Contextualized Interpretation

Christian faith is essentially connected to the understanding of the Scriptures. As Christian believers try to understand the things of God, reading the Bible is essential in that discovery.  Most students of the Bible in the United States realize that the Bible was written in a very different time, location and cultural context.  As a result, many Christians appreciate learning about figures of speech, common phrases and cultural practices in ancient Middle East, as this will increase their comprehension of the biblical text and its message.  But we must not ignore that all readers will also bring their own cultural lenses to the interpretation of the biblical text.  So, those who seek understanding of the things of God through the Scriptures need to be aware of the limitations imposed by that fact, realizing that since we are living in a different location and culture, we may be missing some important aspects of the message in interpreting the biblical text. 

As an observer of different groups of evangelicals in the United States, I think that many believers do not realize how much contextualization they apply in their interpretation of the Bible.  It should be noted that the relevant question here is not whether we should contextualize the Scriptures (we all do it), but whether we are able to contextualize it well enough. Many middle class evangelical believers I have met in the United States approach the Scriptures from the context of a relatively comfortable life experience and a predominantly individualistic cultural mindset. The message of the gospel tends to be reduced, through contextualization, to an understanding of God’s relation to human beings in individual, and rather isolated, ways.  Christianity tends to be interpreted by many as God relating to the individual separated from his or her community. 

As a result, the references to certain biblical themes such as the promise of liberation, the quest for justice and the need to end or minimize oppression, among other relevant ones, are simply reduced to purely spiritual or mystical expectations.  Understanding the Bible in this way diminishes the profound meaning of the Bible in all areas of life and our understanding of what God’s demands of Christians in a very unjust world.

The evangelical world in the global South is much more diverse than that of the United States.  While American Christian literature tends to be predominant in most evangelical circles around the world, there is an increasing number of approaches that attempt to contextualize the Scriptures from the perspective of the harsh realities Christians experience as a result of living in poverty and/or systematic injustice.       

Significant voices from Africa and Latin America in particular are inviting Christians to consider new perspectives in the interpretation of the Bible.  It is clearly not the case that the message of the Scriptures has changed, but its living message is highlighted in the different context or setting of the believers that seek to understand God’s message.

The ethical values that are inherent to the Kingdom of God that Jesus introduced in this world can be better understood when we are willing to hear what the message means to those who suffer oppression and/or marginalization.  Listening to biblical interpretations from more community-oriented believers can help us discover the depth of the message of the gospel beyond the terms of an individual relationship with God.  The Kingdom of God is not only a future reality, or a reality in a different cosmic dimension, the Kingdom has come in the person of Jesus Christ and he inaugurated a new era for human beings, bringing down the barriers of separation that human beings tend to build.  In the American context, believers need to be aware of the barriers that excessive individualism can build.  

For example, too many American Christians expect the Church to be only a place where they can get their private “spiritual” needs met.  The Church, however, should be a family where members are in communion with God and with each other.  Like believers within the first Christian communities, believers in the global South understand that strangers who meet only at weekly church services do not make a community.  Community requires that the members know each other and have significant relationships with each other.  That is so easy to miss if we assume an uncritical contextualization of church and the things of God to the American culture.

Believers in other parts of the world also need to be aware of the risks of uncritical contextualization, of course.  All cultures need to be tested and judged by the Scriptures. However, we must always remember that our understanding of God’s Word is heavily influenced by our own cultural lenses and life experience through which we read it.  This is why we need to remind ourselves to listen to each other as we approach the Scriptures.