Maya and Catholic Cultures in Crisis

14. Methods of Reflecting on the Bible

14 Methods of Reflecting on the Bible The preceding chapter has described the structure of the Bible as a book of moral guidance. Figure 10.1 indicated the key role of biblical reflection for the liberation movement. This reflection is done from the viewpoint of the poor seeking liberation from social injustice and has certain characteristic marks. It is a hermeneutic that favors application rather than explanation. . . . a pursuit that was neglected for a long time in favor of a rationalistic exegesis concerned with dragging out the meaning-in-itself. Liberative hermeneutics reads the Bible as a book of life, not a book of strange stories. The textual meaning is indeed sought, but only as a function of the practical meaning . . . as interpreting life “according to the scriptures. . . . Liberative hermeneutics seeks to discover and activate the transforming energy of biblical texts. In the end, this is a question of finding an interpretation that will lead to individual change (conversion) and change in history (revolution). (Boff and Boff 1987: 33) As noted earlier, the Bible stresses moral action. “In accordance with its Hebraic origins, the truth of Christianity was not to be seen or theorized 190 · Part V. Liberation Consciousness Assisted by Biblical Reflection on; rather, it was to be done, practiced. . . . The Christian concept of truth was originally not contemplative and theoretical like the Greek concept, but operative and practical” (Küng 2001: 26). The liberation movement uses biblical reflection for guidance in finding the practical meaning and empowerment in contemporary situations of oppression. Problem: A Common Usage of the Bible As seen in previous chapters, there have been a number of ways the Bible has been included in Catholic catechesis. For years, the Bible itself was seldom used, but interpretations of it were included in the question-andanswer catechisms that were simply memorized. Later, when the Bible was included in the catechesis, it was read as the definitive divine revelation that took place in past historical periods, a revelation that was to continue from generation to generation by reading the Bible and its ecclesiastical interpretations. At times, the meaning of a biblical text appeared evident in terms of the reader’s own cultural categories. If not, a search was made for a literal meaning that would fit these same categories. When this has been determined, the text is then directly applied to the life of the reader. People have been helped by using the Bible in this manner. But this method has also created many problems. The cultural categories of many readers of the Bible are usually different from those of the original Hebrew or Koine Greek text, and from the cultural context of the times talked about in the Bible. Biblical applications made in this manner are often forced or trivial or meaningless, because the situation of a reader or community is seldom an exact replica of a past historical situation talked about in the Bible. This usage makes past time definitive and normative, a template to be applied to present and future time. In its extreme form, this method is biblical fundamentalism. When taught in this manner, the catechist, as teacher, was active, and the rest of the group, as students, passive . The liberation movement found this traditional method of using the Bible a hindrance to understanding its message of liberation. It distracted from the Bible’s ability to bring into consciousness present conditions of oppression and to give assistance and empowerment to confront them. Bishop Ruíz’s Recommended Method of Reflection In reaction to this literal usage of the Bible, a treatise, Biblical Theology of Liberation, was first published in 1974 and reprinted in book form a year later (Ruíz García 1975a). Bishop Samuel Ruíz was listed as its author, Methods of Reflecting on the Bible · 191 although it was reportedly written by two young theologians who were afraid to attach their own names for fear of ecclesiastical censure (Meyer 2000: 125). The bishop’s willingness to allow the use of his name indicates his agreement with its contents. Seeds of the Word of God as Already Present in Maya Communities The diocese had seen the virtues long practiced in Maya communities. “Gradually we were discovering the fidelity of the poor, their openness, their affirmation of faith, and then we felt a strong need to ask for an explanation and we gave thanks to our Lord for having allowed...