Contextual Bible Study

This resource introduces the practice of Contextual Bible Study as originally

developed by Dr. Gerald West of the Ujamaa Centre in South Africa. In studying the Bible
in this way, the emphasis is on reading ‘with’ rather than reading ‘for’ or ‘to’. The
emphasis is on allowing the readers (literate and illiterate) to read and interpret the text
within their own context, cultural background, and life experience, all with the aim of
achieving personal and societal transformation.

It also highlights the Tamar Campaign on gender-based violence using Contextual Bible
Study - both for the importance of the issue itself and as an example of how Contextual
Bible Study functions.

The Ujamaa Centre and Contextual Bible Study

The Ujamaa Centre of the University of Kwazulu-Natal describes itself as an “interface

between socially engaged biblical and theological scholars, organic intellectuals, and local
communities of the poor, working-class, and marginalised. Together we use biblical and
theological resources for individual and social transformation.”
(http://ujamaa.ukzn.ac.za/Homepage.aspx).

Based on the See-Judge-Act method, it consists of six commitments:

“1. Community, Community is the beginning and goal of CBS; Community is the fabric of
CBS; The communities of the organised poor, working-class, and other marginalised groups
are the starting point and the primary ‘reality’ of CBS; Community is also the primary
‘objective’ of CBS, as CBS contributes towards the formation of redemptive communities,
full of dignity and abundant life for all.

2. Critical, CBS facilitates a ‘critical’ (structured and systemic) analysis of all aspects of
life; Specifically, CBS critically analyses the self, society, and the biblical text, using a
range of structured and systemic questions; CBS constructs a critical dialogue between a
critical reading of life and a critical reading of the Bible.

3. Collaboration, CBS is located within collaborative work and collaborative biblical

interpretation among organised communities of the poor, working-class, and marginalised,
organic intellectuals from these sectors, and socially engaged (‘converted’) biblical
scholars and theologians; Collaboration begins with actual work in local struggles;
Collaboration then goes on to include collaborative biblical interpretation and a
collaborative ‘doing’ of theology, moving from embodied theology to people’s theology to
prophetic theology.

4. Change, CBS uses the Bible as a substantive and ‘subjective’ companion to work for
transformation; Transformation includes transformation of the self and society, including
the church (and the religious terrain in general); The primary focus of transformation is
the structural and systemic, and the primary terrain for transformation is the ideo-
theological.

5. Context, CBS is embedded in the many ‘layers’ of context, focussing on the systemic-
structural ‘dimensions’ of reality; CBS recognises that the self, society, and the biblical
text are products of these layers or dimensions of context; Specifically, CBS offers
resources to analyse the economic, cultural, political, and religious layers or dimensions of
context; CBS recognises that context is dynamic, that it changes.

6. Contestation, CBS works with ‘struggle’ as a key socio-theological concept; CBS

recognises that struggle is a key characteristic of reality, and so CBS takes sides with the
God of life against the idols of death; For CBS the primary ‘terrain’ of struggle is the
ideological and theological; CBS recognises that the Bible is itself contested, including
biblical theologies that bring life and biblical theologies that bring death; CBS ‘wrestles’
with the biblical text to bring forth life.”
(http://ujamaa.ukzn.ac.za/WHATisUJAMAA/Commitments.aspx)

The Ujamaa website contains several resources on Contextual Bible Study:

There is a downloadable manual on Contextual Bible Study:

(http://ujamaa.ukzn.ac.za/RESOURCES_OF_UJAMAA/MANUAL_STUDIES.aspx)

Several presentations on various themes using Contextual Bible Study and a webinar:
(http://ujamaa.ukzn.ac.za/RESOURCES_OF_UJAMAA/Presentations.aspx)

The Tamar Campaign

The Tamar Campaign on gender-based violence in the churches and society was originated
by the Ujamaa Centre in their own context. In 2005 the campaign was launched across
Africa.

A good description of the campaign is given in this article from Ministerial Formation. It
gives a worked example of how Contextual Bible Study can be used.
(http://ujamaa.ukzn.ac.za/Files/the%20bible%20story.pdf)

A longer piece by Gerald West goes into more detail:

(http://ujamaa.ukzn.ac.za/Libraries/manuals/Tamar_Church_of_Sweden.sflb.ashx)

Churches in regions of Africa have produced resources for the Tamar Campaign. One
example is this handbook:
(http://ujamaa.ukzn.ac.za/Libraries/manuals/Tamar_Campaign_Contextual_Bible_Study_
Manual_-_English_Version.sflb.ashx)

Comment

In many church contexts, Bible study is a recognised and valued activity. This approach to
Bible study enables an opportunity to explore a personal and communal reality that if
addressed head on would just be closed down by both perpetrators and victims. If
handled carefully, it has a remarkable ability to help people express their experience
safely and to engage with one another.

Simon Oxley
September 2017