Browsing by Author "Garande, Tatenda"

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    Trampling on the poor : poverty as violence in Amos 2:6-8, 5:10-13 and 8:4-6
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-04) Garande, Tatenda; Claassens, L. Juliana M.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Old and New Testament.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Poverty is a global phenomenon that is complex and multi-dimensional. Since the early 1990s, Zimbabwe has been going through a serious socio-political and economic crisis that reached its peak during 2008-2009. Current conditions in Zimbabwe indicate that the crisis is not yet over. This socio-political and economic crisis has plunged the majority of Zimbabweans into an abyss of poverty. In their quest to find a solution to their poverty, many Zimbabweans have turned to the Church. In particular, the Prosperity Gospel promoted by two popular preachers, Immanuel Makandiwa of the United Family Interdenominational Church and Walter Magaya of Prophetic, Healing, and Deliverance Ministries, has appealed to many Zimbabweans who are deep in poverty. The Prosperity Gospel proclaimed by these pastors claim that prosperity is a blessing and a sign of faith while poverty is deemed a curse and a sign of lack of faith. Conversely, poverty is also depicted as a demon that has to be exorcised. This understanding of poverty poses a challenge because it turns a blind eye on the historical and economic policies that caused poverty not only in Zimbabwe but also in other parts of Africa. In our quest to understand poverty, the meaning we ascribe to the concept will determine how individuals, nations, organizations or the church will respond to and deal with this phenomenon. This study thus argues that poverty is violence against the poor and it is embedded in societal structures that benefit a few powerful elites at the expense of the weak and innocent poor. In addition, this study proposes that Prosperity Gospel is a form of cultural violence that legitimizes the structural violence associated with poverty. The study further argues that Prosperity Gospel is not peculiar to only Makandiwa and Magaya, but that the prophet Amos dethroned a similar kind of theological construction when he castigated the rich and powerful for violating the dignity and rights of the poor. Employing literary and rhetorical criticisms as exegetical tool, this study identifies hidden forms of violence in Amos 2:6-8, 5:7, 10-13 and 8:4-6 that emphasize the basic assumption of this study which is that poverty ought to be understood as violence against the poor.