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Reframing the Tower of Babel Narrative for Economic Justice Within the South African Context

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Reframing the Tower of Babel Narrative for Economic Justice Within the South African Context HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies ISSN: (Online) 2072-8050, (Print) 0259-9422 Page 1 of 9 Original Research Reframing the Tower of Babel narrative for economic justice within the South African context Author: The Tower of Babel narrative is profoundly connected to the history of South Africa and its 1 Mark Rathbone interpretation in the Dutch Reformed Church document entitled Human Relations and the South Affiliation: African Scene in the Light of Scripture (1976), which was used to justify apartheid. In this article, 1School of Business it is argued that this understanding of the narrative is due to racist framing that morally Management, North-West justified the larger apartheid narrative. The Tower of Babel narrative was later reframed for University, Potchefstroom liberation and reconciliation by Desmond Tutu. However, apartheid had an impact not only on Campus, South Africa the sociopolitical dynamics of South Africa. Submissions to the Truth and Reconciliation Corresponding author: Commission by business and labour highlight the impact of apartheid on the economy and Mark Rathbone, specifically black labour. These revelations are responsible for new questions regarding the [email protected] economics of the narrative that arise and may enrich the understanding of the Tower of Babel Dates: narrative. This focus on the economic aspect of the narrative is also supported by historical Received: 16 May 2016 research on the Tower of Babel narrative that reveals that the dispersion of the people on the Accepted: 01 Aug. 2016 plain of Shinar may refer to the demise of the Sumerian empire, which was among other Published: 30 Sept. 2016 influences brought about by a labour revolt. In this regard, the narrative is a theological How to cite this article: reflection on the demise of an unjust economic system that exploited workers. The purpose of Rathbone, M., 2016, this article is to critically explore this economic justice aspect embedded in the narrative in ‘Reframing the Tower order to determine whether this reframing of the narrative is plausible. This is particularly of Babel narrative for economic justice within important within the post-apartheid context and the increase of economic problems such as the South African context’, unemployment, poverty and economic inequality. HTS Teologiese Studies/ Theological Studies 72(3), a3490. http://dx.doi. org/10.4102/hts.v72i3.a3490 Introduction The interpretation of the Tower of Babel narrative1 (Gn. 11:1–9)2 in the Dutch Reformed Church Copyright: document entitled Human Relations and the South African Scene in the Light of Scripture (HR 1976) is © 2016. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS. This work a function of racist framing, which highlighted the dispersion of the people on the plain of Shinar is licensed under the and was the moral justification of the apartheid narrative in South Africa. In this paper,narrative Creative Commons is understood as an ontological phenomenon that constructs reality through a continuous process Attribution License. of framing and reframing. Culler (1988:xiv) warns that context may be oversimplified as a given that determines the meaning of acts, because context is not given but produced. Culler (1988:xiv) notes that there is a close connection between event and context because both are determined by interpretative strategies. Culler therefore refers to context as ‘framing’ in order to highlight that the context is an interpretative event. Framing refers to the ‘discursive practices, institutional arrangements, systems of value’ that constitute signs (Culler 1988:xiv). In other words, framing is a temporal event referring to place and time. Time and place highlight the ontological nature of framing – they construct reality. The temporality of framing suggests that framing is dynamic and in a continuous process of reinterpretation. This process of reinterpretation highlights what is meant with reframing. Reframing is therefore a function of the temporality of interpretation that has the creative possibility of revealing new aspects of narratives. In other words, the ontology of narrative is not absolute; it is dynamic and enriched by new questions arising because of new circumstances that guide the interpretation process. However, reframing is not a value-neutral process, because framing can be an explicit act of silencing aspects of a narrative to gain control of the story – ontology as power. The apartheid narrative refers to the collection of narratives that justified, implemented and entrenched apartheid as a system of racial segregation and exploitation. This includes religious texts such as the Tower of Babel narrative; legal texts such as the pass laws and the Group Areas Read online: Act; social texts reflected in literature, art and cultural events; and economic texts, among others. Scan this QR code with your These texts contain stories of how race determined the identity and future of the citizens of smart phone or mobile device 1.This article was presented at the 8th Global Conference of The Story Telling Project in Oxford, England, in 2015. toto readread online.online. 2.The New International Version (2011) is used for all Biblical references. http://www.hts.org.za Open Access Page 2 of 9 Original Research South Africa. Many of these texts are interdependent, as is was told from the perspective of Genesis 1:28 where God the case with economic narratives that consist of the commands that people fill the Earth. The building of the intersection of law and social narratives. However, narrative tower and the gathering of people in one place is therefore as a function of framing is not stable but always in a process viewed as disobedience. The subsequent scattering of the of reinterpretation as new circumstances reveals new people is an act of punishment and enforcement of God’s questions and reframing takes place. This process of command. According to HR (1976:16), the scattering of the reframing the Tower of Babel narrative for liberation is clear people that built the city and tower on the plain of Shinar is a in the interpretation of the narrative by Desmond Tutu that direct result of God’s judgement for not submitting to his responded to apartheid. Both the racist framing of the command to replenish the Earth in Genesis 1:28 and Genesis narrative in HR and the reframing by Tutu highlights that the 9:1, 7. God disrupted their language, which resulted in a interpretation of the narrative in South Africa has a clear communication breakdown that brought an end to their sociopolitical focus. However, the apartheid narrative also unity and the eventual scattering of the people, as was God’s had an impact on the economy of South Africa. This became wish for humanity, according to HR (1976:16). The confusion clear with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of the language of the people and the subsequent scattering is and the submission of business and labour. These revelations consequently viewed as support of segregation. It is noted in raise new questions regarding the economics of the Tower of HR (1976:18) that racial diversity is a direct result of the Babel narrative that have previously not been raised. This confusion of tongues and the obvious intention of God for focus on the economics of the narrative is also supported by society. The conclusion of HR (1976:18) is that racial diversity historical research on the Tower of Babel narrative that and segregation is a normative aspect of creation (Rathbone reveals that the dispersion of the people on the plain of 2015). Thus, the narrative, among others, provided moral Shinar may refer to the demise of the Sumerian empire, justification for segregation policies and laws, literature, art which was among other influences brought about by a labour and the economics of the apartheid narrative. revolt. In this regard, the narrative is a theological reflection on the demise of an unjust economic system that exploited The racist framing of the Tower of Babel narrative can be workers. The purpose of this article is to critically explore traced back to the 20-century to as early as 1912 in the this economic justice aspect embedded in the narrative in sermons of clergy such as J.D. du Toit. His sermon entitled order to determine whether this reframing of the narrative is Hemelbestormers views segregation as divine imperative plausible. This is particularly important within the post- based on the dispersion of the people who inhabited the city apartheid context and with the increase of economic problems on the plain of Shinar. The tower is regarded as a form of such as unemployment, poverty and economic inequality. forced unification and integration similar to the policies of British imperialism during the early part of the twentieth In the first section of this article, theWirkungsgeschichte century. This framing of the narrative was later presented by [history of interpretation] of the Tower of Babel narrative as Du Toit at the 1944 People’s Congress in Bloemfontein as the the dominant racist-framed narrative, as well as reframing basis for the rejection of ‘gelykstelling en verbastering’ [equality for liberation and reconciliation within the South African and inbreeding] imposed by the British and the South African context, is discussed. Next, the economic impact of apartheid Party (Kinghorn 1986:100–102). is highlighted by exploring stories of business and labour submitted during the TRC. The final section focuses on Later, S. du Toit (1969:12–14) follows a similar line of historical research that links the narrative to the Sumerian argument as J.D. du Toit. However, he takes it a step further empire and a possible labour revolt that contributed to the and argues that the Bible is a book of revelations that contains dispersion. This theological reflection on the destruction of a divine imperatives for the structure of society.
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