Biblical interpretation and African traditional religion : : cross-cultural and community readings in Owamboland, Namibia / / by Helen C. John.

• VerfasserIn: John, Helen C.,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, 2019.
• Year of Publication: 2019
• Language: English
• Series: Biblical Interpretation Series 176.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (274 pages).

In Biblical Interpretation and African Traditional Religion , Helen C. John juxtaposes grassroots biblical interpretations from Owamboland, Namibia, with professional interpretations of selected New Testament texts, effectively demonstrating the capacity of grassroots interpretations to destabilise, challenge and nuance dominant professional interpretations. John uses a cross-cultural and dialogical approach – ‘Cross-Cultural Biblical Interpretation Groups’ – to explore the relationship between African Traditional Religion (ATR), Christianity and biblical interpretation in Owamboland, Namibia. She contextualises the grassroots Owambo interpretations using fieldwork experiences and ethnographic literature, thus heightening the cross-cultural encounter. In particular, John reflects on Western epistemologies and the Eurocentric interpretative trends that are brought into relief by the African interpretations gathered in Owamboland.

Table of Contents

Front Matter -- Copyright page -- Abbreviations -- Figures and Tables -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Methodology -- Cross-Cultural Biblical Interpretation Groups: Contextual Voices and Contextual Realities as Sites of Interpretative Expertise -- Cross-Cultural Biblical Interpretation Groups: the Approach in Practice -- Cross-Cultural Biblical Interpretation Groups in Ondonga, Namibia -- Material Interpretations of Wedding Parables (Matthew 22:1–14 and Luke 14:7–11) -- Blood, Clothing, and Shadows: Extending Notions of the Person in the Stories of Jairus and the Haemorrhaging Woman (Mark 5:21–43) -- The Graves and Groves of Restless Spirits: Noctambulant Legion and the Living Landscape (Luke 8:26–39) -- Commanding the Whirlwinds, Calming the Storm: Interactions with Nature ‘in Culture’ and ‘in Christianity’ (Mark 4:35–41 and 6:45–52) -- Jesus as Spirit, Jesus in the Spirit: Interpreting the Risen Jesus with Restless Spirits and Ancestors (Luke 24:1–49) -- Conclusions -- Back Matter -- Bibliography -- Index of Authors -- Index of Biblical, Apocryphal and Pseudepigraphal Passages -- Index of Subjects.