Stony The Road We Trod

Stony The Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation
A Book Review

Stony the Road we Trod is a Volume of eleven essays which reflects a combination of historical inquiry, biblical exegesis, knowledge of the canons and is grounded in sensitivity and the knowledge of African American heritage and experiences. This book is the first discussion of African-American scholars concerning the use of modern critical methods of biblical interpretation.

This book was written to contrast the Euro-Western hegemony in biblical studies that is counter to the interests of African Americans. This is a powerful collection of essays, each of which will influence the discipline for years to come. In the words of Cain Hope Felder the purpose behind this book was “to recapture the ancient biblical vision of racial and ethnic pluralism as shaped by the Bible’s own universalism” and to “gain a new appreciation for the varied use of Scripture within the Bible itself as a means of developing more sensitivity for the positive elements in such phenomena as modes of African-Americans biblical interpretation, which at times are closer to scriptural usage within the bible and within the first century Churches.”

The book is divided into four sections: In section one The Relevance of Biblical Scholarship and the Authority of the Bible contributors Thomas Hoyt Jr., William H. Myers and Renita Weems.  Weems lays out the methodological and hermeneutical aspects of the book. She examines the hermeneutic by which African-American women were, “marginalized by gender, ethnicity and often class.” Myers alerts the reader to some of the ideological and cultural biases inherent in Euro-Western biblical thought.Section two “African American Sources for Enhancing Biblical Interpretation,” Vincent L. Winbush offers taxonomy for the history of biblical interpretation in the Black Church.

David T. Shannon uses a famous sermon-in-verse to discuss what he contends to be the major issue and consideration historically underlying and African American biblical hermeneutics.In the third section Ancient Black Africa in the Bible authors Felder, Randell Bailey and Charles Copher confronts the misreading of the presence and legacy of African people in the bible. Copher goes on to catalogue the presence of Blacks in both redemptive and non-redemptive roles in the Hebrew Bible. He considers primeval history, the patriarchal period, exodus wonderings and conquest the evil and restoration. In every case he found notable black presence. Felder uses von Rad’s language of sacralization as the principle process through which radical discourse can be injected into the election of Hebrew biblical discourse.

The problem with conventional election as frequently put forward is that it connects God’s favor with a particular race. Felder considers the story of the racist remarks of Miriam and Aaron toward the Cushite wife of Moses. Felder reminds us of the need to use the tools in new ways and to push questions to their logical conclusions. Bailey offers a look at the symbolic significance that African people held for the Old Testament writers. He concludes “They symbolized military might, political stability and wealth. Their wisdom was highly regarded. These nations were utilized as a standard of measurement for Israel."

This section seek to expose the racism looming behind the text.The final section Reinterpreting Biblical Tools, Clarice Martin offers a good example of the new interpretations. Her essay on Haustaffein reflects a combination of critical methodology and Afro-feminist insight. Her studies into the Pauline and deutero-Pauline examine the social origins and functions of those codes and survey the various dominationist readings of them and their social and juridical results.

Loyde Lewis examines Paul’s use of familial language. He argues that Paul’s theology is neither pro nor anti–slavery and Paul’s “unwillingness to canonize social roles found in his environment” suggests an ultimate rejection of slavery by Paul.Stony the Road We Trod constitutes a giant step in the on-going struggle to challenge the Euro-Western hegemony in biblical interpretation and transform the bible from a tool of domination to a key to the liberation of oppressed people