Author: HonorShame

resources for Majority World ministry

By Posted on Posted in ethics, Honor, Resources, Shame, Theology, Wesetern No Comments Tagged with , , ,
Honor and shame are innately social and cooperate realities. For this reason, an honor-centric morality prioritizes relational harmony and communal edification, as seen in Pauline theology. John Barclay says, “Paul’s redefinition of honor thus gives prestige to such traits that …

Paul’s Honor Ethic in 1 Corinthians Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Culture, ethics, Resources, Wesetern 13 Comments Tagged with , , ,
Western theologians and missionaries often assume that “guilt-based” morality is ethically superior. This, I believe, is a dangerous assumption. A guilt-based approach to ethics has several shortcomings that limit its moral effectiveness, particularly in collectivistic contexts. These limitations do not …

4 Problems with Guilt-Based Morality Read more »

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Please considering joining us at the: Patron-client relationships were foundational in the world of Scripture. Plus, the dynamics of status, benefaction, generosity, reciprocity, loyalty and gratitude remain foundational in societies today. Yet the realities of patronage remain ignored in theological and missional conversations. This symposium will …

The Patronage Symposium (Oct 2018) Read more »

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The second title—Esther—in the Honor-Shame Paraphrase series is now available. Esther: An Honor-Shame Paraphrase costs $2.99 on Kindle and PDF. Readers often misinterpret Scripture for a simple reason—our culture is very different from the ancient cultures of the Bible. For example, Westerners …

Esther: An Honor-Shame Paraphrase (new book) Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Bible, Culture, Theology, Wesetern 10 Comments Tagged with , , , , ,
All Bible translations face a problem—the cultural gap between the Bible and contemporary readers. English words evoke Western assumptions and values that are unlike those of biblical writers. The word “grace” (Greek: charis) is a good example of this problem of …

The Problem of “Grace” in English Bibles Read more »

By Posted on Posted in ethics, Honor, Shame, Wesetern 4 Comments Tagged with , ,
When I wrote The 3D Gospel and developed www.TheCultureTest.com in 2014, I thought that the concept of guilt/shame/fear cultures was unique to Christian missiology. But recently, I encountered a very similar cultural model by a secular psychologist. Richard Shweder is a …

Guilt, Shame, and Fear in Secular Research Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Culture, Honor, Relationships, Shame 2 Comments Tagged with , , , ,
The post is adapted from chapter #3 of  The Bridge to Racial Unity: Discussion Guide 2.0 from Be the Bridge ministries. A personal awareness of racism and racial injustice can generate uncomfortable feelings of shame and guilt. In America’s individualistic …

Shame and Guilt in Racial Reconciliation Read more »