De Wit et al (2004: 20) writes eloquently about the power of the story: in the past few decades, a rediscovery of the power of stories took place, also in theology. And what is true about stories, is even more true about religious stories, thus they are often even more
powerful. De Wit et al finds the motivation for this statement in the fact that religious stories are often the central components of traditions. Several examples of this may be found in the reading reports of this project. Therefore, in anticipation of the expanded insight that transformative reading gives, celebration should be an important part of liturgical reading, and of any group interpretation exercise, for that matter. In creating this particular ICBS, thought needs to be given to celebration as well, and space for it should be left in the Bible study: whether it be singing and dancing, appreciating local art or humour, or eating together – the last example being suggested by the chosen text of 1 Samuel 25.
The Ujamaa Manual (2015: 7) also recognizes that there are many sources for social transformation, but states that the reason that communal Bible study has such tremendous transformational abilities, is because it is still considered to be a source of authority and power by so many people. This is also true in my experience, and as a matter of course one of the main reasons Biblical theologians use the Bible: we need not create a conversation document and bless it with inherent authority – we have the Bible, which most believers on the African continent regards with respect and love. CBS does not, however, hesitate to include other activities and resources with transformational faculties as well, and asks that the users of their studies be creative with these according to their own discretion.
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Further claims are made by De Wit et al (2004: 22) about the capabilities and licences of stories. We all know this to be true: the effect that a story has, is intensified by communal reading; stories are carriers of potential behaviour (De Wit et al 2004: 23); stories are always open, they stimulate the imagination of the reader and challenge them to finish the story (De Wit et al 2004: 24). But the fact that we all know this to be true, does not make it easy theorize accurately about.
The term “transforming reading” was coined by Anthony Thiselton in his work New Horizons in Hermeneutics: The Theory and Practice of Transforming Biblical Reading (1992). Since then, many scholars have been working to locate the answers to the following question: When reading, under what conditions does a change of perspective take place – or is it automatic? A variety of factors have been theorized upon in this regard: Jauss developed a theory called aesthetic reception, which focuses attention on the horizon of expectation of the reader, which may include association, admiration and sympathy. Thiselton’s own answer is also that in postmodern hermeneutics, reader response carries most weight (Porter & Malcolm, 2013: 2).
The single hermeneutic assumption of CBS is that knowledge cultivates compassion. Yet Van der Walt (2014: 101) has shown that knowledge is power. In the context of
transformative reading, compassion and personal power would be antithetical. In this regard, there is one aspect about the power of stories that seem to evade methodologists of both variants of Bible studies, CBS and ICBS that needs to be discussed. The assumption that knowledge cultivates compassion needs to be interrogated. This presumption should have created much more suspicion up to now, than it did. CBS have established that the embodied theologies of the marginalized can be accessed through a question-driven methodology, while ICBS has shown that interpersonal contact has a greater influence on the change that happens in people when doing a group Bible study, than have been thought.
The Ujamaa Manual encourages throughout, that the focus of those who use the method should be on the side of the poor and the marginalized: this is the roots of CBS, and the single aspect that contributes most to their praxis-based theology. The Manual then concedes that CBS can be done in the more privileged sectors of society (Ujamaa 2015: 19), and that they can be made aware of the plight of the poor and marginalized by sharing contextual readings that have emerged from them.
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This indeed was done with some of the groups who took part in the Through the Eyes of One Another project: some socio-economically privileged groups exchanged reading reports with others who are poor, and both sides were surprized at the differences in interpretation (De Wit et al 2004: 22). And although both sides are indeed being made aware of the other’s plight, and being aware certainly has advantages, the dream that started this ICBS project has a different goal than only being aware: it is about creating community, fostering fellowship, and cultivating compassion between members of a society. Furthermore, as illustrated in Chapter Two of this study, it is a society that is supposed to be one in fellowship and compassion, sharing the same religion and history. We need more than awareness.