Contesting history and identity formation in Paul and in South Africa

This study compares dynamics in the contestation of history and identity between Paul to post-1994 white Afrikaners in South Africa. In reference to Paul, I am interested in how the followers of the nascent Hellenistic Gentile Christian movement claimed legitimacy as the true Jews, usurping the mono...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hervormde teologiese studies Vol. 71; no. 1; pp. 1 - 06
Main Author: Dube, Zorodzai
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Pretoria African Online Scientific Information Systems (Pty) Ltd t/a AOSIS 2015
AOSIS (Pty) Ltd
Reformed Theological College of the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Pretoria and Society for Practical Theology in South Africa
AOSIS
Subjects:
African history
Christians
History
Jewish people
Jews
Key Words: Contestation, History, Identity, Belonging, Legitimacy
Paul, Saint (5?-67? AD)
Religion
Religious history
Social identity
Theology
South Africa
ISSN:0259-9422, 2072-8050, 2072-8050
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This study compares dynamics in the contestation of history and identity between Paul to post-1994 white Afrikaners in South Africa. In reference to Paul, I am interested in how the followers of the nascent Hellenistic Gentile Christian movement claimed legitimacy as the true Jews, usurping the monopoly of the identity ‘true Jews’ from the Jews, who believed that they alone, stand to claim the Abrahamic promise. Instead, Paul contested the Jewish history and identity, claiming that his Gentile Christians were, in fact, the true Jews – how so? The analysis shall be juxtaposed, providing a discursive analysis to the Afrikaners, who regularly receive claims that they do not belong to South Africa. Specifically, I look into how they contest the South African oral history, claiming that in fact, they are legitimate and the original inhabitants. The study notes that in both cases, identity is constructed through the contestation of history and identity. Thus, the comparison shall be narrowed down to how history is variably, contested for identity formation. Though living within the same locale, the different social groups interpret history differently and variously, appeal to different conspicuous figures and events as their identity markers.
Bibliography:SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:0259-9422
2072-8050
2072-8050
DOI:10.4102/hts.v71i1.3011