“Let Them Renounce Themselves and Take up Their Cross”: A Feminist Reading of Mark 8:34 in Mark's Social and Narrative World
Christians today, especially Christian women, often interpret Mark 8:34 as a call to sacrifice self—to be subservient and to endure suffering that could be alleviated—as a demand of Christian discipleship. This is a fundamental misreading of Mark. The argument is placed in the context of the develop...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2004
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| In: |
Biblical theology bulletin
Year: 2004, Volume: 34, Issue: 3, Pages: 98-104 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Christians today, especially Christian women, often interpret Mark 8:34 as a call to sacrifice self—to be subservient and to endure suffering that could be alleviated—as a demand of Christian discipleship. This is a fundamental misreading of Mark. The argument is placed in the context of the development of feminist biblical criticism these last thirty years and then of Mark's social and narrative world. When read in the context of the first-century cultural world and the larger narrative of Mark, Mark 8:34 is not an exhortation to suffering in general. General human suffering-hunger, illness, etc.—is overcome with Jesus' inauguration of God's rule. Rather, to renounce self is to renounce one's kinship group and join the followers of Jesus. It is an exhortation to remain faithful to Jesus and the rule of God in the face of persecution by political authorities. |
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| ISSN: | 1945-7596 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Biblical theology bulletin
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/01461079040340030201 |