AbstractsPhilosophy & Theology

Abstract

Hungers, HIV, wars and anarchy are the main issues which are frequently reported by the media when events about Africa are told. Yet ironically, the continent has a fast growing record of the Christian gospel. How can a proper biblical hermeneutic respond to the evils affecting the continent? A lot of studies have been done by Christian anthropologist and sociologists to understand issues such as witchcraft, charms and ancestor but I feel that little has been done to come up with a Biblical hermeneutic for and with the people. During my brief pastoral work with the Church and Zimbabwe Council of Churches, I experienced that a lot still needs to be done in two major areas. First, there is need to allow people to draw their own meaning from the bible in light of their social circumstances. Secondly, there is need for a theological undertaking by both theologian and ordinary people to read the Bible in a way that empowers the people to respond positively to the issues such as hunger which face them everyday. The truth of the Bible must be vigilantly sought and such truth must be accessible to the ordinary villager and experienced as relevant to their everyday life. The research undertaken in this thesis comes from a realization that there is a real vacuum between the message of the Bible and the felt needs of the people such as hunger that has ravaged the village for centuries. The main reason which prompted this research is the lack of a Biblical hermeneutics which can articulate faithfully the Biblical message and the social realities of the people. The material of this thesis, though limited to Chikore village, is aimed to provoke and open more theological research on real issues which affect people everyday. The loud call behind this research is a call for a theology and reading of the Bible which is spiritually empowering and helpful to the ordinary villagers. It is a search for an alternative way of reading the Bible in a way which addresses the daily issues affecting the people. The aim is to harness a way of reading the Bible which is accessible and useful to the ordinary reader. It is true that the Christian gospel has spread in Zimbabwe with a majority of the people being Christians. Despite their knowledge of the Bible, the problems which face Chikore village also continued to rise unabated. This scenario has made me to share the concern of Kwame Bediako who said that African theologians have failed to read the vernacular from the stand-point of traditional world view and in the light of its reality .1 I believe this concern is felt more now than before with escalating crisis of war, poverty and hunger. Chikore village is among the villages besieged by hunger throughout the year. Much help comes from the non-governmental organizations who give distribute food to people in the village. While I agree that the church in Zimbabwe has done a lot in various social problems, my diagnosis of the crisis and solution to the problem is different. My problem is not with the church finding solution, but how the Church…