The Myth of Objectivity
September 25, 2007
Posting has been a little sparse because I’ve been preoccupied - several funerals in the past two weeks, kids in soccer, cross country and basketball and, of course, the priority of taking in a few OU football games. 
Thinking out loud: I believe there is such a thing as “objective” reality - or that there are things as they really are, not just as they are perceived. I’ve even had friends tell me that they believe I’m one of the most objective people they know (don’t laugh!). But the moment I say “I know…” doesn’t my knowing become subjective? After all, I am a subject, not an object. Thus, my knowing is the knowing of a subject - and thus subjective (by definition, it would seem). I always have a context and my context will forever be shaped by certain contextual realities - my place of birth, my ethnic origin, my social/economic status, the particular family into which I was born, my educational background and a whole lot more. My understanding of the world, how it works, who I am, what life is meant to be, are all heavily influenced by that context.
It should seem obvious that a white, middle-class, college educated, 21st Century American, son of a Baptist deacon and loving parents would think differently about the world and how it works than a poor, black, uneducated African, son of an abusive shaman father. I think it is safe to say that even if the parents were Christian - say a middle-class Chinese laborer who’s mother works in a sweat shop making toys for Mattel. Would we view the teachings of Scripture differently because of our context? What makes the American context superior to all others when it comes to understanding something like Scripture? Or am I wrong that we view it that way? Because it sure seems to me, especially for Baptists in the south (and I’m broadly including Oklahoma here because of the strong Southern Baptist presence) that we view it that way.
These thoughts generated by a post from David Phillips.
Paul,
This is a beautiful post. A clear presentation of why we need to exegete culture and why we need to know how to do it.
Thank you for raising these questions, Paul. I think you have seized on one of the most valuable things postmodern thinkers have taught us. If you will allow me to chase a rabbit trail…
I have been doing research in Christian feminist theologies for some time and, theological disagreements aside, I am flabberghasted at how well many of these women understand the matter of subjectivity (and, by contrast, how badly most evangelicals miss it).
The fact of the matter is, experiencing life as a woman, with a woman’s body, woman’s mind, woman’s hormones, etc, is very different from experiencing it as a man. Moreover, a woman’s relational knowledge of Christ will be very different from a man’s relational knowledge of Christ.
For a looooong time, it was thought that the male experience was normative and women’s experience didn’t matter. Feminist theologians understand the foolishness in this mindset and so should evangelicals. (Gasp! We can learn something from feminists?) With women making up roughly 60% or more of our congregations, I think that understanding their subjective experience of reality is vital to faithfully proclaiming the Gospel to everyone.
I hope this wasn’t too “off the beaten path.” I appreciate you raising the issue.
Grace and peace,
Emily
Having now traveled cross culturally I can definitely vouch for the fact that culture impacts how scripture is read. Of course, you really dont’have to leave America to figure that out. As you imply, it can be seen how culture impacts scriptural interpretation in the south versus other areas of the country, or from an economically prosperous background versus one that is not.
What is beautiful, though, is how when it comes to Jesus, who He Is, and what He has done for us… well, that cuts through/transcends culture. That may be one of the reasons why we should keep that the main thing and stop all the quibbling over things that are more culture than Truth.
Good Day
God is Love, May you experience God’s Love this Day, may we really learn to Praise him in all things 
Lets Share God’s Love today 
You are Loved!