{"id":1734,"date":"2013-06-06T08:04:46","date_gmt":"2013-06-06T00:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jacksonwu\/?p=1734"},"modified":"2022-01-12T03:52:44","modified_gmt":"2022-01-11T19:52:44","slug":"honor-and-shame-in-any-context","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jacksonwu\/2013\/06\/06\/honor-and-shame-in-any-context\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Honor and Shame in Any Context"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

In the third major section of Saving God\u2019s Face<\/em><\/a>, I try to grasp the inner logic of face, honor, and shame.<\/p>\n

\"honorandshameanycontext\"<\/a>Here are some of the questions I explore:<\/p>\n

How do honor and shame shape what one thinks is moral and immoral?<\/em><\/p>\n

Should \u201chonor-shame\u201d be contrasted with \u201claw\u201d?<\/em><\/p>\n

Is honor-shame an \u201cEastern\u201d idea?<\/em><\/p>\n

Does honor-shame thinking reduce to relativism, as is commonly supposed?<\/em><\/p>\n

Can we treat \u201cglory\u201d and \u201chonor\u201d as synonyms?<\/em><\/p>\n

What role do honor and shame have in the Bible?<\/em><\/p>\n

Concerning honor, shame, and \u201cface,\u201d what do the Bible, ancient biblical cultures, and China have in common?<\/em><\/p>\n

There are a lot of misunderstandings when it comes to the subject of honor-shame, i.e., \u201cface.\u201d As a result, we tend to either misinterpret the Bible or simply overlook its prominent teachings on the matter. Whenever this happens, our theology is bound to be stunted and overly biased, reflecting the values of a particular culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonor,\u201d in the West, is thought to concern chivalry and the like. This overly reductionistic perspective blinds people to how concerns about \u201cface\u201d influence every person in the world every day.<\/p>\n

Even God cares about saving face<\/span><\/h3>\n

Honor and shame are central questions in the past and the present. To be human is to care about one\u2019s face. Even God cares about saving his face. That, in part, is why I named my book Saving God\u2019s Face<\/em><\/a>. God wants to manifest his glory so that he would be honored as Father and King in all the cosmos. As creatures made in his image, we are most fully human when reflecting his honor in the world. To the degree that we disregard the Creator\u2019s worth, we are shameful. To use familiar language, we fall short of God\u2019s glory (Rom 3:23).<\/p>\n

Therefore, it\u2019s a little too simple to say that we should not seek face because that is \u201csin.\u201d Likewise, we also can\u2019t reduce the desire for honor\/glory to sheer \u201cpride.\u201d Concerning God seeking honor, Piper has explained why God is no \u201cmegalomaniac.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Honor and Shame Are Universal Human Categories<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

I often tell people that when thinking of \u201chonor-shame,\u201d they should immediately think of collectivism (instead of individualism). That reorientation helps us see the significance of \u201cface\u201d issues. Naturally, we notice how honor and shame influence one\u2019s sense of identity, view of morality, and understanding of countless concepts in Scripture.<\/p>\n

Honor and shame are concepts that only exist in our relationships with others.<\/p>\n

A community makes judgments about what it regards as worthy of praise or criticism. This does not mean that a theology of honor-shame is bound to be relativistic. Instead, we have to recognize that what God regards as honorable and shameful is precisely what should mark the Church. Accordingly, the Christian view of honor-shame also has a communal orientation.<\/p>\n

\u201cBless those who persecute you\u201d (Rom 12:14) and \u201ccount others more significant than yourselves\u201d (Phil 3:3) are the true marks of God\u2019s people. These are what define honor and shame for the Church. Simply because Christ is the head of the Church does not make honor-shame any less collectivistic in orientation.<\/p>\n

Honor and shame touch every sphere of our lives<\/span><\/h3>\n

In many ways, honor and shame provide us with a more holistic perspective. Consider two things.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>First, how do we define\u00a0 \u201cshame\u201d? <\/em><\/p>\n

Brene Brown gives one possible definition for human shame:<\/p>\n

\u201cShame is the fear of disconnection\u2014 the fear that we\u2019re unlovable and don\u2019t belong\u201d (Daring Greatly<\/em>, 109).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

No one wants to be isolated, disconnected, and unloved. Relationships drive us, whether positively or negatively. No matter how you define \u201cshame,\u201d it matters to everyone.<\/p>\n

Second,\u00a0 honor-shame is not merely an \u201cEastern\u201d idea.<\/em><\/p>\n

Social Media<\/strong>\u2013\u2013\u2013why do people post what they do on Face<\/em><\/strong>book? Why do people keep blogs?<\/p>\n

TV<\/strong>\u2013\u2013Why do people want to be on American Idol or Reality TV shows? Do the words \u201cshame\u201d and \u201cJerry Springer Show\u201d have any relationship?<\/p>\n

Soci<\/strong>\"\"<\/a>al Movements<\/strong>\u2013\u2013 Princeton professor Kwame Appiah, in his book The Honor Code<\/em><\/a>, argues that various social movements in history occurred, in large part, due to the role played by honor and shame. These include the end of the slave trade, foot binding, and dueling.<\/p>\n

World Events<\/strong>\u2013\u2013 One often hears of \u201chonor killings\u201d in the Middle East and ways that honor and shame influence conflicts around the world.<\/p>\n

AIDS<\/strong> \u2014 In my book, I recount how honor-shame has negatively affected the AIDS problem. Fear and stigma surround the subject such that even health professions suffer discrimination by those around them.<\/p>\n

Counseling<\/strong>\u2013\u2013This one is rather obvious. I have found no one better on this subject than Brene Brown<\/a>. I highly recommend her book Daring Greatly<\/em><\/a>.\"\"<\/p>\n