Ensuring Culturally Sensitive Extrabiblical Examples in Contemporary Teaching
When teaching biblical concepts, the use of extrabiblical examples can be a powerful tool for illustration and connection, but it requires careful consideration of cultural sensitivity. The goal is to make the message accessible and relatable without causing misunderstanding or offense.
One aspect of cultural sensitivity involves recognizing how different cultures process and structure information. For instance, early Christian homilies, such as those by John Chrysostom, often exhibited a dramatic and less systematic approach to discourse, which was effective for his Greek audience [1, 3]. Modern audiences, however, particularly those influenced by Western educational traditions, may expect a more systematic and organized presentation of ideas, a style that developed with the Schoolmen and is now common in contemporary preaching [3]. Therefore, when drawing extrabiblical examples, teachers should consider whether the example's structure and presentation align with the cultural expectations of their audience.
Furthermore, the relevance and impact of an example can vary significantly across cultures. What might be a compelling illustration in one cultural context could be obscure or even counterproductive in another. For example, the concept of "new birth" was illustrated by Jesus using a metaphor understood within the Jewish context of proselyte baptism [5]. A teacher today might need to find a culturally equivalent concept or provide additional explanation if the audience is unfamiliar with ancient Jewish customs. Similarly, the miraculous gift of tongues, while a sign for unbelievers in the early church, could be misinterpreted if not carefully contextualized, potentially leading to a focus on the gift rather than the Giver [4].
Even within a single tradition, there can be variations in how examples are received. John Calvin, for instance, praised a woman for her "more than masculine mind" and courage in repelling attacks, an example intended to stimulate emulation among men [2]. While this might have resonated with his audience, contemporary teachers would need to consider how such a gendered comparison might be perceived in different cultural settings. The aim is to choose examples that genuinely illuminate the biblical truth without inadvertently introducing cultural biases or creating barriers to understanding. The effectiveness of an extrabiblical example lies in its ability to bridge the gap between the ancient text and the contemporary listener, fostering deeper comprehension and application.
Sources
- 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”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1 (Gen 1-23), section 3.3: rendered evident by convincing proofs, that she carried a more than masculine mind in woman’s breast. And I wish that at length even men may be put to shame, and that useful emulation may stimulate them to imitate her example. For she conducted herself with such peculiar modesty, that scarcely any one would have supposed her capable of thus enduring the most violent attacks, and, at the same time, of courageously repelling them. Besides, how keenly God exercised her with internal conflicts but few persons are witnesses, of whom, ho”
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on Galatians–Colossians–Thessalonians: which one after another occurred. Now, modern taste requires much more system and symmetry in building a discourse. The Schoolmen taught their pupils to analyze and arrange, 1 1 How this came about, the editor has sought to explain in his “Lectures on the History of Preaching” (New York, Armstrong), p. 103 f. and modern preaching has taken the corresponding form, for good and for ill. An expository sermon of to-day must be much more systematic in its explanations, and much more regular in its entire construction, than those of th”
- 1 Corinthians (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 14:22: Wherefore tongues are for a sign - The miraculous gift of tongues was never designed for the benefit of those who have already believed, but for the instruction of unbelievers, that they might see from such a miracle that this is the work of God; and so embrace the Gospel. But as, in the times of the prophet, the strange Babylonish tongues came in the way of punishment, and not in the way of mercy; take heed that it be not the case now: that, by dwelling on the gift, ye forget the Giver; and what was designed for you as a blessing, may prove to you to be a c”
- John (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on John 3:12: If I have told you earthly things - If, after I have illustrated this new birth by a most expressive metaphor taken from earthly things, and after all you believe not; how can you believe, should I tell you of heavenly things, in such language as angels use, where earthly images and illustrations can have no place? Or, if you, a teacher in Israel, do not understand the nature of such an earthly thing, or custom of the kingdom established over the Jewish nation, as being born of baptism, practised every day in the initiation of proselytes, how will you understand such ”