...1. What can happen when people approach the Bible without any concern for the historical-cultural context? 2. Besides those examples cited in this chapter, please give and explain an example of how understanding the historical-cultural context can shed significant light on the meaning of a specific biblical text. Cite the specific passage you are discussing in your post. (ex. Is. 40:27–30). For people living in an “instant application” society such as ours, what can persuade them to put forth effort to study the historical-cultural context? Without any concern or intelligence of the past and cultural context, when people approach the Bible it can create misinterpretation and the theory that God contradicts himself. We need to know the original context and understanding of that. Knowledge of the context will open our eyes to what God was saying back in the times when the Prophets and the Biblical audience was around (Hayes & Duvall). We cannot began to make logic of most of the sections of the Bible without understanding their context. Segregating sections from their context can show a lack of respect to the power of Scripture. If the chapter is read, the understanding of foresight can allow people to see its meaning. Context is so significant in understanding the Bible that in Revelation 22:18 God warns everyone about changing his word and the penalties for doing so. People who read only a small portion of his word and change his message to benefit or accommodate...
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...1. “Historical-cultural context relates to just about anything outside the text that will help you understand the text itself.” (Duval & Hayes, pg. 51). Historical-cultural context is extremely important when reading God’s word. When people approach the Bible without care for the context it can lead to misunderstanding of the text. The Bible is so important that we as Christians should not want this to happen. Some ways that we can understand the historical- cultural context is by paying attention to the biblical writer and also the audience which it is written to. By learning about the writer and audience it will give you a better understanding of the history behind the passages. A few more examples of things to look out for in each passage are religion, politics, where it takes place, family life, and social acceptable/ no acceptable customs. If we take the time to understand the context, we will more fully grasp the resemblance to our everyday lives. However, not understanding all these different factors will lead to misunderstanding and misinterpreting information that God wants us to understand. The culture which the bible was written in was different than the culture we live in now. This can make it easy to mix up the meaning of specific verses or passages. Easy ways to look up the specifics of Historical- cultural context is by using Bible atlases, Bible dictionaries/ encyclopedias, commentaries, background commentaries, Old and New Testament histories, and special...
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...Forum 1 (Modules 2 and 3): Historical-Cultural Context 1. Historical-Cultural Context - According to Duvall & Hays, in Journey Into God’s Word; the first step in understanding the bible, or any historical text for that matter, is understanding the text as it relates to the original author and his or her specific audiences. If a reader doesn’t have a good grasp of the circumstances surrounding the introduction of the text at the time of authorship, how can he or she begin to understand the author’s original intent? Was the author relating a story to elicit particular feelings or emotions, laying down edicts to be followed without waiver, or just providing a narrative description of actual events? Furthermore, historical and cultural context give us a framework for looking at a passage or literary piece, and applying the information based upon the changes in the current conditions as they exist today. Duvall & Hays use the New Testament passage referencing the difficulty of a rich man entering the kingdom of heaven as a perfect example of the miss-application of historical context. For years children have been taught of a gate in the walls of Jerusalem called the ‘Eye of the Needle’ that was so narrow camels had to thread their way through very carefully. Unfortunately, there is no record of any such gate actually existing; therefore, even though the imagery is poignant, interpreting the meaning of the passage using this false historical context leads readers down a path...
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...related to your Discussion Board Forum, Duvall & Hays discussed the importance of the historical-cultural context (Chapter 5). Throughout the chapter, they identify the key aspects you should consider related to the historical-cultural context when you study Scripture. Pulling specifically from the Duvall & Hays text and synthesizing into your own words, write a 250–300-word response to the 3 prompts below. In addition, in the second part of first question you are asked, "Do you care to share any examples from your own experience?" based upon what we have learned in the reading. Answer the three prompts in 3 separate paragraphs. 1. What can happen when people approach the Bible without any concern for the historical-cultural context? Do you care to share any examples from your own experience? 2. Can you think of an example of the historical-cultural context shedding significant light on the meaning of a biblical text? 3. For people living in an “instant application” society such as ours, what can persuade them to put forth effort to study the historical-cultural context? “Historical-cultural context relates to just about anything outside the text that will help you understand the text itself.” (Duval & Hayes, pg. 51) Historical-cultural context is imperatively important when reading God’s word. When people approach the Bible without concern for the historical-cultural context it can lead to gross misunderstanding of the divine text. If someone reading biblical...
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...In chapter 5 of the book " Journey Into God's Word" discusses historical-cultural context. I thought it was a very interesting read. When people approach the Bible without concern for historical-cultural context the reader can get confused. The Bible was written many centuries ago to let people know what God was saying. If you read the Bible just to read it and without understanding its true meaning, you would absolutely have no clue on what is going on in the verses. So in order to have a good understanding you have to dig deep and open your mind about the time, place, and the author who was writing it. To be honest in my own life, I really have no experiences to share because I’m not a big reader. I believe in God but never really took the time to read the Bible to get very in dept with the scripture. If I had to give and example of an historical- cultural context that shed light on a biblical text it would be the Psalm 23. This scripture gives you several background descriptions that mean more than geographical features. Today we live in a microwaveable world where we want everything in an instant. We don’t want to take the time to read and think about things. Psalm 23, is the perfect biblical text to persuade people to study the discussion board topic. It covers every emotion that a person could possible go through in a day from trust, fear, confidence, and...
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...When reading the Bible, knowing the historical-cultural context regarding what is being read is very important. The Bible is God’s word, and it is important to understand, as best we can, His message to us. When people approach the Bible without any concern for the historical-cultural context, the message that God is relaying to us can often be misunderstood. The reader will be unable to apply the message to their lives in ways that will be relevant to us today. If readers do not understand the relevance of a particular passage to the biblical audience, they will be on the wrong track to understanding the relevance of that passage to the audience of today. There are many examples of how understanding the historical-cultural context can shed light on the meaning of a specific biblical text. One example is found in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered in My name, I am among them.” Many people associate this verse with attending church. Although church attendance is important, Jesus is actually speaking of the process of church discipline. Jesus said that if anyone has a brother who has sinned against you, then you are to go to him and attempt to work it out. If he refuses to acknowledge his fault, you are to bring one or more witnesses to help work the matter out. Living in an “instant application” society, such as ours, can be very damaging to our understanding of God’s word. It is extremely important to take God’s word seriously and to honor how...
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...If people approach the Bible without considering the historical or cultural context then it is easy for one to misinterpret the true meaning of what is happening or to not truly appreciate the significance of what is taking place. I always thought the phrase “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word and I shall be healed” before receiving communion was a quick or mini confession. It wasn’t until I read Matthew 8:8 “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.” As I continued to read Matthew I realized that the express has nothing to do with confession but is about faith and believing! In John 4:1-42 we read a story about Christ traveling from Judea to Galilee and while passing through Samaria meets a woman at a well. After speaking with the woman for a short time she becomes a believer and leaves the well to go into town and spread the word of the Lord. The story itself is amazing but when put into geographical and historical context the feat of turning a Samarian woman into a believer is immense. The normal route from Judea to Galilee would have taken days and Samaria was not a safe place for Jews but Jesus had a divine appointment with a woman from Samaria. Not only was it a risk to travel through Samaria it was also risky to speak to a woman alone in public, this was not considered culturally acceptable at the time. So for Jesus to happen upon a Samarian woman at a well during the middle of the...
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...Myth and Scripture resources for Biblical Study Susan ackerman, Old testament/hebrew Bible editor number 78 Myth and Scripture conteMporary perSpectiveS on religion, language, and iMagination Edited by dexter e. callender Jr. SBl press atlanta copyright © 2014 by SBl press all rights reserved. no part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 copyright act or in writing from the publisher. requests for permission should be addressed in writing to the rights and permissions office, Society of Biblical literature, 825 houston Mill road, atlanta, ga 30329 uSa. library of congress cataloging-in-publication data Myth and scripture : contemporary perspectives on religion, language, and imagination / Dexter E. Callender, Jr., editor. p. cm. — (Society of Biblical literature resources for biblical study ; number 78) includes bibliographical references and index. iSBn 978-1-58983-961-8 (paper binding : alk. paper) — iSBn 978-1-58983-962-5 (electronic format) — iSBn 978-1-58983-963-2 (hardcover binding : alk. paper) 1. Myth in the Bible. 2. Bible. old testament—criticism, interpretation, etc. i. callender, dexter e., 1962– editor of compilation. ii. callender, dexter e., 1962– author. Myth and Scripture : dissonance and convergence.. BS520.5.M98 2014 220.6'8—dc23 2014002897...
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...Gen 1:1-2:4a World Behind the text Historical and Cultural Context Genesis illustrates the way Biblical writers J (Yahwist), E (Elohist) and P (Priestly) drew upon the cultural and religious legacy of the Ancient Near East (ANE) along with its stories and imagery and transformed it to conform to a new vision of a non-mythological God and a monotheistic, superior religion. “The Pentateuch developed against the background of the Ancient Near Eastern culture first cultivated in and spread by Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian empires”. This exemplifies how Israelite religion, was “shaped by responses to and reactions against this culture due both to contacts with neighboring Canaanites and to conflicts with Assyrian and Babylonian empires”. Genesis 1:1-2:4a can therefore be said to reflect the “Babylonian account of creation, which we call Enuma Elish…known from at least 1700 BCE,” “predating the earliest text of Genesis by at least a millennium.” In both Genesis and the ancient Babylonian myth, water is divided into upper and lower waters. The Enuma Elish is recorded on seven tablets and the Genesis account is completed in seven days. The Babylonians created humans to serve as slaves yet in Genesis God creates humans in the likeness of the divine. The Priestly source penned the creation story with the intent of being a “monumental historiographic composition…with the purpose of portraying both the beginnings of mankind and Israel in the spirit of a monotheistic concept...
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...Dermarest in Elwell's Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, explain how it relates to three other disciplines of theology: biblical theology, historical theology, and philosophical theology. Which of the four approaches is the most important in your current or future ministry context? “Systematic theology thus begins with the totality of biblical revelation and the extra biblical truth, provisionally respects the development of doctrine in the church’s history, draws out the teachings of Scripture via sound grammatical, historical, and cultural exegesis, orders the result into a coherent whole where the interrelatedness of its parts is evidenced, and relates the results to the life and witness of the Christian community.” Systematic theology is the study of Scripture in its entirety. This covers diverse subjects such as both the Old and New Testament, church history, missions, and counseling. “Biblical theology is simply theology that is biblical, that is, based on and faithful to the teachings of the Bible.” Millard J. Erickson also refers to Biblical theology as “the right kind of theology”. Systematic theology that is taken directly from Scripture will correlate similarly with Biblical theology. Historical theology is the study of the church and the theologians from within church history. Systematic theology can relate with historical theology by way of marrying specific Biblical doctrine and how Christian theologians and the church have dealt with these truths throughout...
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...Augustine the most important of the three (Babcock, 140) was a great apologist who defended the reputation of the Church (Babcock, 140). He defended the Church from accusations that Christianity was the fault for the fall of the Roman Empire (Babcock, 140). “Ambrose is an important figure for his work in organizing the church’s teaching and practice”. (Babcock, 140). One of the greatest contributions Ambrose brought to the Church is how scripture is interpreted Babcock, 140). This would be important to the Church because the Bible could be understood within historical and cultural context. Even his organizing of Church services and practices was the model for the medieval Catholic Church (Babcock, 141). “The contribution that we associate with Jerome is that he single-handedly translated the entire Bible into Latin” (Babcock, 141). This is an amazing accomplishment for one person, he put the Bible into the hands of the common man. God has given the Bible for all to read and understand, not just the priest or the privileged. Jerome understood that Christ was for all people. These three men brought order, direction and organization to the Roman Catholic Church. Through certain reforms they were able to turn the Church into God’s Kingdom on Earth. This was the motivation of Augustine (Babcock, 140). Word count...
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...Excerpted from Critical Companion to the Bible a Literary Reference Reading the Bible as Literature The Bible was written by many human authors, some of whom are known with certainty and some of whom are disputed. What is more, if you were to ask believing Jews or Christians, they would name a different author of the Bible: God is said to have “inspired” the writing of the Scriptures. The Bible is a religious book, not just for one community of faith, but for several: Jews and Christians of different denominations, including both Catholic and Protestant traditions. These groups disagree as to which books actually belong in the Bible. In addition, over time, several different approaches to interpreting the Bible have been developed by these groups. In this volume, the Bible is examined mainly from a literary point of view. A literary approach to this unique book, however, will only be successful if we are conscious of the fact that it is not to be judged according to the rules of modern literature but rather as a document of the ancient Near Eastern and Jewish-Hellenistic cultures. One Book, Many Books: Which Texts Belong to the Bible The Bible is not a single, unified work but a compilation of individual texts commonly called books. Which books belong to the Bible? This question is answered differently by different religious communities. The Hebrew Bible is the Holy Scripture of the Jews. It contains books originally written in the ancient Hebrew and partly in...
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...Christianity and Its Relationship with the Environment McFague (2000) defines the term environment as the surroundings or conditions in which a human being, an animal or plants lives and operates within. In the context of theology advanced by Christians, the environment refers to the world that God created and humans are part and parcel of that creation. Modern and old works on Christianity, which includes the Bible, have advanced several thoughts regarding the environment and man. These thoughts can be classified into four categories, which include historical, modern, philosophical and theological perspectives about man and environment. In this context, this paper seeks to explore the manner in which Christianity perceive the environment and man. Particularly, the paper will evaluate the historical, modern, philosophical and theological perspectives. The historical thoughts about the environment and man can be derived from the Bible. As McFague (2000) indicates, the foremost chapter in the Bible presents two accounts regarding the creation of the Earth by God. The book, Genesis, indicates that when looking on each and every creation, God finds it “good”. Usually, most Christians fail to see these accounts as literal scientific explanations regarding the manner in which the world began. Rather, they see it as containing fundamental understanding regarding the relationship that exists between God and the Earth that God made for human beings to enjoy. Such a relationship is...
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...Worldview in the Book of John To better comprehend the reasoning behind God’s word in the bible, the historical-cultural context must be considered to provide the necessary insight to grasp the intended message. The first background to investigate would be the writer. Understanding the writer’s faith would tell a lot about why he is writing and under what circumstance(s). Secondly, the historical setting would provide some insight into the definitions and types of wording and sentence structures used. This would significantly allow the reader to “convert” into modern day literary styles. Thirdly, the culture during the times of the writings will significantly provide insight into the why the message is being given. Including these aspects into your study of God’s Word, as written during ancient times, will provide you a correct understanding of the message and application today. John 2:1-21 documents Jesus’ first documented miracle. The historical reference that I feel needs to be understood is that Mary’s relationship with Jesus. She is well aware of His origin as God’s son before His birth as well as the events surrounding His birth. This accounts for her statement to the servants in John 2:5 “His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it””. Based on this historical background, she knew who He truly was and He could provide. The first cultural reference to be investigated would be the wedding itself. Is it the same ceremony as practiced today...
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...happening within our societies. Too often the church is behind the secular community, when it comes to embracing a new trend that impacts our society. In addition, the authors comments, “She argues for multicultural churches as part of a necessary breakthrough to catch up with secular culture, which is ahead of the church in engaging with the broader multicultural society and is already seeking to break down cultural boundaries.” (p.20) Furthermore, the church needs to be inspired by this comment because the church needs to show the world a true...
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