Rereading the Naaman story (2 Kings 5:1-7) in the context of stigmatization of people living with HIV and Aids in Africa

In recent times the Bible has continued to feature in the construction of wholeness and disease by some African Christians. For these Christians, the Bible remains a principal reference point in their perceptual field and character formation. In the light of this, the Bible must be properly interpre...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dada, Adekunle (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2007
In: Old Testament essays
Year: 2007, Volume: 20, Issue: 3, Pages: 586-600
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:In recent times the Bible has continued to feature in the construction of wholeness and disease by some African Christians. For these Christians, the Bible remains a principal reference point in their perceptual field and character formation. In the light of this, the Bible must be properly interpreted so as to help the people to effectively internalise its message. It is as a result of this that current biblical hermeneutics in Africa is geared to explore the correspondence between the life-situation of the interpreter and the Bible. In view of the stigmatization of people living with HIV and AIDS in Africa, this paper explores how the Bible can be creatively read in order to promote healing, growth and change, resulting in increased coping skills and adaptive functions. The paper explores how liberating and transformative insights derived from the story of Naaman can be appropriated to free the people living with HIV and AIDS from stigmatization and discrimination, thereby promoting holistic empowerment.
ISSN:2312-3621
Contains:Enthalten in: Old Testament essays
Persistent identifiers:HDL: 10520/EJC85905