Cultural issues and the biblical message
Somewhere at the start of this year, I have come to appreciate how crucial it is to understand one's culture in reading and studying the Bible.
It is very important.
Because the cultural background of the Bible readers is inevitably very different from that of the authors of the Bible and of some of those who have interpreted it to us.
Therefore, an understanding of the role of culture is of great importance both in understanding what the Bible says and in communicating this message in terms that are meaningful in relation to local culture and issues in Uganda and Africa as a whole.
Defining culture
Culture is a people's way of life, all the different customs, values and traditions that they have learned from family and environment, which together unite all the different aspects of their life into a logical whole.
It includes such things as languages spoken, the way politics and the economy are organized, the often unspoken rules governing social and religious behavior, interpretations of the pyschological reasons for actions.
Culture shapes the individuals and the individuals contribute to shaping it by their own actions and thoughts. Culture is not static, but is always developing.
Culture and language
The way we use language helps to define the way we see the world. The people who come from different language backgrounds may have difficulty understanding the world of other people.
African readers of the Bible have to make a huge jump into a world view that was shaped by the Hebrew and Greek background of the original writers.
And some people prefer to stick to the King James version of the Bible. The problem with this is that you are asking the reader to use a form of English that was spoken 400 years ago!
While many educated Africans are very fluent in English, there can be no doubt that the bulk of the populace, especially those who belong to independent churches or fellowship groups, often struggle with the language. This can lead to misinterpretation of the text.
What is considered normal behavior in one language ( for example, Jesus addressing his mother as "Woman" in John 2:4) may be mistakenly interpreted as rude and aggressive.
These differences in language use can even appear when people from different cultures speak the same language, as anyone knows who has had to deal with the differences between American, British, and African versions of the English language.
So there may be unanticipated problems when a vernacular translation of the Bible is used with people whose own dialect is slightly different from that used in the translation.
In interpreting the text of the Bible, African writers and preachers need to work to achieve a complex sensitvity to what it is the writer is saying and how it will be heard by their readers or congregation who come to it from quite a different perspective.
Culture and the church
Africa has many cultures. Even Uganda has over 20 languages with different cultures. All these communication patterns differ from those of Bible times.
What is needed are African scholars who are culturally aware and who are in a better position to interpret the Bible in a way that is relevant to Uganda and Africa as a whole.
Each interpreter of the Bible needs to seek to know his or her own culture and that of the authors of the Bible as well as possible.
One less obvious cultural problem when seeking insight into how to interpret the Bible is that many of the books we turn to for assistance are written by authors from Western cultures for western cultures. Western cultural assumptions will inevitably affect their interpretation of the text.
And western culture tends to be much more individualistic than African culture, where allegiance to the group, clan or family is crucial. So some western interpreters may focus on applying scripture to people's individual lives, rather than thinking about how to apply it in the community or in the church family as a whole.
They may suggest individual solutions to problems, rather than having the whole church work together to solve a problem.
Cultural differences may also be present in the way Christians interpret passages relating to authority. In most Western cultures, the leader is accessible and can be challenged, while most African countries have a hierarchical system where the leader is absolutely on top!
In their esteem for age and authority, African cultures may find it easier to understand the world of Jewish culture than people from many modern Western cultures where these values have been eroded.
African cultures are also closer to Jewish culture in the value placed on males. There is commonly more jubilation at the birth of a male child than at that of a female child.
If the word of God is to be seen as universal as well as personal, and not as foreign or as a "white man's religion," it needs to be presented with a full awareness of relevant cultural differences, both as regards the interpretation of the text and the way in which it is communicated to hearers.
Biblical stories need to be told in ways that are adapted to local cultures if they are to be easily understood. There is also a need to distinguish between which elements of the Bible are specific to Jewish culture and which have wider implications.
Because culture is not static but is constantly changing, we need to be attuned to the changes that are taking place around us. Many new factors are influencing the lives of young people in Africa today. Exposure to other cultures through TV and movies and social media.
We need to understand this, in order to be able to present the gospel in a way that is relevant to this new generation.