condemning them? There are two sources of divine truth. They are general and special

revelations. General revelation is the first source of divine knowledge. Nature (Ps. 19: 1-

4), conscience (Rom. 2: 12-15) and history are sources of general revelation of divine

knowledge. By its very nature, general revelation is not vivid and complete and could be

misinterpreted by human attempts to know more about God.

God is transcendent (Job 11:7-9; 36: 26; Isa. 55: 8-9; Rom. 11: 33-36; Jer. 23: 23-

24). He is infinitely great and beyond human comprehension. The transcendence of God,

and weakness of humanity as a result of sin (Rom. 7: 13-25; 1 Cor. 2: 14; 2 Cor. 4: 4),

make it impossible for human beings to get a complete knowledge of God and His plan of

salvation through general revelation. Sin not only greatly distorted the image of God in

man, but also damaged the perfect nature. Due to that, man was alienated from his Creator

and his sinful mind became covered with thick darkness and ignorance.

Unlike many modern era missionaries, Paul understood this fact. Whenever he went

to a certain city, he always looked at the positive side of any religious practice. Paul knew

that the Athenians acquired their knowledge of God from the general revelation that they

drew from nature, conscience, and history. He also knew that this general revelation has

been affected by sin and is not full and complete.

66
Ajith Fernando, Acts, The NIV Application Commentary (NAC) 44 (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1998), 475.

36
 He also knew that they were ignorant of God’s special revelation. Understanding

all this things, he appreciated the sincerity of the Athenians in respecting and worshiping

of their gods, though it was a wrong type of worship based on a wrong understanding of

God. He realized that if these people could be led to the truth, they would be sincere

worshipers of the true God. Due to that, he appreciated them by calling “very religious.”

Then Paul made use of the opportunity (the altar of the unknown god) to build his theology

of God and led them to the worship of the true God.

Likewise, traditional religions, including the Oromo traditional religion

(Waaqefannaa), are not fabrications of individual or group for a particular purpose, but

they are religions built upon their understanding of God based on their knowledge of

general revelation. As Paul did to the Athenians, they need someone who can lead them to

the special revelation of God using the knowledge of God that they have drawn from

general revelation.

As we have said earlier, general revelation is not the complete revelation.

Condemning traditional religions, including the Oromo traditional religion

(Waaqeffannaa), as pagan, heathen, or animist because of some of their unbiblical beliefs

and practices, and forcing them to abandon their religion and accept Christianity is against

the mission principle of Paul. Christ and the Apostles never used force to persuade people

to accept Christianity. Love is the principle of heaven and the most effective method of

evangelism. In fact the reason why many of followers of the Oromo traditional religion

embrace Islam is that Christianity is the first religion that condemn and forced them to

abandon their religion.

37
 There were things that could be appreciated in the Oromo traditional

religion: worshiping only one God, not bowing before any graven images, and preserving

nature are some of the teachings that the missionaries could appreciate and use them as

connecting point. Appreciating the positive things that Traditional Religion has must be

the foundation of our mission theology in reaching traditional religions. That is what Paul

did in Athens; he appreciated their sincerity of worshiping their gods though they were

worshiping idols. He centered his attention on the positive side of the Athenians and

intentionally kept silent about the negatives until he reaches the right time. For Paul what

matters most is sincerity. He preferred sincerity of heart than knowledge doctrine.

Though their religious beliefs and practices could be wrong, adherents of many

traditional religions, including Waaqeffannaa, are sincere in their heart for what they

believe. Nobody can deny the sincerity of the adherents of many world traditional religion

when they are performing several rituals by sacrificing their animals, crops and monetary

incomes every year while they are living with the lowest average income.

2. In reaching those who practice traditional religions, it is essential to first establish

a common ground in order to draw their attention.

In sharing the Gospel truth with the followers of traditional religions, it is very

important to begin by acknowledging what they know about God through general

revelation and create common ground. Acts 13: 16-41 talks about Paul’s ministry at

Antioch in Pisidia. When Paul came to this city, he went to the Jewish Synagogue on the

Sabbath day. During Paul’s missionary journey, it was his custom to go to the Synagogue

on the Sabbath day (13: 42-44; 17: 1-2; 18: 1-4), because he knew that Synagogue was the

38
Jewish center of worship after the Babylonian exile.67 Every Sabbath, the Jews gathered

together in their Synagogue for worship. The worship service constituted of reciting of the

shema prayer which is the confession of faith, the parashah or reading from the Law, the

haphtarah or reading from the books of the prophets, the derashah or a sermon, and it was

concluded by the benediction of the priest.68

As Paul and Bananas entered the Jewish synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia, Paul

realized that there were God fearers in that assembly and desired to preach the good news

of salvation to them. In his desire to witness about Christ, he did not start his sermon by

speaking about the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Christ which is the center of the

Gospel. Instead he build his theology of salvation by narrating the history of the people of

God starting from the Exodus, a story not only familiar to every Jew, but also precious to

their heart.

The reason why Paul began with the story of the Exodus is because he was

convicted by the Holy Spirit that establishing a common ground first is one of the best

methods of evangelism. After he established a common ground and drew their attention,

he built his theology of salvation in Christ alone. This led not only many Jews and religious

proselytes to the truth, but even Gentiles who were listening the gospel message preached

by Paul and Barnabas accepted good news of salvation in Jesus Christ (V. 43-48).

Paul learned this method from Jesus the master teacher. Jesus used this method in

His discussion with the Samaritan woman (John 4: 7-26). Christ said the her “If you knew

67
Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings (Mountain View: Pacific, 1943), 612-613.
68
“The Synagogue” [Jewush Religious Life] The Seventh-day Bible Commentary (SDAC),
rev. ed., Francis D. Nichol, (Washington DC: Review and Herald, 1976-1980), 5: 56-58.

39
the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have

asked him, and he would have given you living water” (v. 10). The most important phrase

in this statement is “living water” To the Jew “living water” means “flowing water from a

stream or spring.”69 The Jews said that running or living water drawn from the stream is

better than a water from a stagnant cistern or pool70

The woman definitely get confused of what Jesus said because there is no running

or living water around them. That is why she asked Him “Where do you get that living

water?” One thing that the woman did not understand is that Jesus was talking about the

life giving knowledge of God and Himself (John 17: 3) that will come through the Holy

Spirit (John 7: 37-39).

The discussion between Jesus and the woman continued until the woman said “I

know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all

things.” (v. 25) Now Jesus was happy because she came to the point that he was slowly

pushing her in their discussion. The Coming of the Messiah was common ground for Jews

and Samaritans. Then He immediately said to her “I who speak to you am he.” (v. 26).

Why Jesus go through all these dialogue? Why was going around the bush instead

of telling her straightforward that he is the Messiah? He was waiting until he establish a

common ground, because He knows that it will be easier for him to lead the lady to the

new truth if he is able to establish common ground first, otherwise it will be hard for her to

69
Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of John, Sacra Pagina (SP) 4, (Collegeville: The
Liturgical, 1998), 117.
70
William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of John Vol. 1 (Philadelphia:
The Westminster, 1975), 152.
40
understand and run away. Using the method of common ground helped Jesus to reach easily

not only the lady but also the whole community through her.

Establishing a common ground is also an effective method for reaching followers

of traditional religions. As far as Waaqeffannaa is concerned, they have many fundamental

truths which absolutely agree with the Bible. One of the great truths of Waaqeffannaa is

that they strongly believe in only one God, Waaqa. They also condemn bowing down

before graven images. Had the missionaries appreciated the good things of Waaqeffannaa

and created common ground, based on their teachings that agree with the biblical truth, and

led them to the truth with love as Paul did to the Athenians, they could convert the entire

community as Jesus did.

3. In reaching traditional religion, it is Important to Build From What They Have

and They Knew to What They Don’t Have and They Don’t Know

African traditional religions are known for spirit (ancestor) worship. Waaqefanna

is one of them. According to the Oromo traditional religion (Waaqeffannaa), there are two

kinds of spirits. These are spirits that are created by Waaqa, and the spirits of their

ancestors. The spirits who are created by Waaqa were created to be guardians of human

beings. Not only every living creatures: human being, animal and trees, but also each tribe,

clan, family and person have their own spirits.

These spirits have authority to kill, heal, bring misfortune, multiply or destroy the

property of human beings who violate the laws of Waaqa and the traditions of Oromo. In

addition, spirits live in the nature created by Waaqa such as mountains, trees, and rivers.

When people sin against Waaqa, the spirits in the rivers will make them overflow and

41
destroy their crops, cattle, and even themselves. Due to that they live in fear. To appease

their anger, they worship the sprits through the Qaalluu (the priests of Waaqeffannaa).

Their fear is not superstitious. The Bible tells us about people who was attacked by

evil spirit (Acts 19: 11-16). After the seven exorcist brothers of Sceva, a chief priest of the

Jews, saw that Paul was casting out demons and doing different miracles in the name of

Jesus Christ, they went to some people who are demon possessed and said to the demons

“we adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth” (V. 13).

Unfortunately things were not as they expected. The demon fiercely came against

them and beat them until they became severely wounded and run away necked. The

experience of the seven brothers proves that Satan can attack those who are not under the

protection of Holy Spirit. Adherents of traditional religions are vulnerable to this attack.

That is why they fear spirits their ancestors.

As far as spirits of the ancestors are concerned, the Oromo traditional religion

believes that all human beings continue to live after death with Waaqa in the form of

Ekerraa (soul/spirit). They believe that after leaving the body of the person, the soul/spirit

will not totally abandon the place and go somewhere, but rather it will stay near the place

of the person who has died. This led them to spirit worship.

Every person must pray to the souls/spirits of his/her parents by sacrificing an

animal every year near to cemetery of the family or clan. They prepare a thick local bread

called Dibaa, cheese with melted butter, locally made beer called tella, and honey as

offering and celebrate the Ekeraa ritual (prayer for the spirit of their ancestors) in December

every year.

42
 Ancestor worship is a common practice of traditional religions that involves various

rites. It also consists ritual prayers and giving offerings to the spirits of dead family

members. For people to be worshiped as ancestors, they must live a dignified life and attain

the respect of the family. Ancestor worship is found not only in Africa but also in many

cultures (societies) of the world.

As it is mentioned above, Waaqeffattaa (the Oromo followers of Waaqeffannaa)

offer prayers to the spirits of their dead relatives for two reasons. First, it is out of the

respect that they have to their ancestors. Though worshiping spirits of their ancestors is not

biblically acceptable, the respect for their ancestors is biblical. The Jews had respect for

their ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is not wrong. Even God introduce himself

to the people of Israel as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Heb. 11: 8-16).

The second reason why they worship their ancestors is out of fear. They believe

that the spirits of their ancestors will curse them if they do not offer prayers and give gifts.

That is why they have several rituals like ekeraa (ritual for the spirits of the dead),

booranticha (ritual for the spirit of nature), and Irreecha (another ritual for nature).

As it is mentioned above, their fear is practical. Though there is no spirit of the dead

and the dead cannot do anything against the living, Satan uses this opportunity and attacks

those who are not under the protection of God and makes them believe that it is the spirits

of the dead that attacked them and entice them to worship spirits of the dead. Sometimes,

Satan even personifies himself in the form of their ancestors and terrifies by tell them lies

(2 Cor. 11: 14). Satan is always inciting fear in the heart of human beings so that he can

easily convince them to accept his lies and make them slaves of fear.

43
 This is the result of believing in the immortality of soul, one of the two great errors

that he introduced in the Garden of Eden to deceive Eve.71 Since then, he uses it widely

because he has found out that it is the best method to deceive human beings. African

traditional religions, including Waaqeffannaa, are victims of this deception. As we said

earlier, these people developed this understanding about the spirits, not because they want

to be deceived, but based on their knowledge of general revelation. Because nature is

affected by sin, general revelation became incomplete.

In addition to that, because human reason is also affected by sin, their interpretation

of general revelation is perverted. It is no wonder that traditional religions have an incorrect

understanding of God. The challenge now is finding a way to lead the followers of

traditional religions to the correct knowledge God revealed through special revelation and

be released from the fear of the spirits and worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness.

Paul had an outstanding principle of evangelism; “I am became all things to all

men--ESV” (1 Cor. 9: 22). The purpose of this method of mission was “that by all means

I might save some.” As a missionary of the gospel of Christ, Paul had to travel to different

part of the world, to reach different people group. These groups had different levels of

knowledge and understanding of the Creator. Due to that, he had to have different model

of evangelism based on their culture and level of knowledge. For instance, the Athenians

were gentile philosophers who always seek new knowledge, but the people that Paul met

in Antioch of Pisidia were Jews. Paul cannot, and did not use same model of evangelism

for these two group.

71
Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy (Mountain View: Pacific, 1950), 588.
44
 Luke recorded the beautiful story of how the Athenians accepted the gospel of

Christ (Acts 17: 16-34). Whenever Paul went to a certain city, or talk to a group or person,

as much as possible he was trying to catch the attention and get them by his side. When

Paul went to Athens, before he preach the gospel of Christ, the first thing that he did was,

he adopted the circumstances and then the audience. This helped him to get the audience

by his side. This was the secret of the success of Paul’s ministry. Wherever he goes, as

much as possible, he do his best to get the attention of his audience.

The Athenians had many altars for their gods. The name of each god was written

on each altar. But there was one altar which was set for the “unknown god.” The very

reason why the Athenians erected an altar for unknown god was because they were afraid

that if they forgot a god, whom they did not know by name, and failed to worship him, he

might be angry and hurt them. This shows that even traditional religions of Old Testament

time had a fear of the gods.

In Athens, instead of trying to build a new truth by condemning the errors of their

belief or worship, Paul looked for some connecting point in the Athenian belief to build a

bridge so that he could direct their attention to the new truth that he was preaching. In other

words, Paul did not directly address the Athenians of their need to abandon their useless

idols, rather he held his patience until he build up their spirits and helped them open their

hearts to the truth that he was going to tell them. Then he wisely guided them and helped

them to change their direction.

Paul used the altar of the unknown god to build a bridge. As a Jew, he did not

introduce to the Athenians a new foreign God called “Yahweh” that comes from Jerusalem.

Rather the Holy Spirit filled him with wisdom to tell Athenians that the true God who

45
created the whole universe and all that are dwell therein, is right there in Athens worshiped

as the “unknown god.” Then he directed their attention to the unknown God because Paul

knew that the Athenians loves to know new things (v. 21). It is so amazing that to introduce

the true God to the Athenians, Paul quoted from Aratus, one of the Greek poets: “For we

too are his offspring.”72

Paul’s openness to the leading of the Holy Spirit, contextualizing his message to

the local culture based on what the Athenians have and what they know, and refrain from

condemning what they believe and practice broke down the barrier and led the Athenians

to accept the message of the gospel with joy. He started from what they know and led them

to what they do not know; from what they have to what they do not have; from where they

are to where they should go; from general revelation to special revelation.

Where did Paul learn this method? From God himself. In Gen. 12:1-4 God promised

to Abraham a child. Then in Genesis 15 the Lord appeared to Abraham again and promised

him not only a child but also a land. This time Abraham asked God an evidence to accept

His promise. Then the Lord asked Abraham to bring a heifer, a female goat, a ram, all of

them three years old, with a turtledove and a pigeon (V. 9). God told Abraham to cut the

animals in to two piece and put them separately (vs. 10-21). Then the Lord in the form of

flaming fire pass between the divided animals and God make a new covenant with

Abraham.

This was a common way of making covenant among the Canaanites between 8th to

6th centuries B.C. (Jer. 34: 18). In ancient Mesopotamian culture, in order to make the

72
James D. Newsome, Greeks, Romans, Jews: Currents of Culture and Belief in the New
Testament World (Philadelphia: Trinity, 1992), 34.
46
covenant binding, it had to be sealed by spilling blood. Cutting the animals in to two piece

and passing between the pieces signifies that the one who break the covenant will be cut

into pieces like the animals.73

What does God mean by passing between the pieces in the likeness of smoking

furnace, and a burning lamp? This tells us that instead of breaking His covenant, God chose

the fate of covenant breaker to happen to Him if He breaks His covenant. This show us not

only who much God is determined to fulfill His promise, but also God Himself uses things

that are found in different cultures to teach divine truth.

God did not abhor everything that the traditional culture had and bring strange thing

from somewhere else to teach Abraham a new divine truth, instead He used what the culture

Abraham grew up had. He started from what Abraham know and led him to what he does

not know; from what he have to what he do not have; from where he are to where he should

go; from general revelation to special revelation. Paul took this outreach model and applied

it in reaching the Athenians and succeeded. In fact Chrysostom, Archbishop of

Constantinople, called Paul’s approach wisdom.74

This is the right method in our endeavors to reach followers of traditional religions.

We need to begin from what they know and what they have. Condemning what they know

and what they have will lead them to bitterness and opposition. There was one common

reason for the Athenians to erect an altar for the unknown god and for the Oromo to worship

73
William R. Farmer, The International Bible Commentary: A Catholic and Ecumenical
Commentary for the Twenty-First Century (Quezon: Claretian Publication, [2001]), 374.
74
Francis Martin, ed., Acts, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (ACCS) 5
(Downers: Inter Varsity, 2006), 217.
47
the spirits of their ancestors, that is fear. There is big difference how in the first century

Paul and in the 20th century missionaries handle these similar cases.

While Paul told the Athenians is that the unknown God is not someone to be feared

but the one to be loved because He is their creator, sustainer and redeemer; but the

Orthodox Christians not only told the Oromo that their worship is an abomination to God

and they will be punished by God unless they stop their spirit worship, but also forced them

to accept Christianity.

Later, when the Protestant missionaries came to Ethiopia and tried to convert the

Oromo, instead of leading them to the gospel truth by building on what the Oromo knew

and have (believed), as Paul did to the Athenians, they followed the footsteps of the

Orthodox Christians and condemn everything that Waaqefannaa has and tried to introduce

a new God that came from outside.

This resulted in two things. First, many of them became bitter towards Christianity

and converted to Islam. Secondly, though the Oromo accepted Christianity and Islam, they

were not truly converted, but rather they just pretended to escape condemnation. That is

why now great number of Oromo Christians and Muslims attend Irreecha, the major ritual

of Waaqeffanna, together with followers of the Oromo traditional religion by going to Hora

Arsadi Lake in Bishoftu every year.

4. Power Encounter

The Oromo traditional religion says that all human beings continue to live after

death in the form of Ekerraa (soul/spirit). They believe that after leaving the body of the

person, the soul/spirit will not totally abandon the place and go somewhere, but rather it

will stay near the place of the person who has died. This led them to spirit worship.
48
 As it is mentioned above, Waaqeffattaa (followers of Waaqeffannaa) offer prays to

the spirits of their dead relatives not only out of their desire to get the blessings of the spirits

of their ancestors, but also out of fear that the spirits can curs them if they don’t offer prayer

and give offerings to the spirits of their relatives. We also said that this is the result of

believing in the immortality of soul, one of the two great errors that Satan introduced at

Eden Garden to deceive Eve.75

The Bible tells us that Satan can transform himself in the likeness of human beings

(1 Sam. 28: 4-25) and even as an angel of light (1 Cor. 11: 14). Satan uses this power of

self-transformation for at least two main things. First, as Satan appeared before King Saul

and told him lies in the name of Prophet Samuel, He also appears in the form of their dead

relatives and not only tells them lies and entice them to do certain things which is against

of the will of God.

Ellen G. White says that “It was not God's holy prophet that came forth at the spell

of a sorcerer's incantation. Samuel was not present in that haunt of evil spirits. That

supernatural appearance was produced solely by the power of Satan. He could as easily

assume the form of Samuel as he could assume that of an angel of light, when he tempted

Christ in the wilderness.”76 She also said that “He (Satan) has power to bring before men

the appearance of their departed friends. The counterfeit is perfect; the familiar look, the

words, the tone, are reproduced with marvelous distinctness.77 African traditional religions,

including Waaqeffannaa, are victims of this deception.

75
White, The Great, 588.
76
Ellen G. White, The Story of Patriarchs and Prophets (Mountain View: Pacific, 1958),
679.
77
White, The Great, 552.
49
 Second, Satan also threaten to hurt them if they fail to do whatever he told them to

do. The Bible tells us Satan has a power to attack physically people who are not under the

protection of God. The two demon possessed men at Gergesenes (Matt. 8: 28-34) and the

seven sons of Sceva are good examples (Acts 19: 14-16). The two demon possessed men

at Gergesenes were violent and hurting not only themselves but also people who were

passing by. Likewise, the seven sons of Sceva was attacked by demon as they were trying

to cast out demons from people who were possessed by evil spirits. This is another reason

why followers of traditional religion worship spirits of their ancestors and give offerings.

In order to deliver adherents of traditional religion from the fear of the power of

spirits, it is important to break the power of Satan by using the power of the Holy Spirit.

The ministry of power encounter must be one of the methods of reaching traditional

religions. Some ministers argued that the truth of the gospel has a power to set people free

from fear. Yes, the Bible says “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you

free” (John 8: 32). It is true that the gospel has a power and its truth can set people free

from fear. But the question is how?

How do we make them believe that the truth of the gospel has a power that can set

them free from fear of spirits of their ancestors? For these people who have been slaves of

the power of Satan since the time of their ancestors, we need to demonstrate them that the

power of Christ is greater than the powers of the spirits. Unless we demonstrate to them

indeed Christ has greater, it will be meaningless to them. They need practical evidence, not

only words. This can happen only through power encounter.

Biblical Research Institute of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Church released an official guideline in 2012 for those who engage in delivering

50
individuals who are demon possessed, in titled “‘Spiritual Warfare’ and ‘Deliverance

Ministry’ and Seventh-day Adventist.’” This paper was prepared based on the teachings of

the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy. It gives a good guideline for ministers and laymen who

have a burden for those suffering under demoniac possession and attack.

The paper has two deficiencies. First, instead of focusing on the importance of the

power encounter and giving a comprehensive guideline how to effectively use it in our

ministry, it is more inclined to warning Adventists not to be deceived and misuse this

ministry. This is because of the unbiblical rituals widely practiced by Pentecostal churches

and some Adventist ministers. This belittles the importance of power encounter.

In the New Testament, power encounter was one of the major parts of the ministry

of Christ and Paul. But we Seventh-day Adventists are not using power encounter as

effectively as possible. This opened the door for Charismatic churches and some Seventh-

day Adventists to misuse this gift. Second, it totally ignored what to do regarding societies

who are adherents of traditional religions that are totally immersed in spirit worship for

centuries and absolutely controlled by evil powers.

Practically, when this societies are reached with the gospel message and responded,

there is a strong demoniac attack against them to retain them back by force. This is the

major challenge in reaching traditional religions. For instance, in the northern part of

Ethiopia, there was a certain society who were worshipers of the spirits of their ancestor.

For many years, the people were sacrificing animals at the cemetery of the so-called

founders of the society every year.

When there is no rain, or face a certain problem, they were performing the rituals

shading blood by going to the cemetery as a society as well as individually. Later many

51
people from that society accepted the Adventist message. Among them was one family

from the priestly line of the ancestors. Not only that, one of the sons of this family became

a pastor. This highly annoyed some of the family members and began to curs him.

The pastor told his experience that since he became pastor, demons were coming

literally and wrestling with him in the night. Within few years this pastor’s three children

died. This led many to fear the power of spirits and withdrew from faith. Again one of the

elders who contributed for progress of Adventism among that society also became sick to

the point of death.

The elder also told his testimony that whenever he was walking alone, demon were

standing on his way and terrifying to kill him if he is not repented. Finally, Satan smote his

whole body with sore boil like Job and the elder gave up and returned to his former belief

and practices. When the elder gave up Adventism, he recovered from his sickness and the

demon stop terrifying him and died at the age of 104. This tells us power encounter is more

important in reaching this kind of society.

The Bible clearly told us that at the time of the end Satan will work with all his

power than ever before (Rev. 12: 12). Ellen G. White says “The temptations of Satan are

greater now than ever before, for he knows that his time is short and that very soon every

case will be decided, either for life or for death.78

In Ethiopia, because the Seventh-day Adventist Church undermines power

encounter, many followers of traditional religions prefer Pentecostals and Charismatic

churches than Seventh-day Adventist Church. The work of these of these churches is

78
Ellen G. White, Early Writings (Washington D. C: Review and Herald, 1945), 46.

52
growing rapidly, but not the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The reason is that when they

see the power of God greater than the power of the spirits that they are worshiping, they

feel secure and gladly accept these churches.

As Biblical Research Institute pointed out, many Charismatic churches practice

power encounter in a way that is absolutely foreign to the Bible. But converts of traditional

religions could not understand what the Bible says regarding power encounter, but rather

looking for a power that can set them free from the fear of the power of the spirit of their

ancestors. We Seventh-day Adventists could not lead them to the true power of the Holy

Spirit who can truly set them free. Due to that, they accept the wrong deliverance and live

in bondage. Not only that, even many of our members are going to other protestant and

Charismatic churches for deliverance and healing.

5. Follow me: The Method of Christ

Whenever one seeks to reach traditional religions or any people group with the

Gospel, it would be advisable to follow Christ’s method. Ellen G. White said, “Christ’s

method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Savior mingled with men

as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their

needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, ‘Follow Me.’”79

This is very true in regards to those who are adherents of traditional religions

including the Waaqeffenna. Due to the fact that their religion has been suppressed for a

long period of time and they have only recently been given recognition and the freedom to

practice their religion, it is advisable not to be in a haste to try to change them or convince

79
Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, (Washington DC: Review and Herald, 1905),
143.
53
them that they are wrong, rather as Christ did, we need to mingle with them, desired their

good, showed the love of Christs for them, ministered to their needs, won their confidence,

and direct them to the way, the truth and the life.

When those who adhere to traditional religions come to the understanding that we

care about them, they themselves will come to enquire of what we believe, and what they

should do to be saved? From there, the Holy Spirit will convict them of their need for Jesus

and souls will be won for the kingdom.

CONCLUSION

The pioneers of Seventh-day Adventist Church were mission oriented. This helped

the church to progress very rapidly. The Church has many ministries to enhance the work

of reaching the world. For instance, there Adventist-Muslim Relationship (AMR) to reach

Muslims. Likewise, there are different ministries to reach Hindus, Buddhists, and other

non-Christian religions. But there is no special ministry organized to reach traditional

religions. The Church has to wake up and open her eyes.

54
 BIBLOGRAPHY

Adams, William Y. “The Aksumite Religion,” Encyclopedia of Religion. Edited by

Lindsay Jones. New York: Thomson Gale, 2005. 1:224-225.

Aga, Bedassa Gebissa. “Oromo Indigenous Religion: Waaqeffanna.” International Journal

of Research and Scientific Innovation Volume III, Issue IV, April (2016): 2.

Andres, Tomas D. Understanding Values. Quezon: New Day, 1980.

Barclay, William The Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of John Vol. 1. Philadelphia: The
Westminster, 1975.

Bartels, Lambert. Oromo religion: Myth and Rites of the Western Oromo of Ethiopia.

Berlin: Dietrich Reimer, 1983.

Brita Marie Servan, “Sacred Networks: Religion and Social Life Among Oromo in
Norway,” PhD Dissertation, University of Bergen, 2008. Pdf.

Bunch, Taylor G. The Ten Commandments. Review and Herald, 1944.

Demie, Feyisa. “The Origin of the Oromo: A Reconsideration of the theory of the Cushitic
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