I am starting my seventh year with
this fourteenth trip to China. Never in my wildest dream would I even imagine
doing what I am doing here and enjoying it so much. Living with a Chinese
family makes it possible for me to live inside the culture, not just observe it
from the outside. Experiencing life in a different culture prepared me to
better understand a book I read about a year ago. The book titled “The Gospel
of Ruth” by Carolyn Curtis James exposed me to the importance of understanding
the culture in which a story is written. Looking at Ruth through the lens of
the western culture gives a much different interpretation that looking at it
through the ancient culture in which it was written.
Several weeks ago I listened to a
sermon by Dr. Robert Creech in which he took issue with how the western church
shares the gospel with unbelievers. He showed us from the scriptures how our
approach was not the method Jesus used. Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make
you fishers of men.” The essence of the sermon was for us to guide an
unbeliever, over time, along the path of discovering Jesus by show them what
Jesus did and who he was. We are to show them kingdom living and help them
develop a desire to be part of it. Again and again in the coffee shop students
tell me how they dislike talking with many westerns about Christianity because
they push so hard to convince them to believe as they do. When I use the
approach Jesus used and help them follow Jesus with our conversation they relax
and ask question after question. I help them grow in their understanding of who
Jesus is and what he did and then one day they want in. The direct approach in
China does not fit the culture. It turns them away and causes them to see
Americans as arrogant.
When considering a text, not only is
culture important, but so is the scope of its application. Often we try to
apply it to a specific culture or group of people. I believe the Bible was
written in an ancient culture but meant for global application. For example, if
we view portions of scripture in terms of married women then we leave out those
who are not married. An example of this is the word “ezer” which is found in
Genesis 2:18. In chapter 1 of Genesis, woman is described as God’s image bearer
along with man, but then in chapter 2, we limit the application of ezer to only
married women thus eliminating about 60 percent of the female population from
its application. Chapter 2 does speak of marriage, but as a subset group that
ezer would apply to. As a result many women are missing out on special
instruction to them and are being overlooked in partnership with unmarried men
for kingdom work. Ruth and Boaz illustrate this before they were married. Their
marriage was not out of love but was legally required to accomplish a work of
redemption. This required Ruth to be a surrogate mother on Naomi’s behalf. To
do this she needed the help of a man.
So culture does make a difference.
You need to understand the culture in which it was written and interpret it in
that context. It is also important to understand that the Scripture applies to
all people groups. If our application only fits us or a certain period of time
then maybe we should look a bit closer. I understand there are certain portions
of Scripture that relate to the Jews or a particular time, but let us be
careful with the rest.
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