 | Resisting Violence and Victimisation: Christian Faith and Solidarity in East Timor Subjects: Area Studies; Humanities; Politics & International Relations; Social Sciences; Security Studies - Pol & Intl Relns; Asian Studies; Religion; Political Behavior and Participation; Sociology & Social Policy; Religion & Politics; Sociology of Religion; Asian Studies (General); Christianity; The reality and nature of religious faith raises difficult questions for the modern world; questions that re-present themselves when faith has grown under the most challenging circumstances. In East Timor widespread Christian faith emerged when suffering and violence were inflicted on the people by the state. This book seeks a deeper understanding of faith and violence, exploring how Christian faith and solidarity affected the hope and resistance of the East Timorese under Indonesian occupation in their response to state-sanctioned violence. Joel Hodge argues for an understanding of Christian faith as a relational phenomenon that provides personal and collective tools to resist violence. Grounded in the work of mimetic theorist René Girard, Hodge contends that the experience of victimisation in East Timor led to an important identification with Jesus Christ as self-giving victim and formed a distinctive communal and ecclesial solidarity. The Catholic Church opened spaces of resistance and communion that allowed the Timorese to imagine and live beyond the violence and death perpetrated by the Indonesian regime. Presenting the East Timorese stories under occupation and Girard's insights in dialogue, this book offers fresh perspectives on the Christian Church's ecclesiology and mission. Joel Hodge is Lecturer in Systematic Theology in the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy at the Australian Catholic University. He received his PhD from the University of Queensland and has held academic appointments in the USA and Australia. He has researched on East Timor for a number of years, making numerous fieldtrips and learning the local language. He also has involvement with East Timor through various church, community and development groups in Australia and East Timor. His accumulated experiences have been invaluable in developing an approach that seeks to holistically and critically understand the experiences of the East Timorese, particularly in regards to their religion and culture. He is also founding Secretary and Treasurer of the Australian Girard Seminar and co-editor of Violence, Desire and the Sacred: Girard's Mimetic Theory Across the Disciplines and Vatican II: Reception and Implementation in the Australian Church. |
