SLAVES, WOMEN AND HOMOSEXUALS:
Exploring the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis
By William J. Webb
IVP, Downer's Grove. 301 pages
ISBN (USA) 0 8308 1561 9
Distributed in the UK by Paternoster
My feelings about this book are very mixed. There is no question but that it is an important book, and this for several reasons.
One is that Webb is trying to introduce a systematic way of determining whether a passage in Scripture (both Old and New Testaments) is for the particular time and culture in which the text was written, or does the passage 'transcend' a particular culture and having meaning for 'all time'? Most commands and imperatives are marked by what Webb calls 'cultural values' or 'cultural components' (precepts for a particular setting and time) or 'kingdom values' or 'transcultural values' (passages that have specific instruction or meaning for all time).
