In general, organisations, movements and especially religious communities have a set of guidelines, which, during their periods of formation, have been put into writing . Examples of this are the Hebrew Bible (later called "Old Testament" by the Christians), the scriptures of the messianic communities of the early Christians (later called the "New Testament"), the Koran, the Communist Manifesto and the writings of Karl Marx, etc.. Communities constantly remind themselves, and others, of their content. Not only did they arise from one particular socio-historical context, but they must be understood afresh in every situation. That is the reason why they can be not only used, but also misused. This includes the Bible.

It has often been the case in society's conflicts that one's position was supported with verses from the Bible which were taken out of context. Owing to the work of liberation theology and socio-historical interpretation of the Bible it is now beyond dispute that biblical texts all stand in a certain social, economic, political and ideological context and must be understood as such.

If one were to read the biblical traditions of the centuries from ca 1250 bce to 120 ce, one would recognise a clear thread. The people of Israel, and later the communities of the Jewish Messiah Jesus, felt liberated by God and called to live and advocate an alternative among the nations. The context is that of the nations of the ancient Near East and the Hellenistic Roman Empire. The Bible describes those societies of city kingdoms and large empires as being societies that, economically, owned slaves, politically, were keen on conquest and forced other nations to pay them tribute, and culturally were societies in which violence was commonplace.

In contrast, the biblical message is that of a God who listens to the cries of the oppressed slaves, sees their misery and liberates them from the oppression of the Egyptians (Exodus 3ff). The freed slaves become settlers in a mutually supportive village society in the mountains of Palestine. They understand their mission as being "to work the land and take care of it" (Genesis 2,15).

When families who had grown rich introduced a monarchy, in spite of the resistance of the small farmers (see Judges 9 and 1 Samuel 8), the basic alternative philosophy wins the upper hand again through the prophets, who criticised those in power (see in particular 1 Kings 21 ff on Elijah and the books of the prophets Amos, Isaiah, Micah, Hosea and Jeremiah). Their great themes are justice and peace (shalom), in the relationships between people, nations, and also between humans and other creatures (see Hosea 2, 20-24), as an expression of the relationship of the people with the God of justice, of peace and of love for all creatures (see Psalms 8 and 104).

Following the fall of the kingdoms (722 bce in the North/586 bce in Judah) there were great new efforts to give laws to Israel which were able to restore justice (e.g. the annual day of Reconciliation, the Sabbath year of rest for the land, the Jubilee year with the freeing of the slaves, the cancellation of debts and the equal re-distribution of the means of production, (see Leviticus 16 and 25).

When finally the Hellenistic empires and the Roman empire turned totalitarian (see Daniel 2, 3, 7) the Israelites resisted, hoping for a new society with a human face (the kingdom of God). They said "No" to absolute power and wealth (Daniel 3). They looked for small-scale alternatives such as the communities of the Essenes in the desert near the Dead Sea or like Jesus in the midst of society among the poor. These small cells of disciples were to be the seed of later messianic communities, which spread across the whole Roman Empire and then further afield (see Mark 10, 42-45). For Jesus they were meant to be real signs of the kingdom of God. The apostle Paul saw this as the beginning of a new humanity (Romans 5) in the midst of a world system characterised by injustice and non-belief (Romans 1, 18). The whole creation together with the children of God hopes for liberation, because we experience the labour pains of the new creation in the midst of the present violence, (see Romans 8, 18-25). The basic constitution of this society of contrasts created by God who through his love is creating justice and solidarity is summed up by Paul in his letter to the Galatians (3,28) "There are no more Jews and Greeks, slaves and free men, neither man nor woman, because you are all one in Jesus the Messiah".

This political and economic unfolding of love in the conflicts of the Israeli people, both internally and with other nations, is anchored in the experience of God. This goes beyond the socio-economic and political dimensions and includes every aspect of human life; that of individuals, the nuclear and extended family, the neighbourhood, the region, the nation, the world, indeed, the entire universe. On the other hand, each society is shaped by the "God", i.e. the spirit and philosophy, that ultimately underpins the structures and the work of its institutions.

next