Abstract:
Using the Bible in Christian ethics is often not as simple as many would expect it to be. This is
particularly the case for the use of the Old Testament. Part of the challenge is the complexity
of grasping the customs and norms that are reflected in the Old Testament. They are often
at odds with what is acceptable in contemporary thinking. In this article, we examine the
difficulty of using the Old Testament in Christian ethics by using the narrative of Judah and
Tamar in Genesis 38 as case study. We show that this particular text alerts us to the complex
relationship between ethics and culture, not only in the world of the text, but also the world of
the interpreter. Based on our analysis of the text we argue for its meta-ethical contribution to
the practice of Christian ethics. We do not endeavour to resolve the perceived tension between
the implied ethics of the text and that of contemporary interpreters, but view the unresolved
tension as one of the text’s key contributions to the practice of Christian ethics.
Description:
This article is based on
Leonore Pietersen's MA
dissertation with Dr W.
Fourie as supervisor and Dr
E. Meyer as co-supervisor,
Department of Dogmatics
and Christian Ethics, Faculty
of Theology, University of
Pretoria (April 2014). (http://hdl.handle.net/2263/43223)
