Category: Bible

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 9 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 »

By Posted on Posted in Bible, Communication, Honor, Relationships, Resources, Shame, Spirituality, Theology No Comments Tagged with , , , ,
Why learn about honor and shame? Here are four benefits.1. HermeneuticsI once saw a Turkish person read Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son (Lk 15). He read the opening verse about the son asking for his inheritance, closed the Bible, and declared, “That …

4 Benefits of Learning about Honor & Shame Read more »