the word in light of culture

He who marries the present culture becomes a window in the next. At the same time, as Michael Wittmer explains, the more we learn about God's world, the more accurately we can interpret God's Word. Wittmer provides the following illustrations:

Science. Copernicus's discovery that the earth revolves around the sun enables us to properly interpret Psa 31.9: "The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved." In Copernicus's day, most Christians took this as proof that the earth is the stationary center of the universe. Even Martin Luther criticized Copernicus for allowing his newfangled view of the world to contradict Scripture. While a few such dinosaurs exist, most Christians today rightly read Psa 31.9 not as a scientific description of the earths immovability but as a poetic promise of God's provision for his creation.

Politics. Many nineteenth-century Americans used Paul's commands that slaves should obey their masters as biblical suppor for slavery. But now, in part due to our country's emphasis on democracy and human rights, no one outside of an occasional white supremacist uses the Bible to condone slavery.

History. Until recently most theologians believed that God is impassible, meaning that he does not experience emotions (a sign of weakness for an omnipotent and extremely rational God). Typical is Anselm, who, in an eleventh-century prayer to God, wrote that we may "feel the effect of Your mercy, but You do not experience the feeling ... You do not experience any feeling of compassion for misery." Try preaching that! In part because we have just past through the bloodiest century in history - from the Holocaust to Hiroshima to Hotel Rwanda - Christians are rediscovering the first verse they every memorized: "Jesus wept." We have learned from very painful experience that we not only need a God who is strong, but also a God who weeps and suffers with us.

Society. Not that long ago and still every now and again, various conservatives cite Genesis 1.28 in the King James Version to justify their right to "dominate" the rest of creation. Thankfully, society's increasing concern for the environment leads most Christians to interpret God's command to "have dominion" as his call to responsible stewardship rather than wasteful abuse of his world.