Marsha Thrall | Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (original) (raw)
Papers by Marsha Thrall
In August 2014, following the execution of Michael Brown by Ferguson Missouri police officer Darr... more In August 2014, following the execution of Michael Brown by Ferguson Missouri police officer Darren Wilson, the streets of St. Louis Missouri absorbed the footsteps and cries of people weary, yet infuriated by the terrorism inflicted upon them by the epidemic of white/black racism still radically existent within the social systems of the United States. As businesses within the St. Louis area were looted and/or set ablaze by individuals enraged by the racially motivated violence imposed upon them by a “post-racial” society, media within the United States did not mourn the death of a young black male; rather, media cried out against the acts of violence committed against the businesses and individual business owners within St. Louis County Missouri. Through a lens that explores the historical and literary setting of Jesus’ temple riot narrative found in Matthew 21:12-17, the purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, this paper will explore how American evangelical Christianity has contributed to the deification of American Capitalism, subsequently turning American businesses into temples that are held in reverence in relationship to the value of human life. Next, acts of civil disobedience – such as the riots in Ferguson – will be explored, looking at how such acts serve to act as a type of temple looting. A way that a population on the periphery turns the tables on the deified social systems set in place to oppress them, in turn making it possible for the voices of the marginalized to be heard.
Within the social world of Jesus, the structure of family was significantly different than modern... more Within the social world of Jesus, the structure of family was significantly different than modern day family constructs. The typical family of the first century Mediterranean world was intensely patriarchal; the structure of the family being essentially a social contract, with the father being the guarantor of the contract, while the matriarch of the family was merely an incubator of the offspring that would guarantee family security in successive generations. 1 In this situation, the role of the child within the social contract was of course determined by gender. Male children were valuable, as they would perpetuate the role of guarantor, while female children were viewed merely as replacement incubators, groomed and cultured to assume this societal role once their mothers were unable to. 2 The child of first century, Mediterranean culture was the very least member within the greater structure of community, yet, seemingly, the recipient of the most violence at the hands of those who were dominant within this community. In our contemporary society, such violence and assignment of gender roles upon children would seem to be counter-productive and even abusive through the lens of what is considered to be civilized. However, in modernity new, seemingly more barbaric practices in relation to raising children have emerged. These practices have created a new platform of abuse in which children are subjected to; such abuses include the very real presence of extreme physical abuse that leads to gross injury or death as well as covert abuses such as the overstimulation of children through subjection to toxic 1 Malina states that "In the Meditteranean, there are really no parents, although the word is occasionally used…fathers are potent or impotent like seed, while mothers are fertile or barren like fields… the mother serves merely as passive nurturing agent who conceives and bears children." See Bruce J. Malina, The Social World of Jesus and the Gospels (London: Routledge, 1996), 104-105 2 Ibid. 105.
In August 2014, following the execution of Michael Brown by Ferguson Missouri police officer Darr... more In August 2014, following the execution of Michael Brown by Ferguson Missouri police officer Darren Wilson, the streets of St. Louis Missouri absorbed the footsteps and cries of people weary, yet infuriated by the terrorism inflicted upon them by the epidemic of white/black racism still radically existent within the social systems of the United States. As businesses within the St. Louis area were looted and/or set ablaze by individuals enraged by the racially motivated violence imposed upon them by a “post-racial” society, media within the United States did not mourn the death of a young black male; rather, media cried out against the acts of violence committed against the businesses and individual business owners within St. Louis County Missouri. Through a lens that explores the historical and literary setting of Jesus’ temple riot narrative found in Matthew 21:12-17, the purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, this paper will explore how American evangelical Christianity has contributed to the deification of American Capitalism, subsequently turning American businesses into temples that are held in reverence in relationship to the value of human life. Next, acts of civil disobedience – such as the riots in Ferguson – will be explored, looking at how such acts serve to act as a type of temple looting. A way that a population on the periphery turns the tables on the deified social systems set in place to oppress them, in turn making it possible for the voices of the marginalized to be heard.
Within the social world of Jesus, the structure of family was significantly different than modern... more Within the social world of Jesus, the structure of family was significantly different than modern day family constructs. The typical family of the first century Mediterranean world was intensely patriarchal; the structure of the family being essentially a social contract, with the father being the guarantor of the contract, while the matriarch of the family was merely an incubator of the offspring that would guarantee family security in successive generations. 1 In this situation, the role of the child within the social contract was of course determined by gender. Male children were valuable, as they would perpetuate the role of guarantor, while female children were viewed merely as replacement incubators, groomed and cultured to assume this societal role once their mothers were unable to. 2 The child of first century, Mediterranean culture was the very least member within the greater structure of community, yet, seemingly, the recipient of the most violence at the hands of those who were dominant within this community. In our contemporary society, such violence and assignment of gender roles upon children would seem to be counter-productive and even abusive through the lens of what is considered to be civilized. However, in modernity new, seemingly more barbaric practices in relation to raising children have emerged. These practices have created a new platform of abuse in which children are subjected to; such abuses include the very real presence of extreme physical abuse that leads to gross injury or death as well as covert abuses such as the overstimulation of children through subjection to toxic 1 Malina states that "In the Meditteranean, there are really no parents, although the word is occasionally used…fathers are potent or impotent like seed, while mothers are fertile or barren like fields… the mother serves merely as passive nurturing agent who conceives and bears children." See Bruce J. Malina, The Social World of Jesus and the Gospels (London: Routledge, 1996), 104-105 2 Ibid. 105.