LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Book Critique of "Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to
Better Understand the Bible"
Submitted to Dr. Myron Kauk.
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
NBST 610 – D04
Hermeneutics
by
Rev. Deborah Hayes
July 19, 2018
Content
Summary..........................................................................................................................................1
Analysis……...…………………………………………………………………………………….2
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………....……...5
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................6
2
Summary
E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien provide their readers with a no-nonsense
self-awakening that makes the westerner understand how their presuppositions and
preunderstandings influence and even alter their scriptural interpretation. Their use of self-
revealing stories points out the cultural blinders the reader did not even know existed. They
acknowledge their goal is to help people understand themselves better. They seek to open the
eyes of the interpreter; not to recognize some deep, hidden meaning in scripture, but to recognize
their own deep-seeded cultural blind spots. Their goal is to help the reader read themselves by
navigating the cultural differences present in every person.
The authors note they must limit the focus of their sub-topics and "oversimplify" in some
cases due to publication restraints.1 However, the topics they engage are most of the western
presuppositions that predominate American cultural understandings. They cleverly use the
metaphor of a partially submerged iceberg, which they slice into three layers. Each section of
this book corresponds to each layer of the iceberg and is appropriately named, "Above the
Surface, Just Below the Surface, and Deep Below the Surface."2 Each layer represents cultural
issues. The most obvious issues exist just above the surface of the water, where they are
immediately recognizable and the "least likely to cause serious misunderstanding."3 These
include mores, sex, money, food, race, ethnicity, and language. The partially obscured issues lie
just below the surface and may be viewed with a little bit of effort. These issues may cause
modest misunderstandings. They are presuppositions that focus on individualism against
1 E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing
Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2012), 22.
2 Ibid. Part one, Two, and Three.
3 Ibid., 16.
1
collectivism, the honor/shame culture versus the right/wrong culture, and time. Lastly, there are
the totally obscured issues, which are hidden deep below the surface and are not visible naturally.
These issues are the most likely to cause serious misunderstandings. The deep seeded issues
include preunderstandings such as rules and relationships, virtue, vice, and the westerners’ habit
of centering everything within themselves instead of within God’s will.
Each chapter contains several cultural issues and each issue is discussed with stories that
are a mixture of spiritual intuitiveness, philosophy, and psychology coupled with a keen self-
awareness that makes the reader check their own presuppositions. These authors leave no stone
unturned and find words and thoughts to gently persuade the reader toward their perspective of
western cultural blinders and the hindrance it brings to biblical interpretation.
Analysis
Upon critical analysis, the reader may find themselves wondering what part of that
iceberg needs more examination. For example, is the reader aware of mores, language, and food
differences in diverse cultures? Will the lack of knowledge of these things lead to a reaction that
prevents or hinders understanding of scripture? As the author's note, even the westerner's belief
in right and wrong (as an internal individual perception) confuses the interpretation of Paul's
writings to the Corinthians, whose culture imposes the external influences of honor and shame.4
Richards and O'Brien continue these comparisons throughout the text, using examples from
scripture and their own life experiences. However, some of the scriptural references seem to
bring other questions to the mind of the reader. When the authors write of Paul (Acts 9:1-5) and
Peter's (Gal 2:11-14) shaming, they conclude that " In a shame culture, it is not the guilty
4 E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien, Misreading Scripture, Chapter 5 [ note: the online
version of this book in My WSB does not list this books page numbers. Chapters are listed when page
number could not be located anywhere else].
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conscience but the community that punishes the offender by shaming him."5 After reading these
thoughts, one may wonder if the authors unintentionally by-step the fact that westerners place
people in prison, or on probation with ankle bracelets to monitor their movements. This is a form
of community shaming. Perhaps it is the dominance of the shaming culture over and against the
reliance of the guilty conscience to prevent crime in western culture to which the authors refer.
These authors use their experiences, knowledge and spirituality to point out
presuppositions that may hinder the western biblical interpreter. They present the problems and
follow-up with thought-provoking “questions to ponder” at the end of each chapter that make the
reader consider what they have just read and apply it real-life-scenarios. This book is written
with great organization that presents a clear and cohesive argument for the process they propose.
They begin with a purpose, which is to bring awareness to hidden presuppositions that hinder the
biblical interpreter’s understanding of the truth of God’s Word. They never waiver from this goal.
Each chapter flows well into the next, which covers many pertinent cultural blinders present in
the western culture. It seems that their extensive exposure to other cultures provides them with a
clearer picture of the biblical interpreter's obstructive western presuppositions. Every chapter
presents an encounter that opened their western eyes to other viewpoints. For example, they tell a
story of a convention that was meant for pastors only. In Indonesia, the church bylaws state that
only males may be pastors, but there were women present. When Randolph Richards inquired
about this issue, he was surprised to find that their bylaws appeared to be more of a guideline
than a strict adherence law, as it is in America.6
5 Ibid.
6 E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien, Misreading Scripture, Chapter 7.
3
While the authors seem to write from the perspective of a giver of wisdom or as a
corrective lens for the westerner suffering from cultural blindness, they also write as experienced
guides. They bid the reader to take hold of the rope and follow them into the deep blue where the
flaws contained within the iceberg are clearer. Their perspective then leaps from the pages in an
explicit, yet loving format. They do not seek to correct for ego’s sake, as if their knowledge
makes them superior to others. Rather, they write honestly with purposeful stories, examples, and
suggestions. They point out the lessons they learned that equipped them with the unique ability
to recognize their cultural inhibitors and bypass them (to a degree), which then allows them to
interpret scripture considering the culture of the author and the intended audience. Their goals, as
they propose, is “to remind (or convince!) you of the cross-cultural nature of biblical
interpretation.”7
It does seem that the stories communicated in the text often occur in Indonesia.
Although there are other cultures that are included in their cultural education and awareness,
their references to these places are not as extensive as are the Indonesia experiences. Perhaps,
this is due to a greater amount of time spent in the presence of this unique culture.
There are also many references to the Pauline epistles, which is reasonable since Richards
does write "My Ph.D. was in Paul."8 They also include advice from other non-western
friends, co-workers, and scholars to help them see through their own presuppositions. It is clear
to this reader that they write from a perspective of helping others to see through the shadowy
cloud of cultural blinders. It is just as clear, as their stories reveal, that they have experienced the
7 E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien, Misreading Scripture, 9.
8 Ibid., 18.
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blinders themselves and are working to overcome the instinctive preunderstandings of western
influences.
This entire text is written for people like this humble servant, who passionately desires to
understand the "foreign land of scripture,"9 as they term it. If the biblical interpreter sincerely
desires to find God's truth in the Bible, they must recognize their cultural blinders and then begin
to chip away at that iceberg.
Conclusion
Richards and O’Brien’s book is more than adequate in helping the biblical interpreter see
the need for self-examination of cultural blinders. It is also an absolute necessity in the
interpreter’s toolbelt to combat the pitfalls of western cultural blinders. The young biblical
interpreter is told to avoid letting their cultural biases taint their interpretation, but the cultural
blinder instruction manual is often absent. This leaves the interpreter struggling to see what may
be in the way of knowing the truth and how to remove the unwanted presuppositions. The most
dangerous presuppositions are those things inserted to fill in missing chunks of historical-cultural
understandings. These are the things that often go without being said. Richards and O’Brien
consistently acknowledge;
The most powerful cultural values are those that go without being said. It is very hard to
know what goes without being said in another culture. But often we are not even aware of
what goes without being said in our own culture. This is why misunderstanding and
misinterpretation happen. This book offers to guide one through the dark tunnels of
cultural blindness.10
9 Ibid., 12.
10 E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien, Misreading Scripture ,9.
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The spiritual wisdom and biblical socio-political understandings in this book will be
helpful to anyone who desires to understand scripture as it was written and to whom it was
written. This is a fascinating manuscript that not only instructs and guides, but also encourages
the Christian that passionately burns to know God and His truth as it was written.
Bibliography
Richards, E. Randolph and Brandon J. O'Brien. Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes:
Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible. Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 2012.
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