Expl oret hel essonst hatcanbedr awnf r

om Jesuset hicsand
demonst ratehow t heycanbeappl iedi naZi mbabweansoci ety
facedwi thpr obl em ofHI V andAI DS? Ethicsi spar tofr eligion
whi ch i s nat ur ally desi gned t o assi sthumans wi th mor al
desi gnat ion on how t heyoughtt ol ive.Et hics refer st ot he
syst emat i
cr eflect ion on mor ali
ty ,a sy st
em ofmor alv alues,
whi chdeal swi thwr ongorr ightandgoodorbad.Ther ear e
variousl essonswhi chcanbedr awnf rom Jesuset hicst hatcan
beappl ied i n soci etiesf aced wi tht hepr oblem ofHI V/AI DS.
These et hics can be cat egorized as et hics of cont i
nui t
y,
discont i
nui tyandappar entdi scont inuity.Theyal socont ribut e
posi ti
velyt ot hesoci et i
esf acedwi tht hepr obl em ofHI V/AI DS
suchasZi mbabweandt heseet hicalt eachi ngshel psi nr educi ng
thespr eadandef fectsoft hepandemi c.Iti sal sonot edt hatt he
ethicsofJesusar ef oundi nhi spar abl es,say i
ngs,mi r
acl esand
teachi ngoft heKi ngdom ofGod,hencel ar gelyhi set hicson
adul tery,di vorceandl ovecanbeappl iedi nZi mbabweansoci ety
scour ged wi t
h HI V/AI DS.Theet hicalt eachi ngsofJesusar e
largel ydemonst r ated on t he Ser mon on t he Mount ain/Pl ain.
Howev er, someoft heet hicalt eachi ngsofJesushav enot hingt o
dowi tht hepr oblem ofHI V/AI DSi nZi mbabwe.

Itisofgr eatimport
ancet of irstprov i
deawor ki
ngdefini
ti
onof
ethics.Howev er
,int
hepr ocessofpr ovidi
ngadef i
nit
ionofethics,
i
tshoul dbenot edthatet hics,justl iker eli
gionisdiffi
cultto
define.Dobr i
n( 2002:
7),not es thatet hics like r
eli
gion itis
diff
iculttodefi
newithprecisionandf ormanyoft hereasons,i
tis
anabst r
acti
onwhosecont entshi f
tswi t
ht imeanddi ffer
sfrom
placetopl
ace.Gripaldo( 2002:11),def i
nedet hi
csast hestudyof
whatoughtt obe,at heor eti
calst udyofmor ali
ty.Itisderi
ved
from theGreekwor d Ethos,whi ch simplymeanshabi tsand
customs.Itcan also be under stood ast he studyofhuman
conductormor al
ity.Bysosay i
ng,i tsimplymeanst hatwear e
studyi
ng Jesus' r eaction and conduct t owards hi s
contempor
aries.Jesus'et hi
cs wer ef ound in eitherofhi s
teachi
ngsforinst
ancepar ables,say i
ngs,miracles,andSermons.

Theet hicsofdi scont i

nuityr efert oinstanceswhenJesuscomes
with a new par adi gm shi ftal toget herf rom whatwast aught
beforeint heJewi sht radition.InMat hew5: 38,Jesussay s,"You
havehear dt hatitwassai d,aney ef oraney eandt oot hf ortooth
butIsayt oy oudonotr esistonewhoi sdev ilbuti fany one
str
ikesy ouonr ightcheek,t urnt ohi mt heot heral so."Inl i
ghtof
theabov e,Jesusbr ingsi nanewt eachingf r
om whatwast aught
beforeinJewi sht raditi
on.Accor dingt oJesus' ethi
cs,r ev engei s
notaccept able no mat terwhatt he situation i slike and he
advocatesf ort otalf orgiveness.Thi snewt eachi ngofJesuscan
beappl iedi nsoci etiesf acedwi tht hepr oblem ofHI V/ AI DSand
thet wol essonst hatcanbedr awnf rom t hiset hic,t husi fa
partner cheat si nar elat i
onshi p,t herei s need f or t otal
for
gi v
enessandnotnecessar i
lycheat ingal sof r
om t heot her
partnerwhi chcanl eadt othespr eadofHI V/ AIDSandal sowhen
onei sinfectedwi thHI V/AI DSunknowi ngly,onemustnotbei na
positi
onofi nt
ent ional l
yspr eadi ngHI V/AIDSt oinnocentv i
ctims
asaf or
m ofr ev enge,i nlinewi tht heoldJewi sht raditionof' an
ey ef oraney eort oothf orat ooth.'Therefore,t hel essonst hat
can be dr awn f rom t his et hici st hatt hose who cheati n
mar riages and t hose who ar e unintentionallyi nfect ed wi th
HI V/ AIDSshoul dforgivet heoneswhohav einfect edt hem and
prev entt hespr eadofHI V/ AIDS. I nt hepar ableofpr odi galson
[Luke15: 11-32],accor ding t o Moul e[ 1998: 22],Jesust aught
aboutf orgi
veness.Thi spar abl eteachespeopl et hatnoonecan
forgi veunl essonesensi ti
v eenought osuf ferf rom t hewr ong
thati sf orgi
ven.I tisnotj ustamat terofsay i
ngt hewor dsbutan
actt hatcomesf rom thehear t
.Taki ngintoconsi derationpeopl e
wi thHI V/ AI
DSi nZi mbabwet hesoci etymustbeaccept edandbe
treat edt hesamewaywi tht hosenotaf f
ectedr egardlessoft heir
status.Hence,i nsodoi ngr educingt heef fectsoft hepr oblems
caused byt his deadlypandemi ci nt he Zi mbabwean soci ety
ther ebyJesus'et hicalteachi ngsar eofgr eati mpor tancet ot he
Zimbabweansoci etywhi chi sscour gedwi thHI V/ AIDS.

In addi t
ion,Jesus'et hics are appl i
cablet ot he Zimbabwean
societyt hatisfacedwi t
ht heproblem ofHI V/ AIDSast heyt each
onmor al i
tyandhow ahumanbei ngoughtt ol i
ve.Accor dingt o
Chanai wa( 2003:1),themostnot ablef orm oft ransmissionof
HIV/ AIDSi st hr
oughsexualt ransmi ssionwhi chint ur
nr equi res
mor alchecki ng.Thiscanbeseeni nJesust eachingonadul tery
,
whichcl earl
ywor kst owar dsensuringar eductiontothisdeadl y
pandemi c.Inhi sethics,Jesuscondemnsext ramar i
talaf fair
s.
Accor dingt oGlenandGushee( 2014: 290),sexshoul dtakepl ace
inthecont extoffaithful
ness.Mor est il
l,Wilstor(2011:8),further
elaboratest hei ssueoff ait
hful
nessbyar guingt hatthel aw of
Chri
stt ol
eratesnosexuali ndiscr
etion.I notherwor ds,married
peopleshoul dbef ai
thfultooneanot her.Int heZi mbabwean
societyf acedwi ththepr oblem ofHI V/ AIDS,itrequi resatot al
endt oadul tery
,andcheat i
ngoneachot herbymar riedcouplesi f
the negat ive eff
ects ofHI V and AI DS ar et o be mi nimised
ther
ef ore,thelessonthatcanbedr awnf rom theet hicsofJesus
isthat ,mar ri
edcouplesmustber efrainf rom cheat ingonone
anotherandseeki ng extrasexualr elationot hert hani nthei r
marriageshencei nsodoi ngr educi
ngt heef fectsofHI V/AI
DSi n
aZimbabweansoci ety
.

Int hepar ableofGoodSamar itanJesusisagainstt hei ssueof

discriminati
ondonebypr i
estandt heJews.Thi st eachingis
appl i
cableinZi mbabweansocietythattheyalsoneedhel pand
tolerance and t he soci
ety mustnotdi scri
mi natet hem.I n
Zimbabwean chur chesmember sused to di
scr i
minate people
with HI V/AIDS based pr econceiv
ed j udgement of t hei
r
appear ance,regardthem asunfai
thf
ulindiv
iduals.Howev er
,thi
s
i
s unf ai
rt reat
mentofpeopl e with HIV/AIDS i n Zimbabwe
thereforeJesuset hi
csisappli
cablet
oaZi mbabweansoci ety.

Furthermor e,i
nhisethi
csJesuscondemnsal lformsofadulter y
.
Thusl ookingatawomanwhi chdrawssexualfeel
ingt
osomeone
andt her
ebyact i
ngasacat alystforsexualimmorali
tyhence
l
eadi ng tot hespread ofthedeadl yHIV/AIDS.In hi
set hical
teachingsJesususedt helaw andManson[ 1955;299],not es
thatJesususedt heJewishl awsforthemor aldemandswhi ch
presuppose a change ofnat ur
e and di spossessi on i n man.
Accor dingt oCai r
d[ 1995;391] ,Jesusacknowl edgest hatact i
ons
ofmanar eper petratedbyt houghtorf eeli
ngswhi char eev i
l.On
theSer monont heMount[ Mat hew5: 28],Jesussay sthatany one
whol ooksatawomanl ustfullyhasal readycommi ttedadul tery
in his hear t.Inl ightofHI V/ AIDS Jesus i s condemni ng t he
thought st hatcanl eadsomeonet osexuali mmor alact sand
acquiret hedisease.Ther efore,t helessont hatcanbedr awn
from thi sethicist hatpeopl eneednott obedr i
veni nt
osexual
immor ali
tybyf eelingsthatar isebyl ookingintoawomanhence
canl eadt othespr eadofHI V/AIDS.Ther ebybei ngf aithfuland
sticki
ngt oonesexualpar tnercanhel pi nreduci ngt hespr ead
andef fectofHI V/ AIDSinaZi mbabweansoci ety.

Inaddition,Jesusi nhiset hicsemphasi zedl oveasagol denr ul

e
hencehi set hicsar eapplicablei nt heZi mbabweansoci etythatis
facedwi t
ht hepr oblem ofHI V/AI DS asi trequir
est hewhol e
societyt olov et hosewhohav ebeeni nfectedandt heorphans
whosepar ent shav ediedoft hepandemi c.Jesust aughtabout
loveint hesenset hatpeopl emustl ov eoneanot her.Inasoci et
y
fil
ledwithl ov etheor phansl ef tbypar ent swhodi edofHI V/ AIDS
woul d defini t
ely be looked af t
er.I n Zi mbabwean Chur ches,
member sdi scri
mi natet hose who ar e HI V posit
ive based on
preconceivedj udgementoft heirappear ance.Howev er
,lovewi ll
helpputanendt ot hestigmaanddi scri
mi nati
onofpeopl el i
ving
withHI V/AI DShencev i
rushasboundar iesasev er
yonei spr one
toi nf
ect i
oni ftheyar eunf aithfulandi nvolv
edi nunpr otected
sexualact iviti
es.Ther efore,t hel essont hatcanbedr awnf r
om
theethicsofJesusi sthatofl ovi
ngoneanot herastheinf
ected
people,orphansandt hoseli
vingwi thHIV/AIDSdoneedt helove
of society and no di scr
imination hence i n so doi
ng,t he
Zimbabweansoci etyfacedwi tht heproblem ofHIV/AIDSwi l
l
ensuret hatthereisnomor est i
gmaanddi scrimi
nati
onhence
reducingtheeffectsofHIV/AI
DS.

Inr elati
ont ot heabov e,t heet hicsofJesusemphasi zedl ov ing
oneanot herwhi chi sthewayt ogof orsoci etieslikeZi mbabwe
thatar ef acedwi t
ht hepr obl em ofHI V/ AIDSasi tendsi sol ation
oft hosei nfectedandaf fect edbyt heHI V/AI DSpandemi c.Vi ll
a
(1994: 74),notest hatJesusdemonst r
at edl ov ethroughheal ing
peopl eont heSabbat h,hencet hisshowst hatJesushadhi gh
regar dtowar dshumanl i
fe.I n(Mat hew3: 4),Jesussai dt hati tis
lawf ultodogoodont heSabbat hdayt osav el i
fe.Incaseof
HIV/ AIDS,i twoul di mpl yshowi ngl ovet othoseaf fectedsi milar
towhatJesusdi dt othel eaper swhohecl eansedf rom lepr osyi n
(Luke17: 11-19) .I nthi sr egard,Jesusdemonst ratedl ov eand
how human l ifei simpor tant.Ther ef ore,i ft hese ar et o be
consi dered i n t he Zi mbabwean soci ety
,t he f ight agai nst
HIV/ AIDSwi l
lbemademucheasi erhencet hel essont hatcanbe
drawn her ei st hatoft aking human l i
fe as bei ng equal l
y
impor t
antand sacr ed wi llr educe t he i llt reatmentoft hose
infectedwi thHI V/ AIDSandal soensur et aki
nggoodcar eoft hem
aswel last heor phanswhoar elef tbecauset heirparentsdi edof
HIV/ AIDS. Fur t
her mor e,al lthet eachi ngsofJesushel ppeopl e
tol i
v emor all
yupr ightl i
veswhi chi nt urnr educest heef fectsand
uphol dst hef ightagai nstHI V/AIDS.I naZi mbabweansoci ety
thatisfacedwi ththispr oblem.Si nger( 1993: 31),arguest hatt he
Beat i
tudesar eethicalt eachingsofJesus.Fori nstance,when
Jesussai d,in( Mathew 5: 8)," Blessedar ethepur ei nhear t,for
theyshal lseeGod. "Accor dingt oChanai wa( 2003:52),Jesus
mor alteachi ngi sdescr ipt
iv eandi l
lustrati
veonhow manand
women ar et o behav ei nt he Ki ngdom ofGod and t heref ore
everyone hast o suppor titscomi ng.I nl ightofHI V/AIDS,i t
suggest s no sex bef or
e mar ri
age and f ormar r
ied ones,i t
suggest sst i
ckingt oonepar tnerandf orthewi dowedt ober ight
standingwi t
ht heirf utur
eandt ober esponsi ble.ForChanai wa
(2003:52) ,puri
tyisi nl i
newi thper fecti
onandper fectlif
eent ai l
s
takingr esponsibil
ityf orinstancet heuseofcondomsandev en
abst i
nencewhi chpr eventst hespr eadoft hedi sease.Ther efor e,
thisclearlyshowst hatt heet hi csofJesusar eapplicabletot he
Zimbabweansoci etyt hatisf acedwi tht hepr oblem ofHI V/ AIDS
ast hebeat i
tudesemphasi zeonbei ngpur ewhi chencour ages
abst i
nence.

Howev er,itshouldbenot edt hatnotalltheethicalt eachingsof

Jesusar eofi mpor t
ancet oZi mbabweansoci etyf acedwi ththe
problem ofHIV/ AIDS.Someoft heteachingswer ejustmeantf or
thet i
mewhenJesusl ivedandwer erelatedtothet hi
ngswhi ch
wer etakingplacedur i
ngt hattime.Ther ebyi tshoul dbenot ed
thattheZi mbabweangov ernmenthadmadei tsownmeasur esto
reducet hepr oblem ofHI V/ AIDS.Thesemeasur esi ncl
udet he
use Ant ir etro v i
ral and Pr eventi
on of Mot her t o Chi l
d
transmission( PMTCT)wer epr egnantmot hersar egi v
enARV
whi l
epregnantsot hattheywi llnottr
ansmi tthedi seaset othe
unborn baby
.Al
so abst
inence i
slawf
ulact
ivi
tyt
oreduce
HIV/AI
DS.

Inconcl usion,theet hicsofJesusar eappl icableinaZi mbabwe

faced wi tht heprobl em ofHI V/AIDS ast heyemphasi zed on
mor alupr i
ghtnesswhi chreducest hespr eadofHI V/AIDS.Inhi s
teachings,Jesust aughtaboutadul terywhi ch hecondemned
hence t his encour ages peoplet or efr
ainf rom extra marital
affai
r s as wel l as abst i
nence f rom unpr otect
ed sexual
relat
ionships.Inhisgol denrule,Jesust aughtaboutl ove,which
iswhatt hesoci et
yneedsi nor dert oler
ateandencompasst he
HIVposi t
ivemember sandal sohel pst ot akegoodcar eoft he
orphans who ar ef alli
ng victims oft his deadl y pandemi c.
Ther efor
e,t heethicsofJesuscanbeappl iedi naZi mbabwean
societyfacedwi ththepr oblem ofHI V/AIDS.

Brian Mar egedze is an aut hor ,hi st

ori
an and col umnist.Co-
authorof ;Adv ancedLev elFami lyandRel i
giousSt udi
es,Focus
onChr i
sti
anityandI slam ( 2018)andNew Tr endsi nFami l
yand
ReligiousStudies( Zi
mbabweanI ndigenousRel igi
on&Judai sm)
Adv ancedLev el(2018) .Forf eedback,cal l/app+263779210440
oremai l
;bmar egedze@gmai l
.com Ref erencesCai r
d,C.B.New
Test amentTheol ogy,Oxfor d:ClaredonPr ess, 1995.Chanaiwa,G.
EthicsofJesus:I t
sRel ev anceandAbi l
it
yt of i
ghtHIV/AIDS,BA
DISSERTATI ONi nReligiousSt udies,30June2003.Manson,T.
W.TheTeachi ngsofJesus:St udiesofi t
sFor m andCont ent
.
London:Cup Ar chive,1955.St assen,G and Gushee D.P,
Kingdom Et hi
cs:Fol lowingJesusi nCont emporaryCont ext,IVP
Academi c,2014.Si nger ,P.A.Compani ont oEthics,OxfordUK:
BasilBlackwell,1993.Vi l
la,C.andGr uchyJ.L.Indoi ngEthicsin
Cont ext
:Sout hern Af r i
can Per specti
ves,PhilPaper s,1994.
Wilsor,J.TheEt hi
csand Mor ali
tyofJesusChr istFrom t he
Sermonont heMount ,Or angebur g:2011.Dobr in,A.Rel igion
Ethics:ASour ceBook,NewYor k:Hofstr
aUni v
ersityHempst ead,
2002.Ri chardson,A.AnI ntroductiontoTheol ogyoft heNew
Test ament,New Yor k:Har per and Row Publ ishers,1958.
Gripaldo,R.
M.Rel igion,Et hicsandt heMeani ngofLi fe,Phil
li
pine
Nat i
onalResear chSoci ety,2008.