thanks, dan—I believe you’re right to point out that a piece of advice Paul gave in a letter to a specific church that was having a problem with a particular group of women in a particular cultural context can be distorted when applied universally.
Augustine says all interpreters of Scripture are always caught in the dilemma of when to take something literally and when allegorically. We could expand this and say that we are always faced with the challenge of figuring out when we should read something as particular to that culture and when we should consider it universally applicable? Am I to come away from Kanye West’s 2005 hit single thinking that all women are "gold-diggers"? Alas, no. And should I consider a group of people in Norbert’s church who are struggling with the way the Bible relates to them and the world examples of why the whole church is run by a bunch of "barbarians"? (I mean, what’s their problem? Why can’t they get with the times? I mean, really, who uses an outdated contradiction-laden Book to figure out what to do with themselves these days! How archaic! Such people don’t belong among the civilized.)
No. It would be narrow-minded and judgmental to think this way.
grant
Feb 08 2008
01:27 pm
thanks, dan—I believe you’re right to point out that a piece of advice Paul gave in a letter to a specific church that was having a problem with a particular group of women in a particular cultural context can be distorted when applied universally.
Augustine says all interpreters of Scripture are always caught in the dilemma of when to take something literally and when allegorically. We could expand this and say that we are always faced with the challenge of figuring out when we should read something as particular to that culture and when we should consider it universally applicable? Am I to come away from Kanye West’s 2005 hit single thinking that all women are "gold-diggers"? Alas, no. And should I consider a group of people in Norbert’s church who are struggling with the way the Bible relates to them and the world examples of why the whole church is run by a bunch of "barbarians"? (I mean, what’s their problem? Why can’t they get with the times? I mean, really, who uses an outdated contradiction-laden Book to figure out what to do with themselves these days! How archaic! Such people don’t belong among the civilized.)
No. It would be narrow-minded and judgmental to think this way.