Gender critique on the narrator’s androcentric point of view of women in Matthew’s gospel

HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Gender critique on the narrator’s androcentric point of view of women in Matthew’s gospel
 
Creator Dreyer, Yolanda
 
Subject New Testament Studies; Gender Studies The Gospel of Matthew; hermeneutics of suspicion; gender studies; androcentrism; women’s sexuality
Description The article, from a gender-sensitive perspective, is critical of patriarchal values that are harmful to women and other non-dominant groups. When the focus on women and women’s roles is usurped by male control, the androcentric self-interest of interpreters and authors becomes apparent. This is still the case in present-day theological studies, but is especially prevalent in premodern biblical writings, of which the Gospel of Matthew is an example. Recent mainstream Jesus studies demonstrate that women were welcomed in an ‘egalitarian’ way in the community of the first followers of Jesus. Women’s contribution to the first Christian faith community is highlighted. This stands in stark contrast to the silencing and invisibility of women in the surrounding patriarchal world of the ancient Middle East. Although Matthew does view women and other formerly excluded people as part of the faith community and equal recipients of God’s love, they are never treated as equal participants. The article focuses on three issues concerning the narrator’s point of view, namely that (1) women fulfilled a supporting, rather than an initiating role (Mt 1–2; 9:18–26; 15:21–28), (2) double standards were applied to male and female sexuality and women’s sexuality was regarded with prejudice (Mt 5:29–32; 19:2–12) and (3) women were seemingly given the opportunity to live ‘authentically’ as human beings, but in actual fact they could do so only if this ‘authenticity’ was sanctioned by men (Mt 20:20–23; 27:38; 27:56).
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2011-04-11
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Literary Analysis
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/hts.v67i1.898
 
Source HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies; Vol 67, No 1 (2011); 5 pages 2072-8050 0259-9422
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/898/1433 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/898/1699 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/898/1429 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/898/1434
 
Coverage Middle East First century Palestine Gender
Rights Copyright (c) 2011 Yolanda Dreyer https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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