Category: Bible

By Posted on Posted in Bible, Communication, Culture, Relationships, Theology 1 Comment Tagged with , , , ,
Author and teacher Lois Tvarberg is co-founder of the En-Gedi Resource Center. This post is adapted from her recent book, Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus  International communications trainer Sarah Lanier has traveled the globe to teach about cultural differences. In …

Biblically, What Is Your ‘Name’? Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Bible, Honor 16 Comments Tagged with ,
“Watch out! Honor and shame can lead to unbalanced extremes!” At least this is the concern of some people when they hear about honor-shame. They worry that emphasizing honor-shame might lead Christians to neglect essential tenets of orthodox, biblical theology. …

CAUTION: Honor-Shame is “Unbalanced” and “Extreme”!! Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Bible, Resources 6 Comments Tagged with ,
Last summer several Cru staff members attended the Honor-Shame conference in Wheaton. After the conference, they began discussing and designing a new honor-shame evangelism tool that could used in a smart-phone app.   Their new tool “Honor Restored” launched in December …

“Honor Restored”—New Evangelism Tool from Cru Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Bible, Theology 1 Comment Tagged with , , ,
John Chrysostom, the archbishop of Constantinople (353–407), was famous for his eloquent preaching (the moniker Chrysostomos means “golden-mouthed”). His eighty-eight exegetical homilies on the Gospel of John read much like a social-science commentary. I will explain a few ways that …

A Hermeneutics of Honor: John Chrysostom 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 Bible, Culture, NT, Resources 4 Comments Tagged with , , ,
The latest issue of the magazine Modern Reformation includes my article “Talking About Faith in Non-Western Contexts.” This article explains the biblical meaning of “faith” in terms of patron-client relationships and recent New Testament scholarship. The opening paragraphs are included below, and …

The Meaning of “Faith” Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Bible, Communication, Culture, NT, OT, Theology, Wesetern 13 Comments Tagged with , , ,
Anyone who reads the Bible today faces an unavoidable fact—Scripture was originally written in and for a culture different than our own culture. This makes the Bible difficult to understand. Consider the meaning of these words: He whistled at her, …

The Problem with Bible Translations: Your Culture Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Bible, Honor, Jesus, NT, OT, salvation, Shame, Sin, Theology, Wesetern 3 Comments Tagged with , , , , , ,
Anselm’s satisfaction theory (explanation here) has shaped Western atonement theory. Unfortunately, Anselm’s theology “went wrong” in two ways: (1) Anselm himself overlooked key parts of biblical theology, and (2) then latter theologians misinterpreted Anselm.  Making Anselm More Biblical Anselm’s Cur …

Improving Anselm’s Atonement Theory Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Bible, Honor, Missiology, Resources, Shame No Comments Tagged with , , , ,
The latest issue of the Lausanne Global Analysis includes my article “Honor & Shame in God’s Mission.” This short primer (1,600 words) is available online for free, so functions as a 5-minute introduction to honor-shame. The article explains: (1) the meaning of honor & shame, …

Lausanne Article: “Honor & Shame in God’s Mission” Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Bible, Communication, Evangelism, Ministry, Missiology, Resources 4 Comments Tagged with , , , , ,
Biblical writers communicated God’s honor for the shamed through stories. Narratives recount how God saves his people from disgrace and displays honor.Here is a story set of 30 biblical narratives that address honor and shame. For a more complete list , …

Set of 30 Bible Stories about Honor & Shame Read more »