BiAS 7 – The Bible and Politics in Africa
that Christians had a major role to play in changing the country’s for-
tunes.
Second, the passage undermined the official denial that Zimbabwe was
experiencing a momentous crisis. It also problematised the official nar-
rative that, if there was a crisis, it was due to “sanctions” or “meddling by
the West and its allies.” As I have indicated in foregoing sections, the
passage puts the blame squarely on the “wicked ways” that had come to
characterise nearly all dealings in the country. Preachers therefore coun-
tered the official narrative by cataloguing the various manifestations of
“wickedness” in the country: pillaging of national resources by the ruling
elite, the building of mansions by civil servants in the midst of extreme
suffering, the “burning” of foreign currency (where a few US dollars
would trade for large amounts of the Zimbabwe dollar) and so on.
2 Chron 7:14 therefore opened avenues for verbalising the country’s
socio-economic ills.
Third, 2 Chron 7:14 helped to undercut the doom and gloom that had
enveloped most Zimbabweans during the crisis. Although below I ques-
tion the uncritical hope for prosperity, I do concede that the passage
infused a sense of hope in a context that threatened to generate total
hopelessness and despair. The passage gave Christians something to
hold on to amidst uncertainty. Especially in 2008 and the early months
of 2009 prior to the formation of the government of national
unity/inclusive government, Zimbabwean citizens desperately needed
something to hold on to. In this regard, 2 Chron 7:14 inspired some
people to anticipate a more prosperous future.
Fourth, the passage sought to transcend political divisions by positing an
inclusive understanding of Zimbabwe. It created a sense of, “we are in
this together” in an environment that had become heavily polarised
along political and ideological lines. Due to political manipulation, even
the church had been torn asunder. Zimbabweans were divided into
“dedicated cadres, patriots and sons of the soil” (ZANU-PF supporters)
or, “sell-outs, puppets of the West”(MDC supporters) on the other. MDC
supporters were not saints either: “MaZANU” in their parlance sought
to demonize and dehumanize ZANU-PF supporters. 2 Chron 7:14
sought to overcome this by suggesting that in fact, Christians are all
those who are called by God’s name. There was one Zimbabwe and the
fate of this one Zimbabwe depended on what Christians, irrespective of
political allegiance, would do.