This thesis mainly concerns the practical and theological issues of resistance, specifically examining resistance as subversion or opposition and resistance as reconciliation, which is embedded in Daniel 1-6 with a postcolonial and "tong" perspective.
As a strategy of anti-colonialism, the text of Daniel 1-6 seeks to expose the imperfections of colonial systems, thus revealing the limitations of colonizers and colonial knowledge. A postcolonial reading of Daniel 1-6 explicitly helps us to dismantle colonial strategy such as dehumanization, as well as debunk colonial ideology such as ethnic supremacy.
While postcolonial biblical criticism is built on the concept of resistance as opposition or subversion against colonial powers, this project seeks to analyze the transformation of the relationship between the colonizers and the colonized. My work also aims to reveal the importance of cooperation in terms of harmony and symbiosis between self and others, in the light of "tong" methodology.
This study delves deeply into the text of Daniel 1-6 as "one story" based on the core values of the kingdom of priests: (1) sharing and serving, (2) forgiveness and peace, and (3) salvation and mission. In this regard, the text of Daniel 1-6 is a tale about how Daniel and his three colleagues would apply the holy values of the kingdom of priests in ancient empires such as Babylon and Persia.
This thesis suggests, from a postcolonial and "tong" perspective, that Daniel and his three friends provide a significant challenge to open right relations between the colonizers and the colonized, or between self and others. From a postcolonial and "tong" perspective, resistance as reconciliation is an attempt to overcome the dehumanization of the colonized that was perpetrated by those in positions of colonial power.
This thesis concludes that resistance as reconciliation essentially seeks to restore broken relationships by offering and accepting forgiveness and ultimately establishing a priestly kingdom ruled by YHWH, the king of the kingdom of priests in ancient empires.
Furthermore, it is expected that this research paper will contribute to the concept of reconciliation as coexistence transcending the space of confrontation among different groups culturally, politically, and religiously.
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