Anything new under the sun of African Biblical Hermeneutics in South African Old Testament Scholarship?: Incarnation, death and resurrection of the Word in Africa

Abstract

In this article, two lenses are used to engage the task of African Biblical Hermeneutics. The one lens is derived from African wisdom, i shavha i sia muinga i ya fhi?, in which there is a need for people to affirm their own roots. Drawing from the wisdom of the preceding proverb, we argue that, in their scholarship, African biblical scholars have to take seriously their own African heritage and thus do justice to their contexts rather than rely heavily on Western paradigms if their scholarship is to impact communities and also contribute towards shaping the face of biblical hermeneutics as a whole. The other lens is an analogy derived from the following events in Jesus� life: incarnation, death and resurrection. The task of African Biblical Hermeneutics has to be a three-fold process for the Bible to be �gospel� in Africa: Firstly, the incarnation of the Word � the Bible as the Other has to incarnate into African contexts for it to become an African Word. Secondly, the death of the Word � this entails a critical engagement with the Word from multiple perspectives for it to be relevant to the struggles of African people. Thirdly, the resurrection of the Word � the biblical text has to be allowed to address and transform an African person in new creative ways.

African Pentecostal Mission and New Religious Movements: A critical scrutiny of threats and opportunities to evangelization in dialogue with Allan Heaton An

“…The challenging part, however, will be the Pentecostal Christian's willingness to address the current situation without fear or favour. This will be like what Masenya and Ramantswana (2015:2) referred to when they spoke about the "hermeneutist who choose not to run away from their African identity and contexts". The realities and challenges facing APC can only be addressed by African Pentecostal Christians using African, Pentecostal, and Biblical wisdom.…”

Celebratory nostalgia: Reflecting on the work and impact of the Department of New Testament Studies at the University of Pretoria

“…One example of such an Afrocentric approach is John Mbiti (1986:20) who, in most of his books, sought to show a distinct and/or parallel African epistemology where issues such as Christology, eschatology and anthropology are concerned. Recently, using a decolonial approach, Masenya and Ramatswana (2015:2) also warned fellow African biblical scholars not to forget their unique contextual experiences. There is nothing against interpreting the world based on one's locale, but the emphasis created by Masenya and Ramatswana's (2015:3) does not account for the interplay between the African continent and the outside world.…”

“…Recently, using a decolonial approach, Masenya and Ramatswana (2015:2) also warned fellow African biblical scholars not to forget their unique contextual experiences. There is nothing against interpreting the world based on one's locale, but the emphasis created by Masenya and Ramatswana's (2015:3) does not account for the interplay between the African continent and the outside world. In their words (Masenya & Ramatswana 2015), African biblical scholars should consider the following: They (Masenya & Ramatswana 2015) further say that the first step to start a conversation regarding African biblical hermeneutics is to assert our Africaness, for the following reasons:…”

Examining religio-cultural beliefs among women towards induced abortions in Noodsberg and Esidumbini communities of faith: a case study.

“…I concur with Ackermann (2007) that women have been marginalised and oppressed for centuries, and even though this oppression is not the same as in the post-apartheid era in South Africa, the issue of abortion is one of the many which show that women still do not have uncontested freedom over their reproductive health and rights. As part of the Christian Church, I also concur with Masenya and Ramantswana (2015) on the idea that the Church needs to explore more methods which are life-giving in the usage of scripture and relevant for the African context, especially in relation to women and children.…”