The Significance of the Cultural Anthropology of Mary Douglas and Bruce Malina for New Testament Interpretation

Abstract

The Bible, a treasure of all Christian churches, contains the irreplaceable primary documents of the Christian faith. The Bible is also a collection of ancient documents, written in strange and even exotic languages of other ages and cultures. Much in the Bible is foreign to urbanized Western civilization and requires exploration. The Bible is also the major source of information about the history of Israel in pre-Christian times and the origins of the Christian faith and the Christian Church. Under all these aspects the Bible has been the source of information and doctrine, of faith and hope. lts interpretation has also been a battleground, for men's (sic.) hopes and most deeply held convictions are buttressed from the Bible, differences as to what the Bible says or how to read it provoke violent debate (Krentz 1975: 1).