Interpreting the Bible from a Liberationist Perspective - Essay Example

Interpreting the Bible from a Liberationist Perspective (Some Hermeneutical Principles) The Bible, consisted of a number of books written by different authors for more than a hundred decades of years, is not a simple anthology of historical records that merely accounts for the story of creation1 up to judgment day2 as told in varied genres – songs, proverbs, prayers, historical narratives, parables, discourses, epistles, etc. “The Bible is not just ‘history as it happened’ – it is the story of God in action”3 – the countless saving acts of God for His people in His boundless love which ultimate expression is in God’s Kingdom as written by human authors in the words of God under the ‘inspiration’ of the Holy Spirit.4 Thus, the church regarded the Bible a sacred writing – the Holy Scripture, “a pillar of stone”5 from which all its teachings are derived. However, different interpretations of the Bible abound, subjecting it to controversy that penetrates through its infallibility, the godliness of God, and the correctness of the doctrines of the church, sowing division in Christian faith rather than unification, spreading confusion rather than understanding. Although on positive note, it also expounds and deepens the believer’s understanding of the Bible and his/her relationship with his Creator. Yet, against these various hermeneutics, it should be considered that the Bible or the Holy Scripture could not just be interpreted in any which way one wish, because it is God’s words whose doctrines must be grasped by objectively studying its texts,6 as these used figurative languages in a time unique in itself, yet universal in influence. Moreover, as the Bible is the story of God’s profound love to humankind, “the authority of the Bible should be understood in the context of God’s relationships to all God’s people(s) -- the church and the world.”7 In this way, the Bible could offer a way as to how the present people’s sufferings could be overcome through a life of faith and social commitment.8 Thus, liberationist biblical critics propose that biblical hermeneutic has to accentuate three issues of utmost importance: “the demythologisation of the biblical authority, the demystification of the use of the Bible, and the construction of new models of interpretation of the Bible.”9 Firstly, to demythologise the biblical authority is to investigate “the world of text”10, as to how the existing socio-politico-economic and cultural power-dynamics in the ancient imperial worlds ruled by the colonial empires of Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece and Rome immensely influenced the writing and editing of the Bible. Therefore, analysis of the text’s colonial power dynamics is critical for it to be truly liberating for the most marginalized because if not, the text itself can further promote and worsen the marginalization of those who are already marginalized.11 Secondly, to decolonise the use of the Bible is to examine the Bible in “the world of modernity”12, as to how the church was used in the expansion of imperialism from its early mercantilism stage in the 15th century to its highest stage in the 21st century.13 Furthermore, for the exegesis to be truly decolonised, it is essential that it should ideologically split up with the western centrist ideology14 and that “the development of tri-continental biblical reading must be grounded in tri-continental worldviews and contexts.”15 Thus, the Bible is not static, neither a lifeless text, rather, it is a living word that dynamically partakes in history, scribing continuously the story of man’s salvation in the present context and for the contemporary readers.16 As the Letter to the Hebrews declares: "The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (4:12). And lastly, to construct new models of interpreting the Bible is to study the Bible in the light of “the world of today,”17 since understanding the existing reality confronting the readers with their corresponding responses and the worldviews of the Bible’s writers are of equal importance.18 Given the present context, liberationists insist that methodologically, study of the Bible must inquire on the following areas: (1) land -- whether the lands in the Bible were vacant, inhabited or simply looming to be located; (2) race – whether the Bible justifies imperialism and racism; (3) power – whether the Bible condones unequal power relations and whether it sanctions the discriminatory land distribution against colour; (4) readership – whether the Bible authorises Westerners to colonise and de-land non-Christians; (5) international relations – whether current views about the Bible obscure Westerner’s grasp of the nature and extent of imperialism (6) current history and liberation -- whether biblical texts are applicable and pertinent to the modern world; and (7) gender – whether the Bible envisages women only as oppressed voiceless victims instead of portraying them as the subjects of their life, even though it’s a cruel one.19 For example, the story in Genesis 16 which appears to be a simple love-triangle story is actually a complex story showing class contradiction, social inequality, and gender bias. Analysed and understood from a feminist liberationist perspective, Genesis 16 is not a story about Abraham; neither is a story about the birth of Ishmael; it is in fact, a story about Hagar – a female servant and the “God-Who-Sees,”20 although it is also a story about Sarah. However, it is not just a story about two women rivalling against each other for Abraham’s attention and approval; neither is just a story of two head-strong women of two conflicting social classes asserting power over the other; rather, it is a story of two awakened women courageously actualising their self-realisation in a highly patriarchal society.21 In sum, it “is a story that highlights the importance of each person in God’s reign; it is a story that respects one’s own cultural roots, and it is a story that challenges the status quo.”22 Another example, the Book of Exodus – the common reference of liberation theology sees that God liberated Israel from the bondage of slavery in Egypt by inspiring Moses to lead the struggle. Two points are stressed here: first that God is a God of liberation; a God that frees its people from exploitation and oppression; second, that God “is inspiring political leaders to liberate oppressed peoples, as He inspired Moses.” 23 As such, liberationist upholds that exegesis cannot be neutral given a historic-social-context which is predominantly characterized by inequality, violence and injustice; it must therefore stand on behalf of the poor, the oppressed and the exploited searching for the actualisation of the Scripture that can be the basis of “authentic Christian praxis, leading to the transformation of society through works of justice and love.”24 Concretely, liberationists urge the church to fully investigate the root-causes of poverty and fearlessly unite the church to work towards its eradication and attain equality. It is through this that the liberating words of God would be made alive in the lives of the poor, the exploited, and the oppressed. Then, reading of the Bible would essentially be a crusade against social sins: “colonialism, neocolonialism, dictatorship, corruption and social injustices in every aspect of society, regardless of their agent.”25 Meaning, the understanding of the Bible should transform believers and the society they live in – living a life of faith in “flesh and blood”26 that would bring mankind to its salvation. As, has been consistently proven by history for centuries now: “The history of salvation is the very heart of human history.”27 It is in this framework that liberation hermeneutics intended to expose the means by which the Bible is used to justify oppression, exploitation, domination, manipulation and marginalization in perpetuating the instruments of power and to liberate those whose dignity and basic rights are trampled upon.28 In short, liberationists endeavour to understand the Bible and key Christian doctrines from the point of view of the poor29 and the oppressed. 30 Pope however clarified that the church’s preferential option for the poor "rests on the belief that moral concern should be proportioned to need, where need can be interpreted to include poverty, but also vulnerability, powerlessness, marginality, etc."31 Although, Gutierrez clarified that: “The ultimate basis of Gods preference for the poor is to be found in Gods own goodness and not in any analysis of society or in human compassion, however pertinent these reasons may be.”32 Thus, the sacredness of the Bible rests not in its infallibility, but in the dynamic life-giving messages of God and in His presence in the everyday life struggle of all of His people. 33 As summarised clearly by Rukundwa: Biblical hermeneutics must allow the Scriptures to breathe life and respond to the context that motives its reading. This is how the Bible, the Word of God, which liberates and revolutionises, is constantly rediscovered. The meaning and the relevance of that Word – Life must be found in tri-continental anthropology, in the community of the poor, the marginalised, among the voiceless and the hybrids whose identity is constantly being contested. At the same time, the purpose of this very Life is to change the lives of the colonisers by making them recognise the sameness in the other.34 Clearly, the liberationist hermeneutics see the Bible as God’s liberating force, but such force would only become flesh and blood once it braves the reader to speak for the truth, and stand for the truth despite persecution. Liberationists therefore, see the bible according to Christ’s description of Himself: “I Am the way, the truth and the life” (Jn. 14:6). The way to man’s liberation from the bondage of all forms of oppression – material and spiritual – is no other than speaking and standing for truth, because that is the time when the oppressed can be alive again. This is the essence of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection. It is in dying that we live. Similarly, interpretation of the bible should be a search for truth not to conceal it, but to reveal, even if it would mean the death of a long-standing tradition. On the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ (Matthew 5), Jesus did not simply side with the poor and the weak as expressed in ‘The Beatitudes’ (Matthew 5:1-12) but He also attacked “the scribal and Pharisaic interpretation of the law,”35 which interpreted the law more in its form rather than in its essence, by which they abuse their power and authority, thus Jesus called them hypocrites. In furtherance, this today could also be an attack to the institutional church, as it conveniently confines itself within the concrete walls of the church, when the church to Jesus is more referring to the church as the people – the assembly of believers, which mission is not to exclude but include the gentiles (the non-believers). Not unless, the church totally remove its barriers – be it structural or ideological – the message of salvation in the Bible will not be clearly understood. Reference List Berryman, Philip. 1987. Liberation theology: essential facts about the revolutionary movement in Latin America and Beyond. New York: Temple University Press. Dube, Musa. 2000. Postcolonial Feminist Interpretation of the Bible. St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press. Fitzmyer, Joseph A. 1995. The Biblical Commissions document "The interpretation of the Bible in the Church.” Roma, Italia: Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblico. Gutierrez, Gustavo. 1987. On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent. Trans. Matthew J. OConnell. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. Kreeft, Peter. 2005. God’s ‘Liberation Theology’: Exodus. Chapter 5. In You Can Understand the Bible: A Practical Guide to Each Book in the Bible. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 25-33 Kwok, P. (1995). Discovering the Bible in the Non-Biblical World. Maryknol, NYl: Orbis Books. Lee, Boyung. 2004. A Postcolonial Approach to Biblical Pedagogy. Pacific School of Religion at the Graduate Theological Union. Accessed 03 February 2010. Available from http://www.religiouseducation.net/member/04_papers/BoyungLee.pdf. Internet. Lienhard, Joseph T. 1995. The Bible, the church, and authority: The canon of the Christian Bible in history and theology. Collegeville, Minnesotta: The Liturgical Press. Petrella, Ivan. 2004. The future of liberation theology: an argument and manifesto. England: Ashgate Publishing. Punt, J 2003. Postcolonial biblical criticism in South Africa: Some mind and road mapping. Scriptura, 37(1): 58-85. Ramm, Bernard. 1970. Protestant Biblical Interpretation: A Textbook of Hermeneutics. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, Co. Rowland, Christopher (ed). 2007. The Cambridge companion to liberation theology, 2nd edition. UK: Cambridge University Press. Rukundwa, Lazare S. 2008. “Postcolonial theory as a hermeneutical tool for Biblical reading.” HTS Theological Studies 64(1): 339-351. Scott, David. 2002. “Teaching the Authority of the Bible.” Anglican Theological Review 84:11-24. Segovia, Fernando F. 1995. Cultural studies and contemporary biblical criticism: Ideological criticism as mode of discourse, in F. F. Segovia and A. M. Tolbert (eds) Reading from this place: Social location and biblical interpretation in global perspective, Vol 2, 1-17. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress. ------ 2000. Decolonizing Biblical Studies: A View From the Margins. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. Senghor, S. L. 1964. On African socialism, trans. Mercer Cook. London: Pall Mall. Schubeck, Thomas L. 1995. Ethics and Liberation Theology. Theological Studies 56,1: 107-20. Shelly, P. 1993. “Hagar and the God-Who-Sees: Reflection on Genesis 16:3-13.” The Conrad Grebel Review 11: 265-268. Tate, Randolph W. 2006. Interpreting the Bible: a handbook of terms and methods.US: Hendrickson Publishers. Thomas, Robert l. 2005. “Hermeneutics of the new perspective on Paul.” The Master’s Seminary Journal 16/2 (Fall 2005) 293-316. Ukpong, J. 2001. New Testament hermeneutics in Africa: Challenges and possibilities. Neotestamentica 35 (1-2): 147-167. Williamson, Peter S. 2001. Catholic principles for interpreting scripture: a study of the Pontifical Biblical Commission’s the interpretation of the bible in the Church. Roma, Italia: Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblico. Read More