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    138 Letizia Caronia ‘The human experience 9,.17-34. Ricoeur, P, (1984). Time and narrative (vol. 1). Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press " (1972). Common-sense and scientific interpretation of human action, aM, Natanon & L. Van Breda (Bat) Collected papers. The problem of social reality (pp. 3-47). New York, NY: Springer. a iscourse in place. Language in the : Routiedge. A. (1995). comme proces et comme action. Pais, France: Sempris LHarmattan, Streeck, J. (2010). New adventures in language and social inter New adventures in language and social interaction (pp. 1-8) eland and Piladp, PA: Jb Dean. the changing meanings of things: Found objects and inscrip- action In J. Stezek, C. Goodwin, ©. Lebaron (Eds), Embodied interaction. Language and body inthe material world (pp. 67-78) Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. . Ziama, A. (2009). A quel point en sommes-nous avec la sémiotique de Vobjet Revue Internationale de Communication, 30-31, 69-86. 5 Following and Analyzing a Divinity God Speaks in Public, or Charismatic Prophecy from Intimacy to Politics Philippe Gonzalez Suddenly, the preacher interrupts his sermon as if something more urgent needed to be attended. The cleric, a short and corpulent man ies. According 1ow at a cross: road, *Time has come to take the cross and receive God's blessing.” ants are asked to breathe strongly to show that the Holy Spirit is present. Mo: them proceed, even if 2 person on my left looks un- is practice. Meanwhile the preacher summons an- ‘other man, Gilles, that I can‘ see from where I stand. Before praying for Gilles, the preacher declares: “God is telling you that this love He Your heart, He wants to make it grow. Pm giving you what God is giving me for you.” The preacher is joined by the person leading the worship service, 4 sharp layman well in his sixties wearing a marron chevrons jacket, ‘The layman staggers as if drunk, “intoxicated” by the Holy § Preacher starts to “speak in tongues” and, with his colleague--who, in the meantime, seems to have gotten a hold on himselé—both lay hands ‘There are many ways to describe a phenomenon from the point of of social sciences.” Sociologists deal with subjects, persons capabl eflexivity about their own practices i difficulty: how do our scientific descriptions relate to the cial actors’ perspective? The problem becomes even mote complex when ur task is to study religious practices where participants interact with ie unseen: for instance, God, angels or demons. How is it naccibla en account for these activities without taking for granted or converscly dis- carding the reality of such elusive beings? istic approach threatens to crush these fragile entities, a fra- both phenomenological and ontological. On the opp tic stance might grant them an existence that is too certain, ‘more affirmative than what the faithful assume on an ordi. nary basis. Indeed, both options, positivist or relativist share the same weakness: they try to dissolve the tension between a supernatural ontol= ogy and a more common one. The first option settles it in advance; the second refuses to argue about it. This amounts to discarding the fact that believers, especially in Western societies, live among secular and ist cultures and, consequently, strive to relate these diverse and ing perspectives about the world (Berger, 1967; Taylor, upon themselves to account for thes ts attempt to do the same drawing upon the re- sources of the social sciences? In this chapter, I try to walk the thin line between positivism and rela- sm, as I expose how Evangelicals (claim to) hear God talking to them, ‘use the methodological leverage offered by a relat without taking for geanted its ontology. My focus mn “proph- ecy,”* public utterances claiming to come directly from God. These ut- terances are common in Charismatic circles. These Christians indeed embrace a spirituality of “signs and wonders” asserting that God is ac- tive in the world and that He can be experienced: felt, heard and even or of a conversation to bestow on them an unexpected actuality (Boone, 1989; Gonzalez, 2009; Harding, 1987). But He is also able to speak loudly, in public, through “prophetic words” ot the voice of “prophets.” By carefully following these corporeal and enunciative traces, attempt to restitute how this evanescent being, God, becomes manifest for the believers and, potentially, for third parties. In order to best expose the different dimensions related to such an ethnography, my chapter is divided into three parts. The first part discusses how to follow and analyze a supernatural being. I start by addressing methodological, theoretical and normative moves made pos- sible by following such an entity. I then discuss specific issaes—notably ontological—posed by the fact that it is the Evangelical God that I try to shadow. The second part introduces dimensions of Charismatic prophecy—love, belief, power—through 2 discussion of two important authors who explore new ways to approach religious experience and its ontology, Bruno Latour and Tanya Luhrmann. I will rclate their anal- ysis to my fieldwork, since their stance is close to mine, pointing how Latour’s ontolog; ion overemphasizes performativity to the detri- ‘ment of referentiality and how Luhrmann eludes the political dimension = in Evangelical cligious experience. This c ion results from closely tracking the communicative acts thatthe faithful attribute to God during a worship service. The third part analyzes varieties of prophetic speech, with ateention to the continuum going from the manifestation of divine ‘my data delineate the local and glob: that I investigated participates. By tracking inspired utterances and pro- phetic figures, I show that the range of topics addressed by these di words can encompass the believer's intimacy as well as the (political) destiny of nations. How to Follow and Analyze a Supernatural Being? Phenomenon, I pay attention to the actors’ and third . The descriptions crafted through this stance allow me to dialogue with a community of inquirers and suggest insights into theoretical problems. These observations exceed a mere empiricism and raise normative questions about how, as a society, we value life together. Nonetheless, these general considerations regarding a method of. need to be specified in order to analyze a divinity that is bodiless: leads to the matter of referentiality, that is notably how the faithful at bute intentions and actions to their God. Following: Describing, Theorizing and Valuating a Social World My account of prophecy is empi It is empirical in that it tries to describe how Charismatics dras fact that God is present among them, directly and publicly communicating something about themselves or Himself, but also about the world. I will show that this divine communication ‘embraces levels going from the intimate (as was manifest with the proph- cies opening this chapter) to the political realm. My evidence comes mostly froma fieldwork that Iconducted between 2003 and 2012 in and around a Free Evangelical Church of Geneva, Switzerland, This Church participates in a transnational network of “apostles,” “prophets” and preachers known as the “third wave”—a Charismatic movement power- fully shaping Evangelicalism worldwide since the 1980s (Christerson & Flory, 2017; Gonzalez, 2008, 2014b). On a theoretical level, my account interacts with two contemporary authors who explore new ways to approach religious experience and its ontology. Bruno Latour is one of these authors. His sociology of sci- ences, and more specifically his principle of symmetry, but also the idea of following the actors and their networks (Latour, 1987, 2005a), was seminal in the French-speaking academic world: it opened the door to 142. Philippe Gonzalez innovative inquiries on religious phenomena, for instance Albert Piette's fascinating use of methodological theism in his study of a Catholic par- ish (099), of Elisabeth Cl magistral anthropology of the Virgin apparitions in Medjugorje (2003). , Latour has also been pure I perspective on religion. “Angels become bad mes- sengers” when compared with scientific mediations was one of Latour’s (1990) first statements delineating his p ing that angels deliv form presence. Ever since, this author conti as a regime of speech and its related ontology (Latour, 2013a, 201 Chapter 11). Latour offers then a double perspective on the topic of reli- gion, the two versions being sometimes at odds: the first is methodolog- ‘Tanya Luhrmann is the other author religion is more empirical than Latour's: westigate the same phenomenon and an overlapping network of Charismatic actors, even if we draw different political consequences. Nevertheless, Luhrmann’s perspective has strong affinities with a attitude akin to a methodological theism that susp cal question and, in a Kantian move, refutes that (50 prove ot disprove the existence of God.” Her stance is empathic: “We want to understand how people their world hefore passing judgment on whether their interpret right or wrong. And so I will not presume to know ultimate reality.” But it retains a naturalist commitment tied to Luhrmann's emphasis on experimental psychology, as stated further on the same page: 1 believe that if God speaks, God's voice is heard through human minds constrained by their biology and shaped by their social com- munity, and I believe that as a psychologically trained anthropol- gist, I can say something about those constraints and their social shaping. (xxiv) Empicical and theoretical considerations lead me to methodology. My approach is semiotic and pragmatist. Its semiotic dimension has close parallels with an anthropological symmetry (Latous) or attitude (Luhr- mann). My first step is one of comprehension. It is not empathic, but phenomenological and hermeneutical. At this point, I am interested in describing the processes by which actors constitute the meaning, and the stability of their social world, In this I try to render Following and Analyzing a Divinity 143 ‘what ethnomethodology characterizes as the members’ point of view (Garfinkel & Sacks, 1970). Hermeneutics is especially relevant for this dof spirituality that operates ion between textual corpuses and the bodies of the faithful, lever can feel within the flesh. This going back and forth from the symbol of the text to the ineffable presence felt in the body bridges what Teall a semiotic arc (Gonzalez, My approach is also pragmatist and, in that sense, causal in three ways. perspective, but also the plurality of the social world. Here, my investigation follows the (some- times unintended) consequences of the actors’ actions on third parties; is allows me to take into account the standpoint of an indirectly af- ed and concerned public (Dewey, 1991), ofa spectator or a bystander (Lippmann, 1925/1993). This methodological move—rooted in the re percussions of action—exceeds the members’ point of view and unfolds inthe management or conflict over diverging perspectives and ontologies, (Gonzalez & Kaufmann, 2012) percussions of human ac sequences: my perspective then combines an anthropol experience with apolitical sociology in order to rail the Evangelical God beyond the boundaries ofthe religious community into the public sphere. Second, my method is also cau planation of the inves because it aims at producing an ex- cd social phenomena. My ethnography draws on the resourc ic induction (Katz, 2001, 2002, 2015) and abductive analysis (Tavory & Timmermans, 2014): I show the members point of view, and the counterpart of their act always already participates in the debate of a broader intel unity, ence my dialogue with Latour and Luhrmann. For causality is also a production of meaning “precisely ‘grounded? in theoretical debates -ommunity of inquiry” (Tavory & Timmermans, 2013, p. 709). following the consequences of. bystanders) as well as with the community offers insights into sormative questions regarding the kind of activities that promote and sustain a future community “without definite limits, and capable of a «finite increase of knowledge” (Peirce quoted in Aydin, 2008, p. 423). ‘Thus, following how the actors accomplish the social world raises ulti- ‘nately this question: is the kind of public life Evangelical believers pro- mote hospitable not only to their God and themselves, but also to others?® 144 Philippe Gonzalez How to Shadow the Evangelical God? ‘After addressing following as a general methodology, let’s focus on the eing such as the Evangelical divinity does not have a body. He seems at least as by observing the material practices that perform relations between hu mans and nonhumans, and devising narrative forms able to account for this performance. In God’s case, as will be made clear by my descri ntanglement between human actors and objects is centr | artifact and the divine Word; the is can be moved by the action of the For the faithful, God is bodiless, bur not without intentions. He is en- dowed with a will. His presence and purposes are made manifest through the believers’ motions, their prophetic words or their Bible quotes. It is ‘of course not possible to literally follow this supernat done with workers in professional settings (Sachs, 1993) inces remains nonetheless possible. These utterances are not about what this supernatural entity could be (as found in ive philosophy or in theology); they are taken as Gods speech iressed to His Church and, possibly, society. ‘The variety of communicative acts happening between the supernat- ural entity and the believers ranges from bodily motions to inspired speech. This performativity needs to be grounded in a referentiality that allows the Evangelicals to perceive these diverse manifestations as em- anating from the same will. Paul Ricceur’s analysis (2008) helps under- stand this phenomenon: the philosopher notes that the mposed ofa wide variety of books (66 in the Protestant canon) written in differ- ent times and places, and using an impressive range of literary genres; nevertheless, the word “God” operates as a meta-character binding the different volumes into a single narrative Iwill contend that, on an extra-textual level, that is, in real life, “God” the same manner for Evangelicals. The word stands as the sin- attribute to human forgeries, or even to the devils deeds, extatic mani- festations seen by their Charismatic co-religionists as resulting from the work of the Holy Spirit.) Thus, my shadowing of a divine entity will take into account how actors interweave the performative and the referential dimensions in theis relationship to God, two central dimensions in my interaction with Bruno Latour and Tanya Luhrmann throughout part 2. Following and Analyzing a Divinity 145 Love, Belief and Power: Insights from Latour and Luhrmann discuss Latour’s (in fact, “Latour 2”) and Luhrmann's respective in relation to an ethnographic excerpt. This will show the rel- evance of their work, underscore similitudes and differences and raise some questions. The discussion will revolve around the more intimate tral s will empirically ground the theoretical discussion and open the way toa further understanding of prophesy Let's start with the frst partof the excerpt, which is taken from a Sun day worship service that followed the description opening this chapter. The chapel is packed with close to hundred and fifty people. We're ‘more than an hour into the service, approaching its end. Holy com- ‘munion has just been shared actoss the pews. The pianist, an elegant ‘man in his twenties wearing a thin moustache, resumes the praise. He is backed by a bassist, a drummer, and a chorister who, like the pianist, sings with a microphone. The musicians sound professional Together they produce a musical atmosphere that envelops and stirs the assembly. This worship er than the usual forty-minute moment that opens the Sunday service. It will last for half an hour. ‘The pianist plays “Shout to the Lord.” This praise song was com- posed by Hillsong, an Australian Church famous for its musical id translated into many languages, including French. The establish T want to praise | the wonders of Your mighty love | My com ny shelter | Tower of refuge and strength | Let every breath, a Tam | never cease to wo! The song is highly meditative. The participants remain seated as they go through the first part. Some sing with their eyes closed. ‘When the chorus comes, more powerful, most of the faithful, fol- owing the lead of their pastor, stand up and wave slowly their hands in the air, Shout to the Lord all the Earth, let us sing | Power and majes praise to the King | Mountains bow down and the seas will roar the sound of Your name II sing for joy at the work of Your hand | love You, forever I'll stand | Nothing compares to the 146 Philippe Gonzalez ‘Ar the end of the song, as the musicians stretch the tune into a meditative background music, several people in the assembly pray spontaneously. A colored man in his fifties boldly invokes God with ‘strong African accent. Alluding ro a hymn sung a few minutes ago, he declares: “salvation is obtained through the Cross, and the blood of Christ washes all the sins.” A woman with long white hair, appar- tently in her seventies, gives thanks for “the communion between the saints.” A young woman, talking from the aisle where the teenagers "usually sit, quotes from memory a well-known excerpt from Revela tiom, the last book of the Bible: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”? ‘The song, the atmosphere and the worshippers’ attitudes display an in- tense longing for the divine presence. The lyrics talk about love for God as if it were a relationship between lovers. Jesus, depicted in an inci- mate mode, appears as the ultimate object of passion: “forever V’'ll love ‘nothing compares to the promise I have in You.” An everlasting pledge of adoration akin to spousal vows. ‘As Percy (1997) noted, Charismatic worship is a “sweet capture” pos- sessing both erotic and eschatological overtones. Now, eschatology is about Parousia, the direct and long awaited encounter, at the end of times, with the returning Christ. This excerpt finishes preciscly with the Bible that is related to eschatology aphor for one’s heart—and letting know that he is willing to enter 0 life, make himself present. In fact, the young woman is not really “quot ing” Scriptuse, for, a she cites the verse, the text ceases to be a symbol of the past and becomes the medi merges with God’s voice, her “I” here He is, speaking publicly right now. f an actual presence. Her voice ides with His? And, suddenly, Love Talk Latour and Luhrmann stress the importance of divine presence and love talk, Luhrmann's descriptions are closer to mine, “Here in these songs,” she writes, ‘the remarkable God of this kind of church shines forth. Rarely do ‘you hear of his judgment; always you are aware of hi ever, docs a song suggest you fear his anger. He is a perso father, of course, but more remarkably, friend. Best friend. (2012, pp. 4-5} “The metanhar af the lovers i¢ a lanenase game central to Evangelical Following and Analyzing a Divinity 147 tropes. Most of their songs revolve around this image displaying an in- timate deity. Latour’s (2013a) use of the metaphor is somewhat different. He does not directly connect love talk to an empirical description, and thus to the actors’ categories, even though his language and allusions presuppose radition."" His his book on mation. “We might as well admit it straight away: there is no informa- tion in matters of religion, no maintenance of constants, no transfers of relationships intact throughout the stream of transformations” (p. 20). Love, on the opposite, when expressed in the right manner produces a change: the lover might manage to express the same love, not through rep- tition of the formula now, but through something quite different that bears no relationship of resemblance to the sentence he is being asked to recapture: a gesture, an act of kindness, a look, a joke, a quivering of the glottis. (...) No information is conveyed by the sentence and yer she, the woman who loves, feels transported, trans- formed, slightly shaken up, changed, rearranged, or not, or the op- posite, alienated, flattened, forgotten, mothballed, humiliated. (Latour, 2013a, p. 26) to Latour, belongs to the pure realm of performa- not descriptive, but travels time and space to pro- presence and transformation: “There are sentences, uttered every day, then, whose main object is not to map out references but which seek to produce something else entirely: the rear and the far, closeness or distance” {p. 26). Religious speech, just like talk between lovers, entails five felicity conditions. Words that “redress” must: (1) “be comprehensible”; (2) “be directed to the present situation (...) not the past”; (3) not “compromise between words of conversion and words of information, between creating closeness and secking the distant”; “have an effect, otherwise we say them falsely”; (5) reform “a unity, union or a people {in the lovers’ case, a micro-people)” What About Belief{s)? Latour and Luhrmann agree about presence and love (talk], but they are atodde when itcomes to belie. Ltoor sems preoccupied with sec religious speech from referentiality, because this confusion wit mation, and most of all with (the fantasy of a transparent) double-click 148 Philippe Gonzalez the “burlesque wars” between science and religion (2013a, p. 22). To be protected, religious speech should remain confined to the res formatives. of per is move explains why, for Latour, belief-—with tial dimension—must be discarded: “Yes, in these matters of religion (...) belief in G. is absolutely not involved ar any kind of boundary between believers and no and the infidels.” The author then stresses that he is ite determined, when it comes to t shout the poison of belief” (p. 3).13 Luhrmann's account. Without it, Evangelicals would not be able to intimately interact with an invisible but loving God. At this point, two kinds of beliefs must be differentiated: one basic, closee to experience and the senses; another more conceptual, Luhrmann de- scribes these basic beliefs as a theory of mind, a practical skill organized around fundamental ideas that have an impact on religious concepts (narratives, hymns, dogmas): “To know God, these Christians school their minds and senses so that they are able to experience the supernatu- ‘ways that give them more confidence that what their sacred books say is really crue” (2012, p. x ‘This new theory of mind is highly counterintuitive, for “to become a ‘committed Christian one must learn to override three basic features of human psychology: that minds are private, that persons are visible, and that love is conditional and contingent upon right behavior"[p. xxii. This is a fragile process, because, to distinguish God’s intimate talk from madness, these Christians “must develop a way of being in the world that is able to sustain the violations in relation to God—but not other humans” (p. xxii). This theory of mind is necessary to experiment Scripture as something more than a symbol of the past, as the medium {for an actual presence. Let me elaborate on Lurhmann’s analysis draw- jing upon my fieldwork. These second-order (more conceptual) beliefs work dialectically with the basic ones: the latter enable the religious experience, but the first are the stuff this experience is made of—not only ideas and dogmas, but also heroes, plots and scenes enabling the imaginative process. ‘The colored man giving thanks, in the ethnographi vation obtained through the Cross” is supposed to that he is both referring to a past event and alluding to a present situation, It is because Christ died historic: a Christian, is supposed to be saved today, and enjoys this spe Note that this belief does make a part of the Church as he personally this statement and con fesses it publicly. This same hermenentical process holds for the young woman invoking a verse drawn from the ancient book of Revelation, as her voice becomes 2 medium for Christ’s present invitation. And this doesn’t stop with the past or the present, but also includes the future. sxcerpt, for “sal- Following and Analyzing a Divinity 149 After all, this woman and her congregation hope that this partial and personal Parousia will unfold, at the end of times, in a cosmic encounter. Luhrmann acknowledges this dimension between past and present— and I should add the future—when she writes that Evangelicals “assert that they are part of the conservative Christian tradition that under- stands the Bible to be literally or near literally true and that describes the relationship with Jesus as personal, and as being born again” {p. xv). I have thus to disagree with Latour when he argues too exces- ly that religious transformation has nothing to do with scientific information. Evangelicals do not sever the link between referent and performativity—as it is manifest in the advocacy, by some of strands, in favor of creationism understood as scientific explanation of the origins of life incompatible with the theory of evolution (Numbers, 2006), or about the entitlement of the current State of Israel to possess the entire land of Palestine according to the “promises made by God in the Old Testament (Goldman, 2009). Angels are not bad messengers: there is no appearance of a divine presence hic et nunc disconnected from the pretense that a rigorous access across time and space could verify what is believed to have taken place in a distant past."* No divine presence without (some) referentialit mnzalez, 2006).1 Just Intimacy, No Politics? Latour and Luhrmann do not agree on matters of belief. They also differ about the entanglement between politics and religion. Let’s remember chat, for the French anthropologist, the performative dimension of re- ous speech unfolds in what he calls the re-formation of “a unity, an lentity, a union or a people” (Latour, 2013a, is no individual religion” (p. 164). This collective aspect of relig first step in the direction of politics. Latour recognizes this fact when he points that both spheres share a common vocabulary about “‘people’, ‘composition’ and ‘representation. At the same time, he seems anxious to separate them: Yer, there is no resemblance between politics and religion (..) Every- thing else is different, all the mechanisms, all the forms of speech, all the regimes of utterance. The people made up of the redeemed doesn't match up with the people made up of citizens. Both are well represented but the sense ofthe word ‘epresentation’ i completly iffecen (Latour, 2013a, p. 165) indeed, this is a liberal anxiety, for Latour envisions quite lucidly what would happen if and when a was to become bedfellow with 150 Philippe Gonzalez politics. This could summon intolerant identity affirmation, crush plu- ralism and conjure the ghost of religious wars. Al the more so as the tempration is great, in periods of backward surges, to repacriate the holy people to the shelter of borders that are a bit firm. To spare ourselves the demanding work of faithful- s of politics and customs, on the it cultural affiliations. (...) From that ‘moment, there isan inside and an outside, a fortress besieged where the ‘treasure of faith’ is preciously preserved against the ‘rising tide of barbarians’ (Latour, 2013a, p. 165) Luhrmann (2012) writes in the context of a nation already polarized by the specter Latour is trying to exorcise. Her starting point is the political impact and the trauma caused by the ascent to power of the Christian Right, especially during the younger George Bush presidency (just as it is currently the case with Donald Trump's administration). “Many hhave been horrified by what chey take to be naive and unthinking false beliefs, and alarmed by the nature of this modern God” (Lurhrmann, 2012, p. xv). Luhrmann's (2012) statement is probably broad sweeping when she depicts people as if they were concerned by the Evangelicals’ beliefs per se, and not by their consequences for a plu in her account, non-Evangelical observers appear more as intolerants than as (poten- tially) affected and concerned citizens. The anthropologist then takes the stance of a pedagogue trying to explain the reasonableness of believing in such a God: “My goal is to help nonbelievers understand this learning process” —i.e., experiencing God. “This will not rurn the skept a believer, but it will help to explain how a reasonable person could choose to become and remain this kind of Christian,” This pedagogical stance envisions a normative purpose, that of (political) reconciliation: “Per- haps that will serve as a bridge across the divide, and help us to respect cone another” (p. xv ‘Thus, Luhrmann's (2012) account is made of bits that the reader strives to reconnect in order to understand the connexion between the {1 and the intimate. On the one side, the anthropologist recog- (especially in her footnotes) the political—if not the hegemonic— dimension of (Neo-) Evangelicalism: fully fundamentalist when it comes to doctrine, but trying to “build a theological structure in which political and social action could be conceptu: i thy goal” (p. 362). Her definition of *Evany fine: believers who reclaim this label “signal some ‘own sense of spirituality and cheir commitment to using it to change ‘the world around them”—a conservative kind of transformation when Following and Analyzing a Divinity 151 it is taken into account that Evangeli ” (p. 13). Is “include most of the Moral vine. This is partic- blarly noticeable as Luhrmann mentions poits in passing, but focuses on the personal. ‘This new, modern God, is eager for the tiniest details of a worship- per’ life. He welcomes prayers about the nation, of course, but he also wants prayers about what outfit to wear in the morning. He ‘may be grand and mighty, but he is also as closely held and precious as a child’ first puppy. This God loves unconditionally; he forgives freely; he brings joy. Why would one not believe? (Luhrmann, 2012, p. xvi) This shetoricl move from the political to the intimate obscures how on earth such spirituality could remotely engender the militancy of the Chistian Right. Luhrmann’ (2012) account even suggests that Charis ‘matic Evangelicalism produces, in the believer, the virtue of tolerance: ‘Those who seek God in this way come to deeply ¢ come ly respect the wa Gods differen with ca peson: and withthe respext grows an = ing that all people reach for God through the thick d of their own thoughts and feelings. = (p.313) But, as the media document every day and as I witnessed lay an tnessed on my field- work (Gonzalez, 2014b), this open-mindedness vanishes when it comes to Islam or homosexu: ness vanes when How to explain t ference between Luhrmann's account and mine? It les 1 as of Evangelical worship. They miss something there that this possible politicization, in Ch. ic spiritu shown with this second excerpt of the Sunday se scribe. Following Latour’s insight, let's be attentive to used during worship. ‘The musicians play song after song without interruption. At oné snoment, they perform “Hol is the Lod of hosts” solenn tone celebrating God's majesty and stating that: “the whole earth is filled with Your Glory.” The few lyrics—adding “Holy, holy, holy” sums it pretty much—repeated for five minutes immerse the assembly in a trance, At the end of the song, everyone is standing. The pianist starts speaking in tongues, a supernatural and incomprehensible lanuave 152 Philippe Gonzalez attributed to the Holy Spirit. Only the very few with the “spiritual gift of interpretation” can translate it—even though most belie of the tune, but replace ‘The man with an African accent deliv- spoke through him in first-person. His ut- to write down ers a message, as if Gi terance takes me by surprise. I don't have tl his words. ‘A few minutes later, after the offerings have been collected, the worship service ends with a rhythmic, almost martial, song, “We want to see Jesus lifted high.” The drummer seems delighted as the ‘people in the congregation, standing up, clap their hands in rhythm and shout: ‘We want to see Jesus lifted high | A banner that flies across this Jand | That all men might see the truth and know | Hie is the way to heaven. bod Step by step we're moving forward | Litle by little taking ground | Every prayer a powerful weapon | Strongholds come tumbling down and down and down. In the previous excerpt, the words “Lord” and “King” served to address God. Here, “Lord” is used again co emphasize the deity’s power over creation. But the name “Jesus” also partakes in this power, except that his dominion extends over a (potentially) political realm: “a banner that flies across this land,” And with the lexicon of the “land” comes the idea of conquest. Let's compare this very common observation‘? with the way Luhrmann (2012) describes worship: Here in these songs the remarkable God of this kind of church shines forth. Rarely do you hear of his judgment; always you are aware of his love; never, ever, does a song suggest you fear his anger. He is a person: lover, father, of course, but more remarkably, friend. Best friend. (pp. 4-5) ly, in the anthropologist’s account, all the royal vocabulary is ing. She eludes this political dimension present in Evangelical reli- us experience. Yes, Jesus appears as a lover, but he is also a Messiah, Charismatic Evangelicals are particularly fond of his royal authority—a prerogative that can subvert the grammar and the institutions of a lib- eral, secular and pluralist democracy. And prophecy, just as worship, plays a role in this subversion, as [am about to show. Following and Analyzing a Divinity 183 From Intimate Presence to Political Power ‘The discussion of Latour and Luhrmann helped problematize how Evan- gelicals hear God publicly addressing them through prophecy. The third part details the variety of prophetic speech by going from non-semantic utterances to very elaborate inspired pronouncements. My focus will be on both divine presence and propositional content, with a special atten- tion to the context of interaction. This variety of prophetic speech raises questions about entitlement: who is seen as a “prophet,” as opposed to the aware- even a country. At this prophets present the supernatural about God's plans for Switzerland or 1ow recognized Presence: From Glossolalia to Prophecy ‘The excerpt opening this chapter displayed a preacher addressing a “pro- phetic word” to two men, respectively Michel and Gilles. The minister's speech takes the canonical form of *The Lord is showing me something about you.” As will become obvious, this is already a very elaborate prophetic utterance. We will evoke nonpropositional types of prophecy to demonstrate that this phenomenon is in the frst place about divine presence. Let's stare with a couple of features drawn from the preacher's state- » his “words” possess a propositional content that, at the appears unspecified. As a (somewhat skeptical) observer of was struck by the vagueness of the message. It resembled ‘an astrological prediction drawn from a popular magazine (Gonzalez, 201dal. Not until I heard Michel's thrilled reaction did it occur to me ‘addressee to fill the blanks with his relevant biographical events, to re- shape his experience in the light of God's presence in his life. Presence is then the second—and central —fe The interpretative process rative. Testimony as a genre plays a crucial role in Evangel simultaneously displays the believers’ personal faith, his bel this kind of Christianity and, possibly, to a specific congregation. conversion narrative—even as it attempts to generate God's presence in the listener's experience as an instrument of evangelization (Harding, 1987}—remains oriented toward the past of the narrator: it tries to show how the divinity was there in some life-defining events; whereas proph- ‘cy is more connected to the present and open toward the future, even if some prediction is drawn from an ancient scripture (as in eschatological 154 Philippe Gonzalez speculation). Thus, conversion and prophecy are meaning-producing de- vices that operate on three levels, which Paul Ricceur (1986/2012) iden- tified as follows:!? ‘This meaning mediates between human existence and the world, Qe her- between human beings, between a human being and hi self, The mediation berween a human being and the worl referentiality; that between human beings is commmunic between a human being and him- or herself is self-underst Ricceur's (1986/2012) insight is decisive although it remains too herme- neutical, [tis immediately concerned with self understanding—a com- prehension of the self mediated by the parameters of language. Michel de Certeau’s (1996) analysis of glossolalia, grounded in the di between voice and language, complements Ricoeur's hermeneutics, link- ing utte odes of experience. This dichotomy produces a vocalization of the subject (Certeau, 1996, p. 41); “the subject is for- sgetfulness of what language articulates. From the start, the ‘T’ has the formal structure of ecstasy” (p. 47). the concept of subject seems too definite. This leads the French historian to summon both mystical and psychoanalytic genres to evoke “that? which speaks” from within (p. 44). In Charismatic glossolal subjects altered by the presence of an alterity moving the believer, ence attested by the dissolution of language, the bodily motions (tears, laughter, shaking) and the powerful emotions submerging him or her. Glossolalia and the preacher's prophecies appear then as two poles on 2 continuum relative to how God becomes sensible and audible for the believer. This presence can be heard, felt through the body and shared ‘with the congregation. Ifthis analysis is correct, there must be intermedi- ary positions between the two poles of speaking in tongues (or weeping, ‘or laughing moved by the Spirit) and uttering a propositional prophecy in the form of “The Lord is showing me something about you.” A first position would be actualizing the Bible, like this young woman voicing {Jesus in Revelation: “Flere Lam! I stand at the door and knock.” The iblical text becomes an actual and active voice, where the “I” “I” of the utterer merge. ‘Then, closer to the other end of the spectrum, the “I remains indis- tinct as speech frees itself from the letter ofthe Bible while still retaining its tone. This is manifest in words uttered by a blond woman near the end of the Sunday worship that I have been describing. While the ushers pass through the pews to collect the offerings, the pianist strikes up “Come Holy Spirit.” This song, composed by the Catholic ecumenical Chemin Neuf Community, is a hit among Following and Analyzing a Divinity 155 French-speaking Charismatic circles. The lyrics are inspired by the traditional Veni Creator Spiritus. Come, Holy Spirit come down on us Fill us with your love | Let your kindness radi Come and strengthen our bodies | and make in us your dwelling. ‘The musicians interpret this slow and highly contemplative song with delicacy. Most of the persons stand eyes closed, hands turned towards the sky. They sing as if they were praying with theit whole bodies. The beauty of the moment takes my breath away. I am overwhelmed by a strong emotional wave running through the congregation. Come and set our lives in fire | Come shine in our nights | You the Consoler | Come Spirit of truth | Come to purify our hearts | Come and renew us. AAs the musicians reach the end of the song, a blond woman in her forties standing on the balcony says with a yearning: “Do you feel my Spirit breathing on you? Tam breathing, I am breathing my .” Soon, a man that I can’t see from where 1 rate prayer thanking Christ for his return. He is by a man in his twenties who, on the verge of tears, thanks God for his mercy and his love. an ‘The woman’s prophetic utterance doesn’t arrive at a random place. it elaborates on the lyrics of the song, as they invite che Holy Spi “come and set our lives on fire.” The “I” uttered by the woman doesn’t refer to her, but to God stating that Hi irit is present in response to the invitation to come that the congzegation extended through worship. ‘The utterance is immediately and coherently succeeded by the man’s prayer invoking eschatological themes. Again, presence and Parousia are intertwined. This section followed how God is present and communicates Him- self through bodily motions and inspired words. We are able now to reconstruct the different kinds of prophetic speech. Our attention to presence—attuned to the actors’ perspective—led us to start with gloss0- lali is non-semantic utterances and somatic affections displaying, °s flesh, a divine filling. We then discussed verses drawn by the authority of quotation can become a performance where the utterer captures something of the feel—and not the letter —of a prophetical address drawn from the Bible. Finally, we encountered a full-fledged prophecy or a vision as the one stated by the minister: “The Lord is showing me something about you.” ‘Two important things differentiate the blond woman's statement from the invited preacher's: place and status. The woman speaks from the 156 Philippe Gonzalez andience, raising her voice to communicate her inspired message. Het utterance uses a small slor in the polyphonic conversation that the con sgrogation is addressing to God. She has no title; it follows that her en- titlement to propheti is fragile. On the opposite, the clergyman being a (recognized) “prophet.” ‘That There Are Prophets Almost any faithful can deliver inspired words, but very few are seen as “peophers.” Let's explore the kind of statement that can be uttered by or tied to this authority figure. Until now, I focused on two events, starting with the annual parish general assembly that took place in the same month of February 2003. General assembly started at § p.m. I's a Tuesday evening, More than 70 members are attending. Around 9:30, delegates of different sister parishes follow one another on the platform to extend greetings and share information about their respective congregations. The dele- gate of Onex, a town in the periphery of Geneva, takes the floor to announce that his parish is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary. He links the celebration to a particular event: Let me tell you a little story. Last March, a prophet came to our parish and gave us a prophetic word from the Apocalypse: ‘I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut’ (Revelation 3:8). Since then our relationships with the authorities of Onex and the Churches in town have been excellent. Both expressions are used: “prophetic word” and “prophet.” The lat- ter refers to a traveling preacher, similar to the Belgian minister of our previous descriptions. The first expression stands for a quotation drawn. from the Bible. The propositional content of the verse, vague at first sight, acquires a definite and new meaning by being indexed on a situa- tion. Scripture gains a performative dimension as the speaker attesting a change in dynamics for at least three collective bodies: the “us” standing for the Church in Onex, as well as the other Churches and the authorities of the town. Therefore, prophetic words describe, in a supernatural way, God's presence and action in the faith- ful’s life and on collective leveis. Following and Analyzing a Divinity 187 This analysis is consistent with other observations 1 conducted in the but they came from different Western countries, mostly North Amer- mnducted worship and gave prophetic words they were speaking from the platform, al ica. The group of stud. becween the songs. through a microphone, asking God: “Send your Holy Spitit on Gei ‘We are thirsty for your presence. Come, Lord Jesus!” Those bursts were accompanied by more elaborate prophecies of “revival” and “reformation.” Here is an excerpt (Gonzalez, 2008, 438): (...) E want to encourage the Church in Geneva, that you have a ‘mighty inheritance in here. And to encourage you that the Reformation was not the completion of God's work in Geneva. It was only the start. And this morning when I was praying—I want to encourage you about—I felt so stirred. I feel stirred even now like could prophesy a book over this whole church. But the one thing that I do want to prophesy, is that there is a movernent of God thar is coming to Geneva, that is going to make the Reformation seem ‘minuscule. The fire of God is going to return to Geneva soon. This student is introduced as a member of a “school of prophets.” He is granted authority by the pastor of the congregation. His credentials are not only institution: they are also performed on an interac- tional and discursive level: “I felt so sticred. 1 feel so stirced even now like I could prophesy a book.” The student is indicating that the Spirit is moving him. His inner motions are an attestation of God's presence. ‘At the same time, his prophecy has a propositional dimension related to the advent of a new Reformation in Geneva, that is, a society where {Bvangelical) Cl ty is called to play a shaping role. ‘We will dwell later on the societal dimension of prophecy. For now, let’s keep exploring the relationship between inspired words and being prophet, for it will show how Evangelicals are aware of the problems that prophetic claims can raise. In November 2003, several persons in the congregation were invited to give their tes during a worship ly witnessed about pite years of personal and communal prayer. The testimonies were delivered instead of the usual sermon. They were in- troduced and framed by the pastor. This bold decision went against the admitted theology about supernatural healing and drew considerable opposition from another minister in the Church. One of these testimo- nies was about a vision. As she started describing the image sent by God to reassure her about not being cured, the person—a devout member 158. Philippe Gonzalez of the congregation—said: “I’m not someone who receives visions or images every day. Don’t worry!” (Monnot & Gonzalez, 2011, p. 102). This cautious preface to che telling of the vis revealing. First, the utterer is not making any claim to be a prophet. Then, she is aware that, even in the context of the pastor authorizing her testimony, she is about to state something that goes beyond God's usual way of acting, according to how it is commonly understood within the congregation, Ac the same time, she is conferring to her vision exceptionality. The same caution can be applied to people outside the Church, as one of my in- formants, a graduate student the evening with the Belgian minister: “You probabl crazy”—before starting a conversation about the supernatural, Both sit- tuations, the show that the ‘eneing God may be seen a3 problematic is community, and that ac- counting for that experience implies some caution, ‘Thus, being a prophet, even by Charismatic standards, implies to be seen as an authority figure. This authority is closely related to a “gift” attributed to the Holy Spiric by the congregation, a ministry or an “ap- ostolic” network. As was shown with the Belgian preacher or the ap- prentice prophet, their prophecies are more elaborate than a Bible quote. Theit revelations show a greater authorship that denotes the closeness of this “anointed” figures with God. For the Nations: Switzerland and the Lion AAs we followed the prophetic words meant for specific saw that prophecies can also be about collective enti Churches (Onex or Geneva). One important clement lies in the fact that these visions were delivered by or attributed to traveling “prophets.” international and parachusch networks that the Evangelical world and are powerfully transforming global Christianity (Christerson & Flory, 2017; Stephens & Giberson, 2011). Their messages relocate the common destiny of a city, a region within God's act duals, we 8 political institutions (“reform”) in order to bring the nation “back to God” and “His laws” In this ser situations regarding prophecies about nations, On June 13, 2010, the Swiss Evangelical Alliance organized a huge rally known as the “Day of Christ.” The event filled the Bern Stadium, in the capital, with 25,000 people coming from every part of the country.22 ‘The main organizers belong to the Charismatic wing of Swiss Evan- Following and Analyzing a Divinity 159 distributing a booklet, The Lion of Light, whose subtitle was “a word for Switzerland.” This 10,000-word vision was written in English by North American prophet and worship composer Scott MacLeod, con nected to the well-known Charismatic network MorningStar Ministries. The text was originally entitled, “Strategic Prophetic Word - Europe - Switzerland.” It was translated into German and French and given to the participants of che event. The following paragraphs are my summary of the main themes running through the prophecy. MacLeod opens the The Lion of Light by stating thar his text is the result of “a profound prophetic experience” received while he was visiting Switzerland: “The Lord downloaded much revelation in re- gard to the Swiss people, the Swiss Church, their past, and what be- lieve isa foreshadowing of thei spiritual future.” This vision actives in the context of “a great war coming with the demonic realm, and the Church must be fully equipped and prepared to stand against, these wicked forces that will soon be unleashed in the earth.” The Swiss are to play a “strategic rol the closing chapters of the Church Age.” ‘The prophecy continues by summoning Swiss history. It points that the Swiss were known for their skills as warriors and hired as mercenaries by foreign kings. But mercenariness eventually brought tragedy: in 1792, the Swiss guards of Louis XVI were slaughtered by the people during the French Revolution as they tried to defend the Royal Palace. In Lucerne, a gigantic statue of a wounded lion ‘commemorates this massacre. MacLeod associates the lion to Christ (a.common biblical image), but also to Switzerland: the Swiss muse renounce their neutrality (adopted after these terrible experi with mercenariness) to become warriors for the while fighting for the freedom to preach Bil According to the vision, “God is presently recruiting and training up an army of cadical Swiss warriors who are completely unashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They will not be politically o¢ reli- ously correct.” And God will give to the Swiss Church “the favor litical authorities. Worship will be a weapon in the souls: “Divine creativity and high praise will to spill over into the streets, the clubs, the schools, the market- and the nations. It will infltcate the airwaves!” remains eschatological, but it is also marked by a strong dualism oppos- ing God to the devil—both are present and active. Hist ious images to depict Switzerland as an actor in 160 Philippe Gonzalez for the nation, are summoned to become spiritual warriors whose fight ‘might have consequences in the political realm and in the public sphere. ‘The vision offers a strong critique of anything close to “neutrality” de- picted as a form of “capitulation” or “compromise.” On the contraty, these warriors must hold “purity” as their standard against “sexual im- morality” and the “unclean standards of this corrupt world.” ‘After the Day of Christ, Reeve, a Pentecostal theologian and professor in a S stitute, published a post de- nouncing the “Ct sated by The Lion of Light.4 “Tam deeply disturbed,” he wrote, “by the emergence of a form of mys- tical nationalism, by which some Evangelicals think that nation-states have a divine vocation.” He denounced these “alleged prophetic revela- tions” as “violent” (in particular in their praise of Zwingl’s death) and “theocratic.” Reeve's concern elicited some debate on the margins of the nizers of the theless, this “Christian fucls the agenda of Evangelical pol Democratic Union) who crafted and helped launch the 2009 referendum imposing the anti-minaret ban in Switzerland (Gonzalez, 2015). America Burning, Trump and the Deep State The second prophecy I wish to discuss was published on the website Charisma News, part of the Charisma Magazine, a media proud to be the “main magazine of the Christian Charismatic movement.”2” This vi- sion was delivered by evangelist Pat Schatzline of Remnant during the Jim Bakker show, a program that the televangel ‘with his wile Lori. The show is “an hour-long daily broadcast featuring prophetic and Biblical revelations brought to light in today's world.” Schatzline’s prophecies—we will see that there are two of them—were then delivered in the center of the media world of Charismatic Bvangeli- calism. Both Jim Bakker* and Pat Schataline™ are connected to Morn- ingStar Ministries, just like Scott MacLeod. All of them participate in a ek of evangelists, prophets and apostles. Prophetic Vision Details ‘Tanks Rolling Through Ameri- ‘the title of the Charisma News post published under the a” column in July 2017.22 The page features a four-minutes ex- can Cities” “Opi cerpt video from the Jim Bakker Show, where Schatzline states his proph- ecies. The article summarizes the first, while the excerpt shows both. America will not be destroyed from the outside, but from within, author and minister Pat Schatzline says the Lord told him. ‘The revelation came after Schatzline received a very vivid specific Following and Analyzing a Divinity 161 I was standing on the street corner just worshipping the Lord instead of it being a child, Watch the video to see more. ‘The vision describes scenes of civil war where the American army ap- pears to go after ordinary civilians. The cause of this disruption is located—borh in the prophecy and in its summary by Charisma News— in the celebration of “perversion,” probably a code word for “homosex- uality,” and the acceptance of Islam. These two themes are common in pro} to emphasize the state of decay reached by Western societies (Gonzalez, 2014). The vision also elaborates on the idea of a spiritual war between God and the devil: Charismatic discourse tends to relate homosexuality and Islam to demonic powers. But here combat becomes literal and turns into civil war. Charisma News doesn't explicitly en- dorse the vision, but neither shows skepticism toward it. The prophecy seems newsworthy and elaborates on common topics for this media. This brings us to Schatzline’s second inspired message: PAT SCHATZLINE: I had a prophetic dream, one morning, three weeks ‘ago, of America. And I just saw smoke rising from America, and I thought, “Lord, what's that?” And then I get a phone call from a prophet, a real prophet, true prophet, pure prophet. And he says to ‘me, “Pat, I don't know who to say this to, but I had a dream. And that is: che leaks that are coming from the White House right now are not from the former administration, Obama administration, but the deep state Republican administration before him.” LORTBAKKER: Mmmh! feel the same thing,” JOHN SHOREY: Did you say, “burning in America?” PATSCHATZLINE: Yeah! Isaw.... Thad a dream early one morning, And I saw flames coming of America. And then I woke up. And then T got a phone call from that guy. 1 don’t know if the two work together. 162. Philippe Gonzalez ‘The later message seems to elaborate on the preceding. The first vision gave some causes about the civil war coming: homosexuality (“perversion”) and Islam. This dream offers answers regarding who might be behind the tanks. Schatzline hints at the link between the two visions, without making it explicit, “I don’t know if the two work to- gether,” and leaving the assumption to the viewers. But before tackling, ‘anonyt ‘encountered in my fieldwork when a speaker was making a considerable

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