Pauline Challenge to African Masculinities: Reading Pauline Texts in the Context of HIV/AIDS

This article discusses Pauline masculinity in the context of HIV/AIDS. If any success against HIV/AIDS is to be achieved, men need to be constructively involved in this struggle rather than merely being vilified. It is directed towards those who want to live by the ideals set by Paul. The article argues that in many ways Paul challenges dangerous masculinities and that, if his challenge is taken seriously, Christian communities may witness a decline in HIV prevalence. The article focuses specifically on Paul’s teaching on marriage and sex

Bridging the divide between intuitive social-ecological value and sustainability in the Manica Highlands of southern Africa (Zimbabwe-Mozambique)

Southern African mountains remain poorly studied as social-ecological systems (SES) and are poorly represented in the global mountain discourse. However, these mountains provide essential ecosystem services (ES) that underpin local and regional development. Quantitative data on ES, their representation in policy, and the political will for sustainable management are limited. We demonstrate this using the Manica Highlands (MH; Zimbabwe—Mozambique): benefiting one million immediate and five million downstream beneficiaries, the seven identified ES are supported in the literature but lack recent quantitative data needed to persuade policymakers for action to promote sustainability. The ES are most at risk from mining, alien invasive species, rapid land transformation, and climate change – yet fine-scale quantitative data to inform mountain-specific policy on these are also lacking. We recommend a ‘science to policy to action’ agenda for the MH, but highlight that the greatest challenge to achieving sustainability is a lack of effective governance; therefore it may be difficult to change ‘immediate benefits’-thinking to higher ideals that would render the ES of the MH sustainable. As a result, academics, civic society, policy makers and governance instruments should work closely together to quantify the value of the MH, and to formulate specific policy for the MH.Travel and workshops (2015) were supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF; Grant No. IZ07Z0_160871), and a draft manuscript was supported by a South African National Research Foundation post-doctoral fellowship for VRC (2014–2016). The manuscript was completed with support from a University of the Free State (UFS) Afromontane Research Unit Post-doctoral Fellowship (for JDD), and publication costs were covered by the UFS.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecoser2020-10-01hj2019Plant Production and Soil Scienc

Gay Rights, the Devil and the End Times: Public Religion and the Enchantment of the Homosexuality Debate in Zambia

This article contributes to the understanding of the role of religion in the public and political controversies about homosexuality in Africa. As a case study it investigates the heated public debate in Zambia following a February 2012 visit by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who emphasised the need for the country to recognise the human rights of homosexuals. The focus is on a particular Christian discourse in this debate, in which the international pressure to recognise gay rights is considered a sign of the end times, and Ban Ki-moon, the UN and other international organisations are associated with the Antichrist and the Devil. Here, the debate about homosexuality becomes eschatologically enchanted through millennialist thought. Building on discussions about public religion and religion and politics in Africa, this article avoids popular explanations in terms of fundamentalist religion and African homophobia, but rather highlights the political significance of this discourse in a postcolonial African context

The Zimbabwe Council of Churches and 'Crisis' Ecumenical Groups

This chapter analyses the emergence of ‘non-conformist’ ecumenical groups that emerged due to the paralysis of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) during the crisis years in Zimbabwe. The author interrogates the limits of ecumenism in relation to political engagement and charges that the ZCC has not succeeded in promoting unity and cohesion. He charges that by withdrawing from active political engagement, the ZCC could not make a decisive contribution towards national development. He argues that the ZCC failed to implement the principles of ecumenism and ecumenics, namely, unity, dialogue, peace and reconciliation, that could provide the basis for resolving the Zimbabwean crisis. He describes how groups such as the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance (ZCA) and Churches in Manicaland (CiM) sought to contribute towards resolving the crisis. The chapter shows how they adopted different models and ways of working that enabled them to connect with the grassroots communities more effectively. Without glamorising these initiatives, it can be argued that they provide insights into how ecumenical bodies can contribute to developmen