Global Hermeneutics? - International Voices in Biblical Studies ...

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list. Then in 2005 there are only two European countries left on the list, Russia and
Germany, as Britain, Italy, France, and Spain have been replaced by China, India,
Nigeria and DR Congo. And if we again look into the future, we see that in 2025
Russia is the only remaining European country still to be found on the list, as
Ethiopia then will have replaced Germany. It is an irony of fate, I would say, that a
century after the Russian revolution, Russia is the only European country to survive
in the list of top ten countries with high figures of church membership. And
likewise, a couple of centuries after the mission revivals swept over the western
parts of Europe, these countries are experiencing a global marginalisation as far as
church membership is concerned.
INSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS
The details of the two tables presented above can obviously be questioned, but
hardly the major trends they reflect. It is an unquestionable fact that Christianity
throughout the last century or so has changed from being a typically northern or
western religion to becoming a religion of the Global South. And the question to be
raised in the present seminar is, then, what consequences this has—and will have—
for academic studies of the Old Testament. I will outline some institutional
consequences and the rest of the papers in this seminar will point out other
consequences.
The institutional consequences are many. All over the world—not only in
Europe and North America—the Old Testament is now being studied in
universities and theological seminaries. In Brazil, as a major South American
example, several institutions offer Master’s programmes in Old Testament studies,
and both the Methodist University in Sao Paulo and the Ecumenical Theological
Faculty in Buenos Aires offer doctoral programmes. In Nigeria, as a major African
example, the situation is the same, with a number of institutions offering Master’s
programmes in Old Testament studies and a few also offering doctoral
programmes, such as the University of Nigeria, the University of Ibadan and the
University of Ilorin. In India, as a major Asian example, Master’s programmes in
Old Testament studies are offered in several places, and doctoral programmes are
offered by the United Theological College in Bangalore, the Federated Faculty in
Kerela and Gurukul Lutheran Theological College in Chennai.
Likewise, all over the world—not only in Europe and North America—there is
a multitude of academic organisations, conferences and journals for biblical and
Old Testament studies, both on national and regional levels. In Brazil the Network
for Popular Reading of the Bible publishes Revista de Interperetación Biblica
Latinoamericana, but there are also other journals, like Revista Biblica Brasileira.
In Nigeria the Nigerian Association for Biblical Studies publishes African Journal
of Biblical Studies, Hokma House; the Centre for Biblical Research publishes
Sapientia Logos, and articles of biblical studies are also found in more general