The culture of that time
If you sit in the church pew or attend bible college or seminary you will hear that phrase often. The reason you hear this phrase is that bible scholars have taught that the Bible was written for a specific ancient culture.
According to these pastors and scholars, the biblical content was written under the influence of the cultural norms of the ancient Hebrews. This is why, they explain, that patriarchal ideology and a miraculous creation are part of the biblical narrative.
When I first heard that phrase I was sitting in one of my freshman bible college classes. However, the phrase did not sit well with me and I could not accept it as true. It took years to figure out why I could not accept that phrase.
It restricts biblical revelation
The phrase, ‘the culture of that time’ is a very dangerous concept to accept and implement. One of the dangers every Christian will face is that it restricts biblical revelation to apply only to the ancient culture the biblical writers lived in.
This restriction brings up a very difficult question to answer if the phrase is true. If the biblical content was written for the culture of those ancient eras, then where are the biblical instructions for our modern eras?
Every Christian pastor, professor, and bible scholar has told everyone that the Bible is a closed revelation. This means that we cannot expect any more divinely inspired scriptures at any time once the canons of the Old and New Testaments were fixed.
There have been those preachers who claim they have received new revelations from God. However, those preachers are quickly relegated to false religions and cults. There is 100% agreement among Christian leaders that the Bible is complete and nothing more will be added to it.
Yet, this agreement does not answer the problem question. If the bible was written for the ancient culture’s understanding and cultural practices, where are God’s words for more modern cultures?
Where are God’s words?
This is another problem question biblical scholars have not figured out yet. They and other church leaders always try to interpret the biblical content to fit it into today’s culture. What they haven’t done is discover God’s specific words for the modern eras.
If the biblical content was for ancient cultures and understanding, how then are modern Christians supposed to live and what instructions and commands are they to follow?
Under the implications of ‘the culture of that time’ it seems that God has forgotten about the rest of his creation. The speakers of that phrase would have everyone believe that they are left out and God is not concerned about them.
This attitude opens up a host of problems. For example, the issue of women being silent in the church. Most scholars would argue that ancient women were interrupting the service and asking their husbands what the speaker meant and other issues.
However, does not that problem arise in modern ages as well? The idea of the culture of that time means that secular culture trumps God’s word and tells everyone what the biblical content is saying.
No matter the direction of modern culture takes it seems, at least according to some biblical scholars, secular culture is the last word on God’s content. This presents a major problem since all cultures are fluid and do not remain constant for very long.
Then out of all the cultures that have existed since the beginning of time which one is closest to the truth? Which one should we follow and how can we tell the difference between right from wrong, morality, and immorality, and good and evil if secular cultures change what God means?
These are the questions and issues I had to consider as I figured out what was wrong with the phrase ‘the culture of that time’.
Jesus said I am the truth
The answer to those questions and this cultural problem is found in the scriptures. First, Jesus said he is the truth. At no time do Jesus or any biblical writer provide instructions to follow secular cultural practices to understand the Biblical content.
The instructions we do have are found in John 14 and 16 where Jesus tells his disciples that he will send the Spirit of truth to lead them and us to the truth. When we look at 1 Corinthians 12, a chapter talking about one Spirit, one God, one body, and more, we understand that there is one truth.
Secular culture is not the path to the truth about what God has said in the Bible. Each culture creates its own truths once it has rejected the one truth, Jesus Christ.
Thus, culture is not the deciding factor on what the biblical content means. Then when we look at the closed revelation, it can be discovered that the Bible is not written just for one ancient human culture but all of them.
God does not ignore anyone nor deprive them of his will and instruction. Everyone has the same information to obey, making God fair and just. Every civilization throughout history has the same content to learn from and implement.
The Bible teaches us about two cultures
This is the unique aspect of the Bible. It does not limit its content to one ancient culture but teaches us two important lessons. The first lesson is about how Christians today, and the Hebrews of old, are to live in their human cultures.
Both God and Jesus have laid out their instructions for their followers enabling them to navigate this earthly world. We are taught how to treat others, how to respond to difficult issues, and how to raise our children, among other lessons.
Without this guidance, Christians would not know what is the right way to act, what to avoid, and most importantly, how to please God. If the biblical content was limited to just one ancient culture, then every culture after that would be left to its own devices and not know what is right or wrong.
That would be grossly unfair and unjust of God to do. With the biblical content meant for all people, all cultures, and for all ages, then everyone is on the same page and has the same information. From there they can decide to obey or disobey.
Yet, there is another lesson the bible is teaching everyone. Since Both John the Baptist and Jesus preached about the Kingdom of God and modern pastors tell us that we are not longer of this world once we accept Christ as our Savior, what are the rules for living in God’s Kingdom?
The answer to this is the biblical content. Both God and Jesus are teaching everyone what is expected of them and how to live in God’s Culture. For example, 1 Peter tells us to be holy for God is Holy.
Without the bible applying to all cultures and eras, no one would know that God expects them to be holy. The Bible was written so that all people would know how to live in God’s culture.
With no alternative divinely inspired scriptures give us God’s up-to-date instructions, that means that the biblical content was written for everyone who lives on this earth no matter their culture.
God’s word influences secular culture, not the other way around. It reigns over cultures providing the correct road map on how to live and treat others. If it didn’t, then God could not judge the people of this world according to his commands and instructions.
He would have to use secular culture to make his judgments and that would be wrong. The reason it would be wrong is that everyone did or does not live in the same culture. They were not raised with the same rules either.
Plus, they would not be God’s rules and he would not be God if he had to judge people according to secular culture. The Bible is for everyone and all cultures. Everyone has the same right of free choice- to obey or not.
That means that God can judge people of all cultures because his content was available for everyone to read and choose to follow. God’s culture is superior to all secular cultures because it has an objective set of instructions that applies to everyone. Secular cultures do not.
Knowing how to live in God’s culture makes living life a lot easier as the rules apply no matter which culture one lives in.
Some additional words
The phrase ‘the culture of that time’ opens the door to confusion leading people to wonder how they are to live. It is a destructive phrase that leads people to sin, misinterpret the bible, and grant permission to disobey God’s instructions and commands.
It is up to all of God’s people to get to the truth in God’s word so we can live in the modern cultures and God’s culture correctly. For example, people like to follow the verse ‘love thy neighbor as thyself’.
Some people use the human definition of the word love and allow others to sin, follow sinful preferences, and more. But love defined by God means one does not keep people in their sins nor embrace their sin and call it normal.
God’s definition of love means to save people from their sins so that they can live with Jesus forever. God’s culture is different from secular culture and we find it in the biblical content even though some scholars, etc., say we can’t.
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