Woman and Nation ― An Intercontextual Reading of the Gospel of John from a Postcolonial Feminist Perspective

Kim has a unique understanding of the women of the Gospel of John. She places them in the context of what she believes is a paternalistic and nationalistic document, in which the figure of the Christ is cast not as "meek and mild" but as a hero, supported by women who serve him in this capacity. She notes that such women, from a post-colonial perspective, are marginalized or used for their bodies, a situation she finds startlingly appropriate in the case of the mother of Jesus, the Samaritan and adulterous women Jesus encountered, Mary and Martha, and Mary Magdalene. Kim notes that modern women of faith are forced into the same roles as mother and sister, to preserve their being "good" and active as opposed to being "bad" or formerly "bad" and thereby merely being tolerated as proof of obedience to Jesus's policy of inclusion. Kim argues that "good" and "bad" are irrelevant, that the important concept here is "self," an idea she urges women of faith to adopt to achieve true inclusion in Christian life. Annotation c2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Jean K. Kim, Ph.D. (2001) in Religion, Vanderbilt University, is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Moravian Theological Seminary. She has published numerous articles on John and Paul including Uncovering Her Wickedness, (Journal for the Study of the New Testament,1999).