Dissertation, Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, 2024

This doctoral thesis is an attempt at an alternative situational interpretation of the pericope of Rom. 13:1-7 within the Zimbabwean context. Alternative because there seems to be at least three perspectives in which the pericope has been interpreted by public opinion shapers and scholars within the Zimbabwean context. Situational because I concur with the scholarly position that Paul’s message in this passage may to a greater extent be understood as specific in addressing situational aspects, possibly crises that were particular to the Roman church and society. Following this hypothesis, it may to a greater extent be said that Rom.13:1-7 may not be considered Paul’s all time political theology, but an example, as successive interpretations have demonstrated, of how the Bible may be used in practical ways to proffer solutions in the public sphere. In the Zimbabwean context which is characterised by acute fragmentation, power contestation, polarity and toxicity, some scholars have argued against the employment and appropriation of the message of Rom 13,1-7. They have pointed at questionable vices instigated by the same divinely appointed leaders, ranging from rigging elections, human rights abuses and shooting opponents into political office, as red flags that disqualify the message of the pericope to apply to the Zimbabwean context at all.
On the ground however, some quarters consider it applicable, and go to the extent of pulling the divine appointment card in arguing for the credibility of their preferred ruling civil authorities. The methodology which frames the thesis out is the See, Judge and Act, to be applied within the context of a mission country, Zimbabwe using Rom 13:1-7. Its point of departure is a critical observation of the situation on the ground, a sketchy attempt to reconstruct the historical factors which led to the current state of affairs, assess the damage and adjudicate with proof before suggesting the way forward. This tracing of the historical facets that have arguably contributed to the contemporary period stretch as far back as the period of the interaction between indigenous Zimbabweans and Western missionaries, economists, and politicians.
Since then, Zimbabwe has adopted a system which has been inherited by the contemporary black burgios, which though it initially benefited the metropolis, now benefits the syndicate of individual politicians and religionists, and not the nation at large as might possibly happen when institutionalism is promoted, and in this case the institutions of politics and religion. A comparative analysis between selected metropolis capitals like London and Berlin, regarding how they treated issues raised in the pericope of Rom 13:1-7 thus follows, which is solutions oriented; where an exploration of efficient taxation of the citizenry is argued to sustain a nation as compared to dependence on donor funding or reliance on credit. On the issue to do with understanding Rom. 13:1, ‘ruling authorities’ have been understood on one hand to mean spiritual being, and on the other to mean human governing authorities, this enquire has tested the likelihood of adopting both senses especially in the context of pre-colonial traditional chieftaincy, though most scholars advocate for a human understanding of the rendering.