It is motivated by the context of the Rwandan situation during and after the catastrophic genocide in 1994. The reading of the biblical texts with Rwandan eyes and the dialogue with the texts pointed out that the women used some tools in the Gospel for success in the role of peacemaking and peacemaking in their local communities.
APPROPRIATION: THE DIALOGUE OF RWANDAN WOMEN IN THE CONTEXT OF CONFLICT, WITH THE WOMEN IN JOHN
ADAPTATION: RWANDA WOMEN'S DIALOGUE IN THE CONTEXT OF CONFLICT, WITH WOMEN IN JOHN.
GENERAL CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY
BACKGROUND AND MOTIVATION
- Introduction
- Research theoretical framework and methodology
- The analysis of the Rwandan context
- The study of the texts
- Limitations
- Structure of the thesis
This study of the biblical text corresponds to the distancing phase described in the section on methodology. It is during this phase that there will be interaction between the issues of the Rwandan conflict and those highlighted in the interpretation of the texts.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Introduction
However, the entire study will be guided by the framework provided by the Tripolar Exegetical Model.
Background of the Tri-Polar Exegetical Model
- The Tri-Polar Exegetical Model by Grenholm and Patte
- The believer’s life
- Distantiation
- Contextualization
Below is the description of the three poles, starting with the focus on the text. It is during this phase that the reader/interpreter/reading faith community acquires a new understanding of the message presented by the text.
Evaluation of the Tri-Polar Exegetical Model
- Strengths of the Tri-Polar Exegetical Model
Bevans emphasizes the importance of the text in the past and present, as does the Tripolar exegetical model. Ukpong (1995a: 11-12) has suggested some steps to consider in analyzing the reader/interpreter context.
The applicability of the Tri-Polar method to the present study
- Contextualization phase
- Distantiation phase
- Appropriation phase
Another orientation seeks to make the African context the subject of biblical interpretation (Ukpong 1999: 324). The analysis of selected biblical texts represents the second pole in the Tripolar exegetical model.
- Understanding the term “conflict”
- Structural Functionalism Model and Equilibrium Model
- Conflict Theory and Interactional Symbolism Theory
- Reconciliation
- The meaning of the term ‘peace’
- The role of a mediator in peacemaking and peace-building Anstey links peacemaking to the role of a mediator. He states that
- Women and conflict management
- Summary
As long as they maintain the unity of society, they should not be disturbed. This view shows that the mediator's role has different aspects, which explains the use of several hands in the act of reconciliation.
ANALYSIS OF THE RWANDAN CONTEXT AND WOMEN’S PLIGHT AND ROLE IN THEIR COMMUNITY
Introduction
- Physical setting
- Climate of Rwanda
- Economic situation
- The population of Rwanda
- The Rwandan social groups
The purpose of this description is to assist in the understanding of Rwandan society and the environment surrounding Rwandan women. As mentioned earlier, Rwanda's high population growth rate is a challenge for the country. The majority of the population (88.6%) lives by agriculture and is mainly concentrated in the countryside.
This small group lived in a part of Mutara in the north-east of the country. He served in leadership and worked as Director of the Bible Society in Rwanda from 1983-94. The next part examines their contribution to the life of the nation during the pre-colonial period.
Place and role of women in Rwandan pre-colonial society
- Socio-political background of pre-colonial Rwanda
- Queen and queen-mother in Rwandan politics
- Women’s influence in religion
- Women’s contribution to the Rwandan economy
- Women as agents of unity in pre-colonial Rwanda from the perspective of marriage
So it was the role of the queen mother to take the risks to protect the baby king from any harm. This was linked to their role of productivity and fertility in terms of the land. Lame also argues that traditionally there was a mystical connection between women and the fertility of the land.
Muzungu noted that the king was the son of the queen mother appointed before him and chosen from an established matri-dynastic clan (Muzungu 2003:348). Rwandan women have certainly contributed to creating and building peace throughout the country's history. However, with the arrival of Europeans some aspects of Rwandan culture were challenged.
Rwandans under the colonial rule
- Christianity in Rwanda and its impact on the plight of women
- Rwandan religious background and the advent of Christianity
- The impact of colonialism and Christianity on the plight of Rwandan women A major contribution of colonialism to colonized countries was through education, a
- Female education during the colonial rule
Later, the Mwami Musinga was dethroned due to his continued opposition to the settlers' involvement in the country's leadership (Kalimba). In addition to their political interference in the governance of the country, the colonizers made some positive changes in the country. More relevant to The objectives of this work are the impact of the colonial regime on women.
The same act was performed by the king on behalf of the population as a whole. There was also another administrative school for Tutsi, Ecole des Batutsi, in Kinyaga in Cyangugu in the western part of the country. No Rwandan woman had influence in any public affairs, let alone in the administration of the country.
Rwandan women from independence to the time of the genocide
- Female education and condition during the time of Rwandan independence Rwanda gained independence on 1 July 1962. With the support of the Belgians,
- Women’s involvement in leadership
- Women victims of the genocide
- Sufferings of Rwandan women as consequences of the genocide
- Sexual related injuries
- Conflicts based on intermarriage
- Summary
The result was that even after independence, women were poorly represented in the leadership positions of the country. The helplessness of women manifested not only in their inability to stop the genocide, but in the vulnerability that made them the victims of the tragedy. Some victims fear for their lives because of the power and position of their rapists.
It was also noted above that during the time of the First and Second Republics, intermarriage was frequently practiced among the Hutu elite in leadership positions. Human Rights Watch agrees that the consequences of the genocide are borne on the backs of women (Human Rights Watch/Africa 1996:69). This chapter confirms the need for work to be done in the area of reconciliation due to the pain and hostility left in the population by the genocide.
THE FOURTH GOSPEL AND THE PLIGHT OF WOMEN AND THEIR ROLES IN THE FIRST CENTURY MEDITERRANEAN WORLD
Introduction
Background of the Fourth Gospel
- Authorship, date and place of writing of the Fourth Gospel
- Recipients of the gospel and their community
But our first step will be a brief discussion of the question of the authorship of the Gospel. 45 There are different arguments about the identification of the beloved disciple who may have written the gospel. He even identifies the Fourth Gospel as the Gospel of the beloved, referring to Lazarus.
The debate about the authorship and date of the Gospel is also related to the question of its audience. The debate over the original readers/audience of the Fourth Gospel has not reached consensus among biblical scholars. Perkins believes that the readers of the Gospel should be imagined as Christian Jews in the Diaspora (Perkins 2007: 949).
The Greco-Roman world of the Mediterranean region during the first century Having in mind the objectives of this work, the main aspects that attract our attention in
- The political and economic situations of the first century Mediterranean region During the first century, almost the whole of the Mediterranean region was under the
- The political structure and women’s participation
- Economic structure and women’s participation
The structure of the economy of the Greco-Roman Mediterranean region was determined by the leadership of the empire (Duncan-Jones 1992:1). It is clear from the above argument that the leadership of the empire was in the hands of men. The absence of women in the empire's leadership extended into the army, where it appears that there were no women at all.
The tradition of a land-based economy continued into early New Testament times. The structure of the relationship between economic and political power in the Roman Empire is illustrated by a pyramid. This weak position of women was part of the general condition of women at this time.
The condition of women of the first century Greco-Roman Mediterranean world Discrimination against women was generally grounded on questions of their ability to
- Female education in the first century Greco-Roman Mediterranean region Discrimination against women was a reality in the kind of educational domain which was
- Women’s restricted contribution to public life
- The concept of family in the broader region of Mediterranean
- The condition and role of women in family settings in Roman society
- Slave women in the first century Greco-Roman Mediterranean region
In the male-dominated society of the Roman Empire, women were not officially recognized in building the economy or in leadership. There may have been exceptions, but it cannot be generalized that women were actively involved in the politics of the empire. Roman culture believed that the family was the “seedbed of the city” (Lassen 1997: 103).
The condition of the woman was also reflected in the society's attitude towards the slave girl in the community. In the Greco-Roman Empire of the first century, women and slaves had much in common within the patriarchal family. It is then worth reviewing the living conditions of women in first-century Jewish society.
Jewish women in the first century Greco-Roman world
- The general plight of women in the Jewish society
- Female education in Jewish society
- The Rabbinic view of women and its implication in the Jewish society Although the Rabbinic texts 47
- Women’s condition in the light of the New Testament writings
This attitude of Jewish society towards women is further reflected in the place reserved for women's education. The family was highly valued in Jewish culture, the cornerstone of the entire edifice (Daniel-Rops 1962:115). Cook argues that within the synagogue setting in modern forms of Orthodox Judaism, women do not share the 'seat of power'.
Jewish women in the Diaspora and even in Palestine were not isolated from the thought and behavior patterns of the Hellenistic period. This section deals with the condition of women and their involvement in Christianity in the Greco-Roman world of the Mediterranean. He argues that in the structure of Christian society, conventional gender roles remained fixed.
Summary
If we examine both arguments about the interpretation of the biblical texts analytically, they each reveal aspects of a culture that undermined women. These texts reflect a culture that did not promote female education and favored male domination over women. The passage is directed against ancient Jewish culture, which showed discrimination against women in most sectors of society.
This enabled them to go beyond the general opportunity to contribute to the nation's economy through the domestic domain. However, the condition of women in the Greco-Roman world of the Mediterranean in the first century AD was almost the same for all women, whether Roman, Greek or Jewish. This is reflected in the training and type of work assigned to men and women.
DISTANTIATION: THE EXEGETICAL MOVE ON THE SELECTED TEXTS IN JOHN
Introduction
The discussion is based on five texts.51 The first text to be analyzed examines the role of Jesus' mother at the wedding at Cana in John 2:1-12 along with her role on the cross in John 19:25-27. The chapter will also examine John 18:17 for the role of the doorkeeper woman who denounced Peter, the disciple of Jesus. The first analysis concerns the wedding at Cana, focusing on the characterization of Jesus' mother in this story and then on her role on the cross.
The Cana narrative has often been associated with an episode in the passion narrative, namely John 19:25-27, which shares many theological motifs with the Cana narrative, including the presence of Jesus' mother. Mary Magdalene is seen as a woman who could play an important role in the mission by obeying Jesus' command to carry the message of the resurrection (Moloney 1998: 527). Despite its important role, it does not fit the goals of peace and unity, which is the focus of this study.
Jesus’ mother at the Cana wedding: John 2:1-12
- Location of John 2:1-12 in the Fourth Gospel
- Geographical setting of John 2:1-12
- Literary setting and rhetoric of John 2:1-12
- Structure of John 2:1-12
- Plot
- Exploration of the plot of John 2:1-12
- Jesus’ mother’s transcendence of kinship ties, a key to the resolution of the crisis (verses 7-8)
- B` Crisis averted after successful intervention: The hosts are saved from public shame (verses 9-10)
- Jesus’ mother at Cana (John 2:1-11) and at the cross (John 19:25-29)
- Women’s involvement in conflict resolution: insights from Jesus’ mother The characterization of Jesus’ mother, especially in the Cana story, hints at some
- Summary
Many scholars have noted the symbolic importance of Jesus' mother in this story. A discussion of the issue of Jesus' fatherlessness is beyond the scope of this study. The narrator locates the sign of Kane in the context of the call of the disciples.
It is noted above that the mother of Jesus was the first person to notice the threatening problem of the lack of wine. In the case of the story of Cana, the mother of Jesus could have appeared helpless in the face of crisis. 6.1.6.1.3 The transcendence of kinship and blood: The mother of Jesus at the foot of the cross.
Jesus’ discourse with the Samaritan woman (John 4:1-42) .0 Introduction
- Conflict between Jews and Samaritans: the origin of the Samaritans
- Location of John 4:1-42 in the Fourth Gospel
- Setting of John 4:1-42
- Literary setting of John 4:1-42
- Inner structure of John 4:1-42
- Plot of John 4:1-42
- Exploration of the plot of John 4:1-42
The reader is informed about the reasons that motivated Jesus' departure from Judea to his hometown in Galilee (4:1-3). His next three, which deal largely with the woman's history and the move to a more spiritual worship, appear in the later division of the conversation (4:16-24). The narrator ends the story with information similar to the introduction: at the end, the news about Jesus is heard by the Samaritans because of the woman's testimony.
This movement of the plot is noticeable in the detailed representation that follows below. The present work deals with the first three verses (1-3) as part of the introduction to the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. But at the well, Jesus' willingness to share a drinking vessel with the Samaritan woman made her change her views about the Jews.
