Download Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible AudioBook Free
That which was clear to the initial visitors of Scripture is not necessarily clear to us. Due to the ethnical distance between your biblical world and our modern environment, we often bring modern American biases to the text. For example: When American readers listen to Paul exhorting women to "dress modestly", we automatically think in terms of erotic modesty. But most ladies in that culture would never wear racy clothing. The framework shows that Paul is likely more concerned about economical modesty - that Christian women not flaunt their wealth through expensive clothes, braided wild hair, and gold jewelry. Some visitors might presume that Moses hitched "below himself" because his wife was a dark-skinned Cushite. Actually, Hebrews were the slave contest, not the Cushites, who have been highly well known. Aaron and Miriam probably thought Moses was being presumptuous by marrying "above himself". American individualism leads us to presume that Mary and Joseph traveled only to Bethlehem. What went without declaring was that these were likely accompanied by a big entourage of extended family. Biblical scholars Brandon O'Brien and Randy Richards reveal the ways that Western visitors often misunderstand the ethnical dynamics of the Bible. They identify nine key areas where modern Westerners have significantly different assumptions in what might be taking place in a content material. Drawing on their own cross ethnical experience in global objective, O'Brien and Richards show how better self-awareness and knowledge of cultural differences in terminology, time, and interpersonal mores allow us to see the Bible in fresh and unexpected ways. Getting beyond our very own ethnical assumptions is more and more important for being Christians in our interconnected and globalized world. Learn to read Scripture as a member of the global body of Christ.
