Original Research - Special Collection: New Testament landscape in Zimbabwe

Pauline ethics in the context of the socio-political problems in Zimbabwe

Tobias Marevesa
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies | Vol 79, No 4 | a8992 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v79i4.8992 | © 2023 Tobias Marevesa | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 15 May 2023 | Published: 22 December 2023

About the author(s)

Tobias Marevesa, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, Great Zimbabwe University, Masvingo, Zimbabwe; and, Department of New Testament and Related Literature, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract

The ethics of Paul has been a subject of research for decades, and they have been applied in various contexts globally. Paul was a founder and nurturer of various early Christian assemblies. He addressed moral matters in these assemblies of groups of concerned people. Recent New Testament scholars have indicated that Paul’s ethical teachings were meant to fit the particular needs of the congregations he had established. However, the principles drawn from Paul’s moral teachings can be applied to any context, such as the Zimbabwean socio-political environment. Therefore, this article seeks to interrogate the suitability of Pauline ethics as a solution to the socio-political challenges facing Zimbabwe. The article argues that Pauline ethics can be applied as a solution to these challenges. The social conflict theory informs the analysis and arguments proffered in this article and enables one to understand the complex relationship between the ethics of Paul and the contemporary Zimbabwean context. The article concludes that there should be an equilibrium among rights, interests, and goods in the volatile Zimbabwean socio-political environment in order to promote human flourishing.

Contribution: The article significantly contributes by bringing to the fore the interface between New Testament studies and the Zimbabwean socio-political context.


Keywords

Pauline ethics; socio-political problems; Zimbabwe; social conflict theory; governing authorities

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