Interpreting the Bible in the context of apartheid and beyond: An African perspective

Abstract

During the apartheid era in South Africa, the Bible was used both as a tool to legitimise the apartheid ideology and as a site of struggle against it. Today, in the post-apartheid context, the Bible still plays a significant role in addressing the current challenges. Accordingly, in this article my aim is twofold: first, to chronicle how the biblical text has been used to support the apartheid ideology and second, to spell out the role of the biblical text in the post-apartheid context. I begin by discussing how uncritical and literal interpretations of Scripture have been used by the white minority to exclude, oppress and sideline the black majority in South Africa. I then present a biblical inter-pretation which may serve as a safeguard against our tenden-cies to exclude, oppress, marginalise and sideline any minority or powerless group in our society. I conclude by suggesting ways to interpret the Bible that are less likely to lend them-selves to abuse by the powerful in the post-apartheid context.