Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus: Removing Western Filters

I started this series on Lois Tverberg's Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus talking about the idea of how it's easy for a reader to view Scripture through the lens of the 21st Century—and even a Western perspective.

On page 18, she quotes New Testament Scholar Kenneth E. Bailey, where he writes:

"The Bible is an Eastern book. We see it through the colored glasses of Western culture. Much is lost. We miss the subtleties of humor and many of the underlying assumptions. We do not understand the ingrained attitudes that illuminate a story or illustration... what likes between the lines, what is felt and not spoken, is of deepest significance..... It is my perception that for us as Westerners, the cultural distance "over" to the Middle East is greater than the distance 'back' to the first century. The cultural gulf between the West and the East is deeper and wider than the gulf between the first century (in the Middle East) and the contemporary conservative Middle Eastern village."

What does this mean for the modern, Western reader who wishes to follow Christ and live according to His Word? How can we learn the Jewish perspective and read with Eastern eyes?

Do you agree with this statement—that it is harder bridge to understanding the cultural differences between the East and West than to the mindset of someone 2000 years ago?

It's because of this that I've been embarking on this study. As a Western female in 2018, I do not want to miss even one drop of truth from the Bible because I don't understand a cultural nuance—even though I know that I have. I know I have these filters, so I am asking God to help me read with Eastern eyes.

Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus: Removing Our Filters

Recently, I've been trying to peel back the filters of being a 21st century, American, female reader when reading the Bible. It's so easy for me to assume so much from my culture and worldview as I read the Bible. But what would it mean to read with Jewish eyes?

To this end, one of the books I read recently is Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus by Lois Tverberg.

Tverberg opens the book with statements supporting this view: "How can [non-Jewish] Christians be equipped to read the Bible from the Hebraic perspective of its first readers? What big-picture ideas do we need to understand?.... In the past few decades, we've been realizing that Jesus has been overly cast within Greco-Roman society to the neglect of His Jewish context. Jesus interacted with a wide spectrum of people—Samaritans, Romans, Greeks—and yet His Galilean upbringing and ministry were profoundly, deeply Jewish. While we find Paul preaching to Greek audiences, Jesus' words fit far better into Judaism than a Gentile context." (p. 11, emphasis and insertions mine).

This is what I want to discover, and I feel like this book is an excellent introduction into this topic. Care to dive in with me? In the next few posts, I'll explore just a few of the themes Tverberg focuses on. Stay tuned!

Quest for the Historical Apostles

I went to Toccoa Falls College, in Toccoa Falls, Ga, from 2005-2007. During that time, I completed my English degree and a minor in Bible (although, I didn't apply for the certificate to show the minor).

Anywho, when I found out that one of my former professors wrote a book, I had to check it out for myself!

Dr. W. Brian Shelton's book, Quest for the Historical Apostles, really intrigued me. I could see the immense research that went into such a topic, as Dr. Shelton explored the paths of each of the apostles from their journeys with Jesus, receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost through their ministries in faraway lands—and deaths for His' sake.

My favorite part of this book was how it was written: exactly as promised. Dr. Shelton takes the reader on a quest, much like the disciples themselves went on.

If you love Biblical history, this is a great book to check out.

The Zion Chronicles

The Zion Chronicles pick up with the Zion Covenant Series left off.

Except this time, the reader is taken to Israel in 1948, in the months leading up to Israel's independence.

image taken from here

Even though this 5-book series picks up roughly 9 years after the close of the Zion Covenant Series, Bodie and Brock Thoene connect the two extremely well. Even better, as you get farther and farther in, familiar characters pop up and take you along on their journeys.

You'll find yourself winding through the streets of Jerusalem, looking for ways into the kibbutz of the Old Quarter along with the characters. You'll root for them and for their freedom, all while exploring the unforgettable, ancient streets of Jerusalem... both above and below the surface of the earth.

Best of all, in my opinion, is the real hero of this series (other than God)—a shaggy dog named Shaul.

The Zion Covenant Series

I just finished re-reading the Zion Covenant Series by Bodie and Brock Thoene.

Set in pre-WWII, this series takes you throughout Germany, Austria, Prague, France, Belgium, Spain, the Czech Republic to the United Kingdom, Israel, and even California. It's an adventure of incredible proportions, set in the heartbreaking and explosive era of Hitler's rise to power and Nazism.

image from here

Through Elisa and Murphy, Theo and Karin, Thomas, Rachel, Archie, Otto, Leah and Shimon, and so many, many more, the reader is given just a small glimpse of what life was like during that time. The detail is so rich, you can almost hear Elisa's violin and Leah's cello, Vittorio, play their symphonies, the clackety-clack of Murphy's keys as he typed up his stories.... and the silence bred by terror as the world turned upside down and inside out, never to be the same again. 

The writers will take you from the screaming of a madman, through the secret messages carried by instrument and finally, played over the airways, to the cries of an infant, helpless, as he is hidden in plain sight as his family is taken away to Auschwitz—and then taken across many borders until finally reaching his grandfather in Israel.... which is where Theones' next series picks up. 

For lovers of historical fiction in WWII, this series is a must.