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Abstract
This contribution analyzes the Jesus logion of the ‘second mile’ (Matt 5:41). It was Roman official and military law that soldiers were allowed to summon (ἀγγαρεύειν) inhabitants of conquered countries for compulsory services. Such a service also included forcing someone to accompany the soldier for a certain distance, for instance to carry a load. The order of the Matthean Jesus to double the distance creates a ‘Third Space of encounter’ (Bhabha) in which the soldier is called into the decision to question the imperial logic he represents. This Third Space is closely related to the Matthean theology of the Kingdom of Heaven. However, Jesus’ commandment does not reverse the existing hegemonic relations, but rather evens them out.
Postcolonialism refers not only to the historical epoch after the end of the colonial era, but also to a theoretical concept for the analysis of power relations. In German-speaking theology, this concept has so far received little attention. In the bilingual volume Postcolonialism, theology and the construction of the other, scholars of all theological disciplines, including religious studies, explore the heuristic possibilities that postcolonialism provides for their subject. In particular, the question is how “the other” is constructed as the counterpart of a “we”. In times of global migration and growing right-wing extremism, theology must remain capable to offer answers to the urgent questions of the present.
Postcolonialism refers not only to the historical epoch after the end of the colonial era, but also to a theoretical concept for the analysis of power relations. In German-speaking theology, this concept has so far received little attention. In the bilingual volume Postcolonialism, theology and the construction of the other, scholars of all theological disciplines, including religious studies, explore the heuristic possibilities that postcolonialism provides for their subject. In particular, the question is how “the other” is constructed as the counterpart of a “we”. In times of global migration and growing right-wing extremism, theology must remain capable to offer answers to the urgent questions of the present.