The Bible was written within collectivist cultures. When Westerners, immersed in individualism, read the Bible, it's easy to misinterpret important elements-or miss them altogether. In any culture, the most important things usually go without being said. So to read Scripture well we benefit when we uncover the unspoken social structures and values of its world. We need to recalibrate our vision. Combining the expertise of a biblical scholar and a missionary practitioner, Misreading Scripture with Individualist Eyes is an essential guidebook to the cultural background of the Bible and how it should inform our reading. E. Randolph Richards and Richard James explore deep social structures of the ancient Mediterranean-kinship, patronage, and brokerage-along with their key social tools-honor, shame, and boundaries-that the biblical authors lived in and lie below the surface of each text. From Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar to Peter's instructions to elders, the authors strip away individualist assumptions and bring the world of the biblical writers to life. Expanding on the popular Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes, this book makes clear how understanding collectivism will help us better understand the Bible, which in turn will help us live more faithfully in an increasingly globalized world.
"Without bashing modern scholarship or Western individualism, Richards and James show us the major benefits of reading Scripture from a collectivist cultural model, a model much closer to the original readers and writers of the Bible. What they make abundantly clear in every example and illustration is that we (individualists) take so much for granted and miss so much in the process. Entertaining. Enlightening. Inspired."
David B. Capes, senior research fellow, Lanier Theological Library, editor, Word Biblical
"The best biblical studies address two horizons at once: behind the text and in front of the text. This book does exactly that. It deals seriously with a constellation of complex cultural dynamics from the biblical world in a way that invites readers to reflect on their own cultural assumptions. The result is a fresh engagement with familiar texts and profound implications for a range of topics from soteriology to discipleship."
Brandon J. O'Brien, Redeemer City to City, coauthor ofMisreading Scripture with Western Ey
