Abstract:
The amphibious Akan concept of community manifests both individualistic and communalistic
features. An analysis of the individualistic features reveals that the Akans grapple with
incarnating their values, leaving many ‘children of God’ lonely. John 5:1–18 presents a similar
case in which a member of a ‘collectivistic community of God’ lived a secluded life until Jesus
intervened, revealing that the community struggled with incarnating its sociocultural values.
Thus, the study aimed to demonstrate how Jesus’ response provides a remedy for the Akan
sociocultural malady. The study employed Ossom-Batsa’s communicative approach because
it enables an interpretative framework that helps to achieve this aim: an exegesis of the text, an
exegesis of reality and an engagement between the text and reality. The findings revealed that
the individualistic propensities in Bethesda and the Akan community are the roots of loneliness
in both cultures. The study concluded that the Akan Christians must be relational. This
involves relating to one another as human beings: understanding that ‘a human being needs
help’ and becoming the agent of that help. It also demands that they fulfil their moral obligation
to perform their emancipatory role towards lonely members by prioritising reaching out to
them and epitomising Christ’s compassionate and merciful nature by helping them to
overcome their situations.
INTRADISCIPLINARY AND/OR INTERDISCIPLINARY IMPLICATIONS : The communicative approach allows
New Testament Studies to intersect with Akan anthropology and sociology and offers a new
perspective on how to revitalise in the Akan culture a sense of communitarian egalitarianism
plagued by individualism.
