Theologies of Liberation and Reconstruction Grossberg (eds) (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988). 26 John W. Colenso, St.
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1 Grossberg (eds) (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988). 26 John W. Colenso, St. Paul s Epistle to the Romans: Newly Translated and Explained from a Missionary Point of View. Jonathan A. Draper (ed.) (Pietermaritzburg: Cluster 2003, original, 1861). 27 Michael Joseph Brown, Paul s Use of dou/loj Cristou/ VIhsou/ in Romans 1:1 JBL, 2001, 120/4, Ernst Käsemann,. Commentary on Romans. Trans. E. W. Bromiley. (London: SCM; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980). 29 Beker, Paul the Apostle. 30 Peter Stuhlmacher, Paul s Letter to the Romans. A Commentary. Trans. S. J. Hafemann. (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1994). 31 James D.G. Dunn, Romans 1-8; Romans vols. WBC 38a & 38b. (Dallas: Word, 1988). 32 Brendan Byrne, S. J. Romans. Sacra pagina series 6. (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1996). 33 Marie-Joseph Lagrange, Saint Paul. Épître aux Romains. Études Bibliques. (Paris: Gabalda, 1950 original 1931). 34 Adolf Schlatter, Romans. The Righteousness of God. Trans. S. S. Schatzmann. (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1995). 35 C.E.B. Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. ICC. 2 vols. (Edinburgh: Clark, ). 36 Franz-J. Leenhardt, The Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans: A Commentary. Trans. H. Knight. (London: Lutterworth, 1961). 37 Charles Kingsley Barrett, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. 2nd edition. (London: Black; New York: Harper, 1991). 38 Joseph A. Fitzmyer, Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. AB 33. (New York: Doubleday, 1993). 39 Douglas J. Moo, The Epistle to the Romans. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996). 40 Op. cit Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans. Pillar New Testament Commentary. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988). 42 Mugambi, From Liberation to Reconstruction: See Anne Nasimiyu Wasike, Jesus: An African Perspective in Daniel Patte (ed.), Global Bible Commentary (Nashville: Abingdon, 2004), Paraphrasing Rom 12:2, we could say that we should not be conformed to this world [and its view that we have no responsibility for our interpretations], but be transformed by the renewing of [our] minds, so that [we] may discern what is the will of God what is good and acceptable and perfect [among the several possible interpretations]. 46
2 or because they condone or even advocate oppressive, abusive, hurtful behaviour toward our sisters and brothers. On the contrary certain interpretations are constructive, bearers of good tidings, both because they are anchored in and strengthen our love for God and because in our given context they support and advocate true love for our neighbours. Indeed, The Biblical Basis for Evangelization is found in a choice of interpretation which will promote love for both God and neighbours. NOTES 1 Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers, Nairobi: Oxford University Press, Nairobi: Acton, Nairobi: Acton, See JNK Mugambi and Laurenti Magesa (eds). The Church in African Christianity: Innovative Essays in Ecclesiology (Nairobi: Acton, 1998). 6 Mugambi, From Liberation to Reconstruction: 15 7 Gabriel Vahanian, Wait Without Idols (New York: G. Braziller, 1964), No Other God (New York: G. Braziller, 1964), Anonymous God Contemporary Religious Thought (Aurora, CO: Davies Group Publishers, 2003). 8 See Cristina Grenholm and Daniel Patte, Overture. Reception, Critical Interpretations, and Scriptural Criticism, in Cristina Grenholm and Daniel Patte (eds). Reading Israel in Romans: Legitimacy and Plausibility of Divergent Interpretations. Vol. 1, Romans through History and Cultures Series (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2000). Other volumes in this series include: Daniel Patte and Eugene TeSelle (eds). Engaging Augustine on Romans: Self, Context, and Theology in Interpretation. Vol. 2, (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2002; K. K. Yeo (ed.). Navigating Romans through Cultures: Challenging Readings by Charting a New Course. Vol. 3, (London & New York: T&T Clark International, 2004); Kathy Gaça and L. L. Welborn (eds). Early Patristic Readings of Romans. Vol. 4, (London & New York: T&T Clark International, 2005); Daniel Patte and Cristina Grenholm (eds). Gender, Tradition and Romans. Shared Ground, Uncertain Borders. Vol. 5, (London & New York: T&T Clark International, 2005). These volumes illustrate how inculturated is any interpretation of Romans though history and cultures, including the present day scholarly interpretations. 9 José Porfirio Miranda, Marx and the Bible: A Critique of the Philosophy of Oppression (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1974). 10 Elsa Tamez, The Amnesty of Grace: Justification by Faith from a Latin American Perspective. trans. Sharon Ringe. (Nashville: Abingdon, 1993; original 1991). 11 See especially, Ernest Käsemann, Commentary on Romans (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980; original 1973). 12 Dieter Georgi, Theocracy in Paul s Praxis and Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991; original, 1987). 13 Neil Elliott, Liberating Paul: The Justice of God and the Politics of the Apostle (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994). 14 Richard Horshley (ed.), Paul and Empire: Religion and Power in Roman Imperial Society (Harrisburg: Trinity, 1997); Paul and Politics (Harrisburg: Trinity, 2000). 15 Elizabeth A. Castelli, Imitating Paul: A Discourse of Power (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991) and Romans, in Searching the Scripture, A Feminist Commentary, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza (ed.) vol. 2 (New York: Crossroad, 1993), See Sandra Hack Polaski, A Feminist Introduction to Paul (St Louis: Chalice, 2005); and the collections of essays, Amy-Jill Levine (ed.) Feminist Companion to Paul (Cleveland: Pilgrim, 2004) and Grenholm & Patte (eds). Gender, Tradition, and Romans. 17 Theodore W. Jennings, Jr. Reading Derrida / Thinking Paul: On Justice (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2006). 18 Robert Jewett, Romans: A Commentary. Hermeneia: A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible. (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2006). 19 Mugambi, From Liberation to Reconstruction: Johan Christiaan Beker, Paul the Apostle: The Triumph of God in Life and Thought (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980). Beker underscores the distinction between the contingency of Paul s letters and the coherence of Paul s gospel as two dimensions of Paul s discourse in his letters. 21 Righteousness serves as the frame for understanding relationships among believers within the Christian community and among communities. 22 Just relationships among believers within the Christian community serve as the frame for understanding relationships with God and among communities. 23 Just relationships among communities serve as the frame for understanding relationships with God and among believers within the Christian community. 24 A point argued at length in Daniel Patte, Ethics of Biblical Interpretation: A Reevaluation (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1995). 25 Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Can the Subaltern Speak? : in Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture. Cary Nelson and Lawrence
3 commentators emphasise that submission to the Lord s authority is the mark of all Christians (Barrett, 15-16, see also Rom 6:22); that this unconditional obedience to Christ and God is in counterpoint to the rebellion against God in which humanity lives (see Rom 1:18-3:20); and that the goal of redemption... is obedience rather than autonomy (Morris, ). In this perspective, Christ Jesus is primarily defined by his authority to which Paul (and believers) should obediently and voluntarily submit. 5. Conclusion From the above example, it is clear that surveying the geographical space of biblical interpretations is an immense and necessarily on-going task for critical biblical studies. As the example suggests, it is good to begin at home, taking notes of the very divergent interpretations found in one s culture. From this experience, one can then be open to consider with the appropriate respect and openness the interpretations originating from other cultural, social and religious contexts. Although we will have ever partial results of our survey of existing interpretations, we will soon be in a position to turn to the reconstruction theologian, and ask: Help us to discover a constructive way to read the Bible! Help us to distinguish between dangerous and beneficial readings! Indeed we might at last be ready to hear what the reconstruction theologian was telling us in his Theological Reflections Based on his African Experience in the book The Biblical Basis for Evangelization. The choice of the best interpretation (for a certain context) among a multiplicity of legitimate and plausible interpretations is an ethical and theological decision based upon the recognition that many uses and interpretations of the Bible (including scholarly critical biblical studies) have been and are counterproductive (thus not helpful for evangelisation) and even destructive and upon the recognition of the necessity of creating a new society within the same geographical space. 42 We owe much to Mugambi for his patient insistence that our task as biblical scholars is not to create an exclusive society that would include only those biblical interpreters with authorised interpretations even if these are liberationist interpretations but to work in the midst of interpretive ruins to the creation of a new, inclusive soci ety of biblical interpreters who, within the same space of biblical interpretations, will pursue reconstruction, as they avoid the destructive trends. Does this mean that all interpretations of the Bible are equally good? Of course not! Or as Paul repeatedly exclaimed when he is misunderstood: Mê genoito. Certainly not! First, the interpretation needs to be legitimate, that is, it needs to be shown to be grounded in the text. But before rejecting an interpretation as illegitimate, with humility let us acknowledge that our particular culture (including our more sophisticated academic culture) hides from us many legitimate interpretations which other people, from the perspective of their own cultures (including the oral culture of so-called illiterate people) can readily recognise. One of the roles of the scholars is to patiently read with others so as to help them to show the legitimacy of their interpretations. Yes, some interpretations must be rejected as illegitimate, as a betrayal of the biblical text. Paul, slave of Christ Jesus cannot mean that Paul was the father of Jesus. Yet, after 46 years of reading the Bible with others, I am ever less inclined to reject interpretations which surprise me as illegitimate. Once upon a time, I would have brushed aside the suggestion that by presenting himself as slave of Christ Jesus Paul expresses that he views Christ as his Greatest Ancestor whom he deeply respects and honours. 43 Now I have learned to ponder what is for me an unexpected interpretation, soon to discover that it might express the relationship of the slave to the pater familias in a Greco- Roman household (the second possible interpretation, above) much better than an interpretation framed by the image of the colonial slave trade of the recent centuries. Second, recognising that there are several possible legitimate interpretations does not mean that all these have equal value! Working in the midst of interpretive ruins involves seeking to discern among these interpretations those which have been and still are destructive, and also, positively, those interpretations which are the most helpful as we pursue the task of reconstruction. 44 Contrary to those North-Atlantic scholars who claim we have no choice in interpretation (because there is only one true interpretation), we urgently need to recognise that we are in fact choosing certain interpretations over others. And these choices matter! Some interpretations are devastating, destructive, catastrophic either because they conflict with our basic theological tenets
4 capital of the Roman Empire would have readily perceived Paul s selfpresentation as slave of Christ Jesus as a metaphor that alluded to the situation and status of the slaves of Caesar. From this perspective, by saying that his relationship to Christ is like that of a slave to his master, Paul wants to underscore two things. First, his precarious, unworthy standing, similar to that of actual slaves in bondage to their masters, and especially of slaves of the household of Caesar, who were totally at the mercy of their powerful master. In Paul s case, this Caesar-like powerful master is the Christ or Messiah. Second is his status as an instrument through whom his master acts and intervenes with all his power and authority (Käsemann, 5). According to this reading, by saying that he is a slave of Christ, Paul affirms that unlike people who willingly submit themselves to someone and would have the freedom to renege on this submission even if it is a total unconditional commitment (the third connotation of slave), his self-designation as a slave of Christ is an acknowledgment that Christ has power upon him and hold into submission as a slave (see 6:16-23). Similarly, by saying that he is a slave of Christ, Paul affirms that unlike people who carry out a mission that prolongs that of their master (following the second connotation of slave ), in this reading Paul is a mere instrument of his master. Therefore, what happens in his ministry (including through the writing of this letter) is his master s doing, not his. Rather the Lord acts through him, as Elliott 40 underscores by pointing to Rom 15:18-19, where Paul says: For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God (NRSV, emphases mine). In this perspective, Christ Jesus is primarily defined by his powerful interventions in human affairs, freeing humans from their bondage to evil powers, and intervening through apostles and other believers (the body of Christ) as his instruments. 2) For interpreters such as Dunn, I, 7-8; Stuhlmacher, 18-19; and Byrne, 38, through this metaphorical designation, Paul already focuses attention on the fact that he is a member of the household of the Christ Jesus and therefore that he acts in the name of the Christ Jesus whom he represents as the servant/slave of Yahweh in Isa 49:1-8 acted in the name of Yahweh. For these interpreters, by saying that his relationship to Christ is like that of a slave to his master, Paul wants to underscore the delegated authority that he has as a member of Christ s household, and in the process he wants to call attention to the fact that he carries out a special mission in Christ s name (specified in the rest of 1:1-7), even though he is not worthy of doing so (he has no honour, except the honour given to him by his master). Thus, Paul is unlike actual slaves who have no choice in the matter and are mere instruments of their masters (the first connotation of slave ), and also unlike people who make themselves slaves to an authority through a humble and unconditional submission for their own benefit (the third connotation of slave ). The point of the metaphor is that Paul has a delegated authority and a mission to be carried out in Christ s name. In sum, as a slave of Christ Jesus Paul prolongs the mission of Christ Jesus, as well as the mission and vocation that the People of God had received and accepted through the covenant. In this perspective, Christ Jesus is primarily defined by his mission to which Paul (and believers) are called to participate. 3) For many interpreters (e.g. Lagrange, 2; Schlatter, 7; Cranfield, I, 50-51; Leenhardt, 21; Barrett, 15-16; Fitzmyer, ; Moo, 40-41), through this metaphorical designation, Paul understands himself as a servant of Christ Jesus, the third of the connotations of slave identified above. He does so, humbly, before affirming his authority as an apostle. For this reading, by saying that his relationship to Christ is like that of a slave to his master, Paul wants to underscore that he unconditionally submits himself to Christ s (and God s) will and authority in the same way that a slave is unconditionally submitted to his or her owner an expression of humility (Leenhardt, 21 and Moo, 41). Yet unlike actual slaves who have no choice in the matter, Paul (and Christian believers) chooses to submit to God and Christ the first connotation of slave is thus bracketed out. Indeed, in this reading, believers have to acknowledge God s (and Christ s) absolute authority this is what faith is and must decide to obey God s (and Christ s) will. By making himself a slave of Christ Paul exemplifies the obedience of faith (1:5) which he seeks to bring about among the Gentiles through his ministry as an apostle. Thus, speaking of Paul s self-designation as a slave of Christ,
5 Someone who, although in a low and shameful status, is a member of a household as a socio-economic unit, and who, as a servant, acts in the name of his/her master for the sake of the household; someone without personal honour who is totally defined by his/her mission in the name of a master (as M. Brown underscores, speaking of the slaves of Caesar) 27 ; Someone who is unconditionally submitted to the will and authority of a master. At first, these three connotations may seem so closely related that one might want to say that Paul included all of them in his metaphorical self-designation. This is what we constantly do to avoid reading with others; we deny the differences between their readings and ours. And when we learn something from them, we simply appropriate it (co-opt it) as we do when reading for others (incorporating the others interpretations into ours: I can speak for you, I understand what you mean!). But when we resist this temptation to incorporate other readings into ours, it soon appears that making sense of the metaphor Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus involves choosing one of these major connotations as primary, bracketing out the other connotations as beside the point. Which connotation to choose is not resolved by the possible allusion to the many uses of the term in the Old Testament. Indeed, the term doulos in the LXX is used as a designation for figures as different as Abraham (e.g. Ps 105:42), Moses (e.g. 2 Kings 18:12; Neh 9:14; Ps 105:26), Joshua (Josh 24:30), Judges (e.g. Samson, Judges 15:18; Samuel, 1 Sam 3:9-10), Elijah (e.g. 1 Kings 18:36), David (e.g. 1 Sam 23:10-11; 2 Sam 3:18; 7:15), the prophets (e.g. Jer 7:25, 25:4; Ezek 38;17; Dan 9:6; Amos 3;7; Zech 1:6), the servant of Yahweh (Isaiah 49:1-8); and of the People of God as a whole (e.g. Deut 32;36) and the worshippers in the Psalms (e.g. Ps 27:9; 30:17; 116:16; 119:17). One or the other of the connotations for slave is perceived as the most appropriate according to the particular Old Testament figures that are viewed as corresponding to Paul and to the way in which this correspondence is understood. For the three interpretations, it is striking that Christ Jesus assumes the role of God, or Yahweh, in the phrase servant/slave of Yahweh ; Christ Jesus our Lord (1:4) shares in the authority of the Lord God. Beyond this core agreement, the interpretations of the correspondence between the Old Testament figures and Paul diverge. This correspondence can be focused: on these Old Testament figures as instruments through whom God acts, with a prophetic function, despite the unworthiness and lack of ability of those persons a connotation which is further reinforced if one keeps in mind that, for the Romans, the phrase slave of Christ brings to mind the phrase slaves of Caesar (first connotation of slave of Christ ; Käsemann, 5 28 ; J. C. Beker, ; Brown, op. cit. 733). or on these Old Testament figures willingness to accept a special role given to them by God who has chosen them for a special mission and sends them to speak and act in God s name (second connotation of slave of Christ ; Stuhlmacher, ; Dunn, I, ; Byrne, ); or again on these Old Testament figures total, humble submission to God s will (third connotation of slave of Christ ; Lagrange, 2 33 ; Schlatter, 7 34 ; Cranfield, I, ; Leenhardt, ; Barrett, ; Fitzmyer, ; Moo, ). It is to be noted that according to which understanding of Paul s metaphorical self-designation one chooses, one also chooses to emphasise certain connotations of Christ Jesus : Christ s power upon the slave (according to the first view of slave); Christ s mission which the slave prolongs in the name of the Lord (according to the second view of slave); Christ s authority to which the slave voluntarily submits (according to the third view of slave). Following these general remarks, let us present the three different interpretations. Following the order of the connotations for slave, I will first present the two interpretations that are the more surprising for most North-Atlantic readers. 1) As a technical term, the metaphorical designation, a slave of Christ Jesus (1:1a) underscores that the status of Paul is comparable to that of the slaves in the household of Caesar, the Roman Emperor, as Brown suggests. We need to take into account that Christians in the
6 in mid-nineteenth century by Bishop Colenso when he read Romans with Zulus 26 requires truly to trust the others understanding of the text and allowing oneself to be puzzled by the unexpected features of their reading, so as to discover through their eyes the features of the text that they find most significant and that I (we) had ignored or bracketed out and ultimately, to recognise the choices I (we) have made. 4. Mapping out the Space of Biblical Interpretations Biblical scholars and even theologians everywhere are nevertheless suspicious. Is this a proper way of surveying the geographical space of biblical interpretations? Should not this space be defined by the biblical text rather than by the multiplicity of its receptions? Is it really the role of (reconstruction) theologians to decide among diverse biblical interpretations? Is this not the role of biblical scholars to ascertain whether or not a biblical interpretation is possible? Does not the Bible become destructive and dangerous simply when it is misinterpreted and betrayed? In fact, I would argue that the Bible becomes destructive and dangerous primarily when people claim to be the only ones to have its true interpretation, and thus both deny the richness of the biblical text and exclude other interpretations as misguided, dishonest or uninformed. When one recognises the necessity of reconstructing the devastated space of biblical interpretation, it becomes clear that the role of biblical scholars is to show the choices that the text offers to any reader. A concrete illustration is needed. Taking up the possible interpretations of dikaiosyne as an example is not practical: even limiting ourselves to the letters to the Romans would require a long development examining too many passages. In the limited space left to me in this brief essay, it is enough to take the example of the richness of the four opening words of Paul s letter to the Romans: Paulos doulos Christou Iesou (Romans 1:1a) indeed, focusing our attention on the second, doulos. I had to write these words in transliterated Greek, because the translations are divergent. Is it Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, as most English translations propose? Or should it be Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus as many commentaries propose? The phrase slave/servant of Christ Jesus is a metaphorical self designation, as everyone readily acknowledges when one stops to think about it. This means that Paul s relation to Christ is like the relationship of a slave to his master. Yet, as with any metaphor, we have to ask a twofold question: Which one of the several connotations of slave defines what is like the relationship between Paul and Christ? What other connotations of slaves are left aside as inappropriate, because obviously they are unlike the relationship between Paul and Christ, and thus not the point of the comparison? Actually, there are no definite answers to these questions. Thus, self-consciously, or most often sub-consciously, we as readers choose to privilege one connotation over others because of our pre-understanding (what we take to be obvious ) regarding the relationship between Paul and Christ. Very learned scholars simply do not agree. And so do believers who read Romans as Scripture in different contexts around the world. Thus, as suggested above, the best we can do is to survey the divergent readings. As discussed above, even if we could determine Paul s intention, the other connotations that Paul evoked through his discourse should not be excluded, because they might still be the most significant for one group or another of his readers among whom, in Paul s time, Gentile Christians (1:5-6) and also Jewish Christians in Rome, and possibly elsewhere (including in Jerusalem, mentioned in 15:15-31), as well as readers throughout history. For most North-Atlantic interpreters of Romans (and also many other interpreters around the world who have been taught to read this passage in the right way), the phrase means that Paul is a servant of Christ in that he has willingly submitted to Christ s authority, as Christian believers also do. But let us take the time to survey a small part of the space of biblical interpretations of this passage, taking the time to read with others in this case, with other North-Atlantic interpreters. This is a good exercise before surveying a larger part of this interpretive space. The three primary understandings of this opening metaphoric selfdesignation reflect three major connotations of the term slave. A slave is: Someone who is owned by a master, and thus who is in bondage and totally at the mercy of this master; someone worthless, powerless, in an abject and shameful situation;
7 figures used by Paul, as elucidated through comparisons with other religions of the time); or as concerning primarily the just relationships among communities, more specifically between Jews and Gentiles, and today between people of different classes, cultures and societies 23 (elucidated when one gives priority to the overall rhetorical goal of Paul s letter and how it constructs the interactions between communities as elucidated with rhetorical and socio-historical methods). Thus, North-Atlantic critical biblical scholars in their respective works have unwillingly demonstrated that truly solid scholarly arguments can be made in favour of three very different understandings of the message of Romans (called in each case the intentional message of Romans). Then, one has to wonder how many other understandings of the intentional message of Romans could be ascertained when this letter is read (as it is!) from the perspective of other cultures; for instance, in cultures which underscore the role of orality (a character of the letter to the Romans usually overlooked, since most people in Rome never read Paul s letter, but heard it!) or come to the text with a greater sense of the continuity and of the communal character of history as is the case in many cultures (a view of history much closer to Paul s than the Western view). Thus, as we survey the geographical space of biblical interpretations, before proceeding to a reconstruction theological programme, we need to affirm these diverse interpretations. For North-Atlantic biblical scholars this involves a fundamental change in attitude. Commentators traditionally feel they have to reject other interpretations in order to defend their particular interpretation against other interpretations. Thus following the presentation of diverging readings, the question would normally be: Which one is correct? The answer to this question would involve an argument showing that the other readings are mistaken. Contrary to this attitude, in order to prepare for a reconstruction theology we need to affirm that each of these different readings is legitimate and plausible, indeed as legitimate and plausible as the others. For instance, the distinctiveness of each of the three types of interpretations of dikaiosyne mentioned above is not due to some interpretive errors in two of these that, with my superior knowledge, I would correct. Rather we need to affirm that each is legiti mate, in the sense that it is properly grounded in the text, when the text is read in terms of one or another aspect of its complex historical, religious, cultural, social and literary context. Similarly, we need to affirm that each is plausible, in the sense that each interpretation constructs the key theological concept dikaiosyne used by Paul in a way that emphasises specific connotations available in Paul s cultural and religious context, even as these connotations are chosen because they make sense for present day readers and their cultures (either challenging or affirming their cultural views). Surveying the geographical space of biblical interpretations involves acknowledging the legitimacy and plausibility not only of these three North-Atlantic interpretations but also of other interpretations developed by readers in different religious and cultural contexts. It also involves identifying the ruins that are found everywhere in this space. A first kind of ruins are those loudly proclaimed interpretations that promote or condone in God s name the marginalisation, exclusion, exploitation, oppression, killing, genocide of others. This happens when the interpreters deny that they had any interpretive choice: this is simply what the biblical text says ; thus, this is God s will. Surveying the space of biblical interpretations is an effort to remind interpreters that they are making choices, and thus that they have an ethical responsibility for the way in which their choice of an interpretation affects others. 24 A second kind of ruins are the many subdued or voiceless interpretations that have been and still are silenced or excluded, because they are proposed by marginalised, oppressed, colonised readers of the Bible. Surveying the space of biblical interpretations is an effort to read with these silenced readers. It is not a matter of giving voice to these silenced interpreters by reading for them (telling others how they read the text) or of reading to them (telling them how they should read the text in their context). These attitudes have the disastrous effect of reducing others to the demeaning rank of subalterns, just as speaking for others and speaking to others do. As Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak pointed out, 25 this is a typical colonialist attitude that silences the others, stripping from them their dignity as persons, denying any value to their culture, and depriving them of their personal and communal identity. By contrast, reading with others an attitude already exemplified
8 interpretations which have ravaged and continue to ravage interpreters, enslaving them. This change of paradigm will be illustrated by discussing further the relationship among the readings of justice and righteousness in Paul. 3. Mapping out the Space of Biblical Interpretations In order to recognise and affirm that all the readers of the Bible in very different contexts do belong to the same geographical space of biblical interpretations, we first need to acknowledge the plausibility of a diversity of interpretations. For this, the North-Atlantic, Enlightenment-driven, quest for the single true meaning of a text what the author intended to say must be put into question. We must acknowledge that there are several legitimate and plausible meanings for the same given text. In order to explain this point to my students at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, TN a university that was finally integrated during the civil rights movement. I take the example of a lecture given in 1986 by a white South African scholar. The topic of this lecture and the intention of the speaker were clearly expressed by the argument he developed. The lecturer spoke about the struggle against apartheid and racism in South Africa; he told the audience at Vanderbilt University how, because of his Christian faith, he participated in this struggle, risking his life and that of his family. All this was with the intention to convince us to participate in the struggle, at least by boycotting the American companies that condoned Apartheid. This is what I heard, seizing upon the intention of the author. But the African-American students at Vanderbilt heard a very different message. Throughout his talk trying to convince his audience to fight against racism and apartheid, the lecturer referred to the plight of black Africans, describing them as child-like, in need of education, so that they will move beyond their backward culture. In brief, the demeaning metaphors and other figures of speech the lecturer used in his discourse to depict black Africans communicated a very different message, a racist and segregationist message. Which is the true message? The intended message? Or the unintended message? One thing is sure: both messages affected the hearers. This lecture is a good example of the ambivalence of any discourse, of the fact that the intentional message is not necessarily the most important one, and of the fact that two dimensions of the same text/discourse (in this case, the argument and the symbolism) carry two different messages (in this case, a message against racism and a message condoning/advocating racism). Beyond this, I go on to explain to my students that any discourse has even more than two dimensions, and thus carries more than two messages. For this I take as another, more positive, example Paul s letters. Generally speaking, in each case, Paul s intention was to address specific issues in Thessalonica, Galatia, Philippi, Corinth or Rome. But in addition to this intentional contingent teaching, through his letters Paul also communicated his overall understanding of the gospel (that he used to argue other points) as well as his deepest convictions, that is, what he took to be self-evident (e.g. how he perceived God s presence in his experience) and subconsciously communicated through the passion of his discourses and the figures he used. 20 There is, of course, nothing wrong when believers who read Paul s letters as Scripture ignore their intentional teaching, for instance about church unity, but are most deeply affected by the convictional teaching of these letters that allows them to perceive God s presence in their own experience, a perception which transforms their life. This plurality of potential teachings of each biblical text is implicitly acknowledged in contemporary North-Atlantic critical biblical studies through the multiplication of critical exegetical methods. North- Atlantic scholars commonly use either historical-philological methods, or history of religions-literary methods, or again rhetorical-sociohistorical methods. According to which method (or sub-set of methods) one uses for the study of Paul s letters, one perceives and elucidates one kind of truth-message or another. So it is for Paul s teaching about dikaiosyne which can be read, for instance in his letters to the Romans, in either of at least three ways: either as righteousness concerning primarily one s individual relationship with God 21 (elucidated when one gives priority to Paul s theological argument as elucidated with philological methods); or as concerning primarily the just relationships which embody the justice of God within a community just relationships among believers who respect each other 22 (read when one gives priority to the
9 structural political interpretation of Theodore W. Jennings, Jr. 17, to which we will soon have to add the remarkably politically driven Hermeneia commentary by Robert Jewett. 18 Most of these studies follow a liberation paradigm that can be illustrated by referring to Elliott s trajectory in his book Liberating Paul. He first denounces Paul s enslavement by Western, individualistic culture and in the process the use of Paul as an ideological weapon of death (for instance, in Germany during the Nazi period, in Guatemala, and by extension, in every place where there is a Christian-condoned colonialism and imperialism) (Elliott, 1-24). Elliott then shows how Paul was betrayed through centuries of abusive interpretations (Elliott, 25-90), and demonstrates through detailed studies of Paul s texts that the traditional North Atlantic interpretation is a misreading of Paul (Elliott, ). In sum, Elliott seeks to liberate Paul from the ideological bondage to misinterpretations that must be denounced. Although these liberating justice interpretations of Paul have been shown to be quite plausible, they did not have much effect on North Atlantic biblical scholars and Bible translators. Why? Why do they continue to read Paul on his teaching about justification through faith in the sense of a reckoning of individual sinners as righteous and calling believers to righteousness rather than in the sense of making just and calling for the establishment of God s interhuman justice in society? Why? I want to suggest that the reason for this lack of effect of liberationist interpretation is a matter concerning the paradigm that frames biblical studies. Paraphrasing Mugambi, I believe that the problem is in the way in which we, biblical scholars, conceive of the space of biblical interpretations occupied by all the interpreters of the Bible. Traditional North-Atlantic biblical scholarship conceives of the space of biblical interpretations in terms of a colonialist paradigm. Accordingly, because of our superior North-Atlantic culture, we have the true biblical interpretations, which people from other cultures should accept as a norm. Because we are the elite of this North-Atlantic culture as university professors, we are in a position to reject as wrong the interpretations by lower class evangelical churches. Then we soon conceive of the space of biblical interpretations in terms of an imperialist paradigm ; everyone must adopt our North-Atlantic biblical interpretation and abandon their own; North-Atlantic biblical interpretation has be come an imperialist ideology. In response to this, the temptation is to adopt a liberation paradigm. Indeed, liberationist interpretations denounce the ideological character of traditional elite or popular North-Atlantic interpretations. The reconstruction theologian and the biblical scholar in his line applaud. But the problem is that in so doing most of these liberationist interpretations remain in the same colonialist/imperialist paradigm. They simply reverse its flow, as can readily be recognised in the fact that these liberationist interpretations denounce other interpretations as misguided, as misunderstandings of Paul, as misinterpretations of Paul s letters. Critical liberationist biblical scholarship still conceives of the space of biblical interpretations in terms of a colonialist/imperialist paradigm. Since they take into account the plight of the oppressed with appropriate political, cultural and sociological methods for the study of texts and their rhetorical effects, liberationist interpretations can claim to be the true biblical interpretation that people in other contexts and cultures should accept as a norm. Or more specifically, because these liberationist interpretations (which might have emerged among oppressed people) are advocated by elite biblical scholars of the liberationist movement, they can be presented as dismissing as misinterpretations all others that are different, including, ironically, those by lower class interpreters of the Bible (the lay believers in many churches) who are oppressed and whom liberationist interpretations claim to champion. In other words, the liberationist solution to the problem in biblical interpretation is to clear the space of biblical interpretations by excluding all the traditional interpretations of the Bible and their proponents, whoever they might be. Happily Mugambi provides us with an alternate paradigm that opens up the possibility of conceiving the same space of biblical interpretations in terms of reconstruction. As Jesse Mugambi says, the theme of reconstruction is made attractive by the fact that it highlights the necessity of creating a new society within the same geographical space 19 (my emphasis). From this perspective, the space of biblical interpretations should remain the same. It should continue to be occupied by all Bible interpreters. Yes, there is a problem in this space; the problem posed by the destructive, hurtful, indeed deadly biblical interpretations; the problem posed by colonialist and imperialist biblical
10 the ideal character, righteousness, of the person in this just interhuman relationship) has most often been associated with the individual s relation to God (the righteous or justified/just believer in a right relationship with God). This is reinforced by the English Bible translations of Paul s letters which most often render dikaiosyne and related terms by righteousness and righteous. This traditional interpretation is not without foundation. Indeed, it is supported by historicalcritical interpretations, philological interpretations and the like. More specifically, it is supported by a practice of critical interpretations which seeks to clear the space of biblical interpretations occupied by interpreters of the Bible by excluding all those who lack the objectivity and the historical knowledge that critical exegetes have. This practice also seeks to clear the space occupied by obscurantist interpreters of the Bible by excluding all the scriptural interpretations of believers. But, how revealing! This traditional interpretation of dikaiosyne by righteousness is supported by critical interpretations which exclude all the scriptural interpretations by lower-class believers and by interpreters who belong to non-western cultures including most of those who cry for justice and are in dire need to hear Paul s message about justice. But when one systematically translates dikaiosyne and cognate terms with justice and just (as one spontaneously does in French or in Spanish) one becomes aware that it is possible that Paul offers a strong teaching regarding justice God s justice as the justice that God wants for interhuman social, economic and political relationships in an imperialist setting (that of the Roman Empire) and the just behaviour that individual believers in this context are called to have. This interpretation of Paul as having a strong message about justice has been shown to be well grounded in Paul s letters by scholars in the last generation, including Latin American biblical scholars and liberation theologians, especially José Porfirio Miranda 9 and Elsa Tamez 10, as well as North-Atlantic biblical scholars who interpreted Paul in terms of the Roman imperial context in which he lived and carried out his mission. These North-Atlantic interpretations include the apocalyptic interpretation of Paul by Ernest Käsemann 11, the political interpretations of Paul by Dieter Georgi 12, Neil Elliott 13, Richard Horshley 14, the feminist interpretations of Paul, including those of Elizabeth Castelli 15 and other scholars 16, and more recently the posttheological project in his field for which I had also been prepared by other theologians. I refer to Gabriel Vahanian who opened my eyes to recognising that God s incarnation necessarily involves God s inculturation; denying or rejecting God s inculturation is making an idol out of God, worshipping a dead god. 7 Christian beliefs and their formulation in theologies are inculturated or are not faithful. Claiming that there is only one true theological formulation of the gospel is an idolatrous denial of the incarnation. Yet, I am and remain a biblical scholar. And thus in this brief essay, in honour of Mugambi on his 60 th birthday, I want to underscore how I envision the implications of his theological work for biblical studies. But I am not speaking of the biblical studies that Mugambi feels compelled to confront as an African theologian. Rather I am speaking of a type of biblical studies which would take reconstruction as its paradigm, something that another theologian, Cristina Grenholm, and I envisioned as we worked with church historians, other theologians and biblical scholars studying interpretations of Romans through history and cultures. This book series demonstrates that all interpretations of Romans, including those of present day scholars, are inculturated as they relate this scriptural text to the life of believers in the interpreters contexts. 8 For this, I first need to briefly suggest why a reconstruction paradigm would be most helpful in biblical studies I will do so by alluding to the interpretation (or lack thereof) of justice in Paul s letters. Then, I want to present briefly how the usual way of doing critical biblical studies can be transformed to embody this reconstruction paradigm a procedure that I will illustrate with a brief example taken from Paul s letter to the Romans. 2. The Need for a Reconstruction Paradigm in Biblical Studies North Atlantic critical biblical studies have long emptied Paul from any teaching about justice that is, about interhuman justice including questions of distribution (of goods and services), reparation (making amends for past wrongs, reconciling opposing parties, and restoring community), retribution and restoration. One of the reasons is that dikaiosyne (the term for justice which in Greek designates both the ideal characteristic of interhuman relationships in the good society and 28 29
11 5 RECONSTRUCTING PAUL S TEACHING Daniel Patte 1. Celebrating Jesse Mugambi s Contribution We owe much to Jesse Ndwiga Kanyua Mugambi for his remarkable contribution to the field of Christian theology, rethought from an African context left in ruin by colonialism and imperialism: Reconstruction Theology. For me, learning from Mugambi began with From Liberation to Reconstruction: African Christian Theology after the Cold War 1, then our encounter at the post-snts conference in Hamanskraal, South Africa (1999), where he was the keynote speaker and sowed the seeds of a different mode for doing theology and biblical studies; then my reading of The Biblical Basis for Evangelization: Theological Reflections Based on an African Experience, 2 followed by Jesus in African Christianity: Experimentation and Diversity in African Christology, 3 and more recently Christianity and African Culture 4. Through his theological work, Mugambi drew me into his field; he was one of those who convinced me to undertake the development of the Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity (CDC) and mightily contributed to the conceptualisation of it and is a most influential member of its editorial board. The CDC strives to make understandable the complex, present-day reality of Christianity in the world by clarifying the contextual character of Christian theological views, practices and movements through history and present-day cultures. It attempts to do so by emphasising that each understanding or implementation of a theological concept, a religious practice, or each phase of a Christian movement/church is the result of an implicit or explicit 1) interpretation of a tradition (from Scripture or later) ) in terms of certain religious, theological or ethical concerns, 3) in and for the believers needs in a certain social and cultural context. This demands, as is to be expected for a project inspired by Jesse Mugambi and his work, a de-centered presentation of contemporary Christianity in which self-representation is the rule thus, African Christianity in its many facets is, of course, presented by African theologians, including many women, since women remain a majority in the churches. Furthermore, space is allocated according to the size of the Christian population in each country, and thus 2/3 of the space is given to the 2/3 worlds including Christianity in Africa. Thus, the CDC presents a diversity in African Christology, in ecclesiology, 5 and the interaction of Christianity and African Culture (to allude to some of the books by Jesse Mugambi). But Mugambi s reconstruction theology pushed the CDC one step further. Instead of using a liberation theological paradigm, by presenting all the topics in a liberationist frame and mentioning all different points of view in a negative light, as misguided practices or theological misunderstandings, the goal of CDC was conceived as mapping out the geographical space of Christianity and the ruins in which it is left as a consequence of its association with colonialism and imperialism. Presenting a survey of all the different forms of Christianity in many cultural, social, religious contexts demanded from us an imperative to create clusters of entries, each cluster presenting side by side a series of entries describing contextual understandings of a given theological concept or Christian practice in diverse geographical and denominational locations (of course, by scholars from these diverse contexts). Thus, in addition to the presentation of Christianity in each country, the CDC has 52 such clusters that complement the mapping of the space of Christianity, so as to provide the basis for proceeding with a reconstruction theology within the same geographical space. 6 This is, of course, a task for theologians; for Mugambi and the many theologians he formed or influenced. Like a light in the middle of the night, Mugambi and his work attracted me in his enlightening sphere and drew me into this largely
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