Bystander Theology and the Desire to End a Hermeneutic Hegemony

Abstract

The parable of the crafty steward in Luke 16:1-8 may be central to Jesus' negotiation of identity and mission, not an impossibility or an embarrassment as many exegetes believe. Received tradition has been unable to access the text adequately, falling short of offering faith communities a suitable hermeneutic that decodes the world of Jesus' contemporaries. This essay approaches the text by introducing bystander theology, which turns to aesthetics, the fine arts, to develop exegetical and theological concepts that embody density, texture, and depth that elucidate how biblical persons can be understood today. The essay advocates that the body of Christ extends not only spatially but also through layers of time. By participating in a biblical encounter as a bystander and exploring biblical actors' frames of reference, biblical worlds may more clearly come into focus.