Keywords
Human Condition
Psalm 6
Psalm 8
Psalm 23
Psalm 127
How to Cite
Abstract
In the context of life-denying forces that have deeply scarred (South) Africa, what does it mean to be human? In the book of Psalms, we see a keen acknowledgment of humanity as precious and powerful, created “a little lower than God and crowned… with glory and honor” (Ps 8:5). However, the Psalms of Lament, in particular, also attest time and again to where humanity has fallen short of the ideal of what a human can and should be. In conversation with Madipoane Masenya (Ngwan’a Mphahlele)’s writings on the human condition in an African context, specifically as it pertains to her bosadi interpretation of a number of Psalms (6, 8, 12, 23, 127), this article seeks to think with Prof Madipoane on the meaning of life, love and living amidst the numerous challenges facing us today in our own country, but also globally. In the context of poverty, sexism, racism, homophobia, HIV-AIDS, and a looming environmental crisis, what does it mean for us to be living between death and life, courage and despair, victimhood and agency?
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