{"id":2753,"date":"2013-08-06T08:22:44","date_gmt":"2013-08-06T13:22:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jacksonwu\/?p=2753"},"modified":"2015-08-12T03:46:53","modified_gmt":"2015-08-12T08:46:53","slug":"is-our-theology-enslaved-to-the-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jacksonwu\/2013\/08\/06\/is-our-theology-enslaved-to-the-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Our Theology Enslaved to the Law?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

How do the various biblical metaphors and word pictures relate to one another?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"theology<\/a>Click on the Picture For Slide Presentation<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Is Our Theology Enslaved to Law?\u2013-Understanding the Relationship between Biblical Metaphors<\/a> <\/strong> from Jackson Wu<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

For years, I have tried to help people take seriously the importance of honor and shame within the Bible. In Saving God\u2019s Face<\/a><\/em>, I argue that theologians and missiologists have long neglected and even minimized the importance of honor-shame related themes. Consequently, one particular motif\u2013\u2013law\u2013\u2013has had unparalleled influence in shaping tradition western theology. Undoubtedly, \u201claw\u201d is an important biblical category. However, it\u2019s not the only one.<\/p>\n

When I present my ideas to people, I consistently find that they have similar reactions. The more traditional their theology, the more likely I\u2019ll hear this kind of response: \u201cSure, honor and shame are in the Bible, but<\/em><\/strong> you really have to get to law before too long.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s as if they reluctantly admit the fact that honor and shame are biblical themes; yet, the real basis for theology<\/em> is law. I have never<\/em> heard someone say, \u201cSure, law is in the Bible, but we really<\/em> need to make sure we get to things like honor, glory, shame, \u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

People often act like we have to prioritize one particular biblical theme over all others, as if one\u2019s theology were compromised if he or she stressed something other than law. I\u2019m honestly not overstating my case. I\u2019ve had this conversation more times than I can count.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve created a slide presentation <\/a>to help clarify the relationship between the various metaphors. I hope people will see that they don\u2019t have to isolate biblical ideas, picking one metaphor at the expense of others. At a practical level, we need a \u201cboth-and\u201d mentality.<\/p>\n

The implications are incalculable. When we seek to integrate these the entire canon of Scripture, we liberate our theology from the sole control of \u201claw.\u201d In that way, the law can come alongside other themes, providing balance without making us slaves. In addition, there is great potential in developing contextualizations that are more biblical rich and understandable to those who don\u2019t have a traditional western worldview.<\/p>\n

_________________________________<\/p>\n

Photo Credit: Ball and Chain Photo from http:\/\/www.freedigitalphotos.net\/<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Enhanced<\/a><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How do the various biblical metaphors and word pictures relate to one another? Click on the Picture For Slide Presentation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2368,"featured_media":4220,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,7,8,16],"tags":[44,2118,131,132,214],"class_list":["post-2753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biblical-theology","category-contextualization","category-honor-shame-face","category-theology","tag-biblical-metaphors","tag-honor-shame-face","tag-honor-and-shame","tag-honor","tag-shame"],"yoast_head":"\nIs Our Theology Enslaved to the Law?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How do the various biblical metaphors and word pictures relate to one another? 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