Song and poetry often convey meaning more clearly that essays and books. With that in mind, I have included a poem below that expresses how “face” works in the context of Christian faith. Our face reveals the heart of our faith and what it is that makes us feels unsafe. Our lonely hope is to belong, to be accepted despite our wrong And so we strive to show our worth to give some warrant for our birth. But again we sin and hide... Read more
In this series, I’ve tried to help people consider how to introduce the concepts of honor and shame to others. Certainly, anything close to a full understanding of honor/shame will require more than a conversation or two. However, we have to start somewhere. In this post, I want to offer a few Scripture passages that helpfully introduce honor/shame from a biblical and theological perspective. If you have ready in your mind a handful of “go to” texts, it will be... Read more
Don’t understand what “losing face” means? Then watch this video. Read more
How do we explain honor and shame to others in a simple, conversational way? In the previous post, I highlighted a handful of ways that people misunderstand honor and shame. Today, I will suggest a few simple ideas to make your conversations about honor/shame go a bit more smooth. I especially have in mind Western Christians, though much could be applied to others as well. 1. Simplify Your Language Try to use as much day-to-day language as possible. Although the... Read more
* This is a re-blog from my friend over at HonorShame.com. Notice there are only more 3 days left for you to get free access to this theology guide!! By the way, I have translated the guide into Chinese. Click here to get it. How can we reframe Christian theology for cultures of guilt, shame, and fear? This Theology Guide systemically charts 40+ theological categories in the language and values of each culture type. For example, the section about God... Read more
Have you ever talked about honor & shame with someone but felt like you and the other person were talking past each other? How can we fix that problem? Well, let’s be realistic. If someone is really unfamiliar with how honor & shame work, there are no shortcuts on the way to understanding. The challenge is compounded if people have deeply ingrained preconceptions that are mere half-truths. I especially have Westerners in mind. Why is it important to talk about... Read more
The most recent issue of Themelios came out today. This month, you’ll find my review of Simon Chan’s most recent book Grassroots Asian Theology: Thinking the Faith from the Ground Up. This book is sure to become a conversation piece for anyone concerned with theology and missions in the majority world (i.e. non-Western world). I’d love to hear your own thoughts on it. What do you think about his thesis? Do you think he sufficiently defends it? Related articles... Read more
In this series, we’ve considered the fact that ancient Jews thought of monotheism in terms of “divine identity,” here’s a question worth mulling over. Might traditional theological perspectives of God be implicitly deistic? Let’s not forget that deism argues that God started the world but has since left it to run on its own. God does not involve himself in human affairs.Why would I ask the question? When we think of deity has mainly to do with “what” God is,... Read more
Wish theologians would sum up their ideas in just 140 characters? Well, this and next week, I am doing a theology series over on Twitter. I offer a concise summary of many Christian doctrines using an honor-shame lens. Each day, I’ll suggest a simple explanation of 1–2 Christian themes while sprinkling in various passages that illustrate a theology in terms of honor and shame. Look me up on Twitter: jacksonwu4china Follow the hashtag: #honortheology Related articles Is Our Theology Enslaved... Read more
How do we contextualize the gospel among animists? In the last post, I highlighted a possible danger to be aware of when presenting the gospel among many unreached people groups. In this post, I will suggest a more constructive approach. Credit: CC 2.0/wikipedia How does the Bible confront other “gods”? How did people like the OT prophets contend with polytheistic beliefs in their own contexts? I think we see a pattern in their approach. I offer the following suggestion when... Read more
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