The Bible is written in a style that would be familiar to the people of the times, but it is not cultural in the sense that it only applies to the people of that day. For example, many people argue that the church needs to �modernize� and allow things such as homosexuality and abortion. If the church did change and allow those things, then the church would be bowing to the culture of today. The Bible in cultural in a different way, in that the Word of God is EXPRESSED in a way that is cultural to the people of the time.
Here is a better explanation:
The stage of evaluation asks, What does the passage mean in today's culture? It is the issue of whether a passage of Scripture applies to us today, or whether it is limited to the culture in which it was originally written.
The question raised by the evaluation process is answered one of two ways. Either the passage is applied directly to our culture, or it must be reapplied because of cultural differences. The vast majority of New Testament teaching can be applied directly to 20th century culture. If we love GOD, regardless of when or where we live, then we must obey His commandments (John 14:15). This teaching is true in any culture for all times.
But sometimes a Biblical teaching is directed so specifically to the culture of the ancient world that another culture cannot understand it. For example, Western culture today generally does not sacrifice meat to idols, and therefore the meaning of 1 Corinthians 8 may be lost. How then do we evaluate its meaning for us?
It is helpful at this point to define two terms. A "cultural expression" is a statement that can be understood only within a certain cultural context. An "eternal principle" is a principle that GOD uses to govern the world regardless of culture. "I will never again eat meat, lest it make my brother stumble" (1 Cor. 8:13), is a cultural expression because it is understandable only within those cultures that offer meat to idols. "GOD is love" (1 John 4:8) is an eternal principle because it is understandable in all cultures.
But we should clearly understand that every cultural expression in the Bible is the result of some eternal principle. And even though a cultural expression cannot be carried over directly to another culture, the eternal principle behind it can. Just because it is cultural does not mean it can be ignored.
A good example of this important principle might be the teaching that we should always be polite when we are guests for diner. In America, this principle could express itself as "Eat all the food on the table lest you insult your host's cooking". But in Uganda it is important that food be left on the serving plates lest it appear your host has not sufficiently provided for you.
Therefore, whereas the principle shows itself in America as "Eat all the food", the same principle shows itself in Uganda as "Leave some of the food on the serving plates". The task of the Biblical interpreter is to look through any cultural expression to the eternal principle that gave rise to it, and to reapply the principle in his own culture. This is the process of evaluation. Is it culture;? If it is, how does the eternal principle which gave rise to the cultural expression reapply in the new culture?
Two implications can be drawn from this. First, if a statement is cultural, then there must be a principle that gave rise to the cultural statement. But if no principle can be found, then what was thought to be cultural must in fact be an eternal principle. Second, if the interpreter is not sure whether a statement is cultural, would it not be better to be safe and view the statement as eternal, lest a command of GOD be ignored?
We should also remember that just as a biblical passage can be set in its culture, so the interpreter is likewise controlled to some extent by his own culture. Many people today do not believe that the biblical accounts of miracles are true. For example, some scholars argue that miracles were a part of the first century culture and were believed by the people in Jesus' day. But this is the 20th century and people do not believe in miracles in this culture. But these scholars' views on the impossibility of the supernatural are likewise influenced by the materialistic, science-oriented culture in which they live. We must be careful about allowing our own culture to influence our view of Scripture.
From http://www.angelfire.com/sc3/we_dig_montana/Bible_Interpretation.html
