BIBLICAL RESISTANCE HERMENEUTICS IN THE CARIBBEAN CONTEXT

Biblical Resistance Hermeneuticswithin a Caribbean ContextAn OverviewThis work explores the concept of biblical resistance hermeneutics within the Caribbeancontext. This approach emphasizes the significance of biblical texts for lived experiencesinstead of viewing the Bible merely as a product of historical and contextual conditions.It also addresses the challenges of integrating biblical hermeneutics with social praxisin the Caribbean particularly within Christian communities with a legacy of slavery.Additionally it investigates the social and hermeneutical context of a post-independenceCaribbean raising hermeneutical questions concerning text/context oral/written andreading/practice.This work employs Historical Materialist Postcolonial and Contextual Bible Studyreading strategies as analytical tools. These strategies help identify the socio-ideologicalinterests theological agendas and social practices that contributed to the creation of biblicaltexts examine interpretations of the letter to Philemon in the New Testament engagein a resistant reading of Philemon and develop a strategy for biblical resistance reading.This strategy is not only critically aware of the cultural significance of contextual realities(cultural literacy consciousness) but also stems from a commitment to and involvementin social struggle (praxis of and for resistance) thereby empowering both the materialconditions of interpreters and the origins of biblical texts.This biblical resistance reading strategy aims to bridge the gap between the social natureof existence and matters of faith. It has implications for how we interpret and definethe Bible theological perspectives in the Caribbean worship practices and Caribbeanhermeneutical methods. It does not prioritize the socio-ideological interests theologicalagendas and social practices that shaped biblical texts over the socio-cultural and historicalrealities faced by readers during interpretation; instead it acknowledges both aspects.Prioritizing one over the other undermines the Bible as a cultural weapon of resistance.The biblical resistant hermeneutic developed in this work is the rst of its kind withinthe Caribbean context.