Evans quoted Peter Paris' interesting observation that the interpretive framework that African Americans used to understand Scripture was more important than the Scriptures themselves because they were the source of meaning (Evans 1992: 52). It is, in other words, the interpretation, rather than any literal reading (if there is such a thing), that determine who any individual, or group, says that Jesus is. The image of Jesus Christ that Evans proposed is an image that he believed represented a common, or typical, interpretation of the figure of Jesus Christ in the African American community. This, he indicated, emerged from the history of that community and reflection upon it.
Feminist and liberation theologians have made the important point that standpoint, or social location, influences and determines biblical interpretation. Evans noted that the fact that African American are outsiders within the American society has influenced their perspective on the Bible (Evans 1992: 51). How would this be so?
Social location can affect many things relevant to interpretation. For example, it influences the choice of stories and verses that are important to the individual and group. This choice of story is first apparent in the development of the canon and the tradition. For example, the people of Israel chose the Exodus story as a central motif. In the same way, the exodus story has become important for the African American community because it is the story of escape from bondage. It is also the story of the covenant between a people and their God, which is important to an outsider and dominated people.
Evans discussed Howard Thurman's theological work on Jesus and his relationship to the disinherited in this regard. Thurman pointed out that Jesus' social location was important in understanding his history and meaning for African Americans. He noted that Jesus was as Jew of Palestine, a poor Je
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