Does Culture Matter?

In the comments to the post on questioning scripture, Jaime brought up the issue of the hierarchy in the Jewish Bible. Questions were then asked about the Bible contradicting itself, how can that be if it's really God's word, etc. My quick answer would've been, yes it contradicts itself and yes it's God's word...I don't have a problem with that. Fortunately Jaime thinks about what she says more than I do and brought up the issue of culture. I think that this is an important question that we both have and so I thought I'd bring up here in an actual post.

Does the Bible contradict itself? Again, I think quite obviously it does, and there are many scribal errors that have permeated the text we have now. Some examples that Jaime gave:

• In 2 Sam 24, it is the anger of the Lord that incites David to count his men, and so brings a plague among the people of Israel (interestingly this is one of the passages where God repents and changes his mind...but that's a different post). In the parallel passage in 1 Chron 21, the Chronicler had a problem with God punishing Israel for something that was His idea, and makes Satan the bad guy.
  
• Gen 20.12 makes it clear that Abraham and Sarah are half-siblings, a marriage which is not allowed in the Torah.
  
• Just for fun, a large scribal error is in 1 Sam 11. At some point the scribe missed a whole paragraph that gives some background to this story. We have a copy of the paragraph in the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QSamA).
• Even in the same set of books though, there are differences, the most famous being with the Ten Commandments: Why are the Jews supposed to observe the Sabbath? Exodus 20: because God made the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh. Deut 5: because you were slaves in Egypt so give your slaves a rest. Which is the right one?
  

This list could go on and on. Is it all God's word? This, honestly, I'm a bit hesitant on. Right now, I'll say yes, because I believe in a dynamic God--a God who takes into account people where they are and what they believe or know. God addresses different cultures and different people, well....differently. Very few things in the Bible are set in stone. The problem is how do we know what is cultural and what is truth?

I'm against the death penalty, because I believe in a God of second chances and forgiveness...but the Torah certainly shows a God endorsing the death penalty for everything from adultery to children who disrespect their parents. I think of it as God dealing with people and where they're at in their societies and times . We (most everywhere in the world but the US and fundamentalist Muslim regimes) have moved into a society that acknowledges the worth of people's lives over an arcane sense of justice. Isn't this a better place to be?

What else is a case of God responding to the culture of the time? Could homosexuality be one of those things? Certainly the role of women in the Church; certainly slavery and animal sacrifice. I guess this is the question: What's cultural, what's not? What should we die for and what should we be willing to be merciful on? Any thoughts?