"Less Literate Are Safer": The Politics of Orality and Literacy in Biblical Interpretation

Draper, Jonathan A., Anglican Theological Review

A fascinating report in our local newspaper, The Natal Witness, of June 6, 1996, was entitled "Less literate are safer."' A scientific poll of taxi drivers in South Africa showed that illiterate people, even though they may have gained their licenses by fraud or not have them at all, have fewer accidents and are able to navigate and understand the road signs without difficulty. This seems to challenge some of our fundamental presuppositions about the advantages of literacy. It also pinpoints nicely the issue of why some people may opt out of the system of formal literacy altogether, even though they are clearly competent and enterprising people.

In a series of previous studies …

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Publication information: Article title: "Less Literate Are Safer": The Politics of Orality and Literacy in Biblical Interpretation. Contributors: Draper, Jonathan A. - Author. Journal title: Anglican Theological Review. Volume: 84. Issue: 2 Publication date: Spring 2002. Page number: 303+. © Anglican Theological Review, Inc. Winter 2009. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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