Category: Theology
posts related to expounding Gods’ word for honor-shame contexts
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 …
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, …
7 Reasons Jesus Has Supreme Honor
God acted decisively through Jesus Christ to confirm his glory and restore honor to the human family. Jesus, being the essence and perfect embodiment of God’s Honor, was uniquely qualified for the task. For Jesus to atone for sin, he …
Towards an “Honor Christology”
by Jayson Georges“Who do you say that I am?”—Jesus Your answer determines everything. Interestingly, this question was for Jesus’ disciples, not unbelievers. Who we say Jesus is doesn’t always match who he actually is (Mt 16:13-20). The limited Christology found in …
How Jesus Changed the Honor Code
Was Jesus teaching an “honor code”? One dimension of Jesus’ earthly ministry was helping people realign their notions of “honorability” and “shamefulness” with God’s values of honor and shame. Jesus’ teachings reveals how people access true and eternal honor from God …
The Blog of All Blogs (#100!)
To commemorate the 100th blog of HonorShame.com, I have written “The Blog of All Blogs”—literally. Here is a complete list of all previous blogs (minus a few event announcements). They are categorized by topic, allowing viewers easy access to the topics …
Yahweh’s Counter-Cultural Honor
Guest Ron Mudge (Ph.D., Concordia Seminary) has served as a missionary to Ivory Coast and Togo, West Africa (1996-2006), and is presently the Rouse Associate Professor of Pre-Seminary Studies at Concordia University Wisconsin. Here is a summary of his article, …
The Gospel…in 5 words
The problem is Unfaithfulness. People have broken the relationship with God. Our disloyalty dishonors God. (Ez 36:21; Rom 1:21-23; 2:23; 3:23)The dilemma is Shame. Our dishonor means separation and disunion. We are shameful in God’s eyes, and feel shame. (Gen 3:7-8; Jer 3:8, 25; Rom 1:24)God’s solution …
Get Face!
Jackson Wu produced a brilliant short video “Do You Want Face?” that pulls together the biblical message in terms of “face.” The video’s simple three-part structure makes it easy to utilize in your gospel conversations: We all lost face. Jesus has …
God’s New (Testament) Face
“I will never again hide my face from them, when I pour out my spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord God.” (Ez 39:29). New Covenant saints behold the face of God as never before.The knotty passage of 2 Cor …
God’s Face
Christian workers will never eliminate social face, nor should they attempt to. A better approach to “face” is to reorient cultural face around God’s face. Fortunately, the Bible has much to say about face; it is a significant concern for …
Got Face?
Imagine if I showed you this picture, and said, “Here is a picture of my daughters. Aren’t they adorable?”Why wouldn’t that work? Our physical face is how other people know and recognize us. Our public identity is intimately connected with our …
Yes, I Do Believe in Sin.
I often hear this, “Your ideas about shame are helpful, but what about sin?” People assume that since I talk about God’s salvation from shame, that I don’t believe much about sin (which is a rather curious assumption IMO). So …
Top (Mis?)Quoted Verses of 2014
Christianity Today recently listed “The Most Popular Verses Shared on Twitter in 2014.” Here are the winners:Interestingly, the top four verses have an honor-shame nuance that common interpretations typically filter out. A quick look at these 4 verses provides a window into …
What the Bible Says About Honor & Shame
This posts explains (almost) everything the Bible says about honor and shame, which is a fair amount. Instead of being a book or article, it is three pictures…technically, word clouds. The concepts of honor and shame extend far beyond the words …
10 Ways the Cross Atones for Shame
Guest Mark Baker (Ph.D., Duke) is Professor of Mission and Theology at Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. Two of his books Recovering the Scandal of the Cross and Proclaiming the Scandal of the Cross explore the saving significance of the cross. …
Thoughts on Sin and Shame
Recently Doug Coleman asked thoughtful questions about sin in honor-shame terms. Jackson Wu has engaged Coleman’s thoughts on his site (one, two, and three). I greatly appreciate their gracious and constructive tone during this “public conversation,” as they help us understand the nature of …
Honor-Shame Theology in Proverbs
The previous post listed 50 biblical proverbs about honor and shame. The seven categories frame the primary theological themes of Proverbs in relation to honor-shame.Honor is a reward.Pride leads to shame.Fools are shameful.Humans (dis)honor God.A good name reflects honor.Wisdom herself is honorable.The family …
Bonhoeffer’s Theology of Shame
Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-45) speaks about shame in his book Ethics. Bonhoeffer’s unflinching zeal and brilliant mind generated great reflections on the topic of shame, which I’ve summarized in five points below. 1-Shame is the result of disunion/estrangementPeople perceive their …
Honor & Shame 201–Training Video
I have created a new training video-“Honor & Shame 201“-for Christians ministering in honor/shame contexts. The video is 50 minutes long and includes 3 exercises that help people actively engage the topic. It covers honor/shame in 5 key areas of …