Examining the Influence of African Indigenous Worldviews on the Interpretation of Selected Biblical Texts in Nigeria

Every reader of the Bible comes to the text from a particular cultural home, and that home shapes what the reader sees, values and expects from Scripture. This paper examines how African indigenous worldviews, with special attention to the Yoruba and Igbo contexts of Nigeria, influence the interpretation of selected biblical texts. It identifies the core elements of these worldviews, traces how they shape the reading of particular passages, and weighs the strengths and dangers of such readings for the Nigerian church. The study adopts a qualitative, library-based design and uses African biblical hermeneutics, especially the inculturation approach of Justin Ukpong and the African cultural hermeneutics of David Tuesday Adamo, as its theoretical framework. Four sets of passages are examined: Psalms 23, 91 and 121; Exodus 22:18; Ephesians 6:10–18; and Hebrews 1:1–4 with 12:1. The analysis shows that belief in a spirit-filled universe, the search for protection, healing and success, the fear of witchcraft and the honour given to ancestors strongly direct how Nigerian Christians read these texts. Such readings often bring the Bible close to daily life and recover meanings that Western scholarship has neglected. However, when culture is allowed to control the text, it can produce harmful practices such as witchcraft accusations and a magical use of Scripture. The paper concludes that culture should be a dialogue partner, not a master, in biblical interpretation, and recommends that Nigerian theological institutions train readers to hold text and context together with care.