Misreading Scripture With Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible has interested me since it came out. It is on my list of books to read. And the reviews of it that I have read have been very positive. ChristianityToday posted a review by Christopher Hall (a specialist in early Christian writers) today.
I think the very idea, that there are cultural filters that we read scripture through is less of an issue today than in the past half century. But if you glance at the comments of the review you will see that there are several that are objecting to the idea of the book.
I wonder if I am the only one that think that the cover image looks like Dietrich Bonhoeffer?
The cover of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible (InterVarsity) is striking. Authors E. Randolph Richards (dean of the School of Christian Ministry at Palm Beach Atlantic University) and Brandon J. O’Brien (an editor at large for Leadership Journal) have us look at a white, male face, gazing outward from behind a printed page, eyes covered by blue-tinted glasses. The message is clear, as is the overarching message of the book: North American evangelicals “read” the Bible””and the world””through Western eyes. This insight is now commonplace in discussions about biblical interpretation in popular and academic circles, as Richards and O’Brien readily admit. Indeed, all human beings come to the Bible with cultural “habits,” deeply ingrained patterns of interpreting the world that inevitably shape””and sometimes warp””our interpretation and understanding of Scripture.
continue reading the rest of the review at ChristianityToday’s website
Nope–I see Bonhoeffer too. 🙂 In the middle of the book, and enjoying it–I’d thought I had a decent idea of some of the cultures of the Biblical era, but am learning a lot about how much I don’t know. Fairly easy reading, but (at least so far) some great stuff.