Get Your Free Audiobook
-
Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes
- Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible
- Narrated by: Allan Robertson
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Categories: Politics & Social Sciences, Anthropology
Non-member price: $29.22
People who bought this also bought...
-
Paul
- A Biography
- By: N. T. Wright
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this definitive biography, renowned Bible scholar, Anglican bishop, and best-selling author N. T. Wright offers a radical look at the apostle Paul, illuminating the humanity and remarkable achievements of this intellectual who invented Christian theology - transforming a faith and changing the world. For centuries, Paul, the apostle who "saw the light on the Road to Damascus" and made a miraculous conversion from zealous Pharisee persecutor to devoted follower of Christ, has been one of the church's most widely cited saints.
-
-
Readable theology plus biography
- By Rodney Wetherell on 13-04-2019
-
Everything Is Spiritual
- A Brief Guide to Who We Are and What We're Doing Here
- By: Rob Bell
- Narrated by: Rob Bell
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Everything Is Spiritual, author Rob Bell explores how ideas about creation, love and connection shaped him and how they shape every one of us. Bell observes that more than anything, people want to understand their purpose here on earth. And when you embrace who and where you come from, including your wounds, your pains and your regrets, you will discover that lurking there in the mess of life is an invitation to expand - just as the universe has been expanding for 13 billion years.
-
-
Thank you Rob Bell
- By Kathryn Gallagher on 20-09-2020
-
The New Testament in Its World: Audio Lectures, Part 1 of 2
- An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians
- By: N. T. Wright, Michael F. Bird
- Narrated by: N. T. Wright, Michael F. Bird
- Length: 5 hrs and 21 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New Testament in Its World: Audio Lectures, Part 1 of 2 by N. T. Wright and Michael F. Bird is the definitive seminary-level introduction to the New Testament, presenting the books as a literary, narrative, and social phenomena in the world of second temple Judaism and early Christianity covering the third to the mid-second centuries BCE.
-
-
Fantastic
- By Anonymous User on 28-09-2020
-
Love Matters More
- How Fighting to Be Right Keeps Us from Loving Like Jesus
- By: Jared Byas
- Narrated by: Jared Byas
- Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For years, Christians have argued, debated, and fought one another while "speaking the truth in love," yet we are no closer to the grace-filled life Jesus modeled. Biblical scholar and popular podcast host of The Bible for Normal People, Jared Byas casts a new vision for the Christian life that's built not on certainty, but on the risk of love.
-
-
Essential reading
- By Anonymous User on 07-01-2021
-
The New Testament in Its World: Audio Lectures, Part 2 of 2
- An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians
- By: N. T. Wright, Michael F. Bird
- Narrated by: N. T. Wright, Michael F. Bird
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Enter the world of the New Testament. A companion to The New Testament in Its World by N. T. Wright and Michael F. Bird, these lectures serve as your passageway from the 21st century to the era of Jesus and the first Christians. In part two, Professors Wright and Bird detail the apostle Paul's life, ministry, and theology; every book of the New Testament, with particularly close analysis to the Pauline epistles, the Gospels, and Acts; how the New Testament came to be; and how to live the New Testament story today.
-
The Blue Parakeet, 2nd Edition
- Rethinking How You Read the Bible
- By: Scot McKnight
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Parakeets make delightful pets. We cage them or clip their wings to keep them where we want them. Scot McKnight contends that many, conservatives and liberals alike, attempt the same thing with the Bible. We all try to tame it. McKnight's The Blue Parakeet calls Christians to stop taming the Bible and to let it speak anew to our heart. McKnight challenges us to rethink how to read the Bible, not just to puzzle it together into some systematic belief but to see it as a story that we're summoned to enter and to carry forward in our day.
-
-
Thought Provoking
- By Sade Goldstein on 01-07-2020
-
Paul
- A Biography
- By: N. T. Wright
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this definitive biography, renowned Bible scholar, Anglican bishop, and best-selling author N. T. Wright offers a radical look at the apostle Paul, illuminating the humanity and remarkable achievements of this intellectual who invented Christian theology - transforming a faith and changing the world. For centuries, Paul, the apostle who "saw the light on the Road to Damascus" and made a miraculous conversion from zealous Pharisee persecutor to devoted follower of Christ, has been one of the church's most widely cited saints.
-
-
Readable theology plus biography
- By Rodney Wetherell on 13-04-2019
-
Everything Is Spiritual
- A Brief Guide to Who We Are and What We're Doing Here
- By: Rob Bell
- Narrated by: Rob Bell
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Everything Is Spiritual, author Rob Bell explores how ideas about creation, love and connection shaped him and how they shape every one of us. Bell observes that more than anything, people want to understand their purpose here on earth. And when you embrace who and where you come from, including your wounds, your pains and your regrets, you will discover that lurking there in the mess of life is an invitation to expand - just as the universe has been expanding for 13 billion years.
-
-
Thank you Rob Bell
- By Kathryn Gallagher on 20-09-2020
-
The New Testament in Its World: Audio Lectures, Part 1 of 2
- An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians
- By: N. T. Wright, Michael F. Bird
- Narrated by: N. T. Wright, Michael F. Bird
- Length: 5 hrs and 21 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New Testament in Its World: Audio Lectures, Part 1 of 2 by N. T. Wright and Michael F. Bird is the definitive seminary-level introduction to the New Testament, presenting the books as a literary, narrative, and social phenomena in the world of second temple Judaism and early Christianity covering the third to the mid-second centuries BCE.
-
-
Fantastic
- By Anonymous User on 28-09-2020
-
Love Matters More
- How Fighting to Be Right Keeps Us from Loving Like Jesus
- By: Jared Byas
- Narrated by: Jared Byas
- Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For years, Christians have argued, debated, and fought one another while "speaking the truth in love," yet we are no closer to the grace-filled life Jesus modeled. Biblical scholar and popular podcast host of The Bible for Normal People, Jared Byas casts a new vision for the Christian life that's built not on certainty, but on the risk of love.
-
-
Essential reading
- By Anonymous User on 07-01-2021
-
The New Testament in Its World: Audio Lectures, Part 2 of 2
- An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians
- By: N. T. Wright, Michael F. Bird
- Narrated by: N. T. Wright, Michael F. Bird
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Enter the world of the New Testament. A companion to The New Testament in Its World by N. T. Wright and Michael F. Bird, these lectures serve as your passageway from the 21st century to the era of Jesus and the first Christians. In part two, Professors Wright and Bird detail the apostle Paul's life, ministry, and theology; every book of the New Testament, with particularly close analysis to the Pauline epistles, the Gospels, and Acts; how the New Testament came to be; and how to live the New Testament story today.
-
The Blue Parakeet, 2nd Edition
- Rethinking How You Read the Bible
- By: Scot McKnight
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Parakeets make delightful pets. We cage them or clip their wings to keep them where we want them. Scot McKnight contends that many, conservatives and liberals alike, attempt the same thing with the Bible. We all try to tame it. McKnight's The Blue Parakeet calls Christians to stop taming the Bible and to let it speak anew to our heart. McKnight challenges us to rethink how to read the Bible, not just to puzzle it together into some systematic belief but to see it as a story that we're summoned to enter and to carry forward in our day.
-
-
Thought Provoking
- By Sade Goldstein on 01-07-2020
-
Evidence That Demands a Verdict
- Life-Changing Truth for a Skeptical World
- By: Josh McDowell, Sean McDowell PhD
- Narrated by: Josh McDowell, Sean McDowell PhD, Bob Souer
- Length: 42 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The modern apologetics classic that started it all is now completely revised and updated - because the truth of the Bible doesn't change, but its critics do. With the original Evidence That Demands a Verdict, best-selling author Josh McDowell gave Christian audiences the answers they needed to defend their faith against the harshest critics and skeptics. Now, with his son Sean McDowell, Josh McDowell has updated and expanded this classic resource for a new generation. This is a book that invites listeners to bring their doubts.
-
-
Engaging and informative
- By David Graieg on 26-11-2020
-
The Screwtape Letters
- Letters from a Senior to a Junior Devil
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Joss Ackland
- Length: 3 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
>The Screwtape Letters, now in its 70th anniversary year, is an iconic classic on spiritual warfare and the power of the devil. This profound and striking narrative takes the form of a series of letters from Screwtape, a devil high in the Infernal Civil Service, to his nephew Wormwood, a junior colleague engaged in his first mission on Earth trying to secure the damnation of a young man who has just become a Christian. Although the young man initially looks to be a willing victim, he changes his ways and is ‘lost’ to the young devil.
-
-
Very thought provoking
- By Anonymous User on 18-01-2021
-
God and the Pandemic
- A Christian Reflection on the Coronavirus and its Aftermath
- By: Tom Wright
- Narrated by: Tom Wright
- Length: 2 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What are we supposed to think about the coronavirus crisis? Some people think they know: ‘This is a sign of the End,’ they say. ‘It’s all predicted in the book of Revelation.’ Others disagree but are equally clear: ‘This is a call to repent. God is judging the world and through this disease he’s telling us to change.’ Some join in the chorus of blame and condemnation: ‘It’s the fault of the Chinese, the government, the World Health Organisation...’ Tom Wright examines these reactions to the virus and finds them wanting.
-
-
Fine scriptural analysis of pandemic issues
- By Rodney Wetherell on 18-12-2020
-
The Lost World of Genesis One
- Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate
- By: John H. Walton
- Narrated by: Steve Coulter
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this astute mix of cultural critique and biblical studies, John H. Walton presents and defends 20 propositions supporting a literary and theological understanding of Genesis 1 within the context of the ancient Near Eastern world and unpacks its implications for our modern scientific understanding of origins.
-
-
Anti-God Rhetoric
- By ModsterMan on 12-05-2017
-
Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again
- By: Rachel Held Evans
- Narrated by: Rachel Held Evans
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If the Bible isn’t a science book or an instruction manual, then what is it? What do people mean when they say the Bible is inspired? When Rachel Held Evans found herself asking these questions, she began a quest to better understand what the Bible is and how it is meant to be read. What she discovered changed her—and it will change you too.
Drawing on the best in recent scholarship and using her well-honed literary expertise, Evans examines some of our favorite Bible stories and possible interpretations, retelling them through memoir, original poetry, short stories, soliloquies, and even a short screenplay. Undaunted by the Bible’s most difficult passages, Evans wrestles through the process of doubting, imagining, and debating Scripture’s mysteries. The Bible, she discovers, is not a static work but is a living, breathing, captivating, and confounding book that is able to equip us to join God’s loving and redemptive work in the world.
-
-
Extraordinary
- By Hannah G on 30-10-2018
-
Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God
- By: Timothy Keller
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Can't anyone teach me how to pray?"" Millions of people today are asking the same question. There is a sense of the necessity of prayer - we have to pray. But how?' Prayer is central to Christian faith; indeed, as Timothy Keller notes in his introduction, it is the main way we experience deep change. Yet so many people struggle with prayer - a struggle that the author himself has shared. This wise and inspiring book is the fruit of those struggles, offering a real and glorious vision of what it can mean to seek God in prayer.
-
-
Fresh ideas from the past
- By Eleanor on 14-05-2017
-
The Reason for God
- By: Timothy Keller
- Narrated by: Timothy Keller
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An intelligent, intellectually rigorous examination of why the Christian faith still makes sense in an age of scepticism. As the pastor of an inner-city church in New York City, Timothy Keller has compiled a list of the most frequently voiced doubts sceptics bring to his church as well as the most important reasons for faith. In The Reason for God, he addresses each doubt and explains each reason.
-
-
I hated the book and the author
- By sam on 11-09-2020
-
Bonhoeffer
- Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
- By: Eric Metaxas, Timothy Keller
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner, Eric Metaxas
- Length: 23 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As Adolf Hitler and the Nazis seduced a nation, bullied a continent, and attempted to exterminate the Jews of Europe, a small number of dissidents and saboteurs worked to dismantle the Third Reich from the inside. One of these was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In the first major biography of Bonhoeffer in 40 years, New York Times best-selling author Eric Metaxas takes both strands of Bonhoeffer's life - the theologian and the spy - to tell a searing story of incredible moral courage in the face of monstrous evil.
-
-
Very detailed
- By Josh on 22-08-2020
-
What Is the Bible?
- How an Ancient Library of Poems, Letters and Stories Can Transform the Way You Think and Feel About Everything
- By: Rob Bell
- Narrated by: Rob Bell
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling author Rob Bell, using his inspired and inquisitive approach, focuses on the most widely read book of all time. He provides surprising insights and answers about how the Bible actually works as a source of faith and guidance, showing a brand-new way of interpreting this sacred text. Rob Bell, the beloved author of Love Wins and What We Talk About When We Talk About God, goes deep into the Bible to show how it is more revelatory, revolutionary, and relevant than we ever imagined....
-
-
ESSENTIAL reading for everyone
- By Anonymous User on 11-12-2020
-
Emotionally Healthy Spirituality
- It's Impossible to Be Spiritually Mature, While Remaining Emotionally Immature
- By: Peter Scazzero
- Narrated by: Peter Scazzero
- Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Peter Scazzero learned the hard way: you can't be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature. Even though he was a pastor of a growing church, he did what most people do: avoid conflict in the name of Christianity; ignore his anger, sadness, and fear; and use God to run from God.
-
-
Life changing
- By Wendy Moir on 23-06-2016
-
Surprised by Hope
- Original, Provocative and Practical
- By: Tom Wright
- Narrated by: Neil Gardner
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What do Christians hope for? To leave this wicked world and go to 'heaven'? For the 'kingdom of God' to grow gradually on earth? What do we mean by the 'resurrection of the body', and how does that fit with the popular image of sitting on clouds playing harps? And how does all this affect the way we live in the here and now? Tom Wright, one of our leading theologians, addresses these questions in this provocative and wide-ranging new book.
-
-
Hmmm
- By Dennis Acraman on 01-06-2020
-
The Emotionally Healthy Leader
- How Transforming Your Inner Life Will Deeply Transform Your Church, Team, and the World
- By: Peter Scazzero
- Narrated by: Peter Scazzero
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Do you feel too overwhelmed to enjoy life, unable to sort out the demands on your time? Are you doing your best work as a leader yet not making an impact? Have you ever felt stuck, powerless to change your environment? In The Emotionally Healthy Leader, best-selling author Peter Scazzero shows leaders how to develop a deep, inner life with Christ, examining its profound implications for surviving stress, planning and decision-making, building teams, creating healthy culture, influencing others, and much more.
-
-
really insightful reading
- By Kirsten Anstey on 02-11-2020
Publisher's Summary
What was clear to the original readers of Scripture is not always clear to us. Because of the cultural distance between the biblical world and our contemporary setting, we often bring modern Western biases to the text. For example: When Western readers hear Paul exhorting women to "dress modestly", we automatically think in terms of sexual modesty. But most women in that culture would never wear racy clothing. The context suggests that Paul is likely more concerned about economic modesty - that Christian women not flaunt their wealth through expensive clothes, braided hair, and gold jewelry. Some readers might assume that Moses married "below himself" because his wife was a dark-skinned Cushite. Actually, Hebrews were the slave race, not the Cushites, who were highly respected. Aaron and Miriam probably thought Moses was being presumptuous by marrying "above himself". Western individualism leads us to assume that Mary and Joseph traveled alone to Bethlehem. What went without saying was that they were likely accompanied by a large entourage of extended family. Biblical scholars Brandon O'Brien and Randy Richards shed light on the ways that Western readers often misunderstand the cultural dynamics of the Bible. They identify nine key areas where modern Westerners have significantly different assumptions about what might be going on in a text. Drawing on their own cross cultural experience in global mission, O'Brien and Richards show how better self-awareness and understanding of cultural differences in language, time, and social mores allow us to see the Bible in fresh and unexpected ways. Getting beyond our own cultural assumptions is increasingly important for being Christians in our interconnected and globalized world. Learn to read Scripture as a member of the global body of Christ.
More from the same
What listeners say about Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- jason b
- 20-04-2017
great book
well worth listening to if you take the bible seriously and want to challenge your western thinking
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Seventeensix
- 18-05-2015
Seek first to understand
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The authors are not of my faith but we share belief in Christ which is key. The level of new understanding that I gained from having cultural mores explained with the use of parables stories and expanded knowledge of ancient times was remarkable. It helped explain many scriptures and perplexities of apparent inconsistencies in the Bible and interpretation. Not being well-read I found their simple style and personal examples compelling, refreshing and aimed squarely at me - the non-scholar. Very happy I followed the recommendation from the Interpreter foundations roundtable
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- RMH
- 02-01-2021
Weird Protestant Eyes
I found the book to be excellent, although another bias that is very present in the book is that its understanding comes from a deeply Protestant mindset, as well as being Western Educated Industrial Rich Democratic (WEIRD). The many examples from the author's experience of mission in Indonesia were very helpful to flesh out their main points.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kirsten Anstey
- 25-06-2020
Challenging and engaging, I loved it!
I really insiteful look into how easily we can misinterpret scripture. I would recommend it to anyone
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 17-12-2019
interesting helpful read
this book provides a different perspective to how we interpret the Bible through cultured eyes
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Gaza Aboki
- 19-11-2019
Context IS everything!
Finally, a book that reveals the contextual perceptions and audiences, thus highlighting how and why the words were used in such manner. As an ethnic individual born and raised in an evangelical society, the bible was always used in an adaptive manner, but I always had questions of how people in biblical times would have interpreted the teachings, and what cultural context were the words spoken in regards to. Now, I have a much better and satisfying idea, but it also strengthens my belief in the Word! Thank you both!!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Adam Shields
- 21-04-2015
Culture and assumptions matter
Misreading Scripture With Western Eyes I think will become my new recommendation for the place to start when thinking about how we read and understand scripture.
I have made a pretty concerted effort as a lay person to understand hermeneutics (the science and art of reading and understanding scripture) over the past half dozen years. Much of what I have read is oriented toward the academic, the theologian or the pastor. And I am glad I have read it. But books like that are not easy to recommend to an average reader that wants an overview, and doesn’t have a good background in theology, biblical languages or history or linguistics.
Misreading Scripture With Western Eyes is an introduction to cultural anthropology as much as it is an introduction to scripture. And this is really important. Some conservative Christians in their reaction against liberal cultural values also react against understanding different cultures and perspectives as ‘post-modern’. This often occurs not only in an attempt to uphold Christian values, but because some conservatives are also somewhat insular and have only been exposed to US American Culture.
Because of that lack of exposure, we have fights about bible translations but most of us don’t actually know another language or the basics of what it means to translate from one language to another. We have disagreements about what constitutes as sin, but we do not understand how activities within recent memory have shifted (within the church) from a status of ‘sinful’ to ‘personal freedom’ (think card playing, going to movies and drinking.)
The authors of Misreading Scripture have written an easy to read introduction to how we as Western Christians look at scripture (and culture more broadly) differently from those that are different from us (Eastern Christians today, Biblical era Christians, etc.)
There are nine different areas (each a chapter) divided into three sections. This is really just an introduction, but this would make a very good book to work through in a small group or a high school or college group.
Part one looks at the biggies of money, sex and food as illustrations of ways that we look differently at Mores. The second chapter looks at race and ethnicity (with a bit of geography). The third chapter looks very briefly at language and translation issues.
Part two explores collectivist and individualistic cultures, honor/shame and right/wrong cultures and time.
Part three focuses on rules and relationships, then virtue and vice and finally God’s will.
This is a fairly light book. I read all of it in two days. But it is not a light weight book. The subject matter is serious and handled well. But the tone is light, full of stories and illustrations, practical and rooted in the bible. It is also clear that Western is not wrong and Eastern is not inherently right. The issue instead is that we need to understand our own culture so we can see how scripture can speak to it. The authors quote the famous CS Lewis line about reading old books. But too often when we hear that line quoted, the point is missed. We don’t read old books because old books are better. We read old books because the authors of those old books had different cultures and assumptions from our own. The different ways those old books look at the world or at scripture or at culture help us to better understand our own time, culture and theology.
The problem with books like this is that we can become lost in the enormity of the task of reading scripture. We will never fully understand all of the nuances and cultural and linguistic issues. And so some people will simply say, there is no reason to read the bible for ourselves. But that is not the point of this book. The point is that scripture is important and should be read both individually and communally with our church. But we should not just read the surface, we should seek out the deeper meanings of scripture and see where we have become blind to the meaning of the text because we are reading the bible with underlying assumptions.
We all have those assumptions and this book makes a good start at showing the reader where some of those cultural reading have actually inverted the meaning of scripture. As a person that wants to take seriously scripture, not just read the surface words, I think books like this are essential.
If you are interested in learning more, I think this is the book to start with. Then NT Wright’s Scripture and the Authority of God, then Peter Enns’ The Bible Tells Me So, then John Walton’s The Lost World of Genesis One (links are to earlier Bookwi.se Reviews). From there there are lots of directions to go. But the four books together will illustrate:
-how we need cultural and historic awareness,
-how we need to place scriptural authority not in the words on the page and our understanding of those words, but in God,
-how we need to rely on biblical scholarship
-how scripture is a big, diverse story of God working through people, events and time to accomplish his purposes
-and how we need to see the interpretation of scripture as tentative and not fixed.
For some this list will show that I am no longer Evangelical, but I believe at this point, with tools that I have been given by a variety of authors, and by reading scripture in communication with historic tradition and a community of faith, through the power of the Holy Spirit, I think I am investing much more weight in the power of scripture to change and guide than I ever have before.
166 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Wouter van der Toorn
- 20-03-2015
Eye-opener for a Bible-veteran
Would you consider the audio edition of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes to be better than the print version?
This is one of the best audiobooks I've listened to. The narrator does an excellent job and helps to dive into this book that is giving me food for thought for many weeks.
Any additional comments?
It was a great book that helped me open my eyes for many surprising blind-spots I developed reading my Bible. The writers explain their points clear, also from out of their own experiences in different cultures.
36 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 19-06-2017
Great premise, terrible execution.
One of the authors spent much time in Indonesia. This led the author to draw HUNDREDS of conclusions from Indonesian culture. This book fails completely to "remove cultural blinders" as it states, but rather swaps one set of blinders for another. This book will encourage you to stop reading the Bible through Western eyes, and start reading it through Eastern eyes.
This book is also exhibits that ineffable Christian quality of passive judgement, which assumes that the reader will be on board with the authors' (skewed) view of Christian character and appropriate behavior.
I strongly encourage reading this book ONLY if you are extremely well educated where the Bible is concerned, as well as have spent copious time in foreign countries teaching the Bible to new believers. That way you will not be led to believe that the Indonesian way of interpreting scripture is correct, anymore than the Western way is.
The other author, a historian I believe, provided some helpful insights, but was cut short by the author-with-Indonesian-experience all too often. As good point was about to make an appearance, in would swoop that wonderfully overused segue "When I, Randy, was in Indonesia..."
The narrator was pretty good.
40 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Michael Blackwood
- 09-03-2016
Delivered more than what was promised!
Educational, even for the religion and philosophy majors out there! Interesting to finally see a mainstream Christian book address the conflicting passages in light of historical evidence and a treasure trove of truly fascinating topics discussed. I learned to read both Hebrew and Koine Greek in college and became able to translate original texts in their ancient language in to modern English. This took those lessons I learned a long time ago and expanded on them by providing historical notes that I didn't get in college. It was hard to put down, it's a real eye opener! If you want the truth, be plenty sure you can handle the truth before embarking into this book. It sets the record straight on many topics that the majority of Christian churches today have got all wrong. I can attest to its' conclusions, logics and truthfulness in the lessons. I studied this all before and this really is a collection of what most pastors either don't know and just get wrong, or worse, they know the truth but continue to distort it to not rock the boat and help them to feel safe preaching theology that conforms to their personal taste and opinion, instead of preaching the truth and letting the chips fall where they may. I recommend this book highly and believe it could be the first step you take on your journey to research, translate and study God's word for yourself instead of being happy to sit back and be fed less than sound doctrine that makes us all feel good.
26 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Charles Cheeseman
- 02-08-2016
A bit of a bait and switch
After listening to the audio sample of this book, I knew I had to read it! I was so excited to get a better understanding of the Scriptures through the original cultural context, which the audio sample give a very clear example of. Unfortunately, there were only two or three nuggets of historical cultural context that lenses to a better understanding of certain scripture passages. Most of the book describes how modern eastern cultures understand the Scriptures, which provided little value from what I came to expect from the audio sample.
34 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Daniel Evan Schultz
- 29-11-2017
words and stuff
I would have probably liked this book more if the author didn't stop the whole book half a dozen times to talk down to "white men". perhaps it was the voice talent projecting. either way the chiding my skin color detracted from the text.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Richard D. Shewman
- 22-09-2015
Important read for anyone who preaches, teaches...
Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes by Brandon O'Brien and Randolph Richards it a healthy reminder to any Christian preacher or teacher that the task of exegesis is necessary if one wants to get at what is actually in Scripture and not just preach on one's favorite prejudice or cultural stereotype. They point out that Scripture comes from a cultural context that is far removed from 21st century Western thinking. The assumptions made by the human authors of Scripture and the assumptions we make are profoundly different and can influence how we read and interpret the meaning of Scripture. If we are not careful, our understanding of what the authors are saying can be radically different from what they were trying to say when they first put pen to paper.
The authors identify a variety of ways in which grave errors of understanding can be made and then spend several chapters trying to explain and illustrate how such errors can be made. The authors are pastors, seminary teachers and have spent a number of years as missionaries and pastors in very different cultures from contemporary America. These cross-cultural experiences help to enrich their discussion with illustrations that bring the discussion from the abstract to the concrete. Factors such as individualistic versus collectivist cultures, what behaviors are considered virtue or vice in one culture or another, as well as what aspects of the Bible text stands out as more or less important all relate to cultural differences and how Scripture is understood. In the end the authors offer no easy list of do's and don'ts. Such a list is too "Western" and misses the point that an cross-cultural interaction demands careful attention to the assumptions and mindset that we bring to the interaction. Reading and understanding Scripture is very much a cross-cultural experience. The best way to approach this challenge is to apply the challenge of solid exegesis to the task of understanding Scripture.
I spent about 25 years of my adult life in the Western Pacific Islands in cultures quite different from mainland America. Much of that time was spent in one form of ministry or another and currently I am involved in the formation of men for ministry as permanent deacons in the Catholic Church. Thus, my background is similar to that of the authors. I also did graduate work in anthropology. The book resonated with my experience. Frequently I would say to myself, "Yes, they got that right!"
The narrator did a good job in keeping the listener engaged and in speaking clearly.
If I have any critique of the book is that toward the end it seemed to drag a bit. The authors had made their point but continued on with the discussion. This may be a function of my familiarity with the topic more than their writing or editing. Someone less familiar with the material may have benefited from the additional discussion.
It is a book well worth reading/hearing and should be required reading for anyone ministering in a cross-cultural context or who desires to be sensitive to the cross-cultural implications of interpreting Scripture.
24 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- hunt4elk
- 10-04-2015
Awesome!
What an eye opener. This book will definitely change the way I read the Bible.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- 4thace
- 18-06-2019
It makes some good points
The main message of this book is that a Western reader is all too likely to bring a couple of biases when trying to understand stories from the Bible because of some major differences that contemporary secular culture has compared to those of the cultures of the original authors. The first is a more individualistic way of understanding directives as opposed to a communitarian, tribal-based understanding. One of the two authors brings out numerous examples from his experience in the communitarian cultures of rural Indonesia while on mission, which probably isn't exactly the same as where the biblical authors were coming from but closter to the the pronounced emphasis on the self in Western culture. The examples of incidents in the scripture which transform in meaning when considered as addressing an entire community or nation rather than an isolated reader are quite helpful and lend credence to this topic.
The other is how our idea of private shame and guilt is contrasted with public shaming before the entire community in ancient times, where it was one of the most extreme penalties to be applied to one considered to be a wrongdoer. Again, there are examples with citations which make the point clearer. They do not break down the object of shame too much according to social rank, gender, free vs. slave but it is pretty clear that readers have to be on the lookout for these dimensions as well.
The authors are not strongly in the camp of literal interpretation of Scripture, which I appreciated, or at least it did not come off as strongly Fundamentalist exegisis. My guess is that they are coming from a broadly mainstream mainline US Protestant perspective, but sensitive to a wider audience. The narrator of the audiobook did a decent job of communicating the authors' ideas, distinguishing between the two of them by name where one of them was responsible for a particular observation.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- 12121568
- 25-12-2016
Extremely disappointing
Vanishingly few Biblical historical examples giving new insights to understanding of scriptures via linguistic or archeological facts. Mostly made up of naval-gazing social theories explained at a middle school academic level. There was a five minute period where the phrase "white male" was used about a dozen times, as well as a virtue signaling digression wherein the USA is judged to be horribly, heavily bigoted against "minorities", while the fact that the author adopted an "African-American" child somehow adds value to the argument.
The authors seems to think that everyone is as caught up with "race/ethnicity" as they are.
33 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 05-12-2016
Worth it!
I deliberated before buying this, but I am so glad I did, because it is absolutely fascinating. It not only sheds new light on what we miss when reading the bible, but also what we miss when relating to people from other cultures.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Ceri T
- 19-12-2019
very interesting
An interesting listen, the bok is well read, and is littered throughout with helpful, real life examples of the subjects that they cover.
There were quite a few moments in the book that made me stop and realise how blind I am to the attitudes and blinkers that I bring to my reading of the Bible.
I wish however that the appendices that are mentioned were available, so I could see the authors suggestions for further helpful reading, as I would love to explore some of the concepts more.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Gordon Curley
- 21-06-2017
Very insightful!
If you could sum up Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes in three words, what would they be?
enjoyable informative helpful
What about Allan Robertson’s performance did you like?
yes, I thought he read well
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
no, but enjoyed listenting to it on several long car trips
Any additional comments?
well worth purchasing - so good I purchased their other book: Paul Behaving Badly: Was the Apostle a Racist, Chauvinist Jerk? (another good listen!)
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Marang
- 13-05-2020
Too subjective
Attempts to be objective with the caveat that it is only from their perspective. The book in attempting to engage the reader to think outside the box is more heavily doctrinal than biblical. Some interesting anecdotal illustrative experiences.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Sara Martins
- 02-12-2019
Maybe better titled : Misreading Scripture through American Eyes
Many basic but almost always overlooked and ignored minders for examining our thought processes and assumptions for reading scripture, and I would extend that to the understanding of our own lives.
Wether or not these things are new to you, it's no bad thing to revisit basic hermeneutics and attempt to get out of your own selfish head.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Phil D
- 01-11-2019
Excellent
Really helpful to see where our culture blinkers us and misleads us as we read scripture.
-
Overall
-
Performance

- Lrapsody
- 18-01-2019
Deeply Affecting
A very helpful book, opening my eyes to cultural tendencies I didn't realise I had.
Particularly critical was the truth that we in the west have allowed ultra-individualism to permeate our readings of scripture, sometimes to the point of eisegesis, by viewing each verse as relevant to us personally, regardless of context.
I still see ways for God to use our cultural aspects to teach us new things through scripture, being a living word, always relevant; but I will now keep in mind whether the Spirit is leading my conclusions or I'm simply seeing the most comfortable interpretation.
Certain aspects in the book are much more relevant to Americans than Europeans, but it is largely still necessary.
I was intrigued to learn more of the effect of the honour/shame system opened up more fully, having in the past seen only negative connotations related to family killings and such.
If it indeed was a part of the culture of the apostles and our Lord, then it is important to know.
Great narration, very informative book. Cheers to the author/s.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Lianne Drummond
- 15-11-2018
Could be retitled "misreading everything with...
Could be retitled "misreading everything with western eyes". A book that is so needed in today's western world and all western christians should read it irrespective of background.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Stuart Mann
- 12-04-2018
Very enlightening..
An interesting way to read the bible and keep open to God.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- CT
- 02-01-2018
Eye-opening book
Interesting and will help you understand the Bible more fully without cultural bias. At times it rambled but overall gave great examples of how Westerners tend to interpret the bible according to our worldview, which may lead to inaccuracies.
20 Best Fantasy Audiobooks
This genre is so full of talent, it can be difficult to know what to listen to next — so look no further than this list to get you started.



20 Best Nonfiction Audiobooks
From the entire history of humanity to astrophysics, to our gut and mental health, dig into this list and learn something new.



Best Australian Podcasts on Audible
Audible Original Podcasts are free for Audible members. Check out this list of home-grown content, from binge-worthy true crime to self-help.


