Re-reading Galatians 3:28ff in the Context of Ethnic and Racial Conflict and the Role of the Church in Zimbabwe: A Social-Conflict Paradigm
摘要
Paul’s use of questions in his authentic letters, such as ‘How could people live together harmoniously in an ideal society?’ has been a subject of immense interest for New Testament scholars, with a special interest in ethnic conflict in the early church. There was animosity between ethnic groups in the early church; hence, Paul addressed the Galatians, saying, “There is neither Jew nor Greek … for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28ff). There was racial tension that existed between the Jews and Gentiles. The Jews hated the Gentiles, thinking that they were the superior race because they thought they were the chosen nation by God. The ancient world was characterised by race pogroms, race riots, and deep-rooted bitterness, yet Jesus went to minister to the Gentiles. This is reminiscent of the ethnic conflict between the Shona and Ndebele-speaking people in Zimbabwe. The issue of race and ethnicity has been a cause for concern in Zimbabwe between the Shona and the Ndebele. The focus of this chapter is to examine and interrogate Galatians 3:28ff in light of the ethnic tension between the Shona and Ndebele in Zimbabwe from a social-conflict paradigm. The chapter argues that Galatians 3:28ff resonates well with the ethnic tension between the two major ethnic groups in Zimbabwe. This chapter is informed by insights from the social-conflict paradigm to examine the racial tensions in the early church and the Zimbabwean context. This chapter concludes that racial and ethnic tensions are the bedrock of civil wars, riots, bitterness toward each other, and pogroms, among other things.