Mimicry in the Beelzebul controversy (Mk 3:22–30) as nonviolent resistance

Abstract

This article investigates Mark 3:22–30. Through both words and deeds of casting out demons with the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus explains the cosmological, spiritual meaning of the essence of casting out demons. However, the parables and exorcism in this controversial story of Beelzebul can also be examined from a socio-political perspective on imperialism through a postcolonial reading of mimicry. The concept of mimicry, which creates an ambivalent relationship between the coloniser and the colonised, occurs because the colonised mimic, that is, repeats the movements of the coloniser in their habits, assumptions, and commands. The representation and reproduction of the colonised are never simple; they become both a resemblance and a camouflage that ultimately undermines the hegemony of the coloniser.
Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article argues that the reading of postcolonial mimicry produces nonviolent resistance by the common people of Galilee against the Roman imperialists and Jewish collaborators, as articulated through the controversial story of Beelzebul.