Christo Lombaard

Getting texts to talk. A critical analysis of attempts at eliciting contemporary messages from ancient holy books as exercises in religious communication

Religious Communication as academic discipline analyses the ways in which the spiritual commitments of humanity find expression in and through communicative acts. Diverse and multi-disciplinary as this discipline is, one of the aspects Religious Communication studies, is the problematic religiously inclined people experience in eliciting a meaningful message, relevant to modern times, from holy texts (such as the Bible) that stem from ancient times, dissimilar cultures, and far-removed communicative contexts. Within Christianity such problematic have, inter alia , given rise in the modern era to exegesis as an expert enterprise with which to practice the science and art of both understanding the texts within their ancient contexts and eliciting valid messages from them for current times. In such endeavours, Communication and Theology mix in a unique way as an expression of Religious Communication. In this contribution, the author builds forth on previous publications in the fields of Religious Communication and of Exegesis, to discuss here some major modern attempts in this regard. The pre-modern allegorical use of biblical texts were through the rise of historical consciousness, as part of the Enlightenment, replaced by historical-critical interpretations of the holy texts, which then dominated the exegetical scene for about two centuries. During the past half-century, however, different a-historical methods have been developed. In this contribution, the communicative intent with each of these exegetical methodologies are described and compared critically.

Does contextual exegesis require an affirming Bible?Lessons from 'Apartheid' and 'Africa' as narcissistic hermeneutical keys

It has become almost impossible to critique the concept of contextual exegesis of the Bible in Africa. Moreover, “relevance” in biblical interpretation is implicitly understood as the texts of the Bible affirming the current socio-political project(s) of a group with a current claim to power. Clearly, such hermeneutics are ideologically determined efforts at seeking legitimacy for these socio-political projects. Criticism of or alternatives to such efforts in biblical interpretation are regarded with severe suspicion. Building forth on previous studies, this paper analyses the ways in which, first, “apartheid” and now, “Africa”, have functioned as such narcissistic hermeneutical keys. The critical religious and socio-political functions of the biblical texts are thus lost in this “political carnival” (J Ellul).

Thinking through the spirited web. Some clarifications on the Internet and embodied experiences thereof

Abstract Homo informaticus always adapts to its new socio-technological environment by thinking differently – in our time, for instance, in ethical decision making on matters related to the Internet and its uses. The phrase ‘spirit of the Internet’ is coined to refer to the personal, social, philosophical, religious and related interactions of homo sapiens with the largest medium of mass communication we have created. As humans, we relate in different ways to technologies of mass communication, and this is argued from an evolutionary point of view, also as it relates to religion. Going beyond what has become an accepted distinction between religion online and online religion, human ‘informationedness’ is indicated as becoming our sole worth to the World Wide Web, a dynamic which in some ways parallels ancient gnostic faith to the point where extra Internet salus non est. In this technosophy we all come to believe in deus ex machina. Hence, phenomenological analyses and interpretative evaluations of the ‘spirit of the Internet’ are urgently required.

JACOB COME LATELY? HOSEA 12 AND THE PROBLEM OF DATING THE PATRIARCHS OF ANCIENT ISRAEL

The contents of the Pentateuchal narratives on the patriarchs are given an interesting rendition in Hosea 12, a passage that seems simply to accept that its intended audience would recognise, in a sophisticated way, the allusions made to episodes from particularly the Jacob history. This passage has been widely accepted as the first extra-Pentateuchal reference to the patriarchs, with the dating accorded it usually more or less that of the time of the prophet Hosea, mid 8th century BCE. However, based on analysis of the contents of Hosea 12, it has recently been proposed that this chapter should be dated later, which would render the Isaac references in Amos 7 the oldest extra-Pentateuchal reference to the patriarchs, dated to between 722 and 586 BCE. If the evidence holds out, this will mean that the Pentateuchal texts on the patriarchs as well as the figures they refer to (irrespective for the purposes of this article whether these figures were actual historical personages or mythical icons) are much later than they are presented as in the texts of the Pentateuch or accepted by scholarship generally.

Hol(e)y texts; hol(e)y lives: On the Psalms and spirituality, with particular attention to Thessalonia DePrince, Thomas Merton and Beat Weber - described, compared and evaluated

Continuing from the author’s previously published research track on Biblical Spirituality, in this paper three different approaches to reading the Psalms in relation to faith experience are taken into review. First, the theoretical framework for the analyses to be conducted, is presented. Then, three specific works that focus on the Psalms and faith experience, but in quite different ways, are discussed: DePrince’s generally esoteric approach, Merton’s more spiritual approach and Weber’s exegetically-grounded approach. Each of these approaches are, in turn, described and analysed, after which comparisons are drawn to indicate similarities and differences. Based on the initially presented theoretical framework, an evaluation is offered of each of the three approaches. In conclusion, the evaluative difficulty of the interaction between Bible text and reader’s faith is touched upon.

Dating and debating : late patriarchs and early canon

Building forth on a series of earlier contributions in which the ‘patriarchal era’ is dated much later than has been commonly done, in this article the implications such a dating has for the early phase of canon formation are considered. The patriarchs are namely not considered to be either early, pre-monarchical figures about whom traditions were kept alive for centuries in ancient Israel until written down, nor are they considered to be purely literary figments of folk imagination, as had been the dominant two trends in critical scholarship. Moreover, none of the patriarchal figures are understood to be singular figures; rather, they are composite figures as we encounter them in the Pentateuch, created by means of the conflation of ‘historical’ narratives about different tribal leadership figures, presented in the mode of legend (either as a natural conflation of legendary material, or as a means of unifying more closely some loosely-related groups). This means that the canon, as it was being formed in the post-exilic period, reflected the ‘internal’ tensions between the various tradent groups of the patriarchal figures as they jostled for power with one another, but reflected also the ‘external’ tensions, as the patriarchal groups together are in discussion with other social and theological streams in that society. In order to establish more firmly the role of the patriarchal tradent groups in society, the ‘patriarchal era’ was not presented as having been a relatively recent period, but was imagined in an ancient past, and as such found placement within the canon-in-development, in order to establish their legitimacy on the basis of antiquity.

Biblical spirituality, the Psalms, and identification with the suffering of the poor : a contribution to the recent African discussion on Psalm 109 : general

The discipline of Biblical Spirituality makes again explicit what has at times remained only implicit or has at times been overlooked in exegetical practice: that the biblical texts face two ways. On the one hand, the faith-in-historical-context which lead to the biblical texts being created, and on the other hand, the faith-inhistorical- context from which these texts have been/are being read, are both important to the discipline of Biblical Spirituality. The Psalms have played a particularly significant role throughout the respective histories of both lived biblical spiritualities and studies in the field of Biblical Spirituality. Specifically as it relates to the suffering of the poor, special attention is paid to Psalm 109: two recent African studies on this Psalm are taken into review, and drawing on all of the above, a new proposal is made for understanding verses 6-20.

Biblical spirituality, thematically approached: methodological considerations around 'discernment'

In this paper on methodology, dedicated to Vincent Brummer, the nature of Biblical Spirituality as nascent academic discipline is summarised as facing two ways: that of the ancient biblical text, and that of the modern person engaging with the Bible – in both instances with an explicit interest in matters of faith. Discernment is chosen as a topic around which in this way to explore the methodology of the discipline of Biblical Spirituality, expanding on the influential work of McGrath in this regard, but also linking to the recent research interest in this topic, in addition to discernment by its inherent nature being topical for the methodology and the identity of the discipline of Biblical Spirituality.

Fleetingness and media-ted existence. From Kierkegaard on the newspaper to Broderick on the Internet

Abstract Increasingly, the modern world is ‘on speed’. Technology has, since the invention of the Gutenberg press, facilitated the ever more rapid, more widespread dispersal of information. The latest in the line of the mass information media, which runs from the book and newspaper through radio and television, is the Internet, a medium for which speed is measured in milliseconds, and for which the phrase ‘virtual reality’, or, more compact, ‘virtuality’, has thus been coined. Speed, however, relates not only to the dissemination of information, but also to its endurance: the quicker the medium, the more fleeting the presence of, and the more transitory ones encounter with a message. This brevity of encounter seems to some extent to run, phenomenologically, along with the range of the particular mass medium: the wider its reach, the quicker too the departure of its contents. In this sense, bigger is faster – though not necessarily with greater meaning, truth or integrity. Invasiveness and validity are not necessary corollaries. The power of the mass media lies in scope, rather than in depth. The existential impact this has on humans living in a world increasingly dominated by such mass media, has not passed by unnoticed. Some of the analyses are highlighted in this contribution, with some continued implications for living authentically in a media-ted world indicated.

There is rebellion afoot, and revelry: the nascent reformation of intellectual integrity within south african universities

Across the world, the “university is infested by the managerialist cultures of strategic planning, staff appraisal and quality control” (Waters, 2000:xiii). The way in which the role of the Vice-Chancellor has in practice come to be defined, namely as a medium term managing director, is perhaps a prime example of this trend. This is the case too with many South African universities. Particularly at the bilingual universities (that is, the former Afrikaans language universities), academics have been managed into carrying an unduly large administrative and lecturing load, and as such are unhealthy for the academic integrity of the university. In this paper, this state of affairs is briefly described, and some signs are indicated which show a growing sense of resistance against these developments. The classic role of the academic remains the most valuable to the university and to society.