Beyond revenge? : responsible Bible reading practices in a traumatized land
Date
2017
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AOSIS Publishing
Abstract
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.
Description
CITATION: Claassens, L. J. M. 2017. Beyond revenge? : responsible Bible reading practices in a traumatized land. HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studie, 73(4):a4540, doi:10.4102/hts.v73i4.4540.
The original publication is available at http://www.hts.org.za
Publication of this article was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access Fund.
The original publication is available at http://www.hts.org.za
Publication of this article was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access Fund.
Keywords
Bible -- Criticism, interpretation, etc., Bible -- Hermeneutics
Citation
Claassens, L. J. M. 2017. Beyond revenge? : responsible Bible reading practices in a traumatized land. HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studie, 73(4):a4540, doi:10.4102/hts.v73i4.4540