The riverbank, the seashore and the wilderness: Miriam, liberation and prophetic witness against empire

This article examines the manner and method of resistance against patriarchal power and privilege. Two types of power are contrasted. One is the violent, war-like and hierarchical power of an empire, and the other is the faithful resistance of Israel’s prophets. A further distinction is made between...

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Main Author: Allan A. Boesak
Format: Article
Language:Afrikaans
Published: AOSIS 2017-07-01
Series:HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies
Online Access:https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/4547
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spelling doaj-575dd70add49458090750c5fffbc59182020-11-25T00:28:42ZafrAOSISHTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 0259-94222072-80502017-07-01734e1e1510.4102/hts.v73i4.45473862The riverbank, the seashore and the wilderness: Miriam, liberation and prophetic witness against empireAllan A. Boesak0Department of Dogmatics and Christian Ethics, Faculty of Theology, University of PretoriaThis article examines the manner and method of resistance against patriarchal power and privilege. Two types of power are contrasted. One is the violent, war-like and hierarchical power of an empire, and the other is the faithful resistance of Israel’s prophets. A further distinction is made between violent male power and non-violent female power. It is argued that Miriam was a prophet of the people and her prophetic witness is an example of the power and outcome of non-violent resistance. Her theology explicitly and specifically praises God not as a warrior. Hers is not a muscular, masculine God whose power seeks to match the power of empire. Her God has a power that through radical love for a slave people and taking sides with the enslaved overcomes the power of the slaveholder. In her theology, Miriam recalls the God of the exodus, who begins the acts of liberation with the women, to whose faithfulness, courage and defiant obedience, the freedom of the people is entrusted. From a feminist perspective it is argued that this style of non-violent, faithful prophetic witness has a greater impact than violent resistance associated with an empire-like power. It is suggested that black liberation theology should adopt this paradigm in its witness of and resistance against oppression.https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/4547
collection DOAJ
language Afrikaans
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Allan A. Boesak
spellingShingle Allan A. Boesak
The riverbank, the seashore and the wilderness: Miriam, liberation and prophetic witness against empire
HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies
author_facet Allan A. Boesak
author_sort Allan A. Boesak
title The riverbank, the seashore and the wilderness: Miriam, liberation and prophetic witness against empire
title_short The riverbank, the seashore and the wilderness: Miriam, liberation and prophetic witness against empire
title_full The riverbank, the seashore and the wilderness: Miriam, liberation and prophetic witness against empire
title_fullStr The riverbank, the seashore and the wilderness: Miriam, liberation and prophetic witness against empire
title_full_unstemmed The riverbank, the seashore and the wilderness: Miriam, liberation and prophetic witness against empire
title_sort riverbank, the seashore and the wilderness: miriam, liberation and prophetic witness against empire
publisher AOSIS
series HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies
issn 0259-9422
2072-8050
publishDate 2017-07-01
description This article examines the manner and method of resistance against patriarchal power and privilege. Two types of power are contrasted. One is the violent, war-like and hierarchical power of an empire, and the other is the faithful resistance of Israel’s prophets. A further distinction is made between violent male power and non-violent female power. It is argued that Miriam was a prophet of the people and her prophetic witness is an example of the power and outcome of non-violent resistance. Her theology explicitly and specifically praises God not as a warrior. Hers is not a muscular, masculine God whose power seeks to match the power of empire. Her God has a power that through radical love for a slave people and taking sides with the enslaved overcomes the power of the slaveholder. In her theology, Miriam recalls the God of the exodus, who begins the acts of liberation with the women, to whose faithfulness, courage and defiant obedience, the freedom of the people is entrusted. From a feminist perspective it is argued that this style of non-violent, faithful prophetic witness has a greater impact than violent resistance associated with an empire-like power. It is suggested that black liberation theology should adopt this paradigm in its witness of and resistance against oppression.
url https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/4547
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