Text and Context: Vernacular Approaches to the Bible in Global Christianity: 1 (Contrapuntal Readings of the Bible in World Christianity)

As biblical hermeneutics moves increasingly toward the inclusion of vernacular approaches to the text--understandings of the Bible based on culture context and human experience--many communities of faith around the world are contributing their voices to the conversation of global Christianity. This volume explores reading methods and text interpretations of believers in South Africa the Caribbean Spain the Netherlands the United States India Kenya Fiji Japan the United Kingdom New Zealand and Nigeria--revealing the ways various faith communities read the Bible contextually. Essays in this volume also illustrate the impact of the biblical text in peoples lives--on their understandings of oppression identity the plight of refugees decline and loss the relationship between church and society imperialism homelessness restorative justice bodily experiences of the Holy Spirit and time and the future. Together these writings provide an in-depth sense of how global Christians read the Bible through the lens of their own tradition or culture as well as how the Bible informs all aspects of their lives as they read the world biblically.