We agree that no pastor (or interpreter of any text for that matter) is “devoid” of cultural influence. But (reading between the lines) I wonder if you don’t really mean in some sense “captive to” or “controlled by” culture and its influence?

With that I cannot agree. As a pastor who is called upon weekly to interpret and proclaim the Scriptures I take very seriously the exegetical task, a significant part of which is to understand the text in ~its own~ culture and context in a disciplined manner. Part of that discipline is to try and remove, insofar as is possible, my own cultural prejudices and concerns. It’s not always easy, but it is a conscious part of doing the task well. It’s one of the first things one learns in being taught to do exegesis responsibly/faithfully.

It’s easy to see why you believe that given your support for women’s ordination and same-sex marriage.

Right, but there is no Cartesian person. All pastors necessarily bring their own cultural influences into preaching; there isn’t a person devoid of them.

While true, I’ve had the joyful edification of sitting under great preaching and teaching from pastors and teachers who illuminate and lift Biblical truths which transcend our cultural influences and experiences.

In absence of cultural understanding, we interpret through our own cultural lenses, which cloud our understanding of the text. This happens all the time in diplomatic relations, which makes it quite difficult then to reach agreement – it is no wonder there are so many interpretations – likely each cultural group, applying it to themselves will have similar difficulties.

What does this say about the fact that people read scriptures, all have their own unique Christian experiences, and still come to different conclusions on the text?