In this article, I’m going to attempt to persuade you that no one really interprets the Bible literally. Rather, we weigh different parts of the Bible against one another, looking for the reading that seems most persuasive. As part of this process, a person’s background can affect one’s biblical interpretation, making people of different backgrounds better able to see each other’s blind spots. These claims may seem obvious to some and sacrilegious to others.
I’ll start, by revisiting one of the most commonly read parables in the Bible — the Parable of the “Prodigal Son”.
How Americans Interpret the Parable of the Prodigal Son Differently
If you were to ask a North American Christian why the Prodigal Son returned, you would get a variety of answers, but one of the more common responses I’ve heard is that the Prodigal Son squandered his money on prostitutes and chose to return to his father once his money ran out. In fact, the allegation about the prostitutes that we remember is not explicitly part of the story’s original narrative, (Luke 15:13) but rather it is an accusation made by the older son when the younger son returns (Luke 15:30). It is the older son’s accusation that is stuck in our memories.
How Others Interpret the Parable of the Prodigal Son
By contrast, if you were to ask Christians from another part of the world, particularly a place that has experience with famine, you would find that a greater number of them would mention the word “famine” in their answer. (Luke 15:14)
How Experience Affects How We Read
The story of the Prodigal Son illustrates how our own experience shapes how we read the Bible and what we remember. North Americans below the age of 80 do not have direct experience with famine and so our memories don’t connect to this part of the story as strongly as do the older son’s allegations of sexual immorality.
For North Americans, “Sexual Immorality” is a more familiar concept than famine; we focus on it more easily; and it imprints itself more strongly in our memories. [Read more…]