THE GOSPEL/CULTURE ENCOUNTER AT SALVADOR:REFLECTIONS ON A BIBLE STUDY GROUP

Abstract

Introduction The World Council of Churches' (WCC) conference on world mission and evangelism in Salvador, Brazil, presented me with an opportunity not only to make a personal contribution on the interface between gospel and cultures, but also to be enriched by others. an indigenous person, experienced this encounter with world Christians as a source of hope in the midst of struggle. thrilled to see so many indigenous people present and participating, many of whom had attended the pre-conference consultation organized by the Indigenous Desk of the WCC. Several indigenous persons were assigned to lead small group Bible studies; in my case, in Spanish. also involved in exciting small group discussions in the sub-section to which assigned. found the interaction within two multi-ethnic, pluricultural, and multilingual groups quite challenging, and hope the other participants did too. Rather than risk giving my own, necessarily biased, impressions of the Bible study group in which took part, would like to share the evaluation of an indigenous colleague who participating for the first time in an international and ecumenical conference. The Reverend Antonio Otzoy is a theologian and the general secretary of a Maya-Presbyterian fellowship in Guatemala. share his testimony, with permission, with the hope that it will stimulate other such missiological reflections by participants in the Salvador conference. Reflections on a Bible study the group that attended, writes pastor Otzoy, I learned that traditional ways of reading the Bible -- often a torrent of theological concepts, or an exhibition of profound knowledge of scripture -- may not be a true group Bible study. In our church Bible studies, one person usually gives and the rest sit and listen. This implies that ordinary people are incapable of becoming subjects of their own history; that others who are `better trained,' become the authors of the various histories of their hearers or listeners. Behind the seeming chaos there must be a divine plan, wrote Kant. But are trained theologians the only ones who can bring order out of disorder or contribute to an understanding of God's actions? In our Bible study group we learned to revise our own thinking, to be more careful of what we say and do. A Bible study should not be an intellectual exercise, but must help shape life. It is not an opportunity to teach others how to reflect, but to help us reflect upon our own lives in regard to others. We learned that the Bible should address us where we are; it should help us to feel that we are important as individuals, even as we discover that we are part of one another, in community. As took part in the group, realized that concern for `praxis' is not just a way of making sure that we `fit,' i.e., are comfortable, within the context of a particular Bible passage; this can be used to rationalize, rather than question, our surroundings. Instead, praxis is the proof and present manifestation of our very existence -- to the extent that we are able to incorporate our own praxis into the totality of `Being.' The application of the text, by itself, does not point us to our sense of `Being.' Rather, our being (personhood) takes on specific meaning as we integrate it into the text, and as the participants in the group get to know one another in their give and take. We can then live that which we feel, think and learn, even as we help others to become participants within an evangelical community spirit. This, Otzoy continues, was the real lesson that I, an Indigenous person, absorbed in the study group to which had been invited. learned that Bible study can become a space for creating community. According to the traditional interpretation of the Christian canon that we have been taught, reality is first divine and then human. We reflected in the group that this should not necessarily be so, otherwise we become guilty of either blaming God for all of our wrong doings or of justifying the suffering of so many victims in history. …