An Ancient Speech about Honor and Shame
A speech about Dio Chrysostom reveals how honor and shame worked in the first century.
Category: NT
“Shame” in the New Testament
The New Testament uses a variety of words to speak about shame. This post discusses main three roots for shame. This first pie chart shows the various Greek terms behind the word “shame” in the NRSV. The primary NT word …
Pledge Allegiance To Christ
Guest Werner Mischke did a blog series on some key books in New Testament studies related to allegiance, or “relational loyalty”. This concluding post summarizes and applies the key ideas. Reposted with permission. Post #1 introduces the topic of allegiance to “THE …
Honor and Shame in Letter of Aristeas
Letter of Aristeas is a second-century BC “historical letter” explaining the composition of the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament, i.e., LXX) by Jews in Alexandria. Honor and shame are prominent motifs in the story. The Plot The …
The Meaning of Romans 3:23
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That is how most English Bibles translate Romans 3:23. Western Christianity typically interprets these words as, “Every individual person has done something wrong and not lived up to God’s …
The Meaning of “Faith”
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 …
Communion, from an Honor-Shame Perspective
God is the “King of Glory.” God does not have honor. He is honor. Glory radiates from his very being. He is the One who bestows and grants honor upon us. God is the only source of honor. David says, …
1 Peter 2:1–12 (HSP)
Here is an honor-shame paraphrase of 1 Peter 2:1–12. This is excerpted from the new book 1 Peter: An Honor-Shame Paraphrase, available as Kindle or PDF for $2.99. Put away the habits of your shameful past: degrading speech, manipulation, wearing a mask, status …
1 Peter: An Honor-Shame Paraphrase
My newest book is now available—1 Peter: An Honor-Shame Paraphrase ($2.99). Previous posts explain the cultural problem of all translations and how an Honor-Shame Paraphrase helps overcome the cultural gap. The epistle of 1 Peter explains the gospel in terms of honor …
The Honor-Shame Paraphrase
Reading the Bible across cultures can be difficult; however, the task is certainly not impossible. With cultural awareness, people today can accurately interpret the Bible by bridging the cultural gap between our world and the biblical world. The Honor-Shame Paraphrase …
The Problem with Bible Translations: Your Culture
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, …
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Improving Anselm’s Atonement Theory
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 …
Can You Shame God?
Can you shame God? The biblical answer is yes. Though this may initially sound sacrilegious, the fact that people shame God pervades scripture and profoundly impacts your relationship with God. People despise and scorn God. In other words, we fail to …
New Book: Ministering in Honor-Shame Cultures (IVP)
My latest book Ministering in Honor-Shame Cultures: Biblical Foundations and Practical Essentials (InterVarsity Press) is now available.This 270-page book equips Christians to proclaim and embody the gospel in honor-shame contexts. Our aim was simple: to show how honor-shame is central …
New Book: Ministering in Honor-Shame Cultures (IVP) Read more »
Does Christ Impute Honor?
The doctrine of “imputed righteousness” is a mainstay in Protestant theology. So naturally people ask, “Can we say that God imputes honor?” The biblical answer is clear and obvious—Yes! But to explain, a little bit of brush clearing is order.What …
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 …
Honor-Shame in Jude and 2 Peter
Andrew M. Mbuvi (Ph.D., Westminster) is Associate Prof. of Biblical Studies and Hermeneutics at Shaw University Divinity School. His latest book is a commentary on Jude and 2 Peter (NCCS: Cascade, 2015). In this post, he summarizes the honor-shame dynamics …
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 …
Jesus’ Death, for Muslims
How is Jesus’ death good news for Muslims? Ten years ago this month EMQ published my article, “A Muslim Theology of Jesus’ Birth and Death.” Though it was well before I began thinking in “honor-shame” terms, I was surprised to see how much my ideas were already …
How Jesus Atones For My Shame
Guest Mako A. Nagasawa is a campus minister at Harvard and Boston College with the New Humanity Institute, and founding director of New Humanity Institute.“Don’t you know how much I sacrificed for you???” Those words shaped my sense of self, …