I explore New Testament texts and contexts in dialogue with ancient and contemporary ideals of embodiment, gender and sexuality. Alongside my research, I teach New Testament studies to undergraduate students who are enrolled for degree courses in Theology. I am a keen supporter of critical dialogue and exploratory research endeavours.
The Johannine Gospel continues to be of interest to biblical scholars
who are attuned to the mann... more The Johannine Gospel continues to be of interest to biblical scholars who are attuned to the manner in which gender is constructed and performed by means of characterisation in its narratives, and is interpreted from a vast range of social locations. For some, the end- result is the promotion of gender equality and gender-transgressive behaviour, whereas others deem the Fourth Gospel narratives to merely reinforce the all-too-familiar patriarchal social structures and hegemonic masculine ideals. Central to interpretative judgments on the gendered dimension of the Fourth Gospel narratives is the manner in which Jesus is characterised. I suggest that the foot-washing narrative of John 13:1–11, when read with a gender-critical lens against the background of the first-century cultural script of honour and shame, resists simplistic categorisation as being solely a liberating or a restrictive gendered narrative. Rather, by taking into consideration the complex intersections of honour, shame, gender and class, a gender-ambiguous picture emerges—one in which the characterisation of Jesus both affirms and transgresses ancient gendered ideals. The unresolved gender ambiguity depicted in the narrative could potentially offer possibilities for theologically engaging gender and sexuality by means of a hermeneutical framework that can explore the discomfort of constructivism, instead of jumping perhaps too hastily to oft-preferred essentialist understandings of gender and sexuality.
The uncritical, ahistorical use of central Christian faith-narratives, such as the narrative of t... more The uncritical, ahistorical use of central Christian faith-narratives, such as the narrative of the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, have the potential to threaten meaningful and dignified lives of both men and women. From the perspective of gender and sexuality, the Christian church has often abused the crucifixion narrative as a means to uphold unequal and oppressive heteronormative (male) power that have had harmful effects on men and women on all levels of their existence. Within contexts of gender-based discrimination, abuse and violence, such type of interpretations of the crucifixion narrative are in dire need of deconstruction and reimagining. Within the first century AD Mediterranean context of the Roman Empire, a crucifixion was an event of utter shame and degradation that deliberately casted serious doubt on one's gender-a socially-constructed entity that was to be asserted and defended at all times. However, measured against the cultural script of honour and shame and the socially-constructed nature of masculinity in this context, the narration of the crucifixion in the Gospel of Luke seems to lend support to the image of a hypermasculine Jesus on the cross. Thus, socio-historically speaking, the Lukan crucifixion narrative offers an unexpected portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth in the events leading to and on the cross. I propose that contemporary readers of this specific crucifixion narrative might be able to take up the position of "queer reimaginers" by reclaiming the shameful and deconstructive effect of the crucifixion event for what it was socio-historically, particularly with regards to gender. Such a queer reimagining opens up the possibility to reinterpret the Lukan crucifixion narrative as a narrative of the crucifixion of hypermasculinity, rather than the affirmation thereof. Accordingly this may start paving the way towards life-giving and healing teachings, rituals and practices within the Christian church that embraces the worth of all persons.
Breaking the Master's S.H.I.T. Holes. Doing Theology in the Context of Global Migration (ed. Musa W. Dube and Paul L. Leshota), 2020
25 years after the end of apartheid rule in South Africa, the impact of systemic racism continues... more 25 years after the end of apartheid rule in South Africa, the impact of systemic racism continues to be deeply felt by particularly poor, Black persons living in townships and informal settlements. The forced relocations of Coloured, Indian and Black persons under the Group Areas Act of 1950 dictates up to this day who is allowed to have the most advantageous access to physical space, basic services, resources, hygiene, safety and security, education, transport, and economic opportunities – a divide which runs firmly along the divides of race, ethnicity, class, and gender, and which continues to be of most benefit to the minority, White population. Given the specific type of geographical spaces in which the majority of South Africans were and continue to be forced to live in, I contend in this chapter that a very particular form of racism remains, despite the dawn of democracy in 1994, i.e. environmental racism. This implies that there is not only discrimination and oppression based on race (which, in the South African context is inextricably related to ethnicity, class and gender), but that this racism also dictates discrimination and oppression in relation to the environment. It is especially poor, Black communities who are forced to live in undesirable, environmentally unsafe and even hazardous locations, and habitation of these locations negatively impact their existence. Moreover, these communities have little or no say in decision-making processes, policies, and laws, which dictate what may or may not happen in and to these locations – also from an environmental perspective. The lived experiences and daily realities of injustice experienced by poor, Black people in South Africa, thus involve a deliberate historical and contemporary disregard for the delicate relationship between Earth and humanity – one fuelled by the greed and accumulation of wealth by the privileged minority in South Africa. I propose that a post-apartheid ecofeminist reading of Genesis 2 and 3 is one way of engaging critically with this ongoing intersectional expression of domination in the South African context. Such a reading questions the patriarchal and anthropocentric assumptions of the narratives, and highlights the human need of power over which has existed from the beginning of the human existence – even in the oft portrayed paradise of the Garden of Eden. This reading, I suggest, could be a means toward earth-healing praxis by communities of the Christian faith – a method in which the intersectional expressions of power and domination within the post-apartheid, South African context, may be resisted.
Die hart van God. Verhale van vroue in sending., 2017
Gedurende die Victoriaanse tyd, die agtergrond vir die meerderheid van die stories wat in hierdie... more Gedurende die Victoriaanse tyd, die agtergrond vir die meerderheid van die stories wat in hierdie bundel vertel word, was die vrou hoofsaaklik gesien as tuis by die huis en indien sy enigsins in die publiek sou optree, dan slegs as ’n tipe hulp vir die man. Gevalle, soos deur die karakters in hierdie boek geïllustreer, waar vroue aktiewe en dikwels onafhanklike agente in die sendingkonteks was, is uiteraard nie net noemenswaardig nie, maar selfs ongehoord binne konserwatiewe Protestantse kulture van die tydperk waaruit hulle kom. Gegewe die langdurige inpak van ’n heersende kultuur wat vroue gering geskat het, is dit verstaanbaar dat die stories wat wel die dominante diskoers van hulle tyd uitgedaag het, al te maklik verswyg is. Wat in hierdie boek gebeur vorm dus deel van ’n uiters noodsaaklike korreksie ten opsige van geskiedskrywing oor die algemeen en die kerk- en sendinggeskiedenis in die besonder. Soveel te meer is dit van belang vir die Afrikaanssprekende Christelike gemeenskap in Suid-Afrika. Geen wonder dus dat vir die meerderheid lesers die stories wat hier vertel word, geheel en al onbekend sal wees. Selfs mense wat hulself as sending-belangstellendes beskou en dus reeds vertroud is met familiename soos Murray en Pauw sal dalk verras wees deur die betrokkenheid van ook vrouesendelinge binne die kring van sulke bekende families. Hierdie boek is ’n skatkis van verhale oor vroue in die sending. Die lesers wat hulself daarin gaan verdiep kan voorbereid wees op ’n wonderlike ontdekkingsreis na die verlede.
Retief Müller Senior Lektor – Kerkgeskiedenis: Universiteit van Stellenbosch
Sewe Stories en 'n stock cube. Die Heidelbergse Kategismus se troos vir vandag., 2013
OPSOMMING: Baie (gereformeerde) Christene lees selde of ooit die Heidelbergse Kategismus (HK). Me... more OPSOMMING: Baie (gereformeerde) Christene lees selde of ooit die Heidelbergse Kategismus (HK). Mense weet dit is ’n woord wat hulle al in die kerk gehoor het. Hulle het ook ’n vae vermoede dat daar al van hulle verwag is om te weet wat dit is. Vir baie is dit ’n dokument wat bewaar en oor beloof word, en slegs deur ’n klein groepie geleerdes of belangstellendes gelees word.
Dit is steeds teenwoordig in al die formuliere van die amptelike inisiasierites van die kerk – daardie geleenthede van plegtige belofte: doop, belydenisaflegging, legitimasie, kerkraadsbevestiging – maar tydens hierdie geleenthede kom die inhoud van die HK feitlik nooit ter sprake nie.
As jy in enige gereformeerde kerk in Suid-Afrika belydenis van geloof afgelê het, jou kind laat doop het, as ’n kerkraadslid bevestig is, of as ’n teologiese student gelegitimeer is, dan het jy definitief ’n belofte oor die HK (saam met die ander gereformeerde belydenisskrifte) afgelê.
INHOUD
Inleiding
Wat is die mens dan? – Helené van Tonder
Onmisbare werklikheid – Nina Müller van Velden
God in die detail – Helgard Pretorius
Om te soek na sekerheid – Wouter van Velden
Die dissonante drinkwater van ’n bedwelm(en)de dokument – Calvyn du Toit
Dankbaarheid in skoonheid en gebrokenheid – Janine Williams
Wat sou Jesus doen? ontmoet Wat is jou enigste troos in lewe en in sterwe? – Cobus van Wyngaard
Nawoord
Climate change and its global impact on all people, especially the marginalized communities, is w... more Climate change and its global impact on all people, especially the marginalized communities, is widely recognized as the biggest crisis of our time. It is a context that invites all subjects and disciplines to bring their resources in diagnosing the problem and seeking the healing of the Earth. The African continent, especially its women, constitute the subalterns of global climate crisis. Can they speak? If they speak, can they be heard? Both the Earth and the Africa have been identified with the adjective “Mother.” This gender identity tells tales in patriarchal and imperial worlds that use the female gender to signal legitimation of oppression and exploitation. In this volume, African women theologians and their female-identifying colleagues, struggle with reading and interpreting religious texts in the context of environmental crisis that are threatening life on Earth. The chapters interrogate how biblical texts and African cultural resources imagine the Earth and our relationsh...
The Johannine Gospel continues to be of interest to biblical scholars
who are attuned to the mann... more The Johannine Gospel continues to be of interest to biblical scholars who are attuned to the manner in which gender is constructed and performed by means of characterisation in its narratives, and is interpreted from a vast range of social locations. For some, the end- result is the promotion of gender equality and gender-transgressive behaviour, whereas others deem the Fourth Gospel narratives to merely reinforce the all-too-familiar patriarchal social structures and hegemonic masculine ideals. Central to interpretative judgments on the gendered dimension of the Fourth Gospel narratives is the manner in which Jesus is characterised. I suggest that the foot-washing narrative of John 13:1–11, when read with a gender-critical lens against the background of the first-century cultural script of honour and shame, resists simplistic categorisation as being solely a liberating or a restrictive gendered narrative. Rather, by taking into consideration the complex intersections of honour, shame, gender and class, a gender-ambiguous picture emerges—one in which the characterisation of Jesus both affirms and transgresses ancient gendered ideals. The unresolved gender ambiguity depicted in the narrative could potentially offer possibilities for theologically engaging gender and sexuality by means of a hermeneutical framework that can explore the discomfort of constructivism, instead of jumping perhaps too hastily to oft-preferred essentialist understandings of gender and sexuality.
The uncritical, ahistorical use of central Christian faith-narratives, such as the narrative of t... more The uncritical, ahistorical use of central Christian faith-narratives, such as the narrative of the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, have the potential to threaten meaningful and dignified lives of both men and women. From the perspective of gender and sexuality, the Christian church has often abused the crucifixion narrative as a means to uphold unequal and oppressive heteronormative (male) power that have had harmful effects on men and women on all levels of their existence. Within contexts of gender-based discrimination, abuse and violence, such type of interpretations of the crucifixion narrative are in dire need of deconstruction and reimagining. Within the first century AD Mediterranean context of the Roman Empire, a crucifixion was an event of utter shame and degradation that deliberately casted serious doubt on one's gender-a socially-constructed entity that was to be asserted and defended at all times. However, measured against the cultural script of honour and shame and the socially-constructed nature of masculinity in this context, the narration of the crucifixion in the Gospel of Luke seems to lend support to the image of a hypermasculine Jesus on the cross. Thus, socio-historically speaking, the Lukan crucifixion narrative offers an unexpected portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth in the events leading to and on the cross. I propose that contemporary readers of this specific crucifixion narrative might be able to take up the position of "queer reimaginers" by reclaiming the shameful and deconstructive effect of the crucifixion event for what it was socio-historically, particularly with regards to gender. Such a queer reimagining opens up the possibility to reinterpret the Lukan crucifixion narrative as a narrative of the crucifixion of hypermasculinity, rather than the affirmation thereof. Accordingly this may start paving the way towards life-giving and healing teachings, rituals and practices within the Christian church that embraces the worth of all persons.
Breaking the Master's S.H.I.T. Holes. Doing Theology in the Context of Global Migration (ed. Musa W. Dube and Paul L. Leshota), 2020
25 years after the end of apartheid rule in South Africa, the impact of systemic racism continues... more 25 years after the end of apartheid rule in South Africa, the impact of systemic racism continues to be deeply felt by particularly poor, Black persons living in townships and informal settlements. The forced relocations of Coloured, Indian and Black persons under the Group Areas Act of 1950 dictates up to this day who is allowed to have the most advantageous access to physical space, basic services, resources, hygiene, safety and security, education, transport, and economic opportunities – a divide which runs firmly along the divides of race, ethnicity, class, and gender, and which continues to be of most benefit to the minority, White population. Given the specific type of geographical spaces in which the majority of South Africans were and continue to be forced to live in, I contend in this chapter that a very particular form of racism remains, despite the dawn of democracy in 1994, i.e. environmental racism. This implies that there is not only discrimination and oppression based on race (which, in the South African context is inextricably related to ethnicity, class and gender), but that this racism also dictates discrimination and oppression in relation to the environment. It is especially poor, Black communities who are forced to live in undesirable, environmentally unsafe and even hazardous locations, and habitation of these locations negatively impact their existence. Moreover, these communities have little or no say in decision-making processes, policies, and laws, which dictate what may or may not happen in and to these locations – also from an environmental perspective. The lived experiences and daily realities of injustice experienced by poor, Black people in South Africa, thus involve a deliberate historical and contemporary disregard for the delicate relationship between Earth and humanity – one fuelled by the greed and accumulation of wealth by the privileged minority in South Africa. I propose that a post-apartheid ecofeminist reading of Genesis 2 and 3 is one way of engaging critically with this ongoing intersectional expression of domination in the South African context. Such a reading questions the patriarchal and anthropocentric assumptions of the narratives, and highlights the human need of power over which has existed from the beginning of the human existence – even in the oft portrayed paradise of the Garden of Eden. This reading, I suggest, could be a means toward earth-healing praxis by communities of the Christian faith – a method in which the intersectional expressions of power and domination within the post-apartheid, South African context, may be resisted.
Die hart van God. Verhale van vroue in sending., 2017
Gedurende die Victoriaanse tyd, die agtergrond vir die meerderheid van die stories wat in hierdie... more Gedurende die Victoriaanse tyd, die agtergrond vir die meerderheid van die stories wat in hierdie bundel vertel word, was die vrou hoofsaaklik gesien as tuis by die huis en indien sy enigsins in die publiek sou optree, dan slegs as ’n tipe hulp vir die man. Gevalle, soos deur die karakters in hierdie boek geïllustreer, waar vroue aktiewe en dikwels onafhanklike agente in die sendingkonteks was, is uiteraard nie net noemenswaardig nie, maar selfs ongehoord binne konserwatiewe Protestantse kulture van die tydperk waaruit hulle kom. Gegewe die langdurige inpak van ’n heersende kultuur wat vroue gering geskat het, is dit verstaanbaar dat die stories wat wel die dominante diskoers van hulle tyd uitgedaag het, al te maklik verswyg is. Wat in hierdie boek gebeur vorm dus deel van ’n uiters noodsaaklike korreksie ten opsige van geskiedskrywing oor die algemeen en die kerk- en sendinggeskiedenis in die besonder. Soveel te meer is dit van belang vir die Afrikaanssprekende Christelike gemeenskap in Suid-Afrika. Geen wonder dus dat vir die meerderheid lesers die stories wat hier vertel word, geheel en al onbekend sal wees. Selfs mense wat hulself as sending-belangstellendes beskou en dus reeds vertroud is met familiename soos Murray en Pauw sal dalk verras wees deur die betrokkenheid van ook vrouesendelinge binne die kring van sulke bekende families. Hierdie boek is ’n skatkis van verhale oor vroue in die sending. Die lesers wat hulself daarin gaan verdiep kan voorbereid wees op ’n wonderlike ontdekkingsreis na die verlede.
Retief Müller Senior Lektor – Kerkgeskiedenis: Universiteit van Stellenbosch
Sewe Stories en 'n stock cube. Die Heidelbergse Kategismus se troos vir vandag., 2013
OPSOMMING: Baie (gereformeerde) Christene lees selde of ooit die Heidelbergse Kategismus (HK). Me... more OPSOMMING: Baie (gereformeerde) Christene lees selde of ooit die Heidelbergse Kategismus (HK). Mense weet dit is ’n woord wat hulle al in die kerk gehoor het. Hulle het ook ’n vae vermoede dat daar al van hulle verwag is om te weet wat dit is. Vir baie is dit ’n dokument wat bewaar en oor beloof word, en slegs deur ’n klein groepie geleerdes of belangstellendes gelees word.
Dit is steeds teenwoordig in al die formuliere van die amptelike inisiasierites van die kerk – daardie geleenthede van plegtige belofte: doop, belydenisaflegging, legitimasie, kerkraadsbevestiging – maar tydens hierdie geleenthede kom die inhoud van die HK feitlik nooit ter sprake nie.
As jy in enige gereformeerde kerk in Suid-Afrika belydenis van geloof afgelê het, jou kind laat doop het, as ’n kerkraadslid bevestig is, of as ’n teologiese student gelegitimeer is, dan het jy definitief ’n belofte oor die HK (saam met die ander gereformeerde belydenisskrifte) afgelê.
INHOUD
Inleiding
Wat is die mens dan? – Helené van Tonder
Onmisbare werklikheid – Nina Müller van Velden
God in die detail – Helgard Pretorius
Om te soek na sekerheid – Wouter van Velden
Die dissonante drinkwater van ’n bedwelm(en)de dokument – Calvyn du Toit
Dankbaarheid in skoonheid en gebrokenheid – Janine Williams
Wat sou Jesus doen? ontmoet Wat is jou enigste troos in lewe en in sterwe? – Cobus van Wyngaard
Nawoord
Climate change and its global impact on all people, especially the marginalized communities, is w... more Climate change and its global impact on all people, especially the marginalized communities, is widely recognized as the biggest crisis of our time. It is a context that invites all subjects and disciplines to bring their resources in diagnosing the problem and seeking the healing of the Earth. The African continent, especially its women, constitute the subalterns of global climate crisis. Can they speak? If they speak, can they be heard? Both the Earth and the Africa have been identified with the adjective “Mother.” This gender identity tells tales in patriarchal and imperial worlds that use the female gender to signal legitimation of oppression and exploitation. In this volume, African women theologians and their female-identifying colleagues, struggle with reading and interpreting religious texts in the context of environmental crisis that are threatening life on Earth. The chapters interrogate how biblical texts and African cultural resources imagine the Earth and our relationsh...
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who are attuned to the manner in which gender is constructed and
performed by means of characterisation in its narratives, and is
interpreted from a vast range of social locations. For some, the end-
result is the promotion of gender equality and gender-transgressive
behaviour, whereas others deem the Fourth Gospel narratives to
merely reinforce the all-too-familiar patriarchal social structures and
hegemonic masculine ideals. Central to interpretative judgments on
the gendered dimension of the Fourth Gospel narratives is the manner
in which Jesus is characterised. I suggest that the foot-washing
narrative of John 13:1–11, when read with a gender-critical lens
against the background of the first-century cultural script of honour
and shame, resists simplistic categorisation as being solely a liberating
or a restrictive gendered narrative. Rather, by taking into consideration
the complex intersections of honour, shame, gender and class, a
gender-ambiguous picture emerges—one in which the
characterisation of Jesus both affirms and transgresses ancient
gendered ideals. The unresolved gender ambiguity depicted in the
narrative could potentially offer possibilities for theologically
engaging gender and sexuality by means of a hermeneutical
framework that can explore the discomfort of constructivism, instead
of jumping perhaps too hastily to oft-preferred essentialist
understandings of gender and sexuality.
Retief Müller Senior Lektor – Kerkgeskiedenis: Universiteit van Stellenbosch
Dit is steeds teenwoordig in al die formuliere van die amptelike inisiasierites van die kerk – daardie geleenthede van plegtige belofte: doop, belydenisaflegging, legitimasie, kerkraadsbevestiging – maar tydens hierdie geleenthede kom die inhoud van die HK feitlik nooit ter sprake nie.
As jy in enige gereformeerde kerk in Suid-Afrika belydenis van geloof afgelê het, jou kind laat doop het, as ’n kerkraadslid bevestig is, of as ’n teologiese student gelegitimeer is, dan het jy definitief ’n belofte oor die HK (saam met die ander gereformeerde belydenisskrifte) afgelê.
INHOUD
Inleiding
Wat is die mens dan? – Helené van Tonder
Onmisbare werklikheid – Nina Müller van Velden
God in die detail – Helgard Pretorius
Om te soek na sekerheid – Wouter van Velden
Die dissonante drinkwater van ’n bedwelm(en)de dokument – Calvyn du Toit
Dankbaarheid in skoonheid en gebrokenheid – Janine Williams
Wat sou Jesus doen? ontmoet Wat is jou enigste troos in lewe en in sterwe? – Cobus van Wyngaard
Nawoord
who are attuned to the manner in which gender is constructed and
performed by means of characterisation in its narratives, and is
interpreted from a vast range of social locations. For some, the end-
result is the promotion of gender equality and gender-transgressive
behaviour, whereas others deem the Fourth Gospel narratives to
merely reinforce the all-too-familiar patriarchal social structures and
hegemonic masculine ideals. Central to interpretative judgments on
the gendered dimension of the Fourth Gospel narratives is the manner
in which Jesus is characterised. I suggest that the foot-washing
narrative of John 13:1–11, when read with a gender-critical lens
against the background of the first-century cultural script of honour
and shame, resists simplistic categorisation as being solely a liberating
or a restrictive gendered narrative. Rather, by taking into consideration
the complex intersections of honour, shame, gender and class, a
gender-ambiguous picture emerges—one in which the
characterisation of Jesus both affirms and transgresses ancient
gendered ideals. The unresolved gender ambiguity depicted in the
narrative could potentially offer possibilities for theologically
engaging gender and sexuality by means of a hermeneutical
framework that can explore the discomfort of constructivism, instead
of jumping perhaps too hastily to oft-preferred essentialist
understandings of gender and sexuality.
Retief Müller Senior Lektor – Kerkgeskiedenis: Universiteit van Stellenbosch
Dit is steeds teenwoordig in al die formuliere van die amptelike inisiasierites van die kerk – daardie geleenthede van plegtige belofte: doop, belydenisaflegging, legitimasie, kerkraadsbevestiging – maar tydens hierdie geleenthede kom die inhoud van die HK feitlik nooit ter sprake nie.
As jy in enige gereformeerde kerk in Suid-Afrika belydenis van geloof afgelê het, jou kind laat doop het, as ’n kerkraadslid bevestig is, of as ’n teologiese student gelegitimeer is, dan het jy definitief ’n belofte oor die HK (saam met die ander gereformeerde belydenisskrifte) afgelê.
INHOUD
Inleiding
Wat is die mens dan? – Helené van Tonder
Onmisbare werklikheid – Nina Müller van Velden
God in die detail – Helgard Pretorius
Om te soek na sekerheid – Wouter van Velden
Die dissonante drinkwater van ’n bedwelm(en)de dokument – Calvyn du Toit
Dankbaarheid in skoonheid en gebrokenheid – Janine Williams
Wat sou Jesus doen? ontmoet Wat is jou enigste troos in lewe en in sterwe? – Cobus van Wyngaard
Nawoord