Jesus, our liberator: An intercultural dialogue

Abstract

Do contextual readings have value? And by contextual is meant re-readings of the text that take into account the contextual situatedness of the reader. With advances in the study of hermeneutics, there is the recognition of the two-sided nature of historical conditioning. While the text stands in a given historical context and tradition, so does the interpreter, and the two are in constant engagement. In addition, the Christian faith is a multi-dimensional faith. Christological studies have, understandably, used Western categories. The question is, given multidimensionality, might there be other categories that better speak to us in our contextual and historical situatedness? This paper shows that an intercultural approach to the gospel of John will uncover facets of the Johannine Jesus that may not be immediately evident to Western readers. It begins with a brief introduction to how the Bible is read in Africa. This is followed by an overview of African Christologies to establish the current views. It is proposed that the view of Jesus as liberator best captures who the Johannine Jesus is in an African context. In order to arrive at this conclusion, an African intercultural hermeneutic will be applied to the text of John 8:31–47. It is hoped that such an approach will provide a more holistic understanding of Christology for African believers as well as complement existing Christologies.