Given that I came from the South and now live in the North, I have seen the extremes of cultural relevance. For Southerners, who are predominantly Christian in their convictions, we tend to stand against culture in fear that it will “change” us or “impact” us in some negative way. In the North, where people are predominantly non-Christian, people are more in tune with the culture and its constant changing nature. In both places, Christians desire to serve the Lord and make the message of the Bible relevant here and now.
As I study the Old Testament, in preparation for the English Bible Exam, I can’t help but think about the culture then and how we think/speak of it now. I know people don’t read the Old Testament (or the whole Bible for that matter) because they believe it is archaic and irrelevant for now. I think we need to develop a deeper appreciation for the times of the past as well as the one in which we now live. In a sense, we have become “closed-minded” and live only in the here and now. I encourage everyone to think “outside the box” and consider the cultural uniqueness of previous times and generations. I think it will shed a new light and appreciation for cultural differences.
Which passage(s) do you find the most challenging for our culture today?!