E. Randolph Richards. (2012). Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible. InterVarsity Press.

E. Randolph Richards. 2012. Misreading Scripture With Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible. InterVarsity Press.

E. Randolph Richards, Misreading Scripture With Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible. InterVarsity Press, 2012.

E. Randolph Richards. Misreading Scripture With Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible. InterVarsity Press, 2012.

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1. • value: Biblical interpretation
2. • value: bias
3. • value: Shame
4. • value: honor
5. • value: Individualism
6. • value: Christian Missions
7. • value: race
8. • value: Middle Eastern Culture
9. • value: ethnicity
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11. • value: ancient Near East
12. • value: collectivism
13. • value: crosscultural
14. • value: global mission
15. • value: misunderstand
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     E. Randolph Richards (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is provost and professor of biblical studies in the School of Ministry at Palm Beach Atlantic University. His many books include Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes, Rediscovering Jesus, Rediscovering Paul, The Story of Israel, and Paul and First-Century Letter Writing.

   • name: E. Randolph Richards
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     Brandon J. O'Brien (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is assistant professor of Christian theology at Ouachita Baptist University and director of OBU at New Life Church in Conway, Arkansas. He is coauthor, with E. Randolph Richards, of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes and Paul Behaving Badly, as well as the author of The Strategically Small Church. A senior editor for Leadership Journal, O?Brien has published in Christianity Today, Relevant, and the Out of Ur blog, and has been interviewed by and quoted in USA Today and other national newspapers.

   • name: Brandon J. O'Brien

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Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes

fullDescription

Over 100,000 Copies Sold Worldwide!
ECPA Bronze Sales Award
Bookwi.se's Favorite Books of the Year

What was clear to the original readers of Scripture is not always clear to us. Because of the cultural distance between the biblical world and our contemporary setting, we often bring modern Western biases to the text. For example:

When Western readers hear Paul exhorting women to "dress modestly," we automatically think in terms of sexual modesty. But most women in that culture would never wear racy clothing. The context suggests that Paul is likely more concerned about economic modesty—that Christian women not flaunt their wealth through expensive clothes, braided hair and gold jewelry.

Some readers might assume that Moses married "below himself" because his wife was a dark-skinned Cushite. Actually, Hebrews were the slave race, not the Cushites, who were highly respected. Aaron and Miriam probably thought Moses was being presumptuous by marrying "above himself."

Western individualism leads us to assume that Mary and Joseph traveled alone to Bethlehem. What went without saying was that they were likely accompanied by a large entourage of extended family.

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 crosscultural 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.

Getting beyond our own cultural assumptions is increasingly important for being Christians in our interconnected and globalized world. Learn to read Scripture as a member of the global body of Christ.

reviews

1. • premium: False
   • source: Martin W. Mittelstadt, Religious Studies Review 39, no. 2, June 2013
   • content: "Whether rules over relationships or correctness over community, respective Western and non-Western worldviews may differ on appropriate conduct, discretion, and exceptions. Randolph and O'Brien write with grace and clarity. Though evangelical, they steer clear of moral or political agendas and give no hint of anti-Western sentiments; they even suggest someone write a complementary sequel: Misreading Scripture with Eastern Eyes. Their extensive range of biblical and contemporary samples makes this an excellent resource for confessional Bible study contexts or an entry-level textbook in undergraduate courses on biblical interpretation."
2. • premium: False
   • source: James Patrick Holding, Christian Research Journal 36, no. 5
   • content: "Written in engaging prose, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes is a must-have for students of the Bible, and especially students of biblical apologetics. Any seasoned traveler knows that when someone visits a foreign country for the first time, he or she will be well served by a competent guide. When it comes to the social world of the Bible, Richards and O'Brien serve as tour guides par excellence."
3. • premium: False
   • source: Jackson Wu, Evangelical Missions Quarterly, July 2013
   • content: "For many, [this] book will offer a dose of humility with hope. One is encouraged to admit, 'I don't know' while at the same time is spurred on to study the Bible more. Missionaries will be challenged to think more theologically and to listen respectfully to nationals who live around them. Theologians will be forced to consider how the adage 'context is king' applies to their own worldview. This is a perfect book to discuss within small groups at church or as teams on the mission field."
4. • premium: False
   • source: Glenn Rl. Kreider, Bibliotheca Sacra, October–December 2013
   • content: "This is an outstanding treatment of a complex and important topic. . . . This would make a good textbook for courses in hermeneutics or biblical interpretation, cultural studies, prolegomena, or theological method, as well as small-group studies in a local church. The book is written at a level that educated laypeople as well as pastors, teachers, and scholars will find helpful."
5. • premium: False
   • source: Worship Leader Magazine, May 2013
   • content: "A politely confrontational book that bids you trade in your cultural spectacles and rethink how your worldview distorts your scriptural conclusions. Sex, money, food, self-focus, prejudices, and much more: developed with apt storytelling and enlightening examples."

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Over 100,000 Copies Sold Worldwide!
ECPA Bronze Sales Award
Bookwi.se's Favorite Books of the Year

What was clear to the original readers of Scripture is not always clear to us. Because of the cultural distance between the biblical world and our contemporary setting, we often bring modern Western biases to the text. For example:

When Western readers hear Paul exhorting women to "dress modestly," we automatically think in terms of sexual modesty. But most women in that culture would never wear racy clothing. The context suggests that Paul is likely more concerned about economic modesty—that Christian women not flaunt their wealth through expensive clothes, braided hair and gold jewelry.

Some readers might assume that Moses married "below himself" because his wife was a dark-skinned Cushite. Actually, Hebrews were the slave race, not the Cushites, who were highly respected. Aaron and Miriam probably thought Moses was being...

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tableOfContents

Introduction: Coming to Terms with Our Cultural Blinders
Part One: Above the Surface
1. Serving Two Masters: Mores
2. The Bible in Color: Race and Ethnicity
3. Just Words? Language
Part Two: Just Below the Surface
4. Captain of My Soul: Individualism and Collectivism
5. Have You No Shame? Honor/Shame and Right/Wrong
6. Sand Through the Hourglass: Time
Part Three: Deep Below the Surface
7. First Things First: Rules and Relationships
8. Getting Right Wrong: Virtue and Vice
9. It?s All About Me: Finding the Center of God?s Will
Conclusion: Three Easy Steps for Removing Our Cultural Blinders?
Acknowledgments
Resources for Further Exploration
Notes

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2. • code: REL006400
   • description: Religion / Biblical Studies / Exegesis & Hermeneutics
3. • code: SOC002000
   • description: Social Science / Anthropology / General