#Rainmustfall – A Theological Reflection on Drought, Thirst, and the Water of Life

Abstract

This article focuses on the rhetorical interplay between drought, thirst, and the water of life in a time of drought. The negotiation of meaning that occurs in the interaction between Jesus and the Samaritan woman (John 4) reflects the struggle for meaning that occurs when water is rhetorically ambiguous in a time of water scarcity. This paper argues that the theological rhetoric of water is embedded in soteriological imagination, which requires remembering -through the sacrament of baptism -the significance of the giving God who wills human and ecological flourishing.2 Moreover, it is argued that the good news of salvation brings rhetoric and ethics, doctrine and life, into a dynamic communicative process, so that water, as that which is freely given by God, has nothing less than abundant life or ecological and human flourishing as its apparent intended focus.

Symbolism of Water in Classic and Modern Arabic Literature

“…The invocation, May God water his grave, was a sign of the status of the person buried, who remained living in the grave, because the rainwater signaled life and its fall on the grave revived the person buried there. This interpretation is in agreement with the vision of Jesus in his conversation with the Samaritan women, when she understood "living water" to mean spring water, whereas Jesus meant eternal life (Marais, 2017(. This same meaning is intended in the poem Momento Mori by Eminescu, where the river waters symbolize the endless flow of time, from a perspective that water is one of the four elements of Greek philosophy: water, air, fire, and earth (Golovanova, 2015).…”

Towards an Understanding of Eco-Justice and its Related Principles and Interventions that can Advance Environmental Justice

“…They added that this, combined with population growth, would expose a significant amount of the world population to chronic or absolute water scarcity (Schewe et al, 2014). Marais (2017) has argued that South Africa is experiencing the worst water crisis in decades. This is evidence of the planet's water scarcity and its effect on human health and well-being (Marais, 2017).…”

“…Marais (2017) has argued that South Africa is experiencing the worst water crisis in decades. This is evidence of the planet's water scarcity and its effect on human health and well-being (Marais, 2017). The notion of "water of life" as regarded by many churches and other religious communities shows concern by faith-based communities on the effects of the scarcity of water on human health and well-being (Marais, 2017, p. 77).…”

“…In recent years, the effect of the national water crisis was critical in Cape Town, with water restrictions reaching level four, in an attempt to prevent the taps from running dry. Consequently, the water crisis was declared a national disaster (Marais, 2017). This, together with poverty, escalating mobility and high mortality in South Africa requires academic institutions, communities and religious institutions to work towards saving the environments that sustain life and addressing environment challenges (Marais, 2017).…”

“…Consequently, the water crisis was declared a national disaster (Marais, 2017). This, together with poverty, escalating mobility and high mortality in South Africa requires academic institutions, communities and religious institutions to work towards saving the environments that sustain life and addressing environment challenges (Marais, 2017).…”