It is common knowledge that the interpretation of myths of origin in Genesis 1-3 using predominantly Western modes of interpretation is shrouded in patriarchy. This makes the Christian commitment to gender equality and ecological justice difficult. In Genesis 1-3 the woman is portrayed as inferior to man and the natural world is portrayed as being out there only to serve humanity. Such mythological language is difficult to decode unless a gender and ecological sensitive hermeneutics is employed in the process of interpretation.
In this chapter it is argued that, as a result of the devastating effects of the climate change and the ecological crisis, whose impact has largely affected women, nonhuman forms of life and the poor communities such as in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is an urgent need to decode the language and the interpretation of the myths in Genesis 1-3. To achieve this task, the chapter shall use an African gendered ecological demythologisation hermeneutic. This hermeneutical approach draws on Rudolf Bultmann’s (1953 and 1960) theory of demythologisation.
76 The IPCC 2007 report (chapters 7 and 11) has shown that by the year 2050, average temperatures in Africa will increase by 1.5 to 3°Celcius. Between 25 and 40 percent of mammal species in sub-Saharan Africa will become endangered due to climate change which modifying natural mountain ecosystems through complex interactions and feedbacks. The report further shows that there will be a decrease in annual rainfall in southern Africa and droughts will become more common. By the year 2080 an increase of 5 to 8 percent of arid and semi-arid land is projected under a range of climate scenarios. Climate change and variability are likely to impose additional pressures on water availability and accessibility in Africa. As already pointed out, these factors are severely affecting women.
[174]
The term demythologisation means the decoding of myths or the reinterpretation of ancient mythical patterns of thought in the biblical text into contemporary thought patterns. Bultmann argues that contemporary thought demands a modern scientific view of the universe which interprets reality in terms of a closed cause and effect natural order (Bultmann 1953:5, 1960:158). While, Bultmann applied this concept to the interpretation of the New Testament in the context of miracles, this study will use the concept of demythologisation to detect and decode the ideologies and politics embedded in the biblical myths of origin and in the process of interpretation. As Macquarrie (1977:133) observes, the method of demythologizing is not intended to eliminate the mythological statements found in the Bible but to interpret them. Thus, the chapter will seek to unravel the message that is enshrouded in the myths in order to bring out the gender and ecological message in the biblical text. Such a message can challenge the communities who regard the bible as a sacred text to foster ecological justice.
While feminist scholars in the global north and the global south have read the creation myths to reclaim the position of women in society (Bal 1987:5, Pardes 1992:2-3), this chapter seeks to demonstrate that the pseudepigraphic work was composed by the narrator whose goal was to challenge patriarchy and reverse male dominance during the Monarchy period in Israel. It proposes that the corpus was edited several times in pre-exilic, exilic and postexilic periods.
While using the gendered ecological demythologisation theory, the methodological approach for reading the biblical text will be inter (con) textual hermeneutics which attempts to interpret the bible in its social-historical and contemporary contexts while paying particular attention to gender and ecological issues. The premise of this methodology is that the contemporary academic interpretive modes of reading the bible which are predominantly western and focus on the history of the text or the text itself and serves western patriarchal interests and goals are inadequate for addressing questions and ecological issues particularly from African contexts.
Given that the African context has its own challenges, African biblical scholars have called for the development of interpretation frameworks that relate the text to the African context (Nadar 2001, Masenya 2001, and Ukpong 2000). Inherent within these biblical interpretive models is the newer social-historical approach which uses Inter-Contextual hermeneutics for reading the bible in its social-historical context and contemporary contexts using the mediation of African cultural
[175]
resources. In this way, the article will be informed by both the African context and the context of the biblical narrator.
One feature of African biblical scholarship is inculturation hermeneutics. In reaction to the predominantly Western forms of biblical interpretation, inculturation hermeneutics in Africa pays attention to the African socio-cultural context (Ukpong 1995:4, 5). This approach has been critiqued by African women biblical scholars given that it has not engaged much with the oppression of women which is a major factor in many African cultures. And so, to address issues affecting women in the African context, African women biblical scholars have proposed new methodologies (Nadar 2001, Kanyoro 2002, Dube 2000 and Masenya 2001). Drawing on inculturation hermeneutics but focusing on issues affecting women in African culture, Kanyoro (2002) has proposed feminist cultural hermeneutics which analyses African culture using a feminist lens. These methodologies demonstrate that a methodology is African if in its approach it seeks to bring the biblical text and the African context into dialogue. In other words, the meaning of the text is not found in the text itself but in the interaction dialogue between the text, the reader and the reader’s context.
However, although new methodologies in African biblical scholarship such as inculturation hermeneutics (Ukpong 1995), feminist cultural hermeneutics (Kanyoro 2002) and Bosadi (Masenya 2001) have addressed issues in the African context using the mediation of African culture, they have not adequately engaged with ecological issues, how the oppression of women is interwoven with the exploitation of nonhuman forms of life and how African indigenous knowledge systems such as myths of origin and rituals can inform the reading of the biblical creation myths to promote gender and ecojustice. It is worth noting that there has been ideological and political contestation in the history of formation and interpretation. For example, as was shown in the previous chapter, a closer look at the biblical myths of origin with an African gendered and ecological lens reveals that much has been adapted to suit the patriarchal and political interests of the composers, redactors or narrators and interpreters. It is therefore of interest to see how an African worldview can inform the reading of the biblical creation myths.
[176]