Beyond revenge?: Responsible Bible reading practices in a Traumatized Land

In this article, I argue that revenge fantasies such as those found in the Oracles Against the Nations (OAN) in Jeremiah 45–51 underscore the necessity for responsible Bible reading practices. I argue that to protect us from our own worst selves, the very human tendency to resort to revenge that ine...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Claassens, Juliana M. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2017
In: HTS teologiese studies
Year: 2017, Volume: 73, Issue: 4
Further subjects:B Philosophers
B Theology
B Practical Theology
B Ministers of Religion
B Ancient Semitic and Classical Languages
B Aspects of Religious Studies
B Theologians
B Netherdutch Reformed Church
B Scholars
B Sociology and Ethics
B Philosophy
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:In this article, I argue that revenge fantasies such as those found in the Oracles Against the Nations (OAN) in Jeremiah 45–51 underscore the necessity for responsible Bible reading practices. I argue that to protect us from our own worst selves, the very human tendency to resort to revenge that inevitably leads to violence, one needs to read these biblical texts in terms of contemporary hermeneutical approaches that may play some role to bring an end to violence. A first such approach that serves as an important tool to help us understand these revenge fantasies as found in the OAN is the relatively new field of inquiry of trauma hermeneutics that is particularly helpful in order to mitigate the violent aspects of these revenge fantasies. Moreover, I propose that recent approaches such as feminist and postcolonial biblical interpretation are also vital for nurturing ethical, just communities that actively pursue justice.
ISSN:2072-8050
Contains:Enthalten in: HTS teologiese studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.4102/hts.v73i4.4540