Reading the Bible as Asian Americans

Chan -Hie Kim, who has served as Professsor of New Testament and Director of Korean Studies at the Claremont School of Theology, informs us that the Bible is the canon of the Asian American community, just as it is the canon of other Christian communities.  In other words, for Asian Americans, the Bible is the norm or the rule by which divine truth is measured and doctrine is established.  We ask then, if this is the case, what makes the reading of Scripture in the Asian American community any different from reading it in any other community?

As I have mentioned in previous articles, there is no such thing as a "neutral" or "objective" reading of Scripture.  The Bible itself is a culturally conditioned book, and those who read it, approach it from both their individual and cultural matrix.

So we ask then, if the Bible is considered "the Word of God," why do we subject its reading and interpretation to cultural norms?  The answer is that the the Bible is the product of culture.  In other words, the "Word of God" comes to us, filtered through culture. The "universal" elements of divine revelation come to us through the "culture specific" elements that are found in the Bible itself, and also in the lives and minds of the interpreter/reader.

Professor Kim points out that Asian Americans are a people whose forebears emigrated from many different countries in Asia. He states that they include first-generation immigrants , a majority of whom came to this side of the Pacific Ocean , beginning in 1965, but who share very little in common among themselves.

Because they come from different countries, their culture and cultural perspectives would naturally vary from one country to the other. In this article, I will not focus on the intercultural variety of Asians, but rather on the  common thread of reading the Bible from a perspective which is different from that of the Western Euro-American.

Asian Americans read the Scriptures from their own historical and cultural perspective in the U.S.A. They read  and understand the Bible from their present social location, which has a long history of struggle for survival in the midst of discrimination and inequity.  Such a reading, as Professor Kim reminds us, is not intentional, but rather a natural response to circumstances.

An example of how Asian Americans would read the Bible with a specific question in mind would be that of  understanding their immigration and settlement in the U.S.A.

Like the ancient people of Israel who looked forward to a land of "milk and honey," the early Asian immigrants also looked forward "a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey." The Hebrew immigration into Canaan served as a model for Asian Americans.

In some respects, the "house of abundance" became the "house of bondage" for Asian Americans, as in this land which was plentiful in resources, they had to face hard labor and exploitation, which in some respects they would compare to the bondage of the Hebrews in Egypt. The dreams Asians had, says Professor Kim, at the time of their entry into this "promised land," were shattered by the harsh reality of ardous American life  as they got a better, and I would add, a more realistic understanding of they country they had made their home.

Ironically enough, Asian Americans find that the Bible does not always present God as the liberator, as is claimed by Liberation Theology.  In some cases, Professor Kim points out, God is depicted as the oppressor of the Canaanites on behalf of the invading Israelites. The Pilgrims who risked their lives crossing the Atlantic Ocean on the Mayflower in quest of religious freedom, were no longer the persecuted Puritans once they landed on shore.  Their freedom led to oppression for other races on the continent.  In other words, as we hear often said, "The oppressed became the oppressor." Professor Kim raises the question "If the God of Israel is also the God of all nations, why does God fulfill justice by annihilating other nations?" Subsequently, Asian Americans have a difficult time in understanding how is it that those who "welcomed" them here, were at the same time, those who annihilated the original inhabitants of the land?

Asian Americans have their own precious cultural heritage.  In the same manner that the Israelites  cherished their heritage and identity as integral to the fulfillment of God's promise, Asian American Christians honor and treasure the values inherent in their traditions.  It is in the light of this, that Asian Americans read and understand the biblical message, which rather than denigrate or suppress their culture, affirms and encourages it as part of God's creation.

Please share with us how you view the Asian American reading of Scripture.  Do you believe that there is validity in the Asian American biblical hermeneutic (interpretation)? Or does interpreting the Bible from an Asian American perspective result in "unsound" doctrine?  Please tell us where you stand on this matter.

Grace and peace,

Dr. Juan A. Ayala-Carmona