Abstract
Bible and Transformation is the second phase of a worldwide initiative investigating the benefits of intercultural Bible reading (IBR) begun in 2001. The research question of the second phase was: How, if at all, does transformation occur, and can intercultural reading become a catalyst for the transformation of reader, text, and the perception of the ‘other’ reader? The raw data for the research that this book records is the reports from each participating group of readers. This data was gathered by putting together groups of ‘ordinary readers’ from different contexts, those from the margins reading with those at the centres, ‘poor readers and more wealthy readers, readers from different ecclesial traditions, political convictions, and cultural settings’ (p. 5). The groups mainly focused on reading together 2 Sam 13 (the rape of Tamar) and John 20:1–18 (Mary Magdalene at Jesus’ tomb), while a few groups interacted with other stories.
Following the introduction, the first six chapters of the book are contributions by theorists who discuss the potential of IBR and the concept of transformation. IBR is positioned within the field of liberation hermeneutics (p. 34) but ‘deviates from traditional liberation hermeneutics by its openness to a plurality of interpretations’ (p. 49). These authors acknowledge that ‘transformation’ is a difficult concept to measure, but are all agreed that reading the Bible interculturally, listening to and welcoming the reading of the ‘other’ are ‘hermeneutical factors in the interpretation process’ (p. 447) and essential to transformation.
The bulk of the book’s text is given over to reports from the intercultural reading groups. The diversity of the reading groups is a remarkable feature of this study. A German group exchanges reading reports from one on Flores, Indonesia; a group in Myanmar co-read a text and exchange reports with a group in the Netherlands; another involved a three-way dialogue over Scripture from groups in Ghana, Colombia and the Netherlands. These are only three samples of the range of geographical locations of readers that participated in this project. The best case studies are those replete with quotations from individuals in each reading group, accompanied by thoughtful and precise reporting, ably demonstrating how effective IBR can be in leading participants into fresh engagement with the biblical text and in exposing hidden prejudices towards the other. However, there is inconsistency at times in the quality of reporting on case studies and the voice of the ‘ordinary reader’ is not always as audible as one might expect.
Some of those who contributed to the opening chapters are optimistic about the potential of IBR for macro-level change, believing it can play its part in redressing the negative impact of globalisation and promote the cause of ecumenism within the church worldwide. Maybe, but the dominant impression this reviewer gained from reading the case studies was the great diversity of localised interpretations of the selected texts and the impact this had on local readers from radically different contexts, confirming the more realistic assessment of D.S. Schipani, that IBR ‘has been shown to foster transformation on the interpersonal and small group levels’ (p. 108). It is the potential for localised, transformative impact that IBR offers participants and what makes this book such an important study, especially for the student of World Christianity.