Journal: Conspectus
Volume: CONSPECTUS 31:1 (Apr 2021)
Article: A Procedure For Analysis Of Contemporary Reception Of Biblical Texts In Ghana: A Methodological Consideration
Author: Clement Adjei-Brown

Conspectus 31:1 (April 2021) p. 7

A Procedure For Analysis Of Contemporary Reception Of Biblical Texts In Ghana: A Methodological Consideration

Clement Adjei-Brown1

Daniel Institute, Central University

Abstract

This essay hypothesizes that the contemporary reception of biblical concepts by Ghanaian charismatic preachers is influenced by beliefs and practices of traditional, religious, and cultural conceptions. This hypothesis is investigated by the analysis of the socio-historical context of the preacher’s community obtained through qualitative analysis of existing data and interviews. A procedure is then outlined to demonstrate and determine the varying degrees of emphasis of traditional conceptual influences of these interpretations. This is done to highlight areas of positive influence and mitigate areas of negative influence to draw interpretation as close as possible to the biblical meaning in the original manuscripts. This essay employs the methodological tools of reception analysis to design this procedure. Reception theory places the focus unswervingly on the reader as the origin of interpretation, whose experiences and thought patterns play an important role in creating meaning. In the procedure outlined for reception analysis, various responses and other forms of data are analyzed qualitatively to identify the influences of traditional conceptions on a text in the Bible by the reader or interpreter. This is compared with the socio-cultural context and exegesis of the biblical texts to outline the similarities and differences. The implications are examined to bring interpretation as close to biblical concepts as possible.

Keywords

Reception theory, horizon of expectations, the influence of language, concept of play, uses, and gratifications

1. Introduction

It is a scholarly thought in theological traditions that the goal of interpretation is to recover the author’s original intentions (Parris 2009, 1). This is supposed to ground

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the meaning of a text and give it stability in every interpreted situation. Almost every interpreter claims to be doing this, and yet they arrive at very different conclusions regarding what they thought the biblical authors had intended (2009, 2). Nel (2015, 1) observes that the varying conclusions are because the underlying feature of different biblical interpreters is the distinctive manner they read and interpret the Bible. That is, different Christian traditions fashion out distinctive ways of reading and interpreting the Bible. Lategan (2009, 13) affirms that the reading and interpretation of biblical texts primes to “sense-maki...