Dancing with Jesus as the incarnate male 'missionary' conversant: A homeless group's reading of John 4 in dealing with gender-based violence

In this article, the metaphor of dancing is used to discuss the skewed gender relations in society as a result of the various interpretations available in terms of the narrative of Jesus and the Samaritan woman (Jn 4). The question explored is the following: how scholarly interpreters of the Bible a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Baron, Eugene (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Univ. [2019]
In: Verbum et ecclesia
Year: 2019, Volume: 40, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-10
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Bible. Johannesevangelium 4 / Patriarchate / Dance / Homelessness / Africa / Mission (international law / Violence
IxTheo Classification:HC New Testament
NBE Anthropology
NCB Personal ethics
Further subjects:B Patriarchy
B John 4:1-42
B City of Tshwane
B gender-based violence
B Mission (international law
B Homeless People
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Summary:In this article, the metaphor of dancing is used to discuss the skewed gender relations in society as a result of the various interpretations available in terms of the narrative of Jesus and the Samaritan woman (Jn 4). The question explored is the following: how scholarly interpreters of the Bible and the homeless people describe this 'dancing', that is, the human movements between the male and female conversation partners? The author uses the 'woman-friendly' interpretations of various theologians on the John 4:1-42 narrative and juxtaposes it against other theologians' interpretations. Furthermore, the author discusses how a homeless group in the City of Tshwane reflects on and interprets the text. The article builds on the premise that biblical texts like John 4:1-42 - which are interpreted in a way that sustains patriarchy - serve as the cause for gender-based violence. Therefore, although the article does not refer directly to the issue of gender-based violence, it is contributing to 'woman-friendly' interpretations of Biblical texts to counter patriarchal tendencies in society.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This is interdisciplinary study as it integrates gender-based violence in the field of sociology, public theology, feminist ethics with missiology. It is also integrating the field of biblical hermeneutics with missiology in terms of a specific biblical text namely Jn. 4 that is analysed.
ISSN:2074-7705
Contains:Enthalten in: Verbum et ecclesia
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.4102/ve.v40i1.1912