Inter-contextual hermeneutics: interpreting the bible in its social-historical and contemporary contexts

The contemporary western academic modes of reading the bible which focus on the history of the text or the text itself, and serve western interests and goals are inadequate for addressing questions and issues from African contexts. African scholars have therefore developed a general interpretation framework – the Contextual Approach – that relates the text to the African context. Within this contextual paradigm and using the newer social-historical approach in biblical interpretation, this project aims to develop a methodology – Inter-Contextual Hermeneutics – for reading the bible in its social-historical context and contemporary contexts using the mediation of African cultural resources. In this way, the reading will be informed by both contexts and the biblical message will be enabled to come alive in the contemporary context.