Theme: The Bible and Economic Issues
The mobilization of resources and their distribution is a central issue in the Bible and African life and culture. Often, there are problems concerning the mode of resource mobilization that either make the poor poorer or the rich richer, and how to effectively and evenly distribute these resources to alleviate or mitigate the suffering of the poor. The ancient Mediterranean society “was divided into the ‘haves,’ who are the elite and reside in cities, control the financial wealth of society and are economically endowed; and the ‘have nots,’ who live in villages and work for the elite and wealthy. The ‘have nots,’ who are usually the poor, practise reciprocity and hospitality where the problem of one family became the problem of all the families of the village.”[1] The situation in the ancient world shares some degree of similarities with economic issues in contemporary African society.
In many cases, the poor complain of exploitation by the rich/wealthy or lack of attention towards their economic survival by the political class. This call for papers seeks to examine economic issues in the Bible; and how they can be harnessed to provide some suggestions towards how to lessen the economic tension on poor persons in Africa to achieve sustainable development goal 1 – No Poverty in Africa by 2030. Prospective presenters are expected to approach the topic from either an exegetical perspective (interpretation of a biblical passage), methodological directions for the study of economic issues in the Bible, or a study of the economic phenomenon in the Bible. The findings in each paper are expected to be engaged with African realities of economic conditions. It is significant to note that this study is not about the prosperity gospel but an examination of biblical principles concerning economic matters. Areas to explore include but not limited to are:
- Ethnicity and economic well-being in the Bible;
- Economic concepts in the Old Testament;
- The relationship between the poor and the rich in the Old Testament;
- Politics and economic conditions in the Old Testament;
- Work and economic fortunes in the Old Testament;
- Cultic/spiritual economy in the Old Testament;
- Political corruption and economic fortunes in the Old Testament;
- Religious corruption and economic fortunes in the Old Testament;
- The rural economy of communities in the Old Testament;
- The economy of urban dwellings in the Old Testament;
- Jobs and economic well-being in the Old Testament;
- Economic issues during the intertestamental period;
- The rich and the poor relation in the New Testament;
- Jesus and the poor;
- Jesus and the rich;
- Peasant farming economy in the New Testament;
- The economy of the Galilee fishing industry;
- Money and mammon economy;
- The economy of the ministry of Jesus and the disciples;
- Jesus and money;
- The cultic economy in individual books of the New Testament;
- The concept of economic well-being in the early Church;
- Poverty alleviation in the early Church through communalism;
- The family and the economy of the early Church;
- Indexes of giving as an economic drive toward prosperity;
Important dates
Submission of 150 words abstract 31 March 2023
Notice of acceptance of abstracts 14 April 2023
Submission of full (draft) article 31 May 2023
Presentation at IBSA – West Africa meeting 10 June 2023
Click this link to submit an abstract – https://forms.gle/C3eSG9evpXQEqXo7A
All inquiries should be sent to admin@ibsafrica.org
A writing guide style will be sent to authors whose abstracts have been accepted. Good papers will be published either by Noyam Publishers, Oasis Publication, or Brill publishers depending on the choice of the author.
[1] Daniel Nii Aboagye Aryeh, “Social-Scientific Interpretation of the Parables of Jesus in Luke: A Review of Some Works of Ernest van Eck,” Neotestamentica 55.1 (2021): 171–191.