In search of a Samaritan : the risk-taking motif in Luke 10:30–35 as a paradigm for African socio-economic development

Abstract

This article relates Luke 10:30–35 to the situation of Africa in her drive from a state of underdevelopment to a state of development. From the perspective of African Biblical Interpretation, the model of risk-bearing or risk-taking is used to illustrate and interpret Africa’s present state of misery. The article suggests that two important requirements are needed for Africa to relocate herself on her initial trajectory and thus complete her journey: the need for a “risk-taking Samaritan” (or simply, a “risk-taking” or “good Sama”) and the need to ask the right questions. The article concludes that African success greatly depends on the question “To whom am I a neighbour?”