An Issue of Relevance: A Comparative Study of the Story of the Bleeding Woman (Mk 5:25-34; Mt 9:20-22; Lk 8:43-48) in North Atlantic and African Contexts

Anglican Theological Review, Summer 2006 by Jobling, David

Nonetheless, there has recently been a great increase, especially in North America, in reading of the Bible in relation to our own situations and in allowing "biblical studies" as a discipline to be defined by such reading. I have in mind reading by the economically disudvantaged and socially marginalized, reading in the context of personal counseling, reading in relation to literature and art, to name a few. Aside from feminism, LeMarquand seems to begrudge acknowledging radical change in Western biblical scholarship. Our emerging "relevances" are very distant from the relevance of the hemorrhaging woman to Africa. But they create a better basis for useful dialogue and interchange with Africa than do the remnants of hegemonic historical criticism on which he concentrates.

DAVID JOBLING

St. Andrew's College

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan