Honor and shame permeate the story of Israel. Although God chose this particular people to bless the world, they forsook that honor and became shameful themselves. See Part I and Part II. In this post, we consider how God promises Israel that He would restore honor and remove shame. The hope of the glory of Israel Amid the laments of many prophets, God gives hope. He will restore Israel’s honor. Yet, we should carefully note why God takes away the... Read more
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In the last post, I began retelling Israel’s story from the perspective of honor and shame. (Click here: Part 1). The emphasis falls more on how God honored Israel. Today, we see the shift to shame. From Grace to Disgrace Even from their time in the wilderness, the people of Israel brought disgrace upon themselves. Psalm 106:19–21 is especially vivid, They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image... Read more
What does Israel have to do with honor and shame? Ironically, they do have at least this in common: when it comes to interpreting the Bible, many people have no idea what to do with either subject. Consequently, we often see two quite opposite responses. First, people simply ignore or minimize the importance of both Israel and honor-shame (H/S). Second, interpreters make too much of a topic. This is usually more common when talking about Israel, but I have found people... Read more
It appears that the Chinese government will begin a new age of persecution. According to an article from the ACLU (and others), Chinese citizens in effect will be given a score that measures their honor or shame. Others have given good reasons to question whether the report is entirely accurate. I suspect that something like this may be in the works, even if it’s not as extreme as some reports suggest. For now, I think the report serves as a helpful warning and thought experiment.... Read more
Nearly 500 hundred years after the Protestant Reformation, we still need an evangelical reformation. Previously, I mentioned two reasons for making that suggestion. They concerned how we use the Bible and our appeal to tradition. Today, I will offer two more areas that evangelicals need reformation. 3. Repentance Luther seared a guilty conscience into the evangelical mind. A “guilty conscience” and an awareness of sin are not necessarily the same thing. What do I mean? In evangelical circles, it is customary... Read more
We’ve all heard the same tired truism that those who do forget history are doomed to repeat it. That may be correct, but it doesn’t tell us the whole story about those who do remember history. Many Christians will soon celebrate Reformation Day. Although evangelicals remember the Reformation with fondness, many people still do not see that they might be repeating similar mistakes that the Reformers sought to rectify. I’m not exaggerating. I said “similar”, not “same.” And simply because... Read more
I look forward to attending ETS and SBL 2015 next month! I hope to connect with many of you. For now, I’ll let you know where you can find me. I’ll be presenting … Tuesday, November 17th 2:50–3:30 “Have Theologians No Sense of Shame?: How the Bible Reconciles Objective and Subjective Shame” Here is my abstract: If it is true that theology should shape Christian ministry and practice, then the church is ill equipped to deal with the subject of... Read more
This post gives a number of suggestions for learning and teaching theological concepts in Chinese. However, many of the ideas below could easily be applied to other languages as well. In the last post, I explained three of the most critical suggestions. Today, the list is more straightforward, starting with tip #4. 4. Use Flashcards No one “likes” doing flashcards. However, they are indispensable for establishing a firm foundation and easily recalling many theological words and concepts. After all,... Read more
Practically speaking, how can people learn and teach theological ideas in Chinese (or any other foreign language)? My previous post explained “why” missionaries should learn theological language (not merely “religious” language). Today, I want to talk about the “how” by offering 3 initial tips. Later, I’ll offer a lot more suggestions. What do we do? 怎么办？ 1. Read English. Speak Chinese. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll assume a person’s mother language is English. Feel free to use whatever is... Read more
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