Avoiding Cultural Insensitivity in Theological Examples and Illustrations
Christian theology has always required careful attention to how truth is communicated, not merely what truth is communicated. The apostle Paul's instruction that love "doth not behave itself unseemly" [1] establishes a principle that extends beyond personal conduct to encompass how believers present theological concepts. John Gill notes that those governed by Christian charity will be "careful that no filthy and corrupt communication proceed out of [the] mouth, which may offend pious ears" and will avoid "ridiculous and ludicrous gestures, which may expose himself and grieve the saints" [1]. This concern for propriety in speech and action provides a foundation for considering how theological examples and illustrations can either edify or inadvertently harm.
The Principle of Bearing with Weakness
Romans 15:1 commands believers to "bear the infirmities of the weak," a directive Matthew Henry interprets as requiring active consideration rather than mere tolerance. He explains that "the weak in knowledge or grace, the bruised reed and the smoking flax" deserve encouragement rather than contempt, and that when weakness leads others to "judge and censure us, and speak evil of us, we must bear with them, pity them" [2]. This principle applies directly to theological communication: illustrations that rely on cultural stereotypes, that mock unfamiliar practices, or that assume a narrow cultural perspective can function as stumbling blocks to those from different backgrounds.
The obligation to bear with weakness does not mean avoiding difficult truths or diluting doctrine. Rather, it requires presenting truth in ways that do not unnecessarily alienate or demean. When a theological example depends on caricaturing another culture's customs, or when an illustration treats one ethnic group's practices as inherently inferior or laughable, the teacher has failed to distinguish between the offense of the gospel itself and the offense of cultural insensitivity.
Avoiding Ostentation and Superiority
Ecclesiastes 7:16 warns against being "righteous over much," which John Gill interprets not as a caution against genuine holiness but against "a show and ostentation of righteousness" that leads people to "despise those who, as they imagine, do not come up to them" and to become "very rigid and censorious in their judgment of others" [4]. Keil and Delitzsch similarly understand this passage as warning against extremes that lead to self-destruction, noting that true wisdom involves holding to righteousness without the arrogance that ruins both teacher and hearer [5].
Theological illustrations that position one culture as normative and others as deficient often reflect this kind of ostentation. When a Western preacher uses examples that consistently portray non-Western practices as primitive, or when theological education materials assume that middle-class American life represents the universal human experience, the implicit message is one of cultural superiority rather than biblical truth. This violates the spirit of Ecclesiastes' warning: the teacher may be technically correct in doctrine while simultaneously destroying credibility and relationship through cultural arrogance.
The Danger of Diverse and Strange Doctrines
Hebrews 13:9 instructs believers not to be "carried about with divers and strange doctrines." John Gill explains that "divers" refers to "the variety and multitude of other doctrines" that stand in contrast to the unified "doctrine of the Scriptures, of Christ, and his apostles" which "is but one; it is uniform, and all of a piece" [7]. While this passage primarily addresses doctrinal error, it illuminates a related danger in theological illustration: when examples consistently draw from only one cultural context, they can inadvertently suggest that Christianity itself is culturally monolithic rather than universally applicable.
The remedy is not to abandon cultural specificity in examples—Scripture itself is deeply embedded in particular cultural contexts—but to ensure that the range of illustrations reflects the global and historical breadth of the Christian faith. A theology course that uses only contemporary Western business practices to illustrate stewardship, or that explains honor and shame exclusively through modern individualist frameworks, risks teaching a culturally narrow version of Christianity as though it were the whole.
Practical Considerations in Illustration
John Chrysostom's homilies demonstrate awareness of cultural context in theological communication. The index to his works notes his concern about how "theatres... promote irreverent behavior in Church" [3], showing attention to how specific cultural practices in his context affected spiritual formation. His "dramatic manner" and "rapid and ingenious selection and variation of topics" were recognized as particularly effective with "the susceptible people of the East" [6], indicating that effective theological communication requires understanding one's audience.
Modern theological teachers face analogous challenges. An illustration about family structure that assumes nuclear households may confuse or alienate students from cultures with extended family systems. Examples about work that presume formal employment miss the experience of subsistence farmers or informal economy workers. Food metaphors that treat certain cuisines as exotic or unclean can reinforce harmful stereotypes. The solution is not to avoid all culturally specific examples but to diversify them, to explain cultural contexts when necessary, and to avoid treating any single culture's practices as self-evidently normative or superior.
Matthew Henry's emphasis on not trampling upon the weak but rather encouraging them [2] suggests a positive standard: theological illustrations should, where possible, draw from the experiences and wisdom of diverse Christian communities. Examples from African, Asian, and Latin American theologians; illustrations from church history beyond European Protestantism; metaphors that resonate across economic and social contexts—these enrich theological education while avoiding the implicit cultural imperialism of mono-cultural illustration.
The goal is not cultural relativism in doctrine but cultural humility in pedagogy. Christian truth transcends culture, but Christian teachers remain embedded in particular cultural locations. Recognizing this distinction allows for theological precision without cultural insensitivity, for doctrinal clarity without ethnic parochialism. The teacher who masters this balance follows Paul's model of becoming "all things to all people" without compromising the gospel's content, presenting truth in ways that honor both Scripture's authority and the dignity of every culture to which that Scripture speaks.
Sources
- 1 Corinthians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 1 Corinthians 13:5: Doth not behave itself unseemly,.... By using either unbecoming words, or doing indecent actions; for a man unprincipled with this grace will be careful that no filthy and corrupt communication proceed out of his mouth, which may offend pious ears; and that he uses no ridiculous and ludicrous gestures, which may expose himself and grieve the saints; accordingly the Syriac version renders it, "neither does it commit that which is shameful": such an one will not do a little mean despicable action, in reproaching one, or flattering another, in order to gain a poin”
- Romans (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Romans 15:1: The apostle here lays down two precepts, with reasons to enforce them, showing the duty of the strong Christian to consider and condescend to the weakest. I. We must bear the infirmities of the weak, Rom 15:1. We all have our infirmities; but the weak are more subject to them than others - the weak in knowledge or grace, the bruised reed and the smoking flax. We must consider these; not trample upon them, but encourage them, and bear with their infirmities. If through weakness they judge and censure us, and speak evil of us, we must bear with them, pity them, and ”
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on Acts & Romans: Theatres, mischief of, 68 , 262 , 270 ; promote irreverent behavior in Church, 161 . Theodorus, 238 , 252 . Thekla, Acts of Paul and, 167 . Timothy, circumcision of, 506 ; relics of, 553 . Tree of Knowledge, a type of the cross, 402 . Tribulations benefit the soul, 221 , 572 321 ; sent to rouse the faithful, 260 . Types, a mode of prophecy, 339 . Uncircumcision , received the Gospel before the circumcision, 388 . See Gentiles . Unction, with the Spirit, not with oil, 338 . Union is strength, especially in prayer, 231 ; how to secure, 232 . Vanity , i”
- Ecclesiastes (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Ecclesiastes 7:16: Be not righteous over much,.... This is not meant of true and real righteousness, even moral righteousness, a man cannot be too holy or too righteous; but of a show and ostentation of righteousness, and of such who would be thought to be more righteous and holy than others, and therefore despise those who, as they imagine, do not come up to them; and are very rigid and censorious in their judgment of others, and very severe in their reproofs of them; and, that they may appear very righteous persons, will do more than what the law requires of them to do, even wor”
- Ecclesiastes (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on Ecclesiastes 7:15: The first of these counsels warns against extremes, on the side of good as well as on that of evil: "All have I seen in the days of my vanity: there are righteous men who perish by their righteousness, and there are wicked men who continue long by their wickedness. Be not righteous over-much, and show not thyself wise beyond measure: why wilt thou ruin thyself? Be not wicked overmuch, and be no fool: why wilt thou die before thy time is? It is good that thou holdest thyself to the one, and also from the other withdrawest not thine hand: for he that fearet”
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on 1 & 2 Corinthians: rare felicity, on passing into a modern language. His dramatic manner indeed, which was one of the great charms of his oratory among the Greeks, and his rapid and ingenious selection and variation of topics, these may in some measure be retained, and may serve to give even English readers some faint notion of the eloquence which produced so powerful effects on the susceptible people of the East. “However, it is not of course as composition that we desire to call attention to these or any other of the remains of the Fathers. Nor would this topic h”
- Hebrews (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Hebrews 13:9: Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines,.... The word "divers" may denote the variety and multitude of other doctrines; referring either to the various rites and ceremonies of the law, or to the traditions of the elders, or to the several doctrines of men, whether Jews or Gentiles; whereas the doctrine of the Scriptures, of Christ, and his apostles, is but one; it is uniform, and all of a piece; and so may likewise denote the disagreement of other doctrines with the perfections of God, the person and offices of Christ, the Scriptures of truth, the anal”