So What Faith

Greg Smith

Review of Misreading Scripture (#0971)

By

Meet the Authors

E. Randolph Richards is dean of the School of Ministry and professor of biblical studies at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, FL.  Previously he served as a professor at Ouachita Baptist University and at Williams Baptist College.  Prior to his work as an educator, he served as a Southern Baptist missionary stationed in East Indonesia.  He is the author of Paul and First Century Letter Writing: Secretaries, Composition, and Collections (2004) and the co-author of three books.

Brandon J. O’Brien is editor at large for Leadership Journal, a part-time faculty member in the religious studies department at College of DuPage, and a doctoral candidate in historical theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.  He is the author of The Strategically Small Church (2010) and the co-author of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes (2012).

Book Basics

Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible is a solid introductory text designed to help readers better understand and partially overcome the Western bias they bring to the task of reading the Bible.  Drawing on their prior cross-cultural experiences, the authors explore the topic using the image of an iceberg as a metaphor for the ways Western assumptions enter into how Westerners read the biblical text.  Each section of the book considers one area of the iceberg (above the surface, just below the surface, and deep below the surface) with each area of the iceberg containing three chapters, each focused on a single issue.

As a whole, the book achieves its intended purpose.  Readers should be aware that O’Brien is a former student of Richards, and both men approach Scripture from a rather conservative theological perspective with a high view of the Bible.  This is especially clear in many of the illustrative examples chosen from the biblical text.

So What?

The authors conclude that “there are no shortcuts in the process of removing cultural blinders” before offering five guiding principles for Westerners who seek to read the biblical text with less of a Western bias:

  1. Embrace Complexity
  2. Beware of Overcorrection
  3. Be Teachable
  4. Embrace Error
  5. Read Together (p.210-217).
How have you learned to become and remain aware of your own Western bias and how it impacts your reading of the biblical text?  What other presuppositions do you bring to your reading of Scripture?

E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O’Brien.  Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible (IVP, 2012).  ISBN: 9780830837823.