The need for a Critical Biblical Hermeneutics

Thanks to Charlene Van Der Walt for this very important, and clear, article on the Bible, the Christian faith, and the need for a critical hermeneutics. The article helped me to understand why it is necessary to ask some questions about who it is that opposes critical reflection. The privileged and the powerful don’t like to be called to account for their power and privilege. We center ourselves as normative in history, in identity, and even in relation to what we think constitutes truth and morality. I realize how important it is to remain accountable for my scholarship, my beliefs, and my moral orientation. This piece hit home powerfully (some of my friends may need to use Google Translate for this bit):

“As jy Sondag na Sondag op die kansel of in die klaskamer vir mense sê hoe hulle moet dink en wat hulle moet dink en wat die regte metode is om oor dinge te dink, dan gaan jy seker aan die huil raak as almal nou nie meer wil dink soos jy dan nou gesê het nie. Of jy gaan vuil speel en die ander verneder, want jy kan.”

Of course some people are claiming that there is no need for free and honest conversation, that we don’t need to account for our hermeneutic positions (and listen to the positions of others, whose perspectives may differ from our own) when we read and interpret the Bible, that there is no need for empathetic, compassionate, and respectful consideration of the lived realities of others. Of course if the world, and your god, are already created in your image, why would you want to listen to me, or anyone else?

I love what Juliana Claassens wrote about the nature and responsibility of public theology. She said, “public theology is thus concerned with facing the world with all its crookedness, helping to name the wounds below the surface… that is the first step in changing the reality”. (IJPT vol 13, 2019:193).

Thanks for helping us Charlene, thanks for helping us Julie. I want to listen, and I want to reflect, I want to learn, I want to read the Bible with integrity, and I want to become more like Christ. You can read Charlene's article here, "Queering drink aan op ongemak".