What Is New about Reading the Bible with New Eyes?

書介
用新的眼光讀聖經。全書英文寫作。

目錄
Introduction / Huang Po Ho

Part I Theological Discourse on Biblical Hermeneutics and the Role of Contextuality

Walking Makes the Way: Possible Paths and Changes / Paulo Ueti
Roots of Crashing Encounters
The path Is Made by Walking
Desiring the Path and Accepting Its Consequences
Matching the Other’s Pace – Beginning with Reality
Creating Space for Prayer: Disseminating the Potential of the Text (Body, Writing
and Speech)
Suspecting Silence, Hearing Silence: What Isn’t Said, What Isn’t Seen
Listening: Letting the Other Speak, Learning from the Other
Which Texts, Which Theology? Choices and Attitudes
Hospitality — Caring as a Hermeneutic Key to Recognizing the Word (Jesus)
Religion: Reconnecting with the Community, Continuing the Mission, Transforming Life

The Text Approaches You and You Approach the Text
Facilitation – Being Midwives, Not Professors
Resuming, Continuing

“You Shall Have No Other Gods”: A Critique of the Neoliberal Economic System / M.
P. Joseph
Absolutism of Neoliberal Capitalism
Religion of Growth
Earth: Victim of Economic Growth
De-growth to Sustain Life
Anthropocentrism Is Not the Problem
The Widening Gap between the Rich and the Poor
Militarization – Fascism
Text to Become Gospel
Jesus: Victim of Absolutes

Christianity and Religious Pluralism / Rienzie Perera
Chrisitanity and Asian Religions
Reading the Bible in the Asian Context of Plural Religions
Re-reading the Bible to Renew Our Inter-religious Relationships
Revisiting the Christian Mission by Reading the Bible with New Eyes

Part II Reflections from the Contexts of Taiwan
Methodological Approaches to Reading the Bible in the Contexts of Taiwan / Huang Po
Ho
Introduction
The Word of God and Kerygma
Historical Development of Biblical Hermeneutics
Reading the Bible from Contexts
Asian Attempts on Reading the Bible in Contexts
Reading the Bible with New Eyes in Churches in Taiwan
An Evaluation of the Reading the Bible with New Eyes Movement in Taiwan
Mata and Roziq (eyes) / Omi Wilang
Introduction
Body of the Text

Conclusion

The Taiwan Ecumenical Forum for Justice and Peace (TEF) /Victor Hsu
Implications and Challenges for the Ecumenical Movement

Part III Biblical Illustrations

A Re-reading of the Palm Sunday Narratives Scripture Reading: St. Mark 11:1-11 /
Jason Selvaraj
Introduction
Re-reading the Narratives of Palm Sunday
Conclusion

The Magnificat: Recovering the Prophetic Voices in the Church Today Luke 1:46-55 /
Gloria Mapangdol
Was the Magnificat Originally Mary’s?
How was the Magnificat described/understood?
What does the Magnificat say and what does it do with rethinking the Mission?
Conclusion: The Magnificat
Rhoda (Acts 12:12-17) “Un-covering” and “Re-covering” Rhoda:

A Feminist Perspective/ Yak-hwee Tan
Introduction
The Acts of the Apostles – From the Beginning…
Methodological Considerations
A Socio-literary Analysis of Acts 12:12-17
A Feminist Perspective of Acts 12:12-17
“Un-covering” and “Re-covering” Rhoda
Conclusion

Appendix
Appendix 1. Conference Agenda
Appendix 2. Introduction of the Contributors

What Is New
about Reading the Bible with New Eyes?
Introduction
Reading the Bible is essential to the lives of Christians and the shaping of their
identity. Regardless of the many differences among Christian denominations and
theological trends, the Bible is commonly considered by Christians as the Word of God
and is the most important way to acquaint the will of God. This is even more true to
Christians with a Confucian background taught to respect the classics and teachings.
Nevertheless, reading the Bible has never been neutral. It involves hermeneutic
controversies of different theological trends and is subjected to the ideological
positions and interests of its interpreters and readers. Traditional anthropocentric,
androcentric and white-oriented interpretations of the Bible have not only misled the
perception of biblical truth, but also created many oppressive frames, such as
discrimination and persecution, which cause suffering. How to read the Bible and read
it properly is thus crucial and imperative.
Reading the Bible with New Eyes is an ecumenical theological endeavor and an attempt
to help churches and individual Christians in their struggle for making the Bible a
liberating message of the Christian God, who was revealed through the sacrificial
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The concept of “New Eyes” thus is a
critical view through which to examine the existing interpretations of the Bible,
addressing, in particular, those who interpret the Bible, whether intentionally or
non-intentionally, with dominant and privileged perspectives or for the purpose of
maintaining the status quo.
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and
awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the
fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them
food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves
were foreigners in Egypt. (Deut. 10:17-19)
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with
Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been
saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms

in Christ Jesus. (Eph. 2:4-6)
The newness of the new eyes therefore is essentially seeking to be authentic and
original. God’s Words need to be interpreted in God’s nature and intention.
Theological confession to perceive the nature and intention of God thus is prior to
the literary meaning of the biblical texts.
The current publication of What Is New about Reading the Bible with New Eyes? is an
outcome of an international theological consultation jointly held in December 2019 by
the following organizations: The Evangelism Committee of the Presbyterian Church in
Taiwan, Tainan Theological College and Seminary, Tainan Theological College
Foundation, Taiwan Church Press, Grace Foundation, the Asian Theological Academy, and
the Academy for Contextual Theologies in Taiwan. This consultation was, on the one
hand, to respond to the ecumenical theological efforts to transform theological
reflections from traditional Western domination, and, on the other hand, to enhance a
two-decade-long mission program of Reading the Bible with New Eyes of the
Presbyterian Church in Taiwan by a theological revisit to the characteristic of
newness in Taiwan’s contexts.
The content of this book is divided into three parts with an appendix; the first part
focuses on theological discourse on biblical hermeneutics and the role of
contextuality; the second part is reflections from the contexts of Taiwan; the third
part provides biblical illustrations; finally, for the sake of memory, we put a brief
introduction of the contributors and program schedule of the consultation in the
appendix.
For this book to be published, I have to acknowledge and give my thanks to all the
contributors and the joint hosts of the consultation for their cooperation and
solidarity, and the editorial board members, particularly Jomei Tsai, who has devoted
much energy and time to proofread the whole book. The publishing sector of Taiwan
Church Press who helped with cover design and all the publishing work is also greatly
appreciated.

By Rev. Dr. Huang Po Ho
Director
Academy for Contextual Theologies in Taiwan
May 20, 2020