Metadidonai as ethical principle on material possessions according to the Gospel of Luke (3:10-14) and the Book of Acts

D.Litt. et Phil.This study began with a premise that there is a need to guide the Christian community in Mozambique to know and put in practice biblical principles to address the scourge of corruption. This is motivated by the belief that the functional moral concerns should be shaped in accordance with the New Testament vision of Christian discipleship. The Church of the Nazarene in Mozambique serves as case study to understand the views and needs of the Christian community in the area of teaching and preaching on issues of material possessions. The intent was to come to exegetical answer on the question posed in this study of the meaning and function of metadidonai and related concepts in the Lukan corpus, not only in theological terms but also in a broader economical framework. There are many people who live in dire poverty in Africa, many through no fault of their own. Most of the poverty is the result of systematic and structural evils. These evils result from human policies designed to increase the profit and power to controlling individuals and corporate bodies. Corruption is one of the major setbacks for alleviation of poverty in Africa. There is no greater scourge that affects the proper functioning of any economic system than corruption. The effects of corruption also have legal ramifications, often undermining the rule of law. But fundamentally, corruption falls squarely in the moral realm because it is symptomatic of the original sin that marks the heart of every person (Gregg and Schenone 2003). I argue in this study that these systematic evils (greed and corruption) are the result of depravation of the heart. Therefore, to address these issues it is necessary to interpret the biblical text with the soteriological agenda. To accomplish this I contend that social scientific approach is vital because it allows the current read to access meaning of the text that can only be understood in light of social context of the original audience and the author of the text. However, beyond the unveiling of the meaning within its canonical context the current exegete must reinterpret the meaning for today. This will require not only the understanding of the meaning of the text in its original context but also the understanding of the current social systems that influence and impact the lives of the people in a particular community. Furthermore the interpreter must be true to his/her theological heritage. Thus, as a Nazarene with a Wesleyan theological heritage I sought to reinterpret metadidonai principle as found in Luke-Acts from a Wesleyan perspective. I emphasise in the study that human kind can not free themselves from depravation of the heart, but by God’s grace humanity has hope for deliverance from sin and from the power of sin (original sin). This is what Africa needs to be freed from corruption. In Luke-Acts text salvation is central motif for discipleship. The soteriological tone sets the frame within which the metadidonai is to be done