God’s Plan

This chapter discusses how heated theological arguments over different possible fates made each woman at the Lagos rehabilitation center contemplate, articulate, and defend her life choices. It shows how state programs appropriated religious authority not by appealing to conservative moral codes but by facilitating sustained introspection and self-reflection. The terms for debating God's plan reflect the ordinary hermeneutics of Christian religious practice in Nigeria. The chapter details how Pentecostal churches dominate the religious landscape in Lagos and Benin City, and how Pentecostal theology has influenced popular religious thinking and popular culture even across other Christian denominations. Pentecostalism is characterized by a belief in direct experiences with the Holy Spirit, in baptism, and in daily life.