inhibited detrimentally, leading to a sense of apathy - particularly among critical thinkers and historically disadvantaged groups. With regard to Christianity, all these prerequisites for authoritative communication have come under deep suspicion, have lost credibility, and need to be revisited fundamentally.As far as the church is concerned (and this seems to be a worldwide trend), the tendencies towards disintegration and lack of memory go against its distinctive nature as a diverse yet uniting, life-giving and life-sustaining community. These trends often tragically witness to the reality that Christians have somehow lost their orientation and integration, their sense of calling, their primary identity as Christians. This is essentially a theological (or "spiritual") problem, which often manifests itself as a moral crisis, but in actual fact goes much deeper. It therefore calls for a careful and coherent theological response.This brings me to a second story from Africa. Like the first one, this story underlines the importance of theological perspective, communal identity and choice in Christian people's (also Christian Theology's) daily ethos, particularly regarding their public responsibility. It also shows how a (biblical) story can function to "open up" (Ricoeur 1976:89-95) and facilitate alternative perspectives of reality.A remarkable contemporary example of continuous interpretation stimulated by the biblical texts can be found in the activities and writings of The circle of concerned African women theologians, founded in 1989. The Circle consists of about 600 women from across Africa, within various contexts and disciplines, committed to searching for and publishing on creative alternatives to all forms of power abuse and injustice in African churches and societies, and gender justice in particular. Their efforts led to the establishment of the Institute of African women in religion and culture at Trinity Theological College in Accra (Ghana), of which Professor Mercy Amba Oduyoye is the director.4From the outset the Circle's consultation for African biblical and cultural hermeneutics was challenged with issues of methodology, particularly regarding the new approach of African feminist readings of the BB ible. They needed to devise alternative ways of reading the BB ible that would account for African women's life experiences from within a plurality of religious, socio-cultural, geographical, racial, political and economic contexts, and that would encourage and inform discourses and practices towards radical church renewal and transformation. These ways of reading needed to account not only for the continuing authority of (written) biblical texts in those contexts, but also for the authority of other vibrant texts in the lives of women, such as (oral) African cultures.For the purpose of developing African women's ways of interpretation, the Circle shows a preferential option for a storytelling approach. Many reasons have been articulated for considering narrative to be a potentially powerful instrument (lens) for rereading the bible and culture towards liberating and healing practices in churches and societies.5Women interpreting the Bible in Africa is of course not a new phenomenon. Within various church traditions women form the backbone of core activities such as bible study, catechetical training, women's auxiliary associations and works of compassion. However, due to the socio-culturally determined private and submissive position of most African women