Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Social Mores

On August 6, 2018, post from Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus, I talk about author Lois Tverberg's concept of WEIRD filters. Tverberg claims that being Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (in countries with voting systems) affects our interpretation of the Bible.

She then goes on to use an example concerning money and the accumulation of wealth, and shows how it could be read differently to Middle Eastern readers.

Authors E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien continue this idea in Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes by talking about social "mores" (or social conventions that dictate which behaviors are considered appropriate or inappropriate) and how those from the West influence Western readers.

The authors specifically focus on the "mores" of sex, food, and money. On page 41, they highlight an interesting dichotomy:

"Westerners instinctively consider wealth an unlimited resource. There's more than enough to go around, we believe. Everyone could be wealthy, if only they tried hard enough. So if you don't have all the money you want, it's because you lack the virtues required for success—industry, frugality, and determination.....

"This understanding of wealth is the very opposite of how many non-Western cultures view it. Outside the West, wealth is often viewed as a limited resource. There is only so much money to be had, so if one person has a lot of it, then everyone else has less to divide among themselves. If you make your slice of the pie larger, then my slice is smaller. In those cultures, folks are more likely to consider the accumulation of wealth to be immoral, since you can only become wealthy if other people become poor."

Having already discussed the "more" of sex, the authors references mentions of modesty in the Bible and point out that to an Eastern reader, they could also be reading "financial modesty" into the text, as well as physical modesty.

How does this affect how we read references to the wealth, the wealthy, and modesty in Scripture?

This book has made me think beyond my WEIRD filters in a new way, and I'm so thankful to have read it. I highly recommend it! Check it out on Amazon if you haven't already!

Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes

I'm going to continue in my series on books talking about removing our Western lenses with another book that I think is incredible: Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes by E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien.

Here is a brief description from Amazon about this book:

"Biblical scholars Brandon O'Brien and Randy Richards shed light on the ways that Western readers often misunderstand the cultural dynamics of the Bible. They identify nine key areas where modern Westerners have significantly different assumptions about what might be going on in a text. Drawing on their own cross-cultural experience in global mission, O'Brien and Richards show how better self-awareness and understanding of cultural differences in language, time and social mores allow us to see the Bible in fresh and unexpected ways."

Over the next few posts, I'm going to dive into some of the themes that really made me think. I highly recommend this book, as the examples given in it really made me read things with fresh eyes!

Reading Through the Bible with Rabbi Jesus: Read it Yourself!

That's all for this series on Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus!

Lois Tverberg talked about SO MUCH MORE than I summarized, and it is all sooooo good. But I'm going to stop here because she went to a lot of work on this book, and I think everyone should read it and not my summaries of the points that really hit home to me.

So, go out and read this book! And then please come back and tell me what you think!

Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus: Y'all

In chapter 7 of Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus, Lois Tverberg dives deep into a description of what it means to be from a collective society (community-oriented).

She begins by pointing out itself how the language in the Bible is community-oriented. A primary example is the word "you". In English, we don't have an official word for "you plural"... unless you count the southern "y'all" (and I do!). Officially, "you" can mean 1 person or a group.

But many languages, including Hebrew, differentiate between the two forms. And Tverberg says that many places in the Bible where English speakers see "you" and automatically think "me" should think "us". For instance, on page 132 she uses the example of 1 Corinthians 6:19, where Paul says, "Don't you know that you are the temple of the living God?" The "you" there is plural (y'all). How does that change how we read this verse? Or Jesus saying, "You are the light of the world"?

This concept ties in directly with the idea of the importance of family and group identity, as we talked about in the last post, and it is mind-boggling (in a good way) for a Western reader. 

How would our understanding of the Bible be different if we looked for the "y'all" in the context?

Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus: Family is important

In Chapter 6 of Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus, Lois Tverberg talks about the importance of family in a way I've never thought of before.

Being from the West, while family is important in my culture, it doesn't have the same focus and weight as in the East. Maybe it's because my country is less than 300 years old. My family's "memory" is really only goes back around 3-4 generations. 

But for those from the East, it's very different. 

In the West, we say, "I'm so and so and I do this job". We put our identities in what we do.

In the East, Tverberg says they say, "I am so and so, from the family of _____". Their identity is bound up in the identity of their family. Why? Because the family is what will last long after the individual passes away (p. 119). This is why it's so important for your family to have a good reputation, why honor and shame is so important, and why every action needs to be thought of in terms of what it means for the family name, not the individual. (Edited April 4, 2020: For more about this, check out the post on names in Near Eastern culture here).

This is also why it is so important for people to marry and have children, and why barrenness is a curse. And why when God says He will bless someone's name and family, it is so important. It means a great, lasting reputation.

But the coolest thing to me, is how in Romans, Paul says that Gentiles who accept Him are grafted into the family of God. We have that legacy, and are part of it—not because of birth, but because of grace. 

What do you think? How does our concept of identity change when we think in terms of family and relational status, instead of our profession? How does that impact our thinking of what it means to be part of the family of God?

Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus: Words and the Meaning of Words

In Chapter 4 of Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus, Lois Tverberg talks about understanding the depth and breadth of Hebrew words can really help in understanding what is being said.

An example she uses is found on page 64, where she says that the word for "work" is the same word for "worship", and the word for "listen" as "obey".

What I think is so interesting for that is the implied action involved in each of those words. Each have a "forward action", if you will. There's an assumption, almost, that if you are working, you are worshipping. And if you are listening, you need to obey.

She also talks about the words "remember" and "forget" also as having accompanying meanings—which makes sense. When God tells the Israelites, "I will remember you", He's not just saying that He'll think of them. It means He'll act on their behalf. "Forget" has the opposite connotation—it's not just an absence in the mind, but a removal.

How can the deeper meanings of these words have significance to us as we read the Bible in 2018?

Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus: What does it mean to have a King?

In Chapter 3 of her book, Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus, Lois Tverberg asks the question, "What does 'Christ' mean, anyway?"

When I first read that, I thought, Well, Messiah, of course. After all, that's what I was taught: Jesus the Messiah. "Christ" isn't a last name, but a title.

But as Tverberg explored the true meaning of Messiah (you really need to read this book!) and takes it so much deeper.

Through example after example, verse after verse, Tverberg proves that "Christ" means "God's chosen King"—something a first century reader would have understood.

This really got me thinking. What does it mean to live under a king? As an American, I come from a political system where every 4 years, I have the opportunity to vote for the leader of my country. Any leader cannot serve for more than 8 years (or 10, for special circumstances*). Even if I am not a fan of my current leader, I have a voice in choosing the next one, and I know that no matter what, he will be gone in a few years.

In the Western world, we glamorize the word "king". All the best stories have a king. In fact, it's not even the West that does this. Proof of this is the enormous international audience during both Prince William and Princess Kate's wedding in 2011 and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding earlier this year. The numbers of people who watched were astronomical... one source even says 1.9 billion people watched Harry and Meghan's. 

But having a king, in some countries, might seem more like a nightmare than a fairy tale. After all, kings have absolute power. They can help their countries; or they can seriously hurt them. We see this time and time again throughout history. And maybe the hardest of all, they can do this for life. They don't lose their power after a few years.

I don't know what it means to live in a system where I don't have a vote and maybe won't see a change in power in my lifetime. I don't know what it means to pledge allegiance to a king in a practical sense. Yet, we talk about God as the King of Kings and we sing praise songs referring to Him as such. But do we, do I, really understand what that means?

First century readers did. They would have known immediately what the word "Messiah" meant, and what it could mean for them. This is why, when Peter made his declaration in Matthew 16 at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus shushed him. The time for him to be proclaimed as king wasn't ready.

What else can we, as 21st century readers in the Western, glean from this concept of having a king?

Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus: WEIRD Filters

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?

*from pages 36-38

Update on September 24, 2018—check out this updated discussion here!

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.