The Bible of the poor in the context of poverty, COVID-19 and vaccine nationalism: Hermeneutics of liberation from the perspective of the poor

Olehile A Buffel

doi:10.4102/hts.v77i1.6920

Abstract

To the poor, the Bible is a particularly important book which is read and reflected upon in the context of their struggles and their lived experiences. To the critics of Black theology, it may look like ‘liberation theologies’ have nothing to do with the Bible and faith. On the contrary, the Bible is very central to the spiritual journey of the poor in the light of their struggles in the context of poverty and COVID-19. This is the case as the poor struggle against poverty, which is exacerbated by COVID-19 and as they are then pushed aside in the struggle to access vaccinations amidst vaccine nationalism. The poor draw inspiration from the Bible and its themes that focus on God, Jesus, the poor and oppressed, the sick, the marginalised and all people who are suffering. To the poor, God is a caring person who is the parent and advocate of the poor, the oppressed and all the people who are suffering. The poor rely on the hermeneutics of liberation as they make sense of their horrendous conditions and their lived experiences amidst poverty and COVID-19 and as they are denied access to resources that are monopolised by the rich and the powerful nations. Using a theological-liberative hermeneutics, the article argues that the Bible is central in the struggles and lived experiences of the poor in the context of poverty and COVID-19. Contribution: The article contributes to academic discourse that perpetuates misconceptions regarding liberation theologies. An erroneous impression is created that the Bible is not important to the poor in their spiritual journeys. The article contributes to discourse about the centrality of the Bible in the context of their pain and suffering. This is the context in which poverty is exacerbated by COVID-19 and vaccine nationalism as poor countries and communities struggle to access vaccines.

Highlights

The poor continue to have the Bible as a central document in their spiritual journey
This is the case even though they may not refer to this as such and even though they may not be as systematic and methodical as Ujamma Centre and the Institute for Contextual Theology. They do this in the context of poverty, which is made worse by COVID-19 and its consequences. This is in spite of the fact that the critics of Black Theology would like us to believe that Black Theology and all other brands of Liberation theology have nothing to do with the Bible
In the South African context, the majority of those who are poor are black and they are found mainly in informal settlements, townships and rural villages and they continue to exist as the Bible-reading communities amidst their pain and suffering

Summary

Introduction

The poor continue to have the Bible as a central document in their spiritual journey. It is in that context of pain and suffering where liberation theology is done as the poor live and survive in poverty.

Results

Conclusion