Die kontekstualisering van die Nuwe Testament binne ’n postmodernistiese paradigma: die skep van betekenis of die toepas van betekenis?

Abstract

Contextualisation of the New Testament within a postmodern paradigm: Creation of meaning or application of meaning?

Owing to a largely postmodernist paradigm new emphasis on preaching the Bible in a modern-day context has emerged over the last few decades. Scholars operating within the sphere of this new paradigm are committed to the deconstructionist views of text and meaning. Rejecting the notion of “the meaning” of a text, their idea of contextualisation is to create a new meaning for a text for each new context. Consequently, a number of “contextual theologies” have arisen in which the context of the reader has become a determinant for the meaning of the text. In this article, however, the contextualisation of the Biblical message is argued from a Reformed viewpoint. Based on the conviction that the Bible, as Word of God, is not time-bound but time-addressed, it is argued that although the Biblical text originated within the context of the first readers, it is not restricted to the context of the first readers. The Biblical text also addresses the context of the readers of all times. Hence contextualisation does not imply creating a new meaning for every new context, but rather finding the link between original context and contemporary context. The hermeneutical process identifying and applying this link is known as hermeneusis.