New testament interpretation and African culture: selections from 1 Corinthians as a test case
| dc.contributor.advisor | Van Zyl, H. C. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Banda, Devison Telen | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2018-09-10T11:06:25Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2018-09-10T11:06:25Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2004 | |
| dc.description.abstract | English: "New Testament interpretation and African culture" is a study in hermeneutics. The study was designed to determine the effect on Biblical interpretation where culture - in both the world of the reader and the world of the text - is taken seriously. The quest further sought to determine whether a reading from the perspective of the African culture does not allow greater understanding of the text than from dominant readings from Western perspectives. In order to achieve these objectives, the perspectives would be applied by interpreting selections from the First Letter to the Corinthians. This study is necessary because culture has always received a low profile in Biblical interpretation because of the misconceptions that view African culture as against the Christian faith. Chapter 1 has also given a working definition of the category culture. It has been indicated that the category 'culture' in its complexity belongs to the core of human existence. People are a product of culture and as such culture was operative in the Biblical authors; it is operative in the text as a product of communication and it is eventually operative in the reader and her/his audience. All communication occurs within the framework of culture. Anyone who reads a Biblical text does so from a particular cultural perspective in which she or he stands. Both Paul and the Christians in 1 Corinthians are products of the Jewish and Greco- Roman culture. Chapter 2 is a survey of the category "culture" in New Testament interpretation. This has led to a proposition that throughout the hermeneutical shifts and dynamic history of interpretation culture plays a very cardinal role and it is actually a premise of interpretation . . This has been tested in chapter 3 where the presence of culture in Paul, his congregations and letters has been tested, detected and affirmed. The entire study and interpretation of Pauline writings is cultural friendly and utilises culture as a vehicle of communication. In chapter 4, African perspectives on 1 Corinthians are surveyed by testing selected tenets on some of the pericopes of the text of 1 Corinthians. This important section finally leads to the study conclusion in chapter 5. In this final section a number of propositions are suggested which slant towards the following: The hermeneut only labours in vain unless she or he strives to get acquainted with the culture in a given Biblical text. Equally, the culture of the hermeneut should be realised and controlled so that it does not dominate hermeneutics otherwise hermeneutics becomes reduced to a mere mental game with no concrete results and impact. African culture both enhances and hinders interpretation of a given pericope depending on the nature of that pericope. In conclusion, on the one hand, serious consideration of both the worlds/cultures in the text and in the hermeneut, and the conscious rightful positioning of culture can contribute to a better understanding of the biblical text - specifically the First Letter to the Corinthians and can lead to a vibrant and realistic spirituality that can revitalise the Church of modern times. On the other hand, however, culture can hinder interpretation and wherever it does, culture must itself be converted. In other words, New Testament interpretation is a process where both inculturation and de-culturation become cardinal components of the hermeneutical process and our reading of the selected pericopes from 1 Corinthians validates this proposition. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | Afrikaans: 'Nuwe Testament en Afrika kultuur' is 'n hermeneutiese studie wat onderneem om die effek van kultuur - beide in die wêreld van die leser en dié van die teks - op Bybel interpretasie te bepaal. Die navorsing verder poog om na te gaan in hoeverre 'n lees vanuit 'n Afrika kultuur kan lei tot beter verstaan van die teks teenoor dominante interpretasies vanuit Westerse perspektief. Om hierdie doelwitte te bereik, is die insigte toegepas op die interpretasie van enkele dele van die Eerste Brief aan die Korintiërs. Hierdie studie is geregverdig deur die lae profiel wat 'kultuur' tot onlangs in Bybel interpretasie geniet het en omdat Afrika kultuur beskou is as in teenstelling tot die Christelike geloof. Hoofstuk een bied ook 'n werksdefinisie van die kategorie 'kultuur' In die studie word aangetoon dat 'kultuur' in al haar kompleksiteit tot die wesentlike van die menslike bestaan hoort. Die mens is 'u produk van kultuur, en so ook spesifiek die skrywers van die Bybelboeke. Kultuur is aanwesig in die teks as 'n produk van kommunikasie en is in finale instansie ook operasioneel by die leser en sy/haar gehoor. Alle kommunikasie geskied in die raamwerk van kultuur. Elkeen wat die Bybel lees doen dit vanuit sy/haar bepaalde kultuur perspektief. Beide Paulus en die Christene van 1 Korintiërs was produkte van die Joodse en Grieks- Romeinse kultuur. Hoofstuk 2 bied 'n oorsig van die kategorie 'kultuur' in Nuwe Testament interpretasie. Dit lei tot die gevolgtrekking dat in die hermeneutiese verskuiwings en in die dinamiese geskiedenis van interpretasie 'kultuur' 'n kardinale rol speel en in werklikhied 'n veronderstelling van interpretasie is. Hierdie insigte is toegepas in hoofstuk 3 waar die aanwesigheid van kultuur by Paulus, sy gemeentes en briewe nagegaan en bevestig is. Die hele studie en interpretasie van die Pauliniese geskrifte is 'kultuur-vriendelik' en gebruik kultuur as middel tot kommunikasie. Hoofstuk 4 bied 'n oorsig van Afrika perspektiewe op I Korintiërs deur 'n aantal beginsels op enkele perikope toe te pas. Hierdie belangrike deel lei tot die gevolgtrekking van die studie in hoofstuk 5. Hierdie finale deel bied 'n aantal steIlinge wat die volgende insigte bied: - Die hermeneut ywer tevergeefs tensy hy/sy vertroud is met die kultuur in die gegewe teks. Gelykerwys moet die kultuur van die hermeneut erken en gekontroleer word sodat dit nie interpretasie domineer nie, anders kan dit 'n blote spel raak sonder enige resultate en impak. - Afrika kultuur kan beide bevorderlik of stremmend op interpretasie inwerk afhangende van die aard van die perikoop. Ten slotte: enersyds, kan ernstige aandag aan biede die kultuur in die teks en dié van die hermeneut en die korrekte verstaan van kultuur, lei tot 'n beter insig in die Bybelteks. Spesifiek by I Korintiërs kan dit lei tot 'n lewenskragtige en realistiese spiritualiteit wat kan bydra om die kerk nuwe stukrag te gee. Andersyds kan kultuur egter interpretasie negatief beinvloed en moet kultuur self 'bekeer' word. Anders gestel: Nuwe Testament interpretasie is ']1 proses waar beide inkulturasie en de-kulturasie kardinale komponente van die henneneutiese proses is. Die lees van 1 Korintiërs het hierdie aanname oortuigend aangetoon. | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11660/9265 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.rights.holder | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Chewa (African people) -- Religion | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Christianity and culture -- Africa, East | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Biblical interpretation | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | African culture | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | First Letter to the Corinthians | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Thesis (Ph.D. (New Testament))--University of the Free State, 2004 | en_ZA |
| dc.title | New testament interpretation and African culture: selections from 1 Corinthians as a test case | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Dissertation | en_ZA |