Scriptura: Journal for Biblical, Theological and Contextual Hermeneutics

Locking and Locked Spaces in Psalm 88: Sheol and Suffocating Waters

June Frances Dickie — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 12:02:39 +0000

In Psalm 88, the psalmist complains of being taken to a place from which he cannot escape (vv. 4-6), an action which has a locking effect on him. He later finds himself actually locked in (vv. 7-8, 16-17), in a place of turbulence and pain.

The first set of metaphors are associated with “the pit”, Sheol, and the place of the dead, a place that is dark and very deep. His companions are those already in the netherworld. The second set of metaphors indicate that, although he is not yet dead, he is unable to return to life for he is caught in the sweeping power of overwhelming waves, pressed in, totally trapped by divine pressure.

This paper studies these metaphors, their original contexts, and their intertextual usages, to gain a better understanding of the significance of place in Psalm 88 for both the psalmist’s inner state, and his relationship with God.

Domination or Stewardship? The Old Testament and Ecology Between Lynn White and Desmond Tutu

Jerry Hwang — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In a 1967 issue of Science, Lynn White claimed that “[e]specially in its Western form, Christianity is the most anthropocentric religion the world has ever seen… [and] not only established a dualism of man and nature but also insisted that it is God’s will that man exploit nature for his proper ends.” White and many others have regarded such a subject-object relationship to nature as the teaching of the Old Testament itself, especially in its account of Adam being created in God’s image, ostensibly to bring nature into submission. This worldview of subjugating an unruly Other (both people and resources) would become the pseudo-biblical rationale for wars of conquest by Christendom’s empires. By contrast, Bishop Desmond Tutu is prominent among non-western thinkers who hold that the imago Dei in humanity stands opposed to every form of colonial domination of the Other. Tutu also extends his signature notion of Ubuntu (human interdependence) to include the entire created order within “Eco Ubuntu.” Since the Old Testament has thus featured in both (more) western narratives of unfettered domination over nature as well as (more) non-western narratives of creation stewardship, it is essential to adjudicate between these religio-cultural clashes in interpretation during the Anthropocene by revisiting the witness of the Bible’s creation texts. In showing that holism characterises the most recent creation theologies, this study will also examine recent uses of the Old Testament in the rather disparate arguments of advocates of subsistence economics, sceptics of global warming, and climate apocalypticists.

The Role of the Church in Africa in Helping to Avert National Conflicts from Escalating into Violence

Derrick Kalanga, Teddy Chalwe Sakupapa, Gosnell Yorke, Rosemary Chilufya — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 02:08:41 +0000

Since the 20th century, churches have significantly influenced national reconciliation following catastrophic events. Religious leaders, activists, theologians, and scholars have historically initiated and facilitated reconciliation efforts, including national truth and reconciliation commissions. However, there has been limited focus on proactive measures to prevent conflicts from escalating into catastrophes. Through a thematic analysis of qualitative documents, the article highlights that churches in Africa have frequently played a limited role in preventing socio-economic and political tensions from escalating into devastating crises. This article aims to evaluate the Church’s role in helping to prevent national conflicts from worsening. By integrating, analysing and interpreting findings from an extant body of literature with a view to show evidence at a meta-level, this article contributes to discourse on the Church and Peacebuilding and will serve as a useful resource for future national case studies on the role of the Church in helping to avert national conflicts from escalating into a catastrophe.

Reimagining Tithing in the Selected New Prophetic Churches in South Africa: a Social Scientific Approach

Mookgo Solomon Kgatle — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 18:21:30 +0000

The new prophetic churches in South Africa and elsewhere in the continent practice giving. There are many aspects to the concept of giving, such as tithing, seeding, offerings, and so forth. Members of the new prophetic churches are expected to give a tenth of their income as an obligation of their membership. In current practice, the clergy are the main beneficiaries of tithes in the selected new prophetic churches. This article reimagines the practice of tithing in these churches through social-scientific theory. The article argues that the proceeds of tithes should not only benefit the pastors but also the rest of the congregants, particularly those who are living in poverty and the marginalised. This is achieved by introducing the practice of tithing from a biblical and historical point of view. The article also outlines the practices of tithing in Pentecostalism and applies the same in new prophetic churches in South Africa. The aim of the article is to demonstrate that tithing has the potential to benefit society and deal with social ills such as poverty.

“Blessed are those who mourn” (Matt. 5:4): A Contextual Reflection

Zawadi Job Kinyamagoha — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 04:18:29 +0000

The statement about mourning in Matthew 5:4 is among the main teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7). Mourning is among the valuable activities done externally for the purpose of grief resolution. In light of the Hehe of Iringa and the Bena of Njombe, using a qualitative approach and reader-response criticism and documentary analysis as methods, this article reflects on Jesus’ statement about mourning. It argues that Jesus’ statement is an admonition for the Christian community to mourn as a divine life process that, being a divine enforcement for eschatological achievement, will eventually make them subjects of the kingdom of heaven. The reflection concludes that mourning springs from a sense of sin, from a tender conscience, and from a broken heart. It is a godly sorrow over rebellion against God and hostility to God’s will. Thus, mourning provides no less than six benefits: acquiring blessings, comfort and inheriting the kingdom of God through repentance; promoting relaxation for further living; rebuilding lost relationships between individuals and God; living as daily advocates of God’s call for mission through the law of love in and to the world; managing difficulties and changes in life for coping, recovery and life-giving; and obtaining the necessary and important learning and re-learning.

How do Religious Icons Read-and-Write?

Christo Lombaard, Lisel Joubert — Wed, 14 May 2025 02:25:12 +0000

This contribution starts off with a broad understanding of icons and their communication, and the implications this has for religious discourse today. The focus then moves to icons within the Christian Orthodox traditions to indicate aspects of the interaction of text, image and presence. The final part returns to the implication of “seeing” icons for reading texts and hence for the possibility of again in our age encountering God in texts. Analysing the communicative dynamics of icons from the Reformed strand of Protestant Christianity, a tradition which exhibits a stronger inclination to biblical hermeneutics than to icons as operative faith impulses, combines these two interpretative traditions as a service to the unfolding post-secular intellectual and societal climate unfolding internationally.

Hope from a Linear Reading of Lamentations

Golden Muriwo — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 20:08:30 +0000

This article investigates whether a linear reading of the book of Lamentations is able to produce the same results as a concentric reading. A number of scholars have argued that a concentric reading of the book of Lamentations results in a chiastic structure that places Lamentations 3 at the centre. The central part is anchored on the words of hope uttered by the גבר. Besides the concentric reading of the text, one may opt for a linear reading of the text. It is observed in this article that if one opts for a linear reading, three of the five laments end with an imprecation. Two of the five laments end with a prayer. Such a conclusion of the laments shows a hopeful ending rather than a doubtful ending. It is therefore argued that the hopeful tone from a concentric reading can still be found from a linear reading of the text of Lamentations.

Trauma Theory and Theological Engagement: An Appraisal on Trends in Trauma Hermeneutics

Hassan Musa — Tue, 20 May 2025 03:30:39 +0000

Studies on trauma theory and its significance to biblical hermeneutics are largely unknown in Africa, especially in the West African context. But due to recent sad events of conflicts and violence, trauma is now being explored for possible engagement in biblical and practical theological scholarship. This essay is an appraisal on the crucial problem of trauma studies in an African context, from theological and pastoral perspectives. Certain issues have been highlighted as the background that leads to trauma studies in the history of the modern world and even in modern African contexts. The contribution that this essay provides is mainly in terms of introducing its readers to the possible meaning(s) of trauma, the various trends and types of trauma, as well as some of the useful materials and theological perspectives on engaging trauma theory. Thus if this study further generates more concern and interest in engaging the African human condition of trauma from more rigorous/critical theological, psychological and pastoral perspectives, with the possible aim of overcoming it, toward a state of good healing and the restoration of human dignity, then the aim of this essay will have been achieved.

Biblical Hermeneutics as a Site of Struggle: South African Sites of Contestation in the Late 1980s and Early 1990s

Gerald West — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

‘Hermeneutics’, or the theory of the interpretation of texts, was a substantive component of much biblical scholarship in the 1980 and 1990s. Many articles or essays would begin with a definition of ‘hermeneutics’. Few, however, would be explicit about their own ‘theory of the interpretation of texts’, preferring to define ‘hermeneutics’ and then continue as if their own theory of the interpretation of texts was self-evident. Significantly, South African Black Theology, particularly in its second phase (in the late 1980s), was explicit about its theory of the interpretation of text. Situating itself within this trajectory, the Ujamaa Centre for Community Development and Research has attempted to be explicit about its hermeneutics since its inception in the late 1980s. This article locates the hermeneutic trajectory of the Ujamaa Centre within the formative hermeneutic debates in the late 1980s and early 1990s, drawing on the work of South Africans like Welile Mazamisa (whose work I along with other colleagues celebrate; see 2025-HTS: Honouring Prof Welile Mazamisa: The Reader, the Text, and Two Horizons), Bernard Lategan, Gunther Wittenberg, Jonathan Draper, Itumeleng Mosala, Takatso Mofokeng, and others. The Ujamaa Centre was fortunate at the time, in the early 1990s, in having the inclusive space of Bernard Lategan’s yearly Consultation on Contextual Hermeneutics, facilitated by the Centre for Contextual Hermeneutics at Stellenbosch University, as well as the inclusive publication practice of the journal Scriptura, which published the work of this Consultation and related biblical hermeneutic work. This yearly workshop identified biblical (and theological) hermeneutics as its core focus. My article tracks these formative conversations, reflecting on how this yearly workshop and Scriptura provided the safe space to be overt about the Ujamaa Centre’s emerging theory of the interpretation of texts.

Justice by Faith and Eco-justice: Contours of a Life in the Spirit before the Ecocide (of the) Unlimited

Daniel C Beros — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:44:15 +0000

This essay critically examines Christian spirituality in the context of the global ecological crisis, arguing that the prevailing “spirit of the unlimited” under financial capitalism drives ecological destruction and social injustice. Drawing on Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ and Reformation theology, the author contends that Christian faith—particularly the “liberating limit” introduced through justification by faith—offers a decisive interruption to the destructive logic of unlimited expansion. The essay critiques the technocratic paradigm and neocolonial practices in the Global South, highlighting the lived realities of communities affected by extractive industries. It further interrogates the limitations of Laudato Si’s theological framework, suggesting that a more robust Christological and ecclesiological grounding is needed. Ultimately, the essay proposes that authentic Christian spirituality, rooted in communal worship and the transformative power of the Spirit, calls for resilient, solidaristic commitment to eco-justice, integrating care for creation with justice for the marginalised as a witness to the justice of faith.

“A luta continua!” On Freedom, Freedoms and the Role of the Church in South Africa with Special Reference to the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa

Len Hansen, Sipho Mahokoto — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:47:46 +0000

In the context of a colloquium on views of and challenges to freedom across three continents, this essay, from a South African perspective, examines freedom through the lens of philosopher and economist Amartya Sen. It pays particular attention to Sen’s view of the multidimensional and instrumental character of freedom(s). An overview is given of the role of South African Christian churches in the struggle for political liberation prior to 1994, before focusing specifically on the contribution of URCSA. The discussion also includes examples of remaining “unfreedom” in post-1994 South Africa, again as understood through Sen’s framework of instrumental freedoms, URCSA’s ongoing commitment in this regard is then considered. The essay demonstrates that notwithstanding periodic critique to the contrary, URCSA has maintained its prophetic witness through its ministries, and that in these endeavours the multidimensional nature of freedom is consistently acknowledged – often against the backdrop of the Belhar Confession, itself a product of the struggle for political freedom.

The Theological Rhetoric of Well-being: A Primer

Nadia Marais — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:52:04 +0000

How do theologians define and interpret the concept of well-being? What are some of the limitations and critique, but also possibilities and potential, for employing the rhetoric of well-being in theological discourses on human flourishing, thriving, and happiness? This paper offers a theological and rhetorical analysis of well-being in the work of theologians – including Jürgen Moltmann, Elizabeth Moltmann-Wendel, David Kelsey, Puleng LenkaBula, Gustavo Gutiérrez, Mercy Oduyoye, and Ellen Charry; together representing diverse contexts, interests, specialities, and priorities – in response to these questions. It is argued that well-being is both critically received (here the close but problematic alliance with notions of health and wealth is a key concern) and constructively engaged (here the notion of being well is closely linked to living well) in the work of contemporary theologians, particularly in response to the World Health Organisation’s definitions of health and well-being.

Citizenship in the New Testament

Eric Noffke — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:53:08 +0000

This paper examines the historical evolution and complexities of citizenship in the ancient Mediterranean world, with a particular focus on the experiences of migrants and minority groups such as the Jews. It explores the exclusive nature of Greek citizenship, which was limited to free-born males and perpetuated by local elites, and contrasts this with the more expansive but still hierarchical Roman model, where citizenship could be acquired through military service, manumission, or imperial grant. The study analyses the dual and often precarious status of Jewish communities in diaspora cities like Alexandria, highlighting their social and legal marginalisation despite long-term residence. Through case studies—including the failed attempt to Hellenise Jerusalem and the violent pogrom in Alexandria—the paper underscores how citizenship functioned as both a mechanism of inclusion and exclusion. The discussion situates these ancient debates within broader theological and philosophical reflections, revealing enduring tensions between identity, belonging, and political rights.

Travels, Politics and Paul in the New Testament

Jeremy Punt — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:54:24 +0000

This contribution on biblical travels focuses on the NT and Paul in particular, both regarding the significance of travel as a physical movement of people but also in terms of the related politics. Related to ancient and Jewish contexts, the NT’s travel discourses unfold in relation to issues of identity, to socialisation and as displacement discourse within the Roman imperial context. In this regard, travels were co-constituted by maps and borders, then as much as today. NT travels and travel discourse had significant political implications for the past and continue to be invoked in modern, analogical discourses like migration.

The “foreigner-host”. Revisiting Cacciari’s “the common” in the Context of Migration

Ezequiel Silva — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:55:28 +0000

This paper explores the philosophical and theological dimensions of human migration and foreignness, situating the discussion within contemporary debates on community and “the common.” Drawing on Massimo Cacciari’s interrogation of the “foreigner” and the hostis-hospes dynamic, the study examines how modern migration challenges traditional conceptions of communal belonging and identity. The analysis traces the evolution of the “common” from Tönnies’ distinction between society and community to post-Nietzschean critiques that emphasize relationality and the inherent presence of the “other.” Through Cacciari’s reading of biblical and classical sources, particularly the figure of the Theós xénos (foreign god) in the Gospel of Matthew, the paper highlights the paradoxical role of the foreigner as both guest and host. The discussion integrates Jewish and Christian scriptural traditions to underscore hospitality, exile, and ethical responsibility towards the stranger, ultimately arguing for a reimagined, inclusive understanding of community in an era of mass displacement.

The Intersection of Environment, Poverty and Migration. An Italian perspective

Letizia Tomassone — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:57:00 +0000

Connections exist between environmental injustice and worker exploitation in Italian agriculture, as well as between violence against women and violence against the Earth. As many do, the Waldensian Church in Italy sees abuses, such as low wages, unsafe working conditions and illegal toxic industrial waste disposal, as “modern slavery” and a commodification of people. A theological re-imagination is needed of concepts like “sin” and “hope” in the context of liberation that emphasises the interconnectedness of all creation and the experiences of marginalised communities. Protestant churches in Italy’s programmes, e.g., “Being Church Together” and “Mediterranean Hope” that support migrant and refugee routes and efforts to foster a collective consciousness of environmental justice are discussed. Finally, referring to Nussbaum, Pulcini, and Butler’s acknowledgement of our interdependence, shared humanity, and the necessity of building nonviolent alliances, compassion intertwined with justice through education and ethical reflection is called for en route to a more just society.