Transcript GLOBAL INTERPRETATIONS OF CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES

GLOBAL INTERPRETATIONS
OF CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES
RLST 206 & DIV/REL 3845
Jan 30 2012
Today
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a) 3:10 Contemporary Models for the
Interpretation of Scriptures: “LIBERATION
HERMENEUTICS”
 b) 4:30 Group Discussion (two examples of
Liberation Hermeneutics):
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1 Timothy by Elsa Tamez (Costa Rica)
Presenter : Nicky Hackett Leader : Alex Dahlgren
Exodus by Jorge Pixley (Nicaragua)
Presenter: Brian Rossbert Leader: Annie Ameha
c) Postponed: Lecture: Classical Models for the Interpretation of
Scriptures: Pharisaic Judaism Apocalyptic Judaism,
Any Interpretation of Scripture includes 3 choices
Contextual --- Textual --- Religious/Hermeneutic
Cultural
4 Types of Contextual Interpretations
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(a) Inculturation = priority on Cultural Context
of the interpretation and interpreters
 (b) Liberation = priority on Concrete LifeContexts of the interpretation/ers, from
economic to ecological
 (c) Inter(con)textual = priority on combination
of the “texts” of the Cultural and Concrete LifeContexts of the interpretation and interpreters
 (d) Sacramental/Liturgical = Religious Context
of the interpretation/ers
Text, Religious experience, Life
Context = 3 choices
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Any interpretation of a Scriptural text involves:
 Choosing to focus on one aspect of the TEXT
as most significant
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Especially in a long text as Exodus but also 1 Timothy
In terms of the reader’s religious experience
(or lack of it) = Hermeneutical/theological
choice
 & of the reader’s specific concrete life context
= Contextual Choice = because of concerns
for a major/overall problem
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A Correct Interpretation Must Be
Legitimate, Plausible, AND Valid
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Textual Choice is LEGITIMATE
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Theological/hermeneutical choice is
PLAUSIBLE
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if, and only if, you can show it is grounded in the text
You cannot contradict the text; deny what is in the text
if, and only if, it makes sense according to certain
convictions/religious experiences/religious views
Including a certain view of the role of Scripture =
Contextual Choice is VALID (=valuable)
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if, and only if, it is helpful rather than hurtful;
Despite common views, most Interpretations
by believers are Legitimate, and Plausible
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Because believers have much at stake;
Because they live by their interpretations that
clarify that
WORD-TOLIVE-BY
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a Biblical Text
They make sure that their interpretation
 is grounded in the biblical text =
legitimate
 and make sense from their theological-religious
perspective = plausible
The question: are they valid?
Czech refugees who resisted the communists: “When
your life depends on it… you read very carefully, even
between the lines.” (mentioned last weeK)
Despite common views, most Interpretations
by believers are Legitimate and Plausible
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As long as we do not recognize that other people’s
interpretations
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Interpretations by Aborigine, African, African-American,
Asian (Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Indonesian, Malaysian),
Feminist, Gay and Lesbian, Latin-American, Native
American, Eastern Orthodox CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS
As well as interpretations by ordinary CHRISTIAN
BELIEVERS in Western churches, including Fundamentalist,
Charismatic and Prosperity Gospel Christian movements
are as LEGITIMATE and PLAUSIBLE as those by
biblical scholars
It is IMPOSSIBLE to discuss with them the validity of
our respective choices of interpretations
Not readily recognizing other people’s
interpretations as Legitimate can be a basis to
Claim that alone our
interpretations are
legitimate = condoning
apartheid; being racist,
colonialist, imperialist,
sexist, patriarchal,
homophobic, elitist,
cultural chauvinist.
Rather than Recognizing
OUR IGNORANCE = a call
to strive to understand
how legitimate these are =
to recognize the text
features they view as
most significant and that
we ignore
Not readily recognizing other people’s
interpretations as Plausible can be a basis to
Claim that alone our
interpretations are
plausible = condoning
apartheid; being racist,
colonialist, imperialist,
sexist, patriarchal,
homophobic, elitist,
cultural chauvinist.
Rather than Recognizing
OUR IGNORANCE = a call
to strive to understand
how plausible these are =
how they are related to
different religious
experiences and cultural
views
Respecting the interpretations of
others = Reading with them
When, dumb as we are, we finally
understand the legitimacy and
plausibility of other people’s
interpretations… we truly
READ WITH THEM
Only then are we in a position to
Discuss with them the
VALIDITY
for specific contexts
of our respective interpretations.
Why study Global Interpretations of
Christian Scriptures?
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Because by ourselves, we cannot recognize that
we have made of the Bible a White American Idol
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Because by ourselves,
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White American interpretation is alone legitimate & plausible
we arrogantly claim to know what the Bible means,
Or claim as arrogantly that we have the critical tools to
do it
We need to read with others, We have something to
learn from them precisely because their readings are
different.
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The Contributors of the Global Bible Commentary
invite us to read with them
Oh, I forgot
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Quiz
a major/overall problem
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Since Christian Scriptures are "word to live by" for
Christian believers, they (and we, including
scholars) necessarily interpret two things
the biblical text, of course;
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Necessary because there are a plurality of potential
meanings in each text; but also
the readers’ [our!] own life context & the
major/overall problem it confronts us with
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Also necessary because there are a plurality of potential
major/overall problems in each context
a major/overall problem
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A1. Concrete Life-context and problem that Christian
believers could address with a teaching from this text
WHAT IS THE CONCRETE PROBLEM?
 B ANALYZING THE PROBLEM Christian Believers need
to address IN TODAY’S CONTEXT according to you,
 B1. Primary aspect of the believers’ life where this
major/overall PROBLEM is particularly located
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A) private life? B) family-life? C) Christian Community?
D) society? E) culture (with its vision of life, values, ideologies)?
F) relationship with people with different religious convictions?
What is the major/overall Problem that confronts all
aspects of believers/church’s life in the present world?
Root-Problem =
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B2. What is the primary ROOT-PROBLEM that
needs to be addressed
A) A lack of (wrong) KNOWLEDGE?
B) A lack of (wrong) ABILITY?
C) A lack of (wrong) WILL?
D) A lack of (wrong) FAITH/VISION or
IDEOLOGY?
You need to ask: What is the major/overall
problem that confronts Christian believers in
the world today?
Ukpong’s major/overall problem
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Concrete Life-context = the church in Nigeria;
 Concrete problem in it: Nigerian Christians alienated from
their African cultures by a misconstrued practice (and
understanding) of "mission" (the THEME).
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major/overall Problem for Christians in the contemporary
world: "colonialism; "cultural imperialism"
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It affects PRIMARILY “relationships with people with different religious
convictions”(and “mission”) [although also education, the place and role of women
in the church, church and politics, and ultimately “private life”
= failure to recognize that the Christian message is always
"inculturated" results in imposing one's own culture upon other
people when one shares the gospel with them.
wrong ideology
SEE FORM
B1 Primary aspects of the believer’s life
where there is a problem?
 B2 Root-Problem
 B3 ROLES OF SCRIPTURE
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Liberation Interpretations = Explicit
Contextual/validity claim
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Focus: Interpretive Contextual Choices
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Ethical/moral test: Loving Neighbor
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How is this text helpful in a specific lifecontext?
 Yet, involves a particular Theologicalhermeneutical choices:
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Plausibility claim based on plurality of roles of
Scripture;
Choosing the Role of Scripture as corrective
lenses
Then other theological concepts.
Liberation Interpretations…
What is the problem? What is Sin?
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The Contextual Problem? Concrete issues
(place of women in churches; poverty)
 Root-problem. Lack of/Wrong
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Knowledge;
Will;
Ability
Faith/Vision or Ideology
At first, it is difficult to distinguish (lack
of/wrong) KNOWLEDGE vs. IDEOLOGY
Liberation Interpretations…
Theologically: What is Sin?
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Sins (Major/Overall Problem) include
Sins of omissions … not knowing that one sinned,
because one did not KNOW what we needed to do.
Deliberate sins: WILLful transgression of God’s
will; WILLful acts against other people around us
Sin is often primarily systemic: IDEOLOGICAL
= we participate in a sinful system, in a sinful
community; in a sinful society, without noticing it,
because we share in the ideology of this society
And this sinful ideology can be based on a wrong
faith = an IDOLATRY
• Lamp to my
Feet
• Rule of
community
• Empowering
word
• Corrective
Glasses
• Rule of the
Community
• Good News
Knowledge
Will
Ability
Faith,
vision,
Ideology
• Corrective
Glasses
• Family Album
• Holy Bible
Bartolomé de Las Casas, (1484-1566)
Bartolomé de Las Casas, (1484-1566)
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Las Casas traveled to Hispaniola (1502), witnessing
much Spanish brutality against the “Indians.”
He wrote in 1561, "There were 60,000 people living on
this island (when I arrived in 1508), including the
Indians; so that from 1494 to 1508, over 3,000,000
people had perished from war, slavery, and the mines.
Who in future generations will believe this?"
Some think that las Casas, who in general was a
meticulous writer, may have exaggerated the Taíno
death-toll. Yet a consensus estimate is nevertheless
about 1,000,000. By 1531, Taíno [Arawak] population
was down to 600.
From 1,000,000 to 600 in 40 years (1492-1531)
From 1,000,000 to 600 Tainos in 40
years
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Why? The Spaniards brought foreign diseases,
like smallpox, against which the Taínos had no
immunity.
 The Taínos were enslaved by the Spaniards and
worked to death in the mines and plantations
(Revolts against forced labor, merciless killing)
 The encomienda system (forced labor and
tribute, in return for protection and instruction in
the Christian faith).
 Las Casas recognized the sin of oppressing
the “Indians” and even the systemic evil of
colonizing Taínos. BUT failed in his analysis
and actions.
What is the overall problem?
What is Sin?
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the systemic sin; systemic evil of colonizing
the sin of oppressing the “Indians” = using others for
our own benefits
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Not necessarily personal benefits; benefits for one’s family,
country, society
Economic Problem … we need to keep up our life-standard…
whatever the cost to other peoples
Power Problem … we can do it, because we are more
powerful
ROOT PROBLEM: IDEOLOGICAL problem: We are
superior to others
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Better culture or education
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Others do not know better; cannot do more than being servants;
Others are barbarians
Better Race – other people are “inferior”; are not really
human; do not have a soul;
Systemic evil of colonizing as Ideological
Problem
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Not a self-conscious issue
It is simply the way things are
The normal way of life
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Normal way of behaving = as everybody does
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Not from evil individuals
But from an evil system…..
From Concrete brutal oppression and exploitation
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E.g., Peer pressure
People are caught into the evil system = need to be
liberated from it
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= a way of behaving
Victimization
From the convictions that drive them to exploit others
Ideology
“Ideology is a ‘Representation’ of the Imaginary
Relationship of Individuals to their Real Conditions
of Existence” Louis Althusser, Essays on Ideology
(London: Verson, 1984),
 A representation that is shared by a group or society
 A representation that provides the framework for life in
particular contexts for individuals, groups. and entire
society
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And which appears to be simply the normal or natural
condition of existence.
A representation that empowers people to control their
lives in concrete situations
Bartolomé de Las Casas, (1484-1566)
How does one challenge systemic
evil?……. Bartolomé de Las Casas
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Tried to challenge this ideological power
By preaching against the “cruelty” and “depravity of
Spaniards”
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By writing books denouncing Spaniards’ cruelty:
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As if it was a problem of the WILL (evil Individuals)
Or as if it was a problem of KNOWLEDGE (people do not
know the facts). Huge debate: are “Indians” human beings
with a soul?
The Devastation of the Indies; The Only Way of Drawing All
Peoples to the True Religion (about peaceful evangelization
of the Indians); In Defense of the Indians; History of the
Indies.
By trying to create a counter-colony– a “benign colony”
(Venezuela, 1519-22) to rescue the “Indians” from the
Spanish settlers.
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But to protect “Indians” he did not oppose bringing slaves from
Africa = not seeing the “ideological problem”
How does one challenge systemic
evil?……. With the help of Scripture
Not by looking for a moral teaching –
Scripture as Lamp to my Feet
 as if the problem was not knowing what is
good to do.
 Not by looking for incentives 1) [-] as warning
against bad behavior -- Scripture as Law Rule
of the Community; Canon (obey “or else”!) or
2) [+] as “good news” of God’s love
 As if the problem was not willing to do good
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• Lamp to my
Feet
• Rule of
community
• Empowering
word
• Corrective
Glasses
• Rule of the
Community
• Good News
Knowledge
Will
Ability
Faith,
vision,
Ideology
• Corrective
Glasses
• Family Album
• Holy Bible
Liberation Interpretations: TheologicalHermeneutical Choice
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Scripture as CORRECTIVE GLASSES
 as PROPHECY= Helping us see what others cannot
or will not see … including fulfillments of promises
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Not lamp to my feet (in the usual sense of looking for
guidance for my life; individual moral teaching)
Not Law/Rule of the Community/Canon or Good News
Not Covenant/Family album (establishing our identity as
members of the Chosen People of God and how to relate
to others)
= Looking at our Life-Context (= what is in front of us;
others around us, etc) through the scriptural text =
Seeing our context with new eyes
Looking for stars in the four cardinal points (Elsa
Tamez)
Liberation Interpretations: TheologicalHermeneutical Choice
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With Scripture, “search for stars in the four cardinal
points. Search for them in the house, in the street, in
institutions and organizations, within [your]self, and in
the other.” (Elsa Tamez, 6, in Dietrich & Luz, ed. The
Bible in a World Context)
For Tamez Scripture is no longer a “moral teaching”
providing a sense of direction (= “lamp to my feet”), but
is a “lantern” = Scripture as corrective glasses
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Then she struggles with the metaphor “lantern” when text
does not give light … so I prefer a different metaphor
This means rejecting/bracketing out Scripture as
Lamp to my Feet, Law/Rule of the Community, and
also as Good News
Roles of Scripture for Tamez’s
Context
USELESS Scripture as
-Lamp to my Feet
-Rule of the Community
Canon or Law
Relevant Scripture as
-LANTERN (Tamez;
allowing us to see what is in
front of us in the dark night)
{Moral teaching: K & W =
knowledge and will}
-CORRECTIVE GLASSES
-Good News {K & W)
{Faith/Vision of what God does
against evil powers/systems}
Costa Rica
Elsa Tamez, Costa Rica
Elsa Tamez, on 1 Timothy &
James
Elsa Tamez, Liberation
Interpretation
What are…
 Her Contextual Choices?
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Her Theological-Hermeneutical Choices?
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And its validity (loving neighbor)
And its plausibility (loving God)
Her Textual Choices?
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And its legitimacy (faithfulness to the text)
Costa Rica Economy (CIA World
Factbook) Pop: 4,133,884 (July 2007 est.)
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white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian
1%, Chinese 1%, other 1%
Costa Rica's basically stable economy depends on
tourism, agriculture, and electronics exports.
Poverty has remained at roughly 20% for nearly 20
years,
the strong social safety net that had been put into
place by the government has eroded due to increased
financial constraints on government expenditures.
GDP - per capita $13,500 (2007 est.)
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USA GDP - per capita:- $36,300 (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line: 18% (2004 est.)
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USA 13%
Nicaragua
Jorge Pixley Nicaragua
Nicaragua: Economy (CIA World
Factbook) Pop: 5,675,356 (July 2007 est.)
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mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white
17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5%
Nicaragua has widespread underemployment, one of
the highest degrees of income inequality in the world,
GDP - per capita $3,200 (2007 est.)
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USA GDP - per capita:- $36,300 (2001 est.)
Unemployment 5.6% plus underemployment of 46.5%
(2007 est.)
Population below poverty line: 48% (2005) USA: 13%
Rely on international economic assistance to meet
fiscal and debt financing obligations.
the IMF approved a new poverty reduction and growth
facility (PRGF) program
Group 2: EXODUS by Jorge Pixley
(Nicaragua)
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Presenter of GBC : Brian Rossbert
Leader: Annie Ameha
Respondent :
Walisha Bland
With Chanel Baker, Julia Rushing, George
Greene, Brenda Kao, Brittany Melvin, Shawn
Kahler, Kathryn Biddle
Group 1: 1 TIMOTHY by Elsa Tamez
(Costa Rica)
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Presenter of GBC : Nicky Hackett
 Leader: Alexandra Dahlgren
 Respondent to Leader :
Julie Carli
 With Samantha Hesley, Brendan Matthews,
Courtney Dresher; Zachary King, Michael
Durham, Alison Stuhl, Miladys Pérez
Why study Global Interpretations of
Scriptures? Kasane, Botswana, 1999
After each mini-sermon, everyone is
praying aloud
Pray For Me, So that I May…
Pray For Me, So that I May Better
Understand the Scriptures