People can’t seem to agree about when God made the world. So, perhaps we can adapt the question a bit. When did God create China? If you stop for a moment, that’s not at all an easier question. Sure, people will say China is somewhere between 3,000–5,000 years old (depending on your source). But to what does that “age” refer? What is “China”? We should clarify what we mean by “China.” Then might we understand what the questions even means... Read more
Nik Ripken offers a rather succinct but helpful summary of the situation many Chinese Christians either presently face or have faced in recent decades. I thought some people would find it helpful. Some of the claims may only be true in certain places or in a earlier day. Overall, it gives people a good sense for the Chinese context. In The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected, Ripken writes, “What I appreciated most was their description of... Read more
As my friend put it, you know that honor and shame are important to a culture when they decide to use shame to punish tourists who behave poorly. The Washington Post recently posted an article titled, “Beijing is embarrassed about unruly Chinese tourists and plans to ‘publicly shame’ them.” The article recounts a number of incidents where Chinese tourists have behaved, well, “uncivilized” (as China’s Vice Premiere put it). The government is tired of feeling embarrassed, so they will turn... Read more
A few months ago, I shared two videos that demonstrate what a gospel presentation might look like from an honor-shame perspective. 1. Do you want face? 2. How does God seek “face”? In this post, I want to discuss two questions that particularly shaped the first video (“Do you want face?”). For your convenience, I’ve reposted the video at the bottom so you can see how I used the simple approach discussed in this post. These questions address key themes... Read more
Here’s a brand new book you will want to know about from my friend Werner Mischke. He serves as Executive Vice President and the Director of Training Ministries for Mission One. The Global Gospel will stretch people’s understanding of the gospel by uncovering a major blind spot in Western theology, namely, honor and shame. You’ll be led on a journey beyond a legal framework of the gospel—to one that is “legal plus regal.” How you communicate the gospel and live... Read more
I have always been intrigued by people’s responses to 2 Corinthians. I’ve heard comments about how “proud” Paul seems to be due to all his “boasting” (cf. 2 Cor 10). This reaction is strange because it completely misunderstands what Paul is doing in the letter. Paul wants to make a point: Christians must be willing to “lose face” for the gospel of the glory of Christ (cf. 2 Cor 4:4). Who do you want to give you “face”? 2... Read more
Over at Global China Center, Dr. G. Wright Doyle has written a very thoughtful review of my book Saving God’s Face: A Chinese Contextualization of Salvation through Honor and Shame. His review is broken up into two parts. Dr. Doyle not only provides leadership to the Global China Center, he has written many significant books related to Christianity in China. Formerly, he taught at China Evangelical Seminary in Taiwan and now leads China Institute, a ministry to educated Chinese in... Read more
Thoughts About The Attack on the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris Once again the Western world has reacted with shock to Muslim violence. Those in the West believe they are protecting freedom of speech, those in the Muslim world believe they and their religion are victims of ridicule and shame. Many of you know I have written a great deal on these topics, including the book Honor and Shame: Unlocking the Door, in 2001. In this book I point out... Read more
I often hear people say that missionaries are not the people who should be doing the contextualization for the Chinese church. Instead, they should let nationals do the contextualization. They are the ones who can contextualize best. That sounds right. Unfortunately, however, it’s merely an ideal and a half-truth at best. Read more
Mission Frontiers magazine has dedicated their Jan-Feb issue to the topic of honor & shame! They graciously asked me to write an article explaining why we have such a blind spot when it comes to honor and shame. Here are some of the contributors: WHY HAS NOBODY TOLD ME THIS BEFORE? / JAYSON GEORGES WHY HAS THE CHURCH LOST “FACE”? / JACKSON WU HONOR AND SHAME IN LATIN AMERICAN CULTURE / W. PHILIP THORNTON GOD HONORS US BY ENTERING OUR... Read more
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