Category: Culture
post related to cultural understanding of honor-shame
This short video visualizes the biblical story in fear-power terms, and could be a great teaching tool. A special thanks to Tim Brand of Many Hands For Haiti for this, and the original Creole version. Readers of The 3D Gospel have asked for such a …
A Global Map of Culture Types
I’m thrilled to share this wonderful infographic “Culture’s Color, God’s Light” from Global Mapping International. The professional map below visualizes the 8,500+ global results from www.TheCultureTest.com to show which countries are guilt, shame, or fear. A minimum threshold of 4 respondents was required …
One Gospel for Shame, Guilt, & Fear Cultures?
Guest Jackson Wu teaches Chinese pastors and blogs at www.JacksonWu.org. His latest book is One Gospel for All Nations: A Practical Approach to Biblical Contextualization. When meeting up recently, he mentioned how our books share some overlap. Here’s the idea. …
An Answer for Addiction
What is addiction? How is addiction healed? This new TED talk—“Everything You Think You Know About Addiction is Wrong”—connects these questions about addiction to shame and honor (granted, it uses language besides “honor” and “shame” to do so). Research shows …
How to Give Aid…Without Shaming
Last month, I heard this story from Bob Lupton, founder of Focus Community Strategies and author of Toxic Charity. Their ministry adopted a “Toys for Tots” drive during the holidays. Churches would gather presents, then bring them to people in …
How Dignity Resolves Conflict
“Our desire for connection is deep in our genes. We are living in a false state of alienation. The quality of our lives and our relationships could be vastly improved if we learned how to master the art and science …
Shame & Violence: Deadly Partners
Violence is inseparably linked with dishonor and shame. To better understand these deadly partners, here are two learning resources—a book and a Missio Nexus webinar. Violence: Reflections on a National Epidemic (1996) has become a modern classic in sociology. The …
Because Who is Perfect? (video)
Series: “Putting Honor into Action” This short video “Because Who Is Perfect?” from Pro Infirmus is an inspiring example of relationally and non-verbally proclaiming God’s counter-cultural honor. They feature and promote the inherent dignity of people. I believe this project beautifully testifies …
The Meaning of God’s Grace
Dr. John Barclay is Lightfoot Professor of Divinity at Durham University. His latest book Paul & The Gift (Eerdmans, 2015) is being hailed as “pioneering” and “ground-breaking.” At the recent Society of Biblical Literature, several people called it “the most important book on Pauline …
“Honor > Life,” Says Humanity
Honor is not a matter of life and death. It is more than that. Respect from the community is more important than life itself. The human craving for honor is so great, people would rather die with honor than live …
How We’re Selling Honor
The previous post satirically announced our new Honor Rating (a public forum measuring everybody’s social status) and The Honor Market (a global marketplace for buying and selling your personal honor). That post was fictitious, but the idea is already becoming a reality. …
The (New) Honor Market
The post is a satire. Do you struggle with shame? Do you find it hard to be an honorable person? Welcome to The Honor Market—the 21st-century way to manage your social status. Effective January 1, 2016, the website HonorShame.com has become …
The Gospel for Western Shame
Guest Alan Mann (M.A.) lives in the UK. His latest book Atonement for a Sinless Society (Cascade Publishing, 2015, 2nd ed.) explores the gospel for guilt-less Westerners. This post shares his theological journey.When I was a theological student in the 1990s we …
The Gospel of ISIS
Why does ISIS terrorize? How ideology drives their violence? The answer is related to the “gospel” ISIS actively proclaims. And frankly, I find their “gospel” interesting. Without condoning or dismissing the violence, I would like to explain their “theology.”In June 2014, jihadist militants declared …
“Limited Good” has limited good
Imagine reading this in an African anthropology book:Americans, both Christian and secular, display a peculiar lack of hospitality and generosity. People rarely invite neighbors for meals. And even when they do guests are rarely offered food (and may even be expected to get …
Culture Profile: Haiti
Sean Christensen serves with World Team as a Bible college professor, training current and future church leaders in Haiti. Sean and his students recently surveyed nearly 400 Haitians using TheCultureTest.com.What does honor & shame look like in Haiti? Although Haitian …
Culture Profile: Kenya
Martin Munyao (Th.M., Daystar Academy of Nairobi) was a pastor and theology teacher in Kenya. He is earning his Ph.D. at Concordia Theological Seminary. What is your research/ministry focus? I am researching the values of honor and shame in African …
5 Facts about Asian-American Shame
Sam Louie (M.A., Clinical Psychology) is a therapist and speaker near Seattle, WA. He published Asian Shame and Addiction and Asian Honor, and blogs at Psychology Today.As a therapist specializing in shame and addictions within the Asian-American culture, here are 5 …
5 Shameful Things Westerners Say
Readers enjoyed Colin E. Andrew’s earlier post “5 Rude Things Honor-Shame Cultures Say.” In this post, he turns the tables. Here are 5 “rude” things Westerners say, even when trying to be polite. 1. “My friend!” “Hey Rafshan! This is my …
2 Ways Social Media Fuels Shame
Shame is the result of two things: expectations and exposure. The constant whispers of shame are “You’re not who you should be!” (expectations) and “They’re gonna find out who you really are!” (exposure). Consequently, we strive to live up to …