Abstract:
This article is the second which focuses on the metaphor "the church as bride". Its aim is to demystify this metaphor's use in the marriage formulary of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Church of Africa from the perspective of an ideological-critical analysis of the formulary. This formulary is specifically based on Ephesians 5:21-33 and Hosea 1 and 2 as "intertext". In light of a narrative pastoral model within the context of feminist hermeneutics the article argues that the patriarchal ideology behind the metaphor constitutes the wording of the formulary and that this ideology contributes to negative experiences of women in marriage relationships.
