The dangers of 'Cultural Context' within interpretation

Having studied theology I am very familiar with the idea of the cultural context aspect of biblical interpretation. This area is becoming a greater part of mainstream thinking, i.e. its not just for theologians to know about but is very often encouraged as part of the wider population of the church. However, having delved into this generally and in relation to a number of topics for 25 years, having embraced many of the ideas and principles I now find it has some serious potential flaws. These are important to consider if you are new or have been used to the ideas for a long time.

Firstly, it relies heavily on us having a very good grasp of the culture at the time. While we can gage aspects of it, our understanding will always be limited. We weren't there. We were not raised in the cultures in biblical times and would miss a myriad of subtle cultural clues and nuances, things which even in our own culture we take for granted until someone points them out.

Looking further at this issue is that there is much variety within a culture. Yes, of course there are larger cultural themes but it goes well beyond that. How someone sees the world can vary household to household. Each home of a family can have different traditions and perceptions which we will very rarely be aware of. So when it comes to biblical interpretation we need to be very careful how we apply cultural understanding and know and be humble about its limitations. It could even lead to things happening such as: each time new information is learnt about the, we might need to change our theology regularly. Maybe you are okay with this. But for me, this does not bode well for believing the Bible is God's word who should be perfectly capable to inspire his word to work for all of humanity throughout time.

Secondly, culture can give us an idea but often in relation to things outside of the text. What I mean is, scripture is God's word. Not the cultural context. When we weigh heavily on culture and not the word, we actually risk undermining the word. We can end up relying on our (limited) understanding of the culture in our interpretation of texts. Which basically means, we rely on our own understanding and not God's. We can lean on assumptions in interpretation. We assume 'A' therefore the passage must mean this, Really? What if your assumption is wrong? Even if it is an educated assumption, it is still an assumption. Essentially, it is no different than simply adding to the text. I see assumptions being made by commentators all the time across the spectrum of theological thought, statements that start with things like: Paul was obviously meaning...they were really thinking...What Peter meant by this was...

These are two serious issues. While looking at culture can help us get a rough idea of things, when we heavily lean on a cultural argument for our theology, which can potentially influence a small congregation up to thousands and even millions of people, its not something to take lightly; God certainly does not and it is important to remember '...we who teach will be judged more strictly' (James 3:1b, NIV 1984).

I remember hearing an argument on a particular topic where, in order to get around a text, the interpretation went something like this: We can assume (assumption 1) that Paul is assuming (assumption 2). This then allowed a particular interpretation of a text. This was an absurd double assumption, neither of the assumptions were clear or stated within the text. Yet the speakers were deadly sincere and were teaching this to a large congregation, then posting it online, their entire view of the passages and its interpretation relied on these two assumptions not in the text itself. So, which has higher authority in this situation? Even if you agree with the principle of what was said, is this how theology should be done? Certainly not!

How reliable can a theological view really be if we have to use assumptions, even double assumptions about the text? We are essentially building a theology completely outside of the text. If you do not believe the Bible is God's word, fine, go for it as long as you let people know. But in most cases these appeals are by people who say and promote the idea of the Bible being the word of God. Yet doing this is not treating the Bible as God's word.

We need to ask some serious questions about how we engage with the text. If we are heavily relying on these 'culture at the time' arguments because we simply do not want to accept certain scriptures then it is important to examine our own hearts. Why are we engaging with scripture in this way? Why not just say 'I don't agree with this aspect Bible'? (some people do this) Why call the Bible God's word, and then seek to circumvent it in some way using culture arguments? Equally, when teaching and promoting the cultural aspect of interpretation, how do you do it? In depth, or just vaguely and reference only type of thing?

When it comes to interpretation, I say, stick with the text. The text is what is inspired. The text is God breathed, not our understanding of the culture. This to many might be fairly controversial, but think about it, if the Bible, the written word of God is in fact the word of God, then would it not also mean God would provide a way to understanding in the text, working alongside his Holy Spirit?

If we say the Bible is his word, then we need to treat it as such, yet so often the arguments made regarding culture put our (limited) cultural understanding as the final authority rather than the text itself. This is the danger, we need to remember both when we engage with the text and when we promote cultural analysis to others, that we continue to treat the Bible as God's word. For his word is the final authority. Pastors, when you encourage others to consider the culture, do you actually also teach people how to do this? What sources to use? How to think critically about it?

Now, about head coverings. You might argue that therefore I should be promoting head coverings for women because the text says that they should have them. This is a typical back lash answer yet has a very simple solution. In the text head coverings are referred to as a 'practice'. This word refers to culture directly. So the word makes it clear it is a cultural practice, not an all time moral. It teaches us that at times we need to follow cultural practices in order to, as Paul writes ' I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some' (1 Cor 9:22, NIV). There is more depth to the passage but that is not for this article, the point is though that the word of God is clear in the text what is going on when we study properly. It also shows us that when God wants to highlight something as cultural, he is perfectly able to do so. So, do we trust him? Or trust our own limited assumptions and understanding? Do we really believe the Bible is his word, or do we put the culture at the time as more authoritative? Let's be honest.

Sometimes to be empowered in Christ, we need to set times of self reflection. Life can be so busy, and we can get caught up focussed on defending or promoting a view point, moral cause or political party and that on top of normal day to day life. It is important to be honest with your self and God how you approach scripture. Do you really want to follow it? Do you really believe it is God's word? When you interpret something, or listen to others, do you generally go to those who say what deep down you want to hear? Unless we are aware in ourselves of the honest answers to these questions we can become stuck spiritually. God is very much into truth, even truth that we might not want to hear, but it is the only way he works. Unless we engage with in him in truth, it creates a block to areas of our lives. Because he wants worshippers who worship in Spirit and truth. If we are more interested in supporting our views than is learning truth, our learning about scripture becomes more about us, and less about Jesus. Our excuses work with people, but they will not work standing before God.

Now, I am not saying ignore the culture. It can be very interesting especially when the text points to something regarding culture. Such as head coverings, wineskins, Hellenistic Jews amongst many other things. But we need to be careful that we do not misuse culture arguments especially when they are often used to undermine the text. How can we really lived as empowered Christians when we undermine God's word? Let's be honest, let's challenge ourselves to be empowered by his word wholly and completely.