Studying Scripture Together Through Biblical Culture
Biblical Culture Shock and the Importance of Studying Scripture in Community (1232 words)
When I attended seminary, I was given a wonderful opportunity to visit Israel. This life-changing experience impacted me on multiple levels. Bible passages for which I had little to no geographical context now came alive. What would have taken a year of schooling was accomplished in a month. Beyond the physical landscape and archaeological visits, the cross-cultural experience also left an indelible mark on me.
Studying Scripture Together Helps Us Understand Context
During one of our lunch breaks, when we visited the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem’s Old City, I found a local pizza shop. Longing for a taste of home, I made my way into the quaint restaurant. The place must have had a good reputation, because there was a line. When it was my turn, I ordered a slice of pepperoni pizza. The man behind the counter looked at me with shock and disgust, as did the other patrons. He shook his head, saying, “No, no, no. No meat.” I couldn’t believe it, but I shrugged and ordered a slice of cheese pizza with whatever topping he recommended. He served me a perfectly baked pizza with green olives on top, which was absolutely delicious.
When I returned to my group, I shared what had happened, and one of my professors explained that places that want to be recognized as kosher cannot mix meat and cheese. And while there is no state law in Israel saying pizzerias cannot serve meat and cheese together, this custom, rooted in Torah, pervades the entire land. I knew about Jewish dietary laws, but this was my first time living under their influence.
Later I found that this custom was not applied in the same manner everywhere. For example, when our group visited McDonald’s for lunch, I tested the water and asked whether I could order a cheeseburger. Expecting a flat-out no, I was shocked when the worker informed me they could make me one, but I couldn’t eat it inside the building. You can imagine my growing confusion.
And this led to one more related moment near the end of our time in Israel. When we went out to eat at a restaurant by the Sea of Galilee, the host intentionally seated our group at the back of the restaurant in an isolated section. I did not take offense, though, as I hoped this would mean meat and cheese would be on the menu. But when I asked our server about it, he told me that to keep the kitchen kosher, there would be no dairy products available. Perplexed, I asked the server why we were seated in the isolated section. He hesitated, but then softly whispered, “No offense, but Americans are loud.”
Why Studying Scripture Together Prevents Misunderstanding
I promptly shut my mouth, glanced around the restaurant, and took in the entire scene. Every other table in the adjoining section was very quiet compared to us. They communicated with one another in such a way as not to stand out or draw attention to themselves. We were the exact opposite. We were obnoxiously loud. Suddenly, I was mortified. Of course, we were just enjoying each other’s company at the end of a month studying together in the Holy Land. Even so, let it be said, Americans speak, laugh, and even breathe loudly! And then it hit me like a foreign freight train: We were doing this as outsiders and visitors.
Studying Scripture Together Brings Clarity
Much like my fish-out-of-water experience traveling in Israel, the Bible itself is like a foreign land, and reading it can be quite the cross-cultural experience. Every time we open a book of the Bible, we leave the familiarity of our daily lives and enter a strange new world—a world in which most of us do not speak the language or know the customs and conventions, or the tradition and history behind them. We do not recognize the lay of the land, its many landmarks, or their significance. We are not aware of what words have deeper meanings, what behaviors are expected, or which ones are considered rude and impolite.
We are unfamiliar with deep-rooted tribal histories, unofficial borders, important highways and byways, and the politics of the day. We are not even sure what the expected weather is throughout the seasons of the year. As you can imagine, if we don’t find out about these things, we will read into the passage our own context and almost certainly draw misguided conclusions. Hopefully this drives us not to despair but to gain a bigger perspective by studying the historical and cultural background of Scripture, especially those we find disturbing or problematic for one reason or another.
Because reading the Bible is like visiting a foreign land, we should expect a decent amount of culture shock when we immerse ourselves in it. Culture shock is “the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone when they are suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture and way of life.”
The Importance of Studying Scripture Together in Community
There are several reasons for this. First, our ignorance of the everyday language and expressions, common social cues, and established customs of the world of the Bible disorients us. Imagine a man from Bible times visiting our culture and hearing someone say, “There is more than one way to skin a cat” or overhearing one sports fan say to another, “The Cowboys destroyed the Chiefs.”
Studying Scripture Together with Diverse Voices
Second, we have difficulty relating to the Bible because it is so distant, both geographically and historically. For example, most of us in modern Western culture do not have farms, go to a temple, or have leaders who have multiple wives. We do not sacrifice animals, have servants living with us, or wash each other’s feet. We have to remember that the Bible is written for everyone, but it is not written to everyone. To put it bluntly, we do not share much in common with those who lived across the oceans thousands of years ago.
Third, as we learn more about the history and culture of the Bible, we will eventually reach information overload. There is only so much we can take in before we get overwhelmed and can no longer synthesize the information we are learning.
It is important while experiencing this form of culture shock that we realize we are not alone. In fact, if we want to truly grasp what the Bible is saying, we must read and study it in community and listen to an array of voices (male and female, rich and poor, young and old, clergy and parishioner, liberal and traditional, local and global, and skeptic and believer).
Where do we hear these voices? In sermons, Bible studies, books, films, and so on. These voices inform our limited perspectives and often set right our misapprehensions about a passage. From what we have observed, failure to do this will inevitably result in increased disenchantment and unwarranted hostility toward the Bible, or in increased narrowness of perspective.
If we invest our time and energy into exploring the biblical world in community, over time we will feel more comfortable and at home in the biblical setting. We will pick up key vocabulary (even if we never truly learn the language), basic customs, common social cues, and the allusions that imperceptibly infuse almost every conversation and event. Once we arrive at this level of familiarity, we can confidently share our interpretations with others, help those who have become disillusioned, and challenge ourselves to understand the history and culture of God’s people even more.
1. “Culture Shock Stages: Everything You Need to Know,” Now Health Blog, January 20, 2020, https://www.now-health.com/en/blog/culture-shock-stages/.
2. Jeannine K. Brown, Scripture as Communication: Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics, 2nd ed. (Baker Academic, 2021), 130–131.
3. Tremper Longman III, Confronting Old Testament Controversies: Pressing Questions About Evolution, Sexuality, History, and Violence (Baker Books, 2019), 18.
Adapted from Is It Really the Good Book?: Restoring Your Faith in the Bible by Questioning Your Assumptions About It by John Marriott and Shawn Wicks, releasing in March 2026.
