Hermeneutic 8

8-Let Scripture interpret culture rather than the other way around.  Human experience and social conviction can result in distortion of the Bible's teaching.  Some interpreters in the pre-Civil War Southern United States justified slavery from the Bible.  Today, many interpreters, even in church leadership, deny that Christ is the only way to salvation, that the Bible is completely true, that Jesus rose from the dead, and that sexual activity condemned by the Bible is wrong.  In such cases, human cultural consciousness works to control the Bible's message.  Pushing back against such a tendency by following the hermeneutical rules listed here can lead to interpretation that is more faithful to God and His Word rather than to the whims of cultural change.