Category: Shame
Honor and Shame as (New) Covenant Language
The removal of shame is a new covenant reality. When God (re)makes his covenant, he removes the shame of his people. This covenantal context, I believe, is crucial to properly understanding the nature of biblical shame, and, thus, salvation as…
Shame and Transgender Issues
I live in the Middle East, so we hardly ever hear conversations about transgenderism or sexual identity. So during a recent visit to the U.S., I observed how transgenderism and sexual identity have grown more prominent in cultural conversations. To…
Honor Is Not One Dimensional
Rich Y. (B.Th) has worked in the Arab world for eight years. When I was new to the Arab world, I used to have a one-dimensional view of “honor” and a stock approach to discipleship with Arabs—“Those who exalt themselves…
Posted in Communication, Culture, Honor, Relationships, Shame Tagged with: al-'izzah, al-karamah, Honor, multidimensional
Is Africa ‘Power-Fear’ or ‘Honor-Shame’?
People often assume Africa is a “fear-power” culture. The animistic and magical practices of African Traditional Religions (ATRs) reflect the values of fear-power. Although Africa ranks higher in the fear-power category than other regions of the world according to The…
The Meaning of ‘Fear-Power’—3 Options
The label “fear-power culture” has various meanings, depending on the perspective of the speaker. This posts explains the three ways people have defined “fear-power culture.” 1. Religious: Fear-Power as Spiritual Control The worldviews of Majority World cultures, especially tribal religions,…
The Model of Guilt-Shame-Fear—A Short History
The idea of “guilt vs. shame” has a long history in 20th-century scholarship (see previous post). But how did the cultural model of guilt-shame-fear develop? Here is a super short history of the cultural trichotomony. In 1954, Christian anthropologist and…
Posted in Culture, Guilt, Honor, Shame, Wesetern Tagged with: anthropology, history, models, psychology
The Meaning of ‘Shame’—A Short History
Where do these categories of “guilt-shame” or “shame-honor” come from? Like all ideas, the notion of “shame” has developed over time. This post summarizes the main currents of shame research in the 20th century. The Beginning: Ruth Benedict The binary…
Posted in Communication, Culture, Honor, Shame, Wesetern Tagged with: anthropology, guilt-innocence, guilt-shame, honor-shame, psychology, Ruth Benedict
3 In 1: Integrating Guilt, Shame, and Fear
People often voice the concern that reducing cultures down to “guilt,” “shame,” or “fear” is oversimplifying reality—“Aren’t cultures a combination of these factors?” Most certainly. Cultures are too complex to be isolated into just three boxes. These are not three…
Posted in Culture, Guilt, Honor, Shame Tagged with: caricature, fear, guilt, Honor, integration, shame
The 3D Gospel: Updated and Revised
The 3D Gospel started in mind as a 2-page PDF that would help people understand the results of The Culture Test. But it mushroomed into an 80-page book that I published on Amazon. Since then, The 3D Gospel has become a…
3 Problems with The Culture Test Results
I developed The Culture Test in 2013 to help people better understand cultures. The test is generally helpful in that regard—in five minutes people can get a snapshot of any culture. To help people learn about cultural differences, it is…
Guilt, Shame & Fear: Revisited
The notion of guilt, shame, and fear cultures has become a common topic in mission conversations. Ministry organizations and teams around the world are discussing the topic. Four years have passed since I published The 3D Gospel and developed TheCultureTest.com.…
Paul’s Honor Ethic in 1 Corinthians
Honor and shame are innately social and cooperate realities. For this reason, an honor-centric morality prioritizes relational harmony and communal edification, as seen in Pauline theology. John Barclay says, “Paul’s redefinition of honor thus gives prestige to such traits that…
New SEANET Book for Buddhist Contexts
Paul deNeui is Professor of Missiology at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago. He recently edited Restored to Freedom from Guilt, Shame, and Fear: Lessons from the Buddhist World (SEANET 13; William Carey Library, 2017; TOC here). This post is…
Uncovering the Power of Shame
Guest Samuel Albert is Editor in Chief of www.ChristianMusicAndHymns.com. The Bible has a whole vocabulary to do with shame, reproach and disgrace. There are over 10 Hebrew words that translate these words into English, but they have been almost evacuated…
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…
Guilt, Shame, and Fear in Secular Research
When I wrote The 3D Gospel and developed www.TheCultureTest.com in 2014, I thought that the concept of guilt/shame/fear cultures was unique to Christian missiology. But recently, I encountered a very similar cultural model by a secular psychologist. Richard Shweder is a…
Shame and Guilt in Racial Reconciliation
The post is adapted from chapter #3 of The Bridge to Racial Unity: Discussion Guide 2.0 from Be the Bridge ministries. A personal awareness of racism and racial injustice can generate uncomfortable feelings of shame and guilt. In America’s individualistic…
Posted in Culture, Honor, Relationships, Shame Tagged with: community., guilt-shame, justice, racism, reconciliation
8 Tips for Doing “Honor-Shame Theology”
How can we develop an “honor-shame theology” for today? How might be better explain the gospel in honor-shame contexts? Here are 8 practical tips to help you better utilize honor-shame in global ministry. This post summarizes part of my plenary…
6 Ways Honor and Shame Make Disciples (Not Converts)
Jackson Wu (Ph.D., SEBTS) teaches theology and missiology to Chinese leaders. He blogs at www.JacksonWu.org. Honor and shame are essential for being and making disciples. They are more than mere labels used to describe culture and improve cross-cultural communication. To…
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,…
