PENDEKATAN SOSIAL DALAM PENAFSIRAN KITAB PERJANJIAN BARU

Abstract

This article discusses the significance of the sociological approach in New Testament studies. The approach is becoming more and more attractive to New Testament scholars recently, as it helps them to propose their hermeneutical enquiries in a more critical and fresh way.

The approach is mainly based on the presupposition that human beings, including the Biblical writers and their original readers, could never be separated from their social world-view. In fact, their thinking, behavior, symbolic methodology and all means necessary for communication were always intermingled with their social world-view. Anyone who is engaged in biblical studies will thus be expected to gather all social data relevant to his or her engagement in those studies. In so doing, help from social sciences (particularly sociology and anthropology) will be needed.

Some examples of New Testament scholars who make use of this approach are highlighted in this article in order that we can learn how the approach is indeed advantageous for our current biblical studies.