Slaves Women and Homosexuals: Explaining the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis, by William Webb

(written by Ken Ochieng - put your thinking cap on before reading)

William J. Webb is a professor of New Testament at Heritage Theological Seminary in Cambridge, Ontario. His teaching experience as well as reference to the input of faculty members and his students are ingredients that would qualify Webb to write on this controversial subject of slaves, women, and homosexuals.

In this book, William J. Webb addresses issues that many would rather leave under the carpet given the nature of sensitivity of the subject. Indeed the issues of homosexuality, and roles of women have been so divisive in the church that any attempt to address them should be lauded.

Slaves, women, and homosexuals is divided into three parts namely: i) toward a hermeneutic of cultural analysis; ii) intra-scriptural criteria; iii) extra-scriptural criteria. Each part is unique in the way it evaluates whether a text is cultural or not.

Webb walks the reader through the complexities of how to determine whether a text in the Bible is cultural or trans-cultural.

Towards this end, Webb, has postulated “redemptive – movement” hermeneutics of eighteen criteria. In each criteria, slaves, women, and homosexuals are the case studies taken through his filtering method. Each criteria is introduced with an analysis of the ‘neutral’, currently undisputed issues like slaves which most agree should be abolished although the Bible doesn’t explicitly advocate for abolition. Issues of women and homosexuals are then analyzed. Every criteria is evaluated and a conclusion made.

In the first part of this book, Webb argues that we must apply scriptures not in a static fashion but take into account the original cultural context, the biblical position itself, as well as the ultimate ethic that a redemptive reading of the biblical passages demands today.

Part two of the book has sixteen criteria that are applied in determining how cultural a text is. In summary form, Webb’s criteria in this part are: Preliminary movement (page 73); Seed ideas (page 83); Breakouts (page 91); Purpose/intent statements (page 105); Basis in fall or curse (page 110); Basis in original creation, section 1, patterns (page 123); Basis in original creation, section 2, primogeniture (page 134); Basis in new creation (page 145); Competing options (page 152); Opposition to original culture (page 157); Closely related issues (page 162); Penal code (page 172); Special instructions verses general principles (page 179); Basis in theological analogy (page 185); Contextual comparisons (page 192); Appeal to the old testament (page 201).

Part 3 of the book has the last criteria namely: Programmatic basis between two clusters (page 209); scientific and social- scientific evidence (page 221). This part deals with non- scriptural evidences as determinants of whether the teaching in the scripture is cultural or trans-cultural.

The focus of Webb’s book is redemptive-movement hermeneutics. To support his idea, he has come up with “The X →Y→ Z” Principle (Page 31). X indicates the perspective of the original culture at the time biblical passage was written, Y indicates ‘isolated words’, and Z indicates an ultimate ethic. According to him, “ the  X → Y → Z”  principle illustrates how numerous aspects of the biblical text were not written to establish a utopian society with complete justice and equity. They were written within a cultural framework with limited moves toward an ultimate ethic (page 31). For this reason, Webb argues that we should live out in our modern world “not the isolated words of the text but the redemptive spirit that the text reflects as read against its original culture" (page 33). Webb’s idea is that we do not stay static with the text (Y) but move towards an ultimate ethic, (Z) (page 33). To further buttress on his “X → Y → Z” principle, Webb has supplied ‘ladder of abstractions’ (page 20). Using this tool, he argues that “pragmatic factors often uncover the rationale for the ‘down ladder’ components of a biblical command where as the ultimate rationale provides the basis for ‘up the ladder’ components of a biblical command.” (page 210).

The criteria are clustered as persuasive, moderately persuasive, and inconclusive. The clustering is determined by how convincing the arguments are, with those that are weak being labelled inconclusive.

After subjecting the issues of slaves, women, and homosexuals through the eighteen criteria, Webb draws the conclusion that slavery is not right, complementary egalitarianism is the ultimate end with regards to issues of women and that the Bible condemns homosexuality.

Slaves, women, and homosexuals has a number of strengths. Webb has treated those with divergent opinions with generosity. Slaves, women, and homosexuals is well laid out, shows signs of research and the thought is coherent making the flow easy for the reader. Webb has included great tools like charts and diagrams which helps the reader in following his concepts. He has also included four appendices, bibliography and indices.

One of the apparent weaknesses of this book is that inspite of its title, the coverage given to slaves and homosexuals is marginal. It is quite apparent that the book is on roles of women in family, church, and society. The issues of slaves and homosexuals are there to disguise or veil Webb’s real agenda of pushing for complementary egalitarianism. Webb’s work also seems to work from a predetermined conclusion and would go for any “seed idea” or “break out” from the scripture, to qualify his fixed outcome. In settling for complimentary egalitarianism on the basis of redemptive movement, Webb ignored other plethora scriptures that would have significantly changed his conclusion. It might be rightly argued that the move was deliberate.

Slaves, women and homosexuals presents a huge challenge to the belief that women should be subject to their husbands. Webb believes that these teachings are for the culture of those days when the teachings were given and that in modern day culture, we should adopt “a better ethic than the one expressed in the isolated words of the text” (page 36). He doesn’t explain how this view fits with the anology that wives should submit to husbands just as the church submits to Christ (Ephesian 5: 23).

I wish I was less critical of Webb’s book. Perharps my cultural up bringing as an African have influenced my view of the book! In Africa, we get suspicious of any view that relaxes rules of what is written in scripture—part of the reason why our stand on issues of homosexuality and roles of women are seen by many as rigid. Indeed the issue of what is cultural and what is transcultural is something that scholars have to wrestle with and for this reason, Webb’s criteria is a positive move even though I do not agree with his application.