Reading the Bible in post-apartheid South Africa: The contribution of Gerrie Snyman

Modern historical criticism came to South Africa in the third decade of the twentieth century. However, analysing biblical books like human documents was not acceptable to church authorities. The historical-critical study of the Bible thus suffered a blow. It took four decades before some reformed b...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Spangenberg, Izak J. J. 1951- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: SA ePublications 2023
In: Old Testament essays
Year: 2023, Volume: 36, Issue: 1, Pages: 14-40
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Christianity / Realism / Hermeneutics / Vulnerability / Superiority
IxTheo Classification:CA Christianity
FD Contextual theology
HA Bible
KBN Sub-Saharan Africa
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:Modern historical criticism came to South Africa in the third decade of the twentieth century. However, analysing biblical books like human documents was not acceptable to church authorities. The historical-critical study of the Bible thus suffered a blow. It took four decades before some reformed biblical scholars felt at ease to reintroduce historical criticism. However, during the seventh decade of the twentieth century, overseas biblical scholars were already experimenting with the research tools of modern literary studies. Some South African biblical scholars followed suit, and soon narrative criticism and reader-response criticism were part of the package of methods for reading and studying the Bible. Gerrie Snyman was one of them, and reader-response criticism assisted him in reflecting on how he as a white Afrikaans speaking male, can continue doing biblical research in the post-apartheid era. He developed a hermeneutic of vulnerability and argued that readers should take responsibility for their readings of biblical texts. https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2023/v36n1a3
ISSN:2312-3621
Contains:Enthalten in: Old Testament essays
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.17159/2312-3621/2023/v36n1a3