THE URHOBO CONCEPT OF ADULTERY IN THE LIGHT OF JOHN 8: 1-11

John Arierhi Ottuh

  Vicar, Winners Baptist Church, Box 1214 Effurun, Delta State

                                    Email:wibachef90@yahoo.com or wibachef90@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The attitude of Jesus in the New Testament towards the treatment of women in the society is that of fairness and equity. The aim of this study therefore, was to examine how the Urhobo traditional understandings of adultery are linked with that of the Jews and how they affect women negatively in Urhoboland and to use Jesus’ critical response in John 8: 1-11 to call for a change of the status-quo in Urhoboland. In order to do this the Feminist Liberation Theology model was explored as a method. It was seen that the Urhobo and Jewish understanding of adultery are similar in some areas and that these cultural status-quo are oppressive to women and apart from the oppressive nature of the Urhobo understanding of adultery on women, it can also become a basis for men’s promiscuity which can become a gate way for the acquisition and transmission of sexually transmitted disease like HIV/AIDS, and as such could also lead to divorce and family disintegration. This work therefore was a critique of the Urhobo traditional understanding of adultery in the light of Jesus’ critical response in John 8: 1- 11 and could be concluded on the premise that men and women are equal sharers of God’s image because the duo are created in God’s image (imago Dei) and as such it is wrong to attach more importance