What rewinding can teach us about biblical texts

Rewind, though a term most of us know and remember, is essentially obsolete. With the dominance of CDs and DVDs, audio and video cassettes are now essentially obsolete. While we may say, “rewind that, I missed it,” I hear many more people say, “back it up.”

It seems likely that, in 100 years, the term “rewind” will have fallen out of use and familiarity. If anyone randomly happened upon the term in a book, she or he potentially would need to figure the term out through context or research.

This is just in 100 years. What happens in 2,000 years or more?

The meaning and context of words is paramount to our understanding of Scriptures especially.

An anecdote. Last Easter, a friend of mine took her 5-year-old daughter to Sunday School.  While the teacher was talking about Jesus “rising from the dead,” the little girl innocently asked if Jesus was a zombie. It was not malicious: she was accustomed to hearing her friends talk about zombies, and she had seen them in several different movies and shows on television. The teacher was appalled and, unfortunately, shamed the young girl and ultimately asked the family to visit other churches instead.

The culture in which we live affects the words we use and the meaning of those words.  Further, our culture affects how we interpret and understand words and texts written outside of our time.

I am currently reading a book called “Unexpected News: Reading the Bible with Third World Eyes” by Robert McAfee Brown. The author reviews a variety of Gospel texts and explores how they are understood differently in the Third World (specifically Central America) than they are in the United States.

This brings up two questions: first, what does mean that people from different cultures read Scripture in different ways? Second, is it possible that we, 2000+ years after Scripture was written, are reading the texts incorrectly or through ignorant eyes?

Let me respond to my own questions.

First, the fact that we, as people from different cultures, read Scripture in different ways can be attributed to the fact that we have different experiences. Even compared to others in my immediate family, I read the Scriptures very differently. One of my family members recognizes Jesus as a savior, while I see Jesus as an advocate of social justice. Our personal experience dictates how we respond to any text — especially a religious text — and no one can have the exact same experience as another.

Second, we are bound to have a different set of lenses than someone living in the time that scriptural texts were written, 2,000+ years ago. Our different experiences are not limited to modern-day gadgets like technology or cars — back in those times, governmental systems were different, notions of slavery were different, and life in general was different.

I am not claiming that we should dismiss Scriptural texts because they no longer apply to us. I do believe, however, that we should do better to understand how teachings and texts applied to the people at the time they were written. Then, we can work to apply those teachings to our own lives.

“Blessed are the poor…” What does poor mean? Are we poor? Or does poor more likely apply to those in developing countries?

“Blessed are the poor in spirit…” What does poor in spirit mean? Are these the depressed, or those who identify as bipolar?

“Blessed are the pure in heart…” Who are the pure in heart? Are they drug addicts who want to get clean but do not have the power on their own?

There are many ways that we can interpret Scriptural texts — but in doing so, are we empowering the marginalized or are we simply keeping them on the margins?

As people who live within humanity — people of faith or not — we have a responsibility to care for our fellow human. The simple truth is that we cannot sufficiently interpret scriptural texts, because we did not live during the time they were written. However, we can take what was written and choose to live our best as a result.