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Historical Cultural Context

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Submitted By cwoodard3
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In the assigned reading 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 text is to fully understand the revelations being brought forth in a particular book from the Old Testament they must understand the culture in that point in history, as well as the background, circumstances, relationships and many other factors. If we take time to understand the context, we will more fully grasp the relevance. Not understanding all these different factors will undoubtedly lead to misunderstanding and misinterpreting information and what God was trying to convey to his people of that time period and how it relates to us today.
I haven’t personally experienced any examples of this, however the one thing I could closely relate to would be the Westboro Baptist Church and its extreme ideologies. When my husband died in March 2012, I chose to keep his death out of the media because I was fearful that members of the Westboro Baptist Church would picket his funeral because he had died while serving in the United States Army. There had been many pickets involving Soldiers deaths in that time period. The church’s extreme ideologies are taken from what they say come straight out of the bible. But, they are completely taken out of context. To the extreme. Fortunately, Congress passed a bill on August 2012 that:
“… included restrictions on demonstrators at military funerals, which became law four days later when signed by President Obama. The bill says that for 2 hours before until 2 hours after the funeral service demonstrators must stay at least 300 feet away from the boundary of the funeral location and away from the residence of grieving family members.” (112th Congress, pg. 1195)
An example of historical-cultural context shedding significant light on the meaning of a biblical text could be the parable of the Good Samaritan. “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho.” (Luke 10:30, NIV) If the reader had a better understanding of the actual geography and terrain of the area, they would know that traveling from one city to the other was definitely quite a trek. “The distance is almost twenty miles and would take you through some rugged desert country that offered plenty of hiding places for thieves.” (Duvall & Hayes, pg. 53) Knowing this information puts a new perspective on the fact that the poor man lying on the side of the road was passed by many times by various travelers who just couldn’t be bothered to make the arduous hike (let alone the fact that the man was from a rival camp). Thank goodness for the Good Samaritan who didn’t pass up a chance to help a fellow out and get in some extra exercise. For people living in an “instant application”, I believe that we can persuade them to put forth the effort to study the historical-cultural context. I think that by opening their eyes and hearts to understanding the background of a text in all it’s facets, we can more fully appreciate the breadth of the message and increase our knowledge of it’s meaning. It may seem like a long, drawn-out, boring method of study, however, once all the facts are in an explosion of rich history and faith is laid before us. Once seeing this how can anyone not want to do their research?

Works Cited
Duvall, J S, and J D. Hays. Journey into God's Word: Your Guide to Understanding and Applying the Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2008.

112th Congress (August 6, 2012). The Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012. Retrieved from "The Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012, Public Law 112-154, Section 601 on page 1195".

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