Browsing by Author "Jodamus, Johnathan"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    (Con)texturing ideologies of modesty, authority, and childbearing in 1 Timothy 2:8�15
    (Taylor and Francis Group, 2022) Jodamus, Johnathan
    Feminist and gender critical biblical scholarship hasshown how texts ideologically function as products of their ancient social and cultural norms. In my dissertation work on Pauline texts, through isolating the ideological component of socio-rhetorical-interpretation, I demonstrated how these texts are �ideologically textured�within their ancient social context. In this article, I bring a combination of approaches from ideological criticism and theoretical insights from feminist criticism to bear on both the biblical text of 1 Timothy 2:8�15 and contemporary interpretations of this text. The latter is exemplified by the conservative Christian blogger, �The Transformed Wife.�Beginning with an examination of how both Paul and the blogger establish authority amongst believing communities, I then interrogate three areas of focus within their ideological purview: modesty, authority,and childbearing.
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    Critiquing white ecclesial leadership in multiracial South African neo-Pentecostalism
    (University of the Western Cape, 2023) Shabangu, Cameron; Jodamus, Johnathan
    After twenty seven years of democracy in South Africa, many strides have been made in addressing equity, diversity and racial unity within the landscape of religious institutions. However, a prevailing question that remains is, how inclusive is the ecclesial leadership within this equitable and diverse setting of multi-racial churches in South Africa? Even though there is a huge body of knowledge on unity and race relations amongst churches in South Africa, much of the literature has focused on the so-called �mainline churches�, or better still, churches of Protestant and Roman Catholic heritage. Little, however, has been written from the Pentecostal perspective, especially with regards to ecclesial leadership. The purpose of this thesis is to understand and theorize the persistence of White ecclesial leadership in multiracial neo-Pentecostal churches.
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    Masculine aesthetics and food ascetics: an autobiographical exploration of fitness religion in Cape Town
    (Taylor & Francis Group, 2025) Jodamus, Johnathan
    This article explores how South African gym culture crafts racialised, gendered and classed identities through the aesthetics of the body (“bodywork”) and the discipline of diet (“foodwork”). following various scholars who have conceptualised fitness regimes as religion, i conceptualise gym culture as a form of “wild religion”. challenging mainstream literature on fitness and masculinity – which largely overlooks race and class dynamics – i draw on autobiographical embodied experiences within fitness spaces to reveal the power of this culture to function as a quasi-religious domain, with its own symbols, rituals and beliefs. this analysis exposes how ideals of masculinity are forged within these sacred spaces, underscoring the need to interrogate how race and class intricately shape these ideals in ways that are often hidden from view. by reframing fitness as a site where masculinities are not only formed but ritualised, this work calls for a new understanding of gym culture as a potent arena for exploring race, class and masculine identity in South Africa.
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    �Was her worth only in her womb?� a feminist reading of revelation 12:1-6 in the context of women�s bodies as reproductive capital
    (2021) Sebolai, Claudene Malony; Jodamus, Johnathan
    A heteronormative reading of certain biblical texts pertaining to procreation perpetuates the notion that femininity is closely related to reproduction. It was common practice for the patriarchal biblical tradition to mention women only in their capacity as �wife� or �mother� � her primary value residing in her ability to reproduce (preferably male) offspring. Christian women and their bodily hexis are, therefore, inscribed by patriarchal culture through heteronormative readings of biblical texts such as Revelation 12:1-6. This thesis offers a feminist Sociorhetorical Interpretation (SRI)1 of the text and utilizes the hermeneutical key of �body� as a crucial thinking technology. The thesis asserts that a feminist SRI of this text offers possibilities for alternative readings that go beyond limited views of women�s bodies as merely reproductive capital