Category: Culture
post related to cultural understanding of honor-shame
The three types of honor are bad honor, good honor, and eternal honor. People use the same word “honor” for all three, and this causes confusion. Failing to note the three kinds of honor affects our discipleship and theology. So here …
The 3 Sources of Honor
Please help with improving HonorShame.com. Take this super-short survey so we can learn more about readers and your preferences. The survey takes just 77 seconds. Thanks! ~JaysonHonor is like vitamin C—you know where it comes from (oranges) and what is produces (a stronger immune …
An Olympic Lowlight
The 2016 Olympics featured some great moments—Neymar’s penalty kick, Simone Biles’ flawless acrobats, and Usain Bolt’s breakaway dashes. But this spectacle by Mongolian wrestling coaches takes the cake.In the bronze medal match (65kg, men), the Mongolian wrestler (red) won the match 7-6. …
The 3 Dimensions of Honor
I have been writing about honor for three years now. So, I guess it’s time to define the word honor.Defining honor is like catching the wind—it is all around you, but you can’t get your hands on it. Honor is …
5 Lessons I Learned From Being a Terrible Patron
Rich (B.Th) has worked in the Arab world for 6 years and is researching patronage in Arabic language, culture and theology.Arabs look to community leaders to help them, including managers, fathers, businessmen, celebrities and teachers. My university students expected me to …
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How Honor Baffled (& Awed) C. S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis preached “The Weight of Glory” in 1942. In this sermon he speaks personally about his understanding of the biblical promises of honor and glory. Here are 4 phases of his theology.1. C.S. Lewis saw honorOne can hardly read the …
How Trump Thinks Like Jesus
Jesus Christ and Donald Trump share a remarkable similarity—they both promise honor. What is “honor”?Honor is essentially status or respect in a community. Such honor comes about in two ways—inclusion and exaltation. The campaign of Donald Trump and gospel of Jesus Christ …
Honor-Shame Devotional Video (2-min)
“Honor // Shame” is a powerful devotional video. Since it is just 2-minutes long and well-edited, it could nicely introduce a Bible study or sermon. Broaching the topic of shame can be uncomfortable, so why not outsource the dirty work with a quality video!Produced by Ricky Diaz and Luis Espino, …
How Do “Lives Matter”?
“Black lives matter.” “All lives matter.” “Blue lives matter.”These activist slogans are causing a stir. What is the matter with “lives matter”? How can such affirming statements be so divisive?Lives Do Matter. But How?Each slogan claims worth and value for …
How Self-Righteous Judaizers Boasted
The Problem with “Self-Righteousness”The term “self-righteous” is not a biblical term. Yes, the Bible does speak about a type of righteousness that is not of God, but the nature of this false-righteousness is rather different than commonly assumed.Romans 10:3 speaks about this …
How Honor-Shame Cultures Confess Sins
How should people confess their sin? What form should confession take?I was raised Catholic, so the the word “confession” means reliving those experiences as a mischievous little boy shuddering in a confessional booth saying, “Forgive me father for I have …
Making Peace like Jesus, not Germany
The diplomatic tiff this week between Germany and Turkey is the same thorn bush that often entangles Western missionaries.The German Parliament adopted a symbolic resolution declaring the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915 a “genocide.” The Ottomans killed over 1 million Armenians, …
Is “Redskins” a Racial Slur, or Honor?
The NFL team in America’s capital is called the Washington “Redskins.” Is that a racial slur against Native Americans? Recent conversations in this heated debate revolve largely around the moral ideal of honor. Here’s the story.Native American leaders have argued …
Tim Keller & TGC Video on Shame
In this Gospel Coalition video, Tim Keller offers some reflections about the role of shame in evangelism.I’m obviously delighted that Keller and TGC discuss honor-shame cultures in their gospel conversation. And Keller and the other folks at TGC are brilliant guys doing great work, for which …
Honoring Theology
Western theology sounds like a scratched DVD at times—it get stuck repeating the same words, and has a hard time telling the whole story. When the guilt-innocence meaning of theological terms is hard-wired into many us, we struggle to imagine alternative …
Culture Profile: Romania
Cameron Armstrong (Ph.D. student, Biola University) and his wife, Jessica, serve as church planting catalysts with the International Mission Board in Romania. In addition to personal evangelism and starting Bible studies, he teaches a class at the Bucharest Baptist Theological Institute. …
To Be, or Not To Be … a Patron?
This post is part of the online conversation “Leading and Ministering in Honor-Shame Contexts” in April 2016. Click here to read reflections and insights from mission practioners. In many countries, patronage is the de facto socio-economic system.Patronage can be defined as “a reciprocal relationship between unequals.” The …
A Gospel That Changes
This post is part of the online conversation “Leading and Ministering in Honor-Shame Contexts” in April 2016. Click here to read reflections and insights from mission practioners. How can the gospel change people in honor-shame cultures?Remember, the gospel is not a tool for just making converts out …
Resolving Conflict…Without Shaming
This post is part of the online conversation “Leading and Ministering in Honor-Shame Contexts” in April 2016. Click here to read reflections and insights from mission practioners. Have you heard (or personally experienced) this story before? Once upon a time…a national Christian worked for a Western ministry …
The Different Faces of Honor-Shame Cultures
This post is part of the online conversation “Leading and Ministering in Honor-Shame Contexts” in April 2016. Click here to read reflections and insights from mission practioners. Honor-shame cultures share something in common with wine. They both have terroir—a unique flavor depending on the context. Honor …