Abstract
As a Christian, have you been caught in a dilemma of interpreting and applying scriptures in light of your culture? African Hermeneutics describes how Africans’ worldview and culture influences the interpretation and application of scriptures. The author, Elizabeth Mburu is the Langham Literature regional coordinator for Africa. She also serves as an adjunct associate professor of New Testament and Greek at International Leadership University, African Leadership University, and Pan Africa Christian University in Kenya. Mburu states that African Bible readers face a challenge of dichotomization of their Christianity since the majority of Bible interpretation models and techniques, or hermeneutics, have their origins in the Western world. This book makes an effort to resolve this issue by offering the reader a contextualized, African intercultural approach to Bible study.
The book is divided into two parts. Part I lays the groundwork for this intercultural approach by outlining the dichotomy and providing a contextualized hermeneutical solution. Part I also includes a four-legged stool model that leads the reader through four interconnected steps for examining a text. Part II applies the concepts learned in Part I to the Bible's major genres (Stories, Wisdom, Songs, and Letters). Each genre is treated in a separate chapter, and literary techniques used to analyze African literature are woven into the text's interpretation.
In the Chapter 1, Mburu expounds on the fact that African Christians seem to be unable to comprehend how their faith can influence their daily lives. When it comes to reading, interpreting, and applying the Bible in their daily lives, Africans are always seeking to mimic foreign ways because they think Bible interpretation was done from the west. On the contrary, Africans have been interpreting the Bible for over two thousand years. Northern Africa produced some of the most influential early Bible interpreters. Church fathers such as Origen and Augustine are on the list of African Bible interpreters. Despite the fact that some of the earliest approaches to Bible interpretation emerged in Africa, Western approaches to Bible interpretation are still widely used in the African church today. Many African biblical scholars have received their education in the West and therefore pursue a Western interpretation tradition. Mburu argues that we need an African hermeneutic, one that asks questions that a hermeneutic from another culture would not. She advocates for a contextualized hermeneutic that shifts from the known to the unknown.
Chapter 2 starts by explaining that biblical beliefs and values must inform and shape a believers’ worldview. Furthermore, the worldview must be consistent with the whole story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation (the biblical metanarrative). Some aspects of the African worldview line up with a biblical worldview, while other elements are in contrast. African culture includes a communal hermeneutic, whereas a western hermeneutic tends to be individual. A biblical worldview places God at the center of creation, while an African worldview places humans at the center. When it comes to relationships, family and community were important in both biblical and African worldviews. tn the New Testament, one's spiritual family takes priority over one's biological family.
Mburu discusses the African worldview regarding the philosophy of knowledge, morality, suffering, history/time, and art in chapter 3. In traditional African societies, knowledge was passed down through the shaping of character and the cultivation of qualities such as honesty, respect, integrity, and hard work. Personal relationships, community, and religious authorities were a source of knowledge. In a biblical worldview, God is the source of knowledge. Moral formation in African traditional societies centered on principles that promoted societal cohesion, such as respect for authority and reverence for supernatural beings. Interestingly, there are certain parallels between the African and biblical worldviews on morality, such as the implications of sin and the dishonoring aspects (to community and God). The difference is that African morality is based on cultural ideals, while biblical morality is based on God's unchanging character and commandments. In regard to suffering, African traditional viewed suffering as being a punishment for sin, yet in the Biblical worldview suffering is not always as a result of sin. Africans concept of time focuses on events not the amount it will take. History, on the other hand, is progressive; since the future is seen as an extension of the present. Conversely, the biblical view of time is based on God's authority over time. The arts are an integral part in the day to day life of Africans and were an important part of the Old and New Testament people's worldviews. Both theological and philosophical features in the African worldview influence Bible interpretation.
In chapter 4, Mburu establishes that parallels to the African background, theological context, literary context, and historical context are all part of the four-legged stool metaphor of Bible interpretation. Identifying the theological and cultural backgrounds that are the primary contributors to our own worldview, as well as any related aspects of our social, political, and geographic contexts, is the first leg of the stool. However, our worldview has to be subject to a biblical worldview. The second leg of the hermeneutical stool entails attempting to comprehend a text's theological emphases and how they are presented in relation to the section and book in which it is contained, and eventually in relation to the entire Bible. The literary background must be identified and analyzed, which is the third leg of the hermeneutical stool. It is critical that the genre, literary techniques, grammar, and flow of the text direct the process and begin to confirm the essence of the text that has been discovered so far. Recognizing that the Bible cannot be interpreted in isolation from its historical and cultural background is the fourth leg of the hermeneutical stool. The seat in the stool model is the text's application in the milieu of the modern African reader.
The book's second section provides a brief summary of the Bible's overall meaning, an outline for reading the different literary genres, and an explanation of each referencing examples from African literature and the Bible. Mburu starts by providing a theological, literary, and historical/cultural view of the Bible (chapter 5). The classifications are crucial in applying the four legged stool hermeneutical model. She then gives details on the different genres and the techniques of interpreting them. Interpretation of stories can only be done when one understands what the narrator is saying and the world of the story (chapter 6). Interpretation of proverbs and riddles (forms of wisdom) too require an understanding of the context they were written/said (chapter 7). Chapter 8 details the understanding of songs (and poems) in the African and biblical context, and how to interpret them, while chapter 9 discusses the interpretation of letters with consideration to the context in and the purpose for which they were written. The four- legged hermeneutical stool model was used to guide the interpretation of each genre.
Mburu gives a summary of the book in chapter 10. Does the content of African Hermeneutics have an influence on the broader world? Is it of any significance to Christian living? As much as the book looks at the African worldview and its impact in the interpretation of scripture, it speaks to the world, too.Christians all over the world come with their different cultures. Knowingly or unknowingly, the culture would impact how Christians interpret scriptures. As Mburu puts it, we need not assume our cultures and worldview but subject them to biblical worldview.
The implication to Christian living cannot be overlooked. The first implication is that our assumptions should be subject to Biblical interpretation. Otherwise, the danger of syncretism becomes apparent–mixing Biblical beliefs with cultural tradition. The assumptions should be analyzed through the lens of biblical worldview. Secondly, learning the basic principles of hermeneutics (the four legged hermeneutic stool model in the book gives a sample overview) is crucial to every Christian. Correct interpretation leads to a better understanding and application of scripture. Thirdly, contextualized application is crucial for proper interpretation. As an example, Exodus 20:17 says to honor our parents. Honoring parents applies to all cultures in the universe (p.87); however, how to do honor parents differs from culture to culture. With these insights, Mburu's work is laudworthy.
I commend Mburu for a work well done in weaving and differentiating the African culture and worldview with the biblical worldview. Both the African and biblical research is meticulously done. These issues are pertinent to every Christain–whether African or not. In chapter 1, the author presents a dichotomy in the lives of African Christians. In chapter 1, Mburu writes, “We as Africans are still trying to imitate foreign ways when it comes to reading, interpreting and applying the Bible in our everyday lives” (p.4) Living into one's culture and drawing on it's resources, while seeking to faithfully live out and develop a comprehensive Christian worldview is rife with tension but a fundamental task.
In conclusion, biblical hermeneutics in light of culture and worldview can be a complex subject. Africa with its vast culture can further complicate hermeneutics. The book breaks down these issues with clarity, bringing a deep understanding on interpreting scripture in light of culture. I recommend the book to African Christians, theology students and pastors who are seeking to understand the African culture and worldview and how to interpret and apply scripture in the African context.