Black Theology

An International Journal

ISSN: 1476-9948 (Print) 1743-1670 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/yblt20

Repositioning Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics in

Africa Towards Holistic Empowerment

Adekunle Dada

To cite this article: Adekunle Dada (2010) Repositioning Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics in
Africa Towards Holistic Empowerment, Black Theology, 8:2, 160-174

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/blth.v8i2.160

Published online: 21 Apr 2015.

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 [BT 8.2 (2010) 160–174] ISSN (print) 1476–9948
doi: 10.1558/blth.v8i2.160 ISSN (online) 1743–1670

REPOSITIONING CONTEXTUAL BIBLICAL HERMENEUTICS IN AFRICA

TOWARDS HOLISTIC EMPOWERMENT

Adekunle Oyinloye Dada1

University of Ibadan
P.O. Box 9900
Ibadan
Nigeria
kledada@yahoo.com
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ABSTRACT
The Bible has continued to feature in contemporary religious, political and
socio-economic discourse in Africa. The emergence of contextual biblical
hermeneutics in Africa can be justified in the light of this background.
Contextual biblical hermeneutics is the attempt to introduce some African
socio-cultural and political elements into the reading and understanding of the
biblical text. This essay, however, advocates that contextual biblical herme-
neutics can be done in order to enhance holistic development and empower-
ment. Empowerment has been described as the motivational factor that is
constantly required to help stimulate a process of action in the bid to translate
and transform a perennial situation into achieving its desired objective. In
traditional African societies, the compartmentalization of reality into the
realms of the sacred and profane is most unusual. Life for the traditional
African is holistic in character. In view of this, the liberative and empowering
elements within the biblical texts, and how it can be used and appropriated in
contemporary African situation, will be explored.
Keywords: Bible and empowerment; biblical hermeneutics; contextual her-
meneutics; holistic hermeneutics in Africa.

Introduction
The Bible in Africa holds tremendous possibilities for social transformation
and development in spite of its negative uses in the past experiences of the

1. Adekunle Oyinloye Dada teaches Biblical Hermeneutics and Literature in the

Department of Religious Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He is also a pastor in the
Evangelical Church of West Africa. One of his articles, “Rereading the Namaan Story in the
Context of Stigmatization of People Living with HIV and Aids in Africa,” was published in
Old Testament Essays 20, no. 3 (2007).

© Equinox Publishing Ltd 2010, 1 Chelsea Manor Studios, Flood Street, London SW3 5SR.
 Dada Repositioning Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics in Africa 161

continent. References to the negative uses of the Bible, as an ideological tool of

suppression and oppression, has indeed encouraged some in Africa to call for
its complete expulsion. However, in spite of the claim that the Bible has out-
lived its social usefulness, it remains an influential piece of literature in Africa.
The continuous relevance of the Bible in Africa’s socio-religious space can be
predicated on two factors. The first is that for most African Christians, the
Bible remains a principal reference point in issues bordering on faith and prac-
tice. Second, the Bible has become, for the ordinary readers in Africa, a resource
bank that helps them cope effectively with their daily struggles for survival,
liberation and life.
Africa’s encounter with the Bible dates back to the time of Ethiopian Official
(Acts 8:26). Africa can also be rightly referred to as the cradle of systematic bib-
lical interpretation in Christianity. The earliest attempts can be traced to the
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city of Alexandria and to such names as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and

others, who lived and worked there. The foundation laid by this tradition,
which was largely allegorical and uncritical in the modern sense, lasted in the
Western Church till the onset of the Enlightenment.2
It was the Western missionaries, however, who in the eighteenth and nine-
teenth centuries AD made the biblical text a popular document in the socio-
religious space of Africans. The early African Christians received the Bible with
awe. They were, however, alienated from its basic teaching and message. The
alienation of the people from the message of the Bible can be justified in the
light of Africa’s oral culture. The Bible, a written text, symbolized enormous
power when the Christian missionaries introduced it to the continent. This was
enhanced by the fact that the Christian missionaries who introduced it were
very much related to those who were at the centre of the colonizing process of
Africa. In retrospect, it can be said that this initial contact of the Bible with
African people encouraged a greater sense of alienation from the Book as
opposed to its acceptance.3
Realizing the importance of proper internalization of the biblical message, as
a vehicle for personal and social transformation, some African biblical scholars
have advocated different hermeneutical methods. I have brought these different
hermeneutical methodologies together in spite of their seeming differences,
and have grouped them under the general umbrella of “contextual biblical her-
meneutics.” I use the term “contextual” in the sense that a deliberate attempt is

2. Justin S. Ukpong, “Development in Biblical Interpretation in Africa: Historical and

Hermeneutical Directions,” in The Bible in Africa: Transactions, Trajectories, and Trends, eds.
G. West and Musa Dube (Leiden: Brill, 2001), 11.
3. Justin Ukpong, “Inculturation as Decolonization of the Bible in Africa,” in Decolo-
nization of Biblical Interpretation in Africa, ed. S. O. Abogunrin et al. (Ibadan: Nigerian Asso-
ciation for Biblical Studies, 2003), 36.

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 162 Black Theology: An International Journal

made to introduce African situational concepts and ideas into the reading of the
biblical text. The necessity of such a method of interpretation is predicated on
the fact that if there will be anything called Christian theology in Africa, it will
be derived from an African reading of the scripture. Besides, if African biblical
scholars are to enjoy any originality they must go themselves to the Bible and
make the “Word of God” the key to their own understanding of the African
age-long contemporary problems and priorities.4
The need for development and empowerment underscore most socio-
political policy formulations in Africa. Empowerment has been described as the
motivational factor that is constantly required to help stimulate a process of
action in a bid to change and transform a perennial situation for the purpose of
achieving the desired objectives.5 Today, issues like women’s empowerment,
economic empowerment, political empowerment, community empowerment,
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form the fulcrum of contemporary discourse in Africa.

Since the Bible remains a principal reference point in some, if not most,
African Christians’ perceptual field, its impact as a vehicle for empowerment
cannot be overemphasized. Some of the existing contextual biblical hermeneu-
tics in Africa tend to concentrate on a particular aspect of life to the detriment
of others; while others address the tension between the cultural realities and
the practice of the Christian faith in the African context.
The particularistic outlook of contextual biblical hermeneutics often ren-
dered such approaches very much reductionistic in scope. This arises due to the
fact that they did not take into cognizance the totality of the African experience.
In traditional African societies, the categorization of reality into the realms of
scared and profane is strange. In spite of the influence of modernity, the tradi-
tional understanding is pervasive in the worldview of the average African. With
this factor in mind, this essay will attempt to provide some insights into how
contextual biblical hermeneutics can be engaged to enhance holistic empower-
ment on the continent of Africa.

Development of Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics in Africa

Contextual biblical hermeneutics in Africa is an attempt to introduce African
socio-cultural elements into the reading and understanding of the biblical text.
Contextual biblical hermeneutics in Africa arose as a reaction to Western

4. Samuel Abogunrin, “Biblical Research in Africa: The Task Ahead,” African Journal of
Biblical Studies 1, no. 1 (1986): 15–16.
5. T. Aluko, “Womanhood in a Perversed Setting: The Lessons from Luke 21:1-4 and
Matthew 27:19 and the Need for Women Empowerment,” in Biblical Studies and Corruption in
Africa, ed. S. O. Abogunrin et al. (Ibadan: Nigerian Association for Biblical Studies, 2007),
384.

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 Dada Repositioning Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics in Africa 163

hegemony in the area of biblical interpretation. For many centuries, the Wes-
tern hermeneutical tradition has been accorded a universal status. However, a
number of biblical scholars in Africa felt that to make the message of the Bible
meaningful and relevant it must be interpreted within the socio-cultural and
Afrocentric perspective of the reader.
Contextual biblical hermeneutics in Africa makes socio-political and eco-
nomic contexts a subject of interpretation. Specifically, this means that the
analysis of the text is done from the perspective of African worldview and cul-
ture.6 It is the rereading of the Christian scripture from a thought-out Afro-
centric perspective.7
Different contextual biblical hermeneutical approaches have emerged in
Africa. This includes “African comparative approach.” This is a hermeneutical
principle that relates the biblical texts to the African context8 by comparing the
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convergence and divergence in Africa alongside the culture of the biblical world.
There is also “reading with the ordinary reader approach” popularized by
Gerald West, a South African Bible scholar. This approach is one that seeks to
mediate between critical and pre-critical readings of the Bible. In other words,
it tries to take seriously the interpretation of the ordinary reader of the Bible,
under the guidance of a trained reader or exegete.9
The “liberational approach” is an interpretative schema that engages the
Bible in the course of socio-political liberation. The works of South African
scholars such as Nolan, Mosala, Chikana, and Mofokeng best represent this
school of biblical interpretation.10 Another popular contextual approach to the
Bible in Africa is “The Bible as power approach.” The major proponent of this
approach is D. T. Adamo of Nigeria. This is an “existential” and “reflective”
approach to the interpretation of the Bible. The Bible is used as a means of
gaining protection, healing and success. This method is mostly prevalent
among the African indigenous churches.11 Another contextual biblical herme-
neutics that makes African culture a subject of interpretation is the “Bosadi
woman approach.” According to the chief exponent of this approach, Madipoane
Masenya of South Africa, the “Bosadi” approach is not simply a comparative

6. David T. Adamo, Reading and Interpreting the Bible in African Indigenous Churches
(Eugene, OR: WIPF and Stock, 2001), 46–47.
7. David T. Adamo, Exploration in African Biblical Studies (Eugene, OR: WIPF and Stock,
2001), 6.
8. See David T. Adamo, “Understanding the Genesis Account in an African Back-
ground,” Caribbean Journal of Religious Studies 10, no. 2 (1989): 17–25.
9. G. West, Contextual Bible Study (Pietermaritzburg: Cluster, 2003).
10. See for example T. A. Mofekeng, “Black Christians, the Bible and Liberation,”
Journal of Black Theology 2 (1998): 34–42.
11. See David T. Adamo, Decolonizing African Biblical Studies (Abraka, Nigeria: Delta State
University, 2004), 24–26.

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 164 Black Theology: An International Journal

analysis between the biblical text and the African culture. Rather it is an
approach that critiques both cultures and texts not only in terms of gender
concerns, but also includes issues of class, “woman-as-strange” and “African-
as-strange” in their own territory. Though the “Bosadi” approach is also an
attempt to resuscitate the African culture from the ashes, it does not idolize it.12
In a similar vein, Ukpong13 has also proposed what he calls “biblical incul-
turation.” This is a dynamic, ongoing process by which people consciously and
critically appropriate the Bible and its message from within the perspectives and
with the resources of their culture. Manus’s “intercultural hermeneutics” is
similar in ethos to that of Ukpong. Intercultural hermeneutics is a “descriptive
paradigm” that seeks to address grassroots Christians in their actual contexts
and social locations in Africa.14
It is pertinent to state, here, that there are other emerging methods of bib-
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lical interpretation in Africa. However, one common denominator of these

hermeneutical approaches is that they arise from, and aim to, address a
particular or specific context. Their contextual character, therefore, makes it
easier for them to be classified as contextual biblical hermeneutics.
The inescapability of contextual biblical hermeneutics in Africa can be prem-
ised on the fact that reading the Bible is always done within a socio-context,
whether it is acknowledged or not. Readers will always be located in their com-
munity of faith, which is a microcosm of the larger society. In spite of the
influences from Western culture, some of these scholars have stated that it is
difficult, if not impossible, to discard totally their innate Africaness.
Riches15 has, however, raised an alarm on the fact that contextual reading of
the text poses the problem of normality. The particularity of a local reading may
estrange people from one another. He observes that the imposition of a uni-
versal God on other communities might be oppressive and actually lead to the
impoverishment of their culture. He stresses, also, that the particularity of the
local reading may conclude in the denial of a common humanity. He contends
that we are all caught in the same web of connected humanity and need each
other’s voices if we are not to deny ourselves by way of denying our very inter-
relatedness.

12. Madiapone Masenya, “An African Methodology for South African Biblical Sciences,
Revisiting the Bosadi (Womanhood) Approach,” Old Testament Essays: Journal of Old Testament
of Society of South Africa 18, no. 3 (2005): 741–51.
13. Ukpong, “Development in Biblical Interpretation in Africa,” 35.
14. C. U. Manus, Intercultural Hermeneutics in Africa: Methods and Approaches in Contem-
porary Biblical Studies in African Scholarship (Nairobi: Acton Publishers, 2005).
15. J. Riches, “Interpreting the Bible in African Contexts,” in Glasgow Consultation
‘Reading with’: An Exploration of the Interface Between Critical and Ordinary Readings of the Bible
(Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1996), 187.

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 Dada Repositioning Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics in Africa 165

While Riches’ concern may be entertained to some extent, it should be

underscored here that it is indeed difficult, if not totally impossible, to arrive at a
uniform or universal reading and interpretation of the text. This arises because
our contexts to some extent influence our readings of the Bible. Our “race,”
culture, gender and class influence our readings of the Bible. Besides, the Bible
also emanated from different socio-cultural and literary contexts.
Jonker16 has identified five forms of contextuality that characterize the Bible.
The first is what he calls “productive contextuality.” These are the different con-
texts spanning over ten or more centuries, within which all the diversity of
biblical literature was produced. The biblical writings did not originate in a
vacuum—concrete historical, political, social, economic and religious-cultic
contexts brought forth the biblical writings. The second is the “rhetorical con-
textuality.” This refers to those realities that are constructed in the biblical texts.
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Whether those realities always correspond to physical realities in the past (cf.
the debate on historiography in biblical interpretation) could of course be
doubted. One should, of course, take into account that biblical texts can (as
literature) create their own realities. The third is “literary contextuality.” This
refers to the various literary contexts that are embodied in the corpus of the
biblical writings. Texts do not occur in isolation. They form part of literary
works that span the boundaries of verses, chapter and even biblical books. The
fourth is “canonical contextuality.” That is the theological considerations that
interacted with socio-political conditions in order to bring about what is called
canon. The final one is “meta-theoretical contextuality.” Since the conclusion
of the canonization process, various traditions of interpretation of the Bible
have emerged. The systematized ways in which biblical scholars devised strate-
gies to read these texts could be designated exegetical methods. However, one
should keep in mind that all these systematized exegetical methods reflect the
“meta-theoretical contextuality” of those that devise these strategies. Therefore
exegetical methods are never contextually neutral.
If exegetical methods are never contextually neutral, it is germane to ask
what is the motivating ethos or impetus for the emergence of contextual
biblical hermeneutics in Africa? The pertinence of the question raised above is
evident in the fact that some critics, even in Africa, see contextual biblical her-
meneutics as an expression of cultural renaissance, misplaced nationalistic zeal
or outright repudiation of Western culture and influence.
Three factors are identified as responsible for the emergence of contextual
biblical hermeneutics in Africa. The first one is the need to make the messages
of the Bible meaningful and relevant for the African milieu. The methodology

16. Louis Jonker, “Contextuality in (South) African Exegesis: Reflection on the Com-
munity of our Exegetical Methodologies,” Old Testament Essays 18, no. 3 (2005): 637–50.

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 166 Black Theology: An International Journal

inherited from the Western missionaries did not take into cognizance the
worldview of the Africans. The term “worldview” is derived from the German
Weltanschauung, loosely translated also as “world hypothesis” or “word picture.”17
A worldview is a comprehensive set of assumptions and presuppositions about
the ultimate reality of existence. It functions additionally as a “perceptual filter,
which can exclude data which would be incompatible.”18 The traditional view
of reality by many Africans is holistic. Traditionally, many Africans believed
that there are three orders of beings that are part of the world, and these are
deity, spirits and human beings. These three orders are in functional contact.
For example, in traditional African cosmology, the world of spirits and their
influence on humans is a living and undeniable reality. The Bible, therefore,
cannot be read meaningfully, and interpreted, without taking into considera-
tion these observations.
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Contextual biblical hermeneutics also arose in the process of addressing

social problems in Africa. In Africa today, poverty, hunger, disease, war, HIV
and AIDS are ever-present and threatening realities. These debilitating condi-
tions call for urgent solutions. This situation, therefore, calls for contextual
reading of the Bible, meaning a reading in which the voices of the poor and
marginalized of Africa are heard. The goal of this reading is to engender
transformation and change. According to Kimilike19 it is important for the
interpretative task to facilitate the uncovering of ordinary people’s transforming
agency. The latter has to be identified in their past experiences that are acknowl-
edged and enhanced; which in turn, are then applied to and used as a means of
engaging in biblical interpretation. In this aspect, the African context becomes a
compatible subject of interpretation of the Christian biblical messages, with a
transforming goal of the existential, social, economic, political and religious life
of the people.
The third and final reason for the emergence of contextual biblical her-
meneutics is the search for a sense of belonging. Having gone through the
harrowing experience of colonialism, in which the African cultures and persons
were unwholesomely and overwhelmingly denigrated, the period following
independence was one that witnessed the necessity of seeking to raise African
consciousness and pride. This mentality was an all-pervasive one. The search
for African pride cuts through the social, political and religious spheres. In the
area of biblical studies, it is reasoned that one of the best ways to bring African

17. J. W. Sutterland, A General Systems of Philosophy for Social and Behavioural Sciences
(New York: George Braziller, 1993), 121.
18. N. M. Wilder, The Theologian and his Universe: Theology and Cosmology in the Middle
Ages to the Present (New York: Seabury, 1982), 130.
19. L. Kimilike, “Using African Proverbial Folklore to Understand the Holistic Poverty
Eradication Framework in the Book of Proverbs,” Old Testament Essays 18, no. 3 (2005): 415.

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 Dada Repositioning Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics in Africa 167

perceptions into the reading, interpretation and understanding of the Bible is to

evolve a methodology that takes into consideration their existential context.
This observation is given a further formulative description by Ukpong, when
he writes:
The inculturation mode of reading the Bible uses cultural resources. It makes
a specifically African contribution to global biblical scholarship… Thinking
within the format of Western scholarship and seeing it as the only legitimate
mode of reading the Bible, makes us prisoners of colonialism. The present
and future generations of African biblical scholars must carry forward this
process. The extent to which it will be sustained depends on the extent to
which African scholars will be creative in the use of African cultural resources
in reading the Bible, not owing to Western exegetical practices.20

In the light of Ukpong’s previous observations it is germane to ask whether

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it is possible to develop a hermeneutics that is totally devoid of Western influ-

ence? I rather think that this question may not be answered in the affirmative.
The truth is, we cannot ignore the two thousand years of Christian heritage of
the West and the enormous contributions of Western Christian scholars to the
growth and development of Christian ideas and theology. It is, however, impera-
tive for us as Africans, in our postcolonial context, to chart a new course that
will meet our varied needs. Hence, the need for a break from Western herme-
neutical hegemony!

The Bible as Vehicle for Empowerment in Africa:

A Critical Assessment
Has the Bible been effectively used as a vehicle for holistic empowerment in
Africa? The pertinence of this question is borne out of the fact that the message
of the Bible has not been effectual in the life of ordinary people. If the Bible has
been properly used as a medium for enhancing empowerment, its messages
would have exerted a deeper impact on the readers, and this would have caused
a rippling effect in the socio-political sphere. Most socio-economic and politi-
cal crises involving corruption, ethnocentrism, bribery, violence and other vices,
as we witness them, even in the churches today, would have been reduced
considerably, if not completely eradicated.21
Perhaps one of the main reasons the Bible has failed to serve effectively as a
motivational medium for holistic empowerment is the gap that existed between
the two approaches of readings: the critical and the pre-critical. Or as Masoga22

20. Ukpong, “Development in Biblical Interpretation in Africa,” 46–47.

21. J. D. Gwamna, “The Bible and Popular Theology in Nigeria: A Challenge for the
New Millennium,” African Journal of Biblical Studies xvi, no. 1 (2001): 65.
22. M. A. Masoga, “Redefining Power: Reading the Bible in Africa from Peripheral and

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 168 Black Theology: An International Journal

puts it: the central and the peripheral. Ordinary readers, who constitute the
bulk of Bible readers in Africa, read from the peripheral or pre-critical position
because they have not been trained in the use of the historical-critical tools
necessary to read the Bible in a more critically informed way. Trained readers,
on the other hand, are able to read the Bible critically because they have been
trained to use a variety of critical tools and skills. They, therefore, read from the
central position.23
Although there may be nothing necessarily wrong with the pre-critical
reading of the text, it should be noted, however, that such a reading might pre-
vent the reader from holistically appropriating the full potential of the biblical
text. Such reading strategies may also encourage the incorrect use of the text.
For example, in the process of seeking economic empowerment, the exponents
of the “prosperity gospel” in Africa sometimes misappropriate the biblical text.
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The basic thesis of the “prosperity gospel” is that God’s plan for all believers
is that they should be free from sickness and material poverty. The exponents of
the “prosperity gospel” in Africa believe that poverty, disease and other forms of
deprivation are some of the consequences of the “Fall of Man” according to the
biblical account (Gen. 3). Jesus is believed, through his death, to have brought
redemption, not only from sin but also material poverty.24 David Oyedepo of
Nigeria and one of the foremost exponents of “properity gospel” in Africa,
commenting on 2 Cor. 8:9 from the pre-critical standpoint, writes:
So one of the principal consequences of sin was poverty. No wonder when
the son of God came, He made it part of His business to restore dignity of
wealth back to humanity… Man became naked immediately he fell. Now that
he has entered righteousness should he still remain naked? No he must be
clothed with glory of God. That is why the Bible says “He became poor that
we, through his poverty might be made rich.”25

It is evident that the concern that inspired the birth and development of the
“prosperity gospel” is genuine. However, the hermeneutics and premise of the
arguments of its exponents are faulty. This, therefore, makes the “prosperity
gospel” a half-measure panacea for socio-economic empowerment. It makes
prosperity or economic empowerment a simple matter of faith. It simply ignores
the political and economic reasons for so much poverty in Africa; reasons such

Central Positions,” in Towards an Agenda for Contextual Theology, ed. M. T. Speckman and L. T.
Kaufman (Pietermaritzburg: Cluster, 2001), 134–47.
23. West, Contextual Bible Study, 26.
24. A. O. Dada, “Prosperity Gospel in Nigerian Context: A Medium for Social Trans-
formation or an Impetus for Delusion?” Orita: Ibadan Journal of Religious Studies xxxvi, no. 1–2
(2004): 95–108.
25. David Oyedepo, Covenant Wealth (Lagos: Dominion House, 1992), 26–27.

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 Dada Repositioning Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics in Africa 169

as dependent economies, fluctuating prices, overpopulation, overgrazing, cor-

ruption, mismanagement, destabilization, mistaken priorities and so on. It
directs attention from political and economic issues and leads to no social
activity.26
One should also note the reductionistic character of some contextual biblical
hermeneutics, which also hampers them from promoting holistic empower-
ment. For many years African biblical scholarship north of the Limpopo
concerned itself basically with issues of culture, ethnicity and Africanness.
However, South African biblical scholarship has as its major focus, issues of
“race,” class and gender.
To help promote holistic empowerment, there should be a mutual dialogue
and convergence of ideas between these two major divides in African biblical
scholarship. As West27 observed, just as South African biblical scholarship has
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much to learn, so too, it has much to contribute. Issues of Africanness, eth-

nicity, and culture cannot be separated from the complex matrix they share
with issues of “race,” class and gender. African biblical scholarship north of the
Limpopo has been strangely silent on these matters, but that silence is being
broken, particularly by African women, who are growing increasingly impatient
of being asked to wait while more important, male matters are addressed.

Repositioning Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics Towards

Holistic Empowerment
To empower the readers of the Bible in Africa, there is the need for a reposi-
tioning of its reading and interpretation. The different contextual biblical
hermeneutics in Africa should be directed towards holistic empowerment. To
undertake this properly, the following guidelines are suggested:
1. There should be constant dialogue and exchanges between critical and
pre-critical readers of the Bible in Africa. The pre-critical readers of the Bible
constitute the majority of its readers. These are the people who face daily the
harshness of socio-political policies on the continent. They have brought to
bear empowering resources from the biblical texts to face these challenges. To
enrich the reading of the Bible in the African context we need to listen to the
pre-critical readers too:

26. Paul Gifford, Christianity: To Serve or Enslave? (Jos: Institute of Pastoral Affairs, 1990),
26–27.
27. G. West, “Contextual Bible Study in South Africa: A Resource for Reclaiming and
Regaining Land, Dignity and Identity,” in Towards an Agenda for Contextual Theology: Essays in
Honour of Albert Nolan, eds. M. T. Speckman and L. T. Kaufman (Pietermaritzburg: Cluster,
2001), 170–73.

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 170 Black Theology: An International Journal

We need to find a way of listening to and documenting—what our people are

hearing from the scripture. If the Holy Spirit is the main interpreter of the
Bible, we must be convinced that the Bible speaks not only through profes-
sional exegetes with academic degrees and qualifications but also I would say
above all, through all those who lie in union with God. This is one of the
many lessons I have learnt since I left active professional biblical academics
into the field to full-time pastoral engagement.28

Masoga29 has highlighted, further, the importance of conversation between

the critical and pre-critical readers of the Bible. The dialogue between these two
different orientations of approaching the biblical text allows openness, presence
and honest critique. In this process, the opportunity arises for the “trained”
readers to gain deeper insight of the realities of the “precritical” discourse.
2. Contextual biblical hermeneutics in Africa should be community and
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grassroots oriented. This perhaps would help to empower the majority of the
readers of the Bible in Africa, namely, the people at the grassroots. Most con-
textual biblical methodologies devised in Africa are detached from the commu-
nity of faith, and therefore, have no direct bearing on the church and the
people. This arises because most of the scholars involved in devising new
methods of biblical interpretation are academics in the universities and semi-
naries. The fruits of their enterprise rarely have direct impact on the ordinary
people in the church. However, one exception to this rule is the activities of
Bible scholars like West30 who has devised a hermeneutical approach called
“reading with the ordinary reader.” This is a grassroots orientation approach,
which enables the poor and marginalized members of the church to be involved
in the reading and interpretation of the Bible. However, it should be under-
scored, here, that the socially engaged biblical scholar is called to read the Bible
with those at the grassroots, not because they need to be conscientized and
given interpretations relevant to their context. Rather, they are called to col-
laborate with them because they bring with them additional interpretative
resources which may be of use to the communal group.
3. Contextual biblical hermeneutics in Africa must be directed to address
the holistic worldview of the Africans. The compartmentalization of reality into
the realms of the sacred and profane is strange to traditional African society.
For many Africans, reality is a unified whole. For example, salvation in the
African context is not just about deliverance of the soul, but also of the body.

28. John O. Onaiyekan, “Current Biblical Hermeneutics in Africa,” African Journal of

Biblical Studies xvi, no. 1 (2001): 3.
29. Masoga, Redefining Power, 140–41.
30. West, Contextual Bible Study.

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 Dada Repositioning Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics in Africa 171

What is the essence of a salvation that guarantees the freedom of the soul and
enslavement of the body?
Moreover, the worldview of most Africans even in modern times is still
primal to a greater extent. For example, the belief in the existence of witchcraft
and other malevolent forces is still rife. Even some “educated” and “enlight-
ened” Christians also hold tenaciously to these beliefs, which many regard as
superstitions. For any interpretation to be grounded in the people’s conscious-
ness, it must take cognizance of the worldview of the people. After all, the Bible
itself takes into consideration the worldview of the people of the period in
which and for whom it was written.
4. For the Bible to serve as an effective vehicle for empowerment, it must
make holistic liberation its cardinal objective. According to Manus:
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Biblical exegesis in Africa must be made to respond to the “bread and butter”
issues, the socio-economic and political ugliness in the African world. Thus it
must be allowed to address the African hunger situation, international food
aid and charity, healthcare problems, the ravage of AIDS…the plight of
African rural women, the cry for justice, human dignity and the ethical
dimensions of Africa’s indebtedness to world powers.31

In some of the existing contextual biblical hermeneutics in Africa, it is only

one aspect of liberation that is stressed; namely, political liberation. Liberation
is a process. For it to be meaningful, and have a lasting impact, it must also be
holistic in scope. After political liberation, there is the need for liberation from
the shackles of poverty, ethnicity and racial prejudices. In addition, there is also
the need for mental liberation. Those disempowering ideas and ideals that
Africans have held on to for so long must be discarded. Contemporary biblical
hermeneutics in Africa must address these issues in order for it to be relevant
and empowering.
5. In order that the message of the Bible can have a lasting and positive
effect, in the socio-religions space, a wide range of methodologies must be
utilized. It is customary for some African biblical scholars to condemn all
Western-oriented hermeneutical methodologies as oppressive and evil. On the
other hand, some Western and Euro-centric biblical scholars in Africa also see
contextual biblical hermeneutics as nothing but a handmaiden of African renais-
sance, which ultimately leads to Christo-paganism: an admixture of Chris-
tianity and elements of traditional African religions. Jonker’s warning that a
multidimensional approach32 to biblical interpretation can help us to escape the
looming dangers of exclusivism in our exegetical endeavours is an important

31. C. U. Manus, “Towards an African Methodology for Biblical Research,” Journal of

Religious Studies xvii, no. 1 (2002): 67.
32. Jonker, Contextuality, 643.

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 172 Black Theology: An International Journal

message for the African context. Biblical scholars in Africa tend to step into two
metaphorical abysses. Namely, they either claim that their own methods are the
only ones that could deliver true, meaningful results, or that their own life
interests are the only legitimate vantage point into the biblical text. A multi-
dimensional or holistic approach would steer us away from such exclusivism.
African biblical scholarship should remain open to any method, past or
present, which best serves its ultimate purpose. The fact should be under-
scored, here, that Western and other hermeneutical methodologies should not
be swallowed wholesale, in a non-critical manner. We should critique these
hermeneutical traditions and take on board exegetical approach and strategy
that best suit the African context. It is gratifying to note that some biblical
scholars employing Western methodologies are also gradually becoming more
open to the influence of contextual-oriented approaches. It is when we prop-
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erly and effectively integrate the different available methodologies that the
Bible can be enabled to address the spiritual and social concerns of Africa.

Conclusion
From the exploration into contextual biblical hermeneutics in Africa, it is
evident that these have emerged, mainly to engage a whole host of social con-
cerns. However, it was suggested that for the Bible to be effectively used as a
medium for empowerment, its contextual readings must be strategically reposi-
tioned. In the process of this repositioning, holism should be a central moti-
vating ethos. Holistic liberation, grassroots orientation and methodologies must
become the dominant focus of contextual biblical hermeneutics in Africa.
I believe it is germane to opine that there is a need for a paradigm shift in the
use of the Bible as a resource bank for development. The Bible can be used to
engage holistic development. In undertaking holistic development theology,
one does not only point out the spiritual content of Bible, but one sees this in
the light of social analysis. Social analysis has always been concerned with the
Bible. All the stories we read from the scriptures derive from a social context.
Although all the narratives cannot be read into our context, any relevant social
analysis, however, assists us to read “the signs of the times.” In order to hear
what God is saying to us today, it is not sufficient to know the facts, or to know
what is happening in our world today. It is also necessary to know why parti-
cular phenomena are taking place and to become cognizant of the root causes of
such events. Our present experience of faith, our praxis, can throw light upon
the meaning of the Bible, while at the same time the Bible can throw light upon
our experiences.33

33. K. Y. Damap, “The Role of Theological Institutions in Training for Wholistic

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 Dada Repositioning Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics in Africa 173

For any work on biblical hermeneutics in Africa to be credible it must take

into account the precarious nature of the African context. As Mosala observed:
The cultural practice of the oppressed people of the world today must make
the Bible speak words of those who are silent in its pages. It must expose and
enter into struggle with the class character of biblical cultures. For this reason,
culture, and ideology must enter into critical dialogue in producing a cultural
exegesis and hermeneutics that liberates the text and us.34

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