Alms or legs? : a contextual reading of Acts 3:1-10 in the light of an alternative theory of human development

Abstract

The central thesis of the present study, entitled Alms or legs? A contextual reading of Acts 3:1-10 in the light of an alternative theory of hwnan development, is that when read contextually, some biblical texts are capable of empowering individuals and small groups for social and structural transformation (Human Development). A contextual reading of the story of the crippled beggar at the Jerusalem temple entrance (Acts 3: 1- 10), within a context of begging and lack of initiative in a small community in the Eastern Cape provides a good example of such texts. The "horizons" of the text's author and the text's present reader are drawn together, in the creation of a "symbolic universe" for the context of underdevelopment. This serves as a vision, a positive alternative for the underdeveloped and non-developed communities. Following an introductory chapter in which the purpose and context of the study are outlined, and methodological problems introduced, the study proceeds, in the second chapter, with an outline of the contextual approach, undergirded by the "alternative theory" of development, namely, a people centered development (as opposed to the "economic growth" approach). This does not only result in a grid or categories against which to read the text, it also provides a broad framework within which subsequent discussions of the subjects of beggars (Chapter 3) and miracles (Chapter 4) respectively, take place. The topics of beggars and miracles, like "alms or legs", are used on the same semantic level, thus suggesting that if beggars constitute a problem, then miracles provide a solution. In communities of antiquity under investigation, no evidence is found to support almsgiving as the basis of Christian social action. On the one hand, Christians advocated charity, which was a reflection of deep friendship and oneness; on the other, miracles in the Christian context served in part, to integrate those on the margins into the community (or church) by transforming their physical and psychological conditions. This makes a developmental reading, which then follows in chapter 5, the main chapter of the study, possible. The conclusions of chapter 5, which amount to a vision for Human Development, lead to the concluding chapter (Chapter 6) in which a way forward for development in the post-apartheid South Africa is suggested.