Biblical Hermeneutics of Liberation: Modes of Reading the Bible in the South African Context

Peter Walshe analyses the role of the churches in South Africa from 1910 to the present time as they were challenged by the injustices generated by the government's racialism and apartheid policies. He describes their generally phlegmatic response over the years, both institutionally and at the level of the local congregation. During the early years of apartheid the English-speaking churches responded generally with rhetoric and not confrontation while the Dutch Reformed Church biblically justified the government's policies. It was only in the 1970s that some religious leaders and some church groups began to develop both a contextual liberation theology for South Africa and take an active part in the struggle for liberation. Walshe narrates the gap between official statements and the actions of church leaders and the general lack of response from people in the pews even in the 1990s. The book includes the events leading up to the 1994 elections and closes with some provocative questions about the role of the churches in the new South Africa.