The Ethiopian Eunuch Story Of Class, Race, Gender,...

THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH STORY OF CLASS, RACE, GENDER, ETHNICITY, AND SEXUALITY (ACTS 8:26-49) ESSAY Introduction The story in Acts 8:26-40, which hold what could be a vital point of the first half of Acts of Apostle, give an account of the baptism of an unusual character presented in Acts 8:27 as an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopian. The biblical character exemplifies in concrete form as multiple dissimilarities of class, race, gender, and perhaps religion and sexuality as well. There is ambiguity in Ethiopian eunuch that defined a distinguished difference he was embodied. This ambiguity can be different in regards to class, race, and gender, but what are his class, gender, and race? In an illustration of Acts, F. Scott Spencer noted that a â€Å"comprehensive examination of the Ethiopian traveller’s place in ancient society in relation to standard categories of race, class, and gender uncovers a fascinating, multifaceted character which defies easy classification†. Cottrell R. Carson stated more expressively as â€Å"In many respect, the Ethiopian eunuch defies categorization. His lack of definition is extreme†. How can we administer these ambiguities in a biblical character? In order to handle this question, it is expedient to first observe how we read the eunuch’s identity in the circumstances of religion, class, race, gender, and sexuality. The purpose of this essay is to examine how the story of the sojourning court official wires with