A BIBLICAL APPROACH TO TRANSCULTURAL ANALYSYS
ETS Paper, November 2003
©
Alexandru Breja, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI
Introduction
The crucial issue in the universal-cultural debate
1
is related to the legitimate grounds for
assessing the timeless-temporal nature of certain issues.
2
Attempts to answer the problem
proficiently appear to be both scarce and inadequate.
3
The purpose of this paper is to identify a
reference framework within which to formulate Scriptural criteria for transcultural analysis. The
sample which by far appears to be a true classic for what could legitimately be called a biblical
4
approach to this type of investigation is Jesus` discussion about marriage and divorce in Matthew
19:3-12.
5
The first step required by such an examination would be to discover, reinforce, and
validate the emerging patterns of such an approach in Matthew 19:3-12 and other related seminal
passages of both OT and NT. The second step will be an attempt to formulate criteria for
transcultural examination within the framework established at step one. The third step would
necessitate to apply the emerged criteria to several study cases, perhaps to some of the most
notorious issues. Inasmuch as the space and purpose of this paper does not encompass the full
spectrum of the investigation, I will concentrate basically on the first step, and in light of its
implications I will suggest some directions for the second one in a sparing manner. While Webb
and those who follow him take a deductive approach, imposing exterior criteria on the biblical
material, I will look for leading threads within the Scriptures. Therefore my approach will be
inductive, more precisely, exegetic-theological, based on intertextuality.
I. In Search for the Ariadne Thread:
6
Preliminary Observations
Seminal key-terms in Matthew 19:3-12 fall naturally in several distinct categories: one
referring to a source of authority (God/Jesus/Moses--what God said): avne,gnwte read, gra,yai
1
The quest for universals is older than humankind. The debate over absolutes began with Lucifer`s
attempts to relativism concerning the way of happiness; it continued with Eve`s aspirations for supreme knowledge
and Cain`s questioning of the validity of the sacrificial system, and carried on throughout history until today (see for
example William J. Webb, Slaves, Women and Homosexuals: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis
(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001).
2
As instance, why does levirate marriage no longer continue? What theological reasons had the NT Church
for the discontinuity of circumcision? What reason might the Christian Church advance for discontinuing the feast
of tabernacles which prefigures unfulfilled realities? Why is baptism relevant only at a responsible age while
circumcision was performed at a non-responsible one? Is submission still normative for the 21
st
century woman? Is
the foot-washing ritual still binding for the modern disciples of Christ in a post September 11 world?
3
Webb`s approach to the topic seems very ingenuous, except for his external criteria. Whatever outside
criterion is imposed on the text will prove arbitrary, and therefore inadequate. Following in his steps, Ron du Preez
in The Bible and Ethics, Unpublished Manuscript, Preliminary Draft (Lima, Peru: Universidad Peruana Union,
2001) is also somehow disappointing; he touches indirectly on the question from the perspective of Ethics, but does
nothing creative in this respect, except repeating several of Webb`s criteria. It appears that no fundamental
exegetical and theological investigation in this domain was conducted so far from a conservative, evangelical point
of view.
4
The Sola and Tota Scriptura, as well as Scriptura Sui Ipsius Interpres, along with the plenary inspiration
of the Bible, are the basic assumptions bearing on the subject. Therefore the Scriptures will constitute the final
authority in identifying both the approach as well as the cultural-transcultural nature of various issues.
5
For the purpose of this research, I am not concerned with the issue itself, but rather with the approach!
6
In Greek mythology this is the thread given by Ariadne, daughter of Minos, king of Crete, to Theseus, the
hero, in order to find his way out of the labyrinth. See Michael D. Harkavy, ed., The New Webster International
Encyclopedia (Naples, FL: Trident Press International), 1999, s.v. Ariadne.