In her book, Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus, Lois Tverberg writes about how American, European, and Australian readers we have WEIRD filters.
WEIRD doesn't mean bad or strange*. In fact, it's an acronym for:
- Western (they are Eastern)
- Educated (we think in abstractions and logic, they thought in pictures and parables)
- Industrialized (We focus on work outside of the home; they focus on growth and strength of family)
- Rich (easy access to food and housing)
- Democratic- in voting countries. (We focus on individual good versus the good of the community)
Tverberg shares an example I've never thought of before in her description for "Rich". She mentions the story of Luke 12:15-21, how the rich man built barns for his overflowing crops, in order to take care of him in the future. This makes sense to a modern, Western reader. But Tverberg points out that this would have shocked readers in the first century, because it means he didn't share his wealth with the community first.
What does this example and the WEIRD filters show us about the difference in first-world life? How can it help us read the Bible differently?
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