The voice of the voiceless : reading Luke 1:46-55 in the context of HIV/AIDS in response to Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza's feminist theology

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A biblical truth tends to function in the politics of meaning formation, where cultural norms and values of society direct a biblical reading, which in turn further affirms and constructs social ideals. Specific to this study is the problem of the patriarchal framework that has shaped the prophetic reading of the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). Feminist scholars problematize patriarchal characteristics of the text and question religious formulations of gender norms that create unequal gender relations in society. This study presents a prophetic-critical reading of the Magnificat in light of the rhetorical functions of the text. To this end, chapter two evaluates Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza's theories of feminist praxis to sharpen a reading lens for the exegetical chapter which follows. In chapter three, it illustrates a propagandistic character of the text, intended by the implied author, in order to free the text from a patriarchal reading. Chapter four illustrates the rhetorical functions of the text in a new contemporary context of HIV/AIDS in South Africa. This is accomplished by means of a variety of social, political, economic and religious systems of meaning formation, in the form of a letter, hypothetically addressed to a contemporary benefactor, Queen Elizabeth II.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University