Challenging Privilege through the Preaching and Teaching of Scripture

Abstract

This paper argues that privilege must be conceived as the privileging of some groups to the disadvantage of other groups, lest corrective measures that seek to reduce and/or eliminate disadvantages fall under the fallacious charge of “reverse discrimination.†The author then grapples with the story of Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman from Matthew 15:21-28, showing how the story reveals an attitude of ethnic and patriarchal privilege, but also problematizes and challenges that privilege. The author concludes by calling preachers and teachers to reflect on our cultural privilege and to critically examine how we use it when interpreting and proclaiming biblical texts.