Full Description
This book examines the use of the Bible in mob justice contexts in Malawi. Mob justice is one of the most frequent expressions of community violence in Malawi. What is unique here is the religious factor, where the Bible and related metaphors are used to justify the practice of mob justice. Malawi is a majority Christian nation and the Bible significantly impacts public discourse and, by implication, popular perceptions, attitudes and behaviour. The chapters analyse biblical texts, themes and metaphors that feed into Malawi's socio-religious discourse on mob justice. The use of biblical references and the hermeneutics employed is examined within the broader context of the interplay between the Bible and identity in Malawi and a shift in the religious texture of the Malawian Christian landscape. It considers, for example, discourse of the enemy emanating from the growing influence of the new prophetic churches. The author offers an irenic reading of the New Testament from the perspective of the rule of law. The book will be of particular interest to scholars of religion, theology, and biblical studies as well as those with a focus on Africa and on peace and conflict.
Contents
Editors' Preface 1. Mob Justice: Some Conceptual and Contextual Grounding 2. The Bible and the Politics of Identity in Malawi 3.The Bible and the Construction of Criminal Identity in Mob Justice Narratives 4.The Bible and the Discourse of the Enemy in Malawi's Social Fabric 5. A Hermeneutics of Mob Violence: Towards Constructive Readings of Biblical Texts 6. Theology in the Face of Violence: Rethinking the Church's Engagement with Mob Justice Index.
