Abstract
D.Litt. et Phil. (Biblical Studies)
In order to construct Social Identity, the Family Metaphor “walking in
love” is considered in the Letter to the Ephesians as important in the
passage Ephesians 5:22-6:9. Background information of the Roman
Family will serve as the basis. The Social Identity Theory is used to
construct this identity. By using this Theory, I am able to extract the
information of the in-group and out-group and how it has direct bearing
on how individuals interact with each other as depicted in the Letter to
the Ephesians. Furthermore, this interaction is also made possible on
how couples relate to one another in a marriage relationship. The work
finds its finality on how individuals “walk in love” both in the marriage
relationship as well as in South Africa at large.
This study aims to employ the metaphor of “walking in love” (Eph 5:2)
and its contextual meanings in order to activate the social dynamics of
the interrelatedness between the members of the household, allowing an
alternative construction of the household identity. Walking or living in
love and living wise suggest mutuality rather than hierarchy in the
Christian community. Therefore, the concept of “walking in or with” will
be utilised to challenge the hierarchical structure of household identity.
Furthermore, the study aims at applying the Social Identity Theory
introduced by Tajfel to distinguish the identity of the members of the ingroup,
namely the Christian household from the out-group; the gentiles.
This distinctiveness is based on the groups’ social values, attitudes and
beliefs and will be identified and utilised to constitute the intended
identities both in the context of Ephesian community and that of the
South Africa (see Chapter 1, p. 8).
Chapter One serves as the introduction to the dissertation of the
proposed field of study. Therefore, the hierarchical relationships...