Abstract
The nature of the economic formation in the Early Church has been widely debated through the centuries. In his work, Das Kapital, Karl Marx quotes Acts 2:44–45, and even supplies these verses as his reason for hating God. As in the case of Marx and his compatriots, several current biblical scholars (especially those from poor communities) are still disillusioned by their view that the initial drive towards sharing money and property have soon been watered down by the Early Church.This article’s main focus is on the way in which reciprocity sheds new light on the economics of the Early Church. It concludes that economics in the Apostolic Era and the Early Church introduced a clear departure from the monetary policies exercised in the First Century Temple in Jerusalem, and in the Synagogues. Not only the main ‘economic’ events in Acts, but also the subsequent results in developing congregations, then and now, are discussed.
Highlights
In our modern society, where academics are discussing the relevance of what some may call an old time religion, we cannot escape from the fact that the world, and especially ird World countries like Africa is in devastation
Is article’s main focus is on the way in which reciprocity sheds new light on the economics of the Early Church. It concludes that economics in the Apostolic Era and the Early Church introduced a clear departure from the monetary policies exercised in the First Century Temple in Jerusalem, and in the Synagogues
Despite the di erence in scholarly opinion regarding the exact addressees of this book, it is evident that ‘the poor’ in the context of James still su ered oppression and exploitation, whether from Jewish religious leaders and elite, or from Roman o cials. is is inter alia supported by the analysis of Davids (2005:355), who argues that if ‘47 verses out of 105 in the Letter, or close to 45%, have an economic theme’, this was clearly ‘important to James’ (Davids 2005:355)
Summary
In our modern society, where academics are discussing the relevance of what some may call (positively or negatively) an old time religion, we cannot escape from the fact that the world, and especially ird World countries like Africa is in devastation. I deem it to be essential to revisit the First Century Mediterranean, and to rediscover the in uence and the power of the Holy Spirit in the early church. E nature of the economic formation in the Early Church has been widely debated through the centuries. Is article aims to contribute to a new appreciation of the Holy Spirit, its in uence in the Early Church, and its practical relevance for today. An important theory is proposed by Nissen (1984:16), who argues that the Pharisees largely contributed to poverty in Israel. 2 e presence of power structures in the oppression of the peasants is articulated by Volschenk (2003:422)
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