Nick Peters has a series of podcasts in which he interviews Christian leaders and authors. Nick’s blog is called “Deeper Waters.”
I was recently interviewed by Nick concerning my book The Global Gospel. You can listen to the interview / podcast here.
I am grateful for Nick’s enthusiasm for my book, and his willingness to conduct an interview with me.
Here is a list of top 12 concepts from The Global Gospel:All of these points are thoroughly based on the broad panorama of Scripture as well as the work of a large number of scholars—while incorporating more than 450 footnotes.
With the horrific events in Paris, many are wondering WHY? Even from a distance, the culture clashes we are dealing with are gut-wrenching and terrifying. How are we to respond?
The connection between honor/shame and violence, war, and bloodshed is something I explore extensively in my book, The Global Gospel. I pull no punches concerning the truly dark and demonic side of honor and shame as it is explained in the Bible—and represented in world history and current events. (I also write in-depth on the gospel of Jesus as the cure.)
I am offering a free two-chapter excerpt from The Global Gospel. These two short chapters will help you understand the connection between shame and violence. To download this excerpt, click here.
The two chapters are:
Chapter 5: Does It Hurt or Does It Heal? This chapter deals with the fact that guilt is more likely to lead to healing behavior, whereas shame is more likely to lead to hurtful behavior. Plus … What does this imply for Christian ministry? / A missing piece in Reformed theology? / Shame is experienced in different ways / The need to cure both guilt and shame
Chapter 6: The Pathology of Shame in Our World: This chapter explores the incredibly significant role of shame in world history and current events … Shame as fuel for genocide in Nazi Germany / Shame as fuel for terrorism in the Muslim world / Honor-based violence in the family unit / Is all shame bad? / Nathanson’s Compass of Shame—four poles—1) Attack self, 2) Attack other, 3) Avoidance, 4) Withdrawal.
These two chapters are not all I have in The Global Gospel about the powerful link between shame and bloodshed—along with how the Bible addresses this sinful pathology. In fact, I estimate it is only about 20 percent of what I have to say on the subject. But this two-chapter excerpt will get you started.
To learn more about The Global Gospel, download other free resources, or discover various purchase options, visit the book website: Click here.
I was glued to the TV for a couple hours last night, watching CNN’s reporting on the terrifying attack at the office of Charlie Hebdo in Paris. No mention was made by any reporter or commentator concerning the dynamics of honor and shame being at the root of this attack. But many who are familiar with the differences between Western and Eastern cultures know that honor/shame dynamics were at the root of what happened yesterday. I am grateful to author/missionary Roland Muller for writing his thoughts about what happened. Roland has given his permission to share his thoughts here concerning this tragedy.
I was really saddened by this violence. “Oh no, not again,” I thought. My prayers go out to all those affected by the tragic violence in Paris. While it is certainly understandable for both Muslims and Christians to be outraged when their most deeply held beliefs are ridiculed in the press, violence is never an acceptable response. The longing to have one’s shame covered and honor restored can only ultimately be experienced through the gospel. It is only in knowing and following Jesus Christ—who absorbed the shame and violence of the cross, and then rose in exalted victory over death, sin, shame (Philippians 2:5–11)—that this universal longing of the soul can be satisfied. —Werner Mischke
By Roland Muller
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 that much of the West views life through the paradigm of right versus wrong. We have our rights, and must protect them. If what we do is not wrong (against the law) then we have a right to our actions. In the East, however, many people view life through the paradigm of honor versus shame. We have our honor, and we must protect it, even with our lives. And we must avoid shame, and if shame is brought on us by others, it is perfectly OK to defend our honor. (See my chapter distilled for Mission Frontiers.)
It seems that many in the West still haven’t caught on. Eastern-thinking people will defend their honor. One of the worst things you can do to them is bring dishonor or ridicule on them. Muslims in particular uphold the belief that “with blood I can wash my shame away” (Abu Tammam). So when they are ridiculed in the Western press, especially through cartoons that stereotype and ridicule them, they feel justified in reacting violently. No amount of clamoring about freedom of speech will change this. This only makes Muslims more determined to bring Islam to Europe, so that the ridiculing and bullying will stop.
If I published a cartoon that criticizes a well known person without any truth behind it, perhaps making him out to be a pedophile, I should expect to be sued for liable. So if a Muslim feels robbed of his honor, the honor of his religion and the honor of his prophet by someone’s libelous actions, how does he get the shame removed and honor restored?
We do not think about this in our Western society. Winning a court case doesn’t restore a reputation, which may be forever damaged. Islam’s answer is: this is so important it is worthy of a death sentence carried out by the one shamed.
So when the French satirical weekly “Charlie Hebdo” published their cartoons, they committed an error considered in some parts of the world as worthy of the death penalty. Unfortunately for them, people with that perspective lived in their own country, and in their own city. Many Muslims just shrug and say: “They brought it on themselves.”
The problem in the West is that we often do not make the effort to honor the difference between critique and ridicule. It is much easier to draw a racist cartoon than it is to research and write a scholarly critique. And rather than taking time to challenge Muslims with well-reasoned arguments and articles, we resort to ridicule.
Lampooning Christians and Muslims with cartoons is currently within the accepted limits of freedom of speech in the West. But how would society have responded if the people at Charlie Hebdo were to ridicule homosexuals in this way? So why did they feel it was OK to ridicule Muslims?
Despite writing extensive articles and books about Islam and Muslims, I have not experienced any backlash because I strive to treat Muslims in a respectful way. I try to speak to them as I would my best friend. I desire that Muslims wrestle with issues without feeling threatened that I am judging them or ridiculing them.
Treating all men with respect is foundational to our Christian heritage. Now, when Christianity is crumbling in Europe and ridicule is on the rise toward both Muslims and Bible-believing Christians, let us reflect and teach Muslims to embrace Jesus’ teaching to turn the other cheek—to bless and be blessed when people persecute us. Muslims have never been taught this. They understand an eye for and eye, and a tooth for a tooth, and the concept of revenge.
May we, as followers of Christ, demonstrate the love and kindness Jesus taught his followers to have.
Thank you, Roland, for your perspective. –Werner
The Global Gospel is now available. You can get the book at The Global Gospel website—click here. Or you can get the book at Amazon.com. Get the hardcover edition here, or the Kindle edition here.
The Global Gospel describes how the honor/shame dynamics common to the Bible and many Majority World societies can be used to contextualize the gospel of Christ so it will be more widely understood and received.
With more than 85 diagrams and charts that contribute to a comprehensive examination of honor/shame in the Bible, The Global Gospel is a call for theological dialog and missional creativity rooted in the ancient paths of Scripture and the relational honor of our King.
In the past year, there has been a surge of interest related to the topic of honor/shame in the Bible and what it means for cross-cultural ministry. Here are two important ways you can learn more:
I am pleased to announce that my forthcoming book will be available soon: THE GLOBAL GOSPEL: Achieving Missional Impact in Our Multicultural World. The book is scheduled to ship on Friday, December 19th from the printer—Quad Graphics in Fairfield, Pennsylvania.
We at Mission ONE are enthused and excited! I am so grateful that this long journey of writing and designing this 352-page book—with more than 450 citations and more than 85 diagrams and charts—is finally coming to fruition.
Check out the many endorsements of the book at globalgospelbook.org.
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 out the gospel—locally and globally—may well be transformed.
The Global Gospel is a call for theological dialog and missional creativity rooted in the ancient paths of Scripture and the relational honor of our King. You and your team will be challenged to reconfigure what you do and expand what you believe is possible in our Lord’s Great Commission.
The Global Gospel describes how the honor/shame dynamics common to the Bible and many Majority World societies can be used to contextualize the gospel of Christ so it will be more widely understood and received.
The first-edition hardcover copy will retail for $24.99. But it is still available for the pre-order price of $14.99 with free shipping to U.S. addresses. To learn more, visit GlobalGospelBook.org/store.
By God’s grace, the book will also be available at Amazon.com—no later than January 1, 2015. Check out the Kindle version here. Check out the hardcover edition here.
Partly as the result of The Global Gospel, there has been a surge of interest related to the topic of honor/shame in the Bible and what it means for cross-cultural ministry. We have sold more than 1500 copies of The Global Gospel through pre-order sales. We are so grateful to Robby Butler of The Mission Network for his expertise promoting the book effectively in the missions community. Plus:
All of this momentum for The Global Gospel along with the support of many colleagues in the missions community causes me to rejoice and give praise to our great God and Savior.
I am reminded of Paul’s great confession in Romans 1:16—“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
The manuscript for The Global Gospel is currently at the editing/design/proofing company in Wheaton, IL—a company called Livingstone Corp. Lord-willing, the book will be released this Fall, hopefully October. If you would like to see the manuscript before the book is released please write to me: werner@mission1.org
The media is currently focused on two huge news stories of great violence and bloodshed. The first is the gruesome war in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinians. The second story involves Ukraine, Russia, and the downing of the Malaysia Flight 17, causing the death of 298 civilians. I have watched my share of news reports—and can’t help but think of the role of blood and honor in both stories.
Blood and honor in the news? Well, journalists do not actually use the words blood and honor to talk about the events. But I believe blood and honor is just below the surface. To explain what I mean, we will explore what the Bible says about blood and honor. In this post, we will examine:
In my forthcoming book, The Global Gospel, one of the things I do is explain nine different honor/shame dynamics in the societies of the ancient biblical world. One of these dynamics is referred to as “name/kinship/blood.” Basically, this refers to family honor.
Now many aspects of family honor are good, reflecting the way God made us to care for one another in our families.
However, because of devastating effects of sin on the human race, other aspects of family honor—or the dynamic of “name/kinship/blood” can result in great evil. You will see below that honor-based violence is often related to blood. You’ll see that blood is often both the result and the cause of honor competition and honor-based violence.
The Bible’s first reference to blood is in Genesis when Cain killed his brother Abel. Cain felt jealous over the fact that “the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard” (Gen 4:4–5). In jealousy and revenge—what I call “honor competition”—Cain killed Abel. The murder of Cain is symbolized by blood.
And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand” (Gen 4:10–11).
What is the meaning of “your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground”? God is saying, This is murder!—the horrible injustice of killing an innocent man.
This, of course, has become a pattern for all of humanity; honor competition results in violence. Blood is the result of honor competition.
In 2 Samuel 4, the account is given of two men, Rechab and Banaah, who murdered Ish-bosheth, son of Jonathan the son of Saul (2 Sam 4:4–6). Rechab and Banal thought they could cover up their murder of Ish-bosheth by telling David they were doing him a favor:
And they said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life. The Lord has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring” (2 Sam 4:8).
Rechab and Banal sorely miscalculated:
But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, when one told me, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth?” (2 Sam 4:9–11).
David immediately commanded that Rechab and Banaah be executed by “his young men.” In fact, “they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hanged them beside the pool at Hebron” (2 Sam 4:12). What a gruesome result to their miscalculation.
The point here is that Rechab and Banaah thought that David would agree with the default culture of … avenging the blood of enemies by killing their offspring. As a man of God, David would have none of it. But it points to the fact that the default culture at the time recognized that family blood was a justifiable catalyst for honor-based violence; family-versus-family revenge was indeed culturally acceptable.
Jerome Neyrey writes: [R]elatives who press for the advantage of family members are simply doing their duty to the kinship group, which is an honorable thing. Hence solidarity and loyalty among family members go without saying. Blood replicates the honor of the family.[1]
“Blood replicates the honor of the family.” Yes, and anyone familiar with a blood feud will agree. The definition of a blood feud is: “a lengthy conflict between families involving a cycle of retaliatory killings or injury.”[2] The cycle of violence is fueled by honor competition.[3]
This is why in honor/shame societies, ethics is generally trumped by honor—usually the honor of the family, family blood. The rule of law is practically irrelevant:
In Sicily too, according to the writer Leonardo Sciascia, himself Sicilian, the family is the state, a be-all-and-end-all in itself. To any Sicilian, “the exact definition of his rights and duties will be that of the family.” The mafia, the Camorra of Naples, the Corsicans, the people in Provence and in Spain, share with the Arabs self-regulatory group concepts wholly opposed to the workings of the state with norms legally defined and voluntarily obeyed. Equality under the law, that central constitutional pillar, cannot be reconciled with codes of shame and honor.[4]
Violence of family against family, tribe against tribe, nation against nation—is rampant throughout the world. An Internet search of “blood and honor” or “blood feud” brings out the ugly prevalence of this global scourge. Whether it is the Hatfields and the McCoys … or Sunni versus Shiite … Arian race against Jewish race … Chinese against Japanese … white race versus any others, it is, in essence, all honor-based violence fueled by blood.
There is a huge contrast between the impact of blood and honor in the kingdom of this world and the blood of Christ in the kingdom of God. We have noted that blood can be both the result and cause of honor competition; we have noted that the cycle of blood feuds can be seemingly endless. But consider these verses which show that the blood of Christ is an entirely different kind of catalyst:
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility … that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility (Eph 2:13–16, emphasis mine).
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water (Heb 10:19–22, emphasis mine).
Blood and honor in this world’s kingdom fuels family-against-family violence (blood feuds and vendettas)—but the blood and honor of Christ brings healing between families and kinship groups.
Blood and honor in this world’s kingdom is a catalyst for ethnic hatred and genocide—but the blood and honor of Christ is a catalyst for the acceptance, even the celebration of all ethnic groups and peoples.
Blood and honor in this world’s kingdom opens humanity to the life-killing spirit of jealousy, evil, murder, genocide, the devil—whereas the “blood of Jesus…opened for us” access to the conscience-cleansing Holy Spirit and life-giving presence of God—a new and living way!
This is our hope. This is the expectation and desire we have in Christ for a world so deeply scarred by violence and bloodshed. This is but one facet of an amazing multifaceted diamond we call “the good news”—the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1. Jerome Neyrey: Honor and Shame in the Gospel of Matthew (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998), p. 53.
2. Definition from: New Oxford American Dictionary 3rd edition © 2010 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Referenced by Mac OSX 10.8.2.
3. “A blood feud is a cycle of retaliatory violence, with the relatives of someone who has been killed or otherwise wronged or dishonored seeking vengeance by killing or otherwise physically punishing the culprits or their relatives. Historically, the word vendetta has been used to mean a blood feud.” See “Famous Blood Fueds,” accessed 17 June 2013, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feud#Famous_blood_feuds>.
4. David Pryce-Jones, The Closed Circle: An Interpretation of the Arabs (Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1989, 2009), p. 38.
I’ve got a new article available as a free download. It’s called, “The Gospel of Purity for Oral Learners.” Here’s what this article is all about.
In the Old and New Testament, impurity and uncleanness relegated people as lower-status social ‘outsiders’ in varying levels of shame. The greater the uncleanness, defilement or pollution, the deeper the shame.
Likewise, cleanness, sanctification or holiness identified people as higher-status social ‘insiders’ in varying levels of honor. The greater the cleanness, purity, even holiness, the higher the honor. The Mosaic laws of Leviticus defined for the Hebrew people purity codes and the cycle of sanctification.
Though strange to Western/secular sensibilities, these purity codes are crucial to understanding both God’s covenant with the Hebrews, as well as the radical nature of Christ’s ministry. Jesus transcended Old Testament laws of ritual cleansing—offering his cure for people in shame due to moral failure, disease, disability, disfiguration, or death. The New Testament frequently uses “purity language” to describe what God has done in Christ for humanity.
The gospel is much more than a cure for sin/guilt; it is also a cure for sin as uncleanness/shame. The Western theological default toward judicial language in presenting the gospel should be supplemented by purity language for better contextualization.
The gospel of purity will better resonate with peoples in oral and honor/shame cultures. Many of these peoples are unreached in the Buddhist, Hindu or Muslim blocs—all of whom practice their own distinct cleansing rituals and are honor/shame-oriented in their cultural values. Therefore, developing an awareness of the gospel of purity is a strategic issue.
In my forthcoming book, THE GLOBAL GOSPEL: Achieving Missional Impact in Our Multicultural World, I devote quite a few pages to the premise that honor-status reversal is a motif of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation.
Honor-status reversal as a horizontal/social orientation in the second half of Ephesians 2In my previous post about honor-status reversal, we explored what this motif means in Eph 2:1–10. We found that the dynamic of honor-status reversal in verses 1–7 refers to the personal and vertical—our relationship as believers with God the Father. In Eph 2:11–22, however, the dynamic is social and horizontal. Let’s take a look.
Let’s recall that the crux of the two dimensions of honor-status reversal is
“Salvation by grace through faith”What is located between these two dramatic expressions of honor-status reversal—between verses 1–7 and 11–22? The often-quoted verses about salvation by grace through faith:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Eph 2:8–9).
This “salvation verse” sits at the intersection of vertical and horizontal dimensions of honor-status reversal. The vertical dimension refers to a person’s relationship with God. The horizontal dimension refers to the Gentiles’ relationship with God’s people. The drama inherent in these dimensions of honor-status reversal—along with the liberation that this brought spiritually, emotionally and socially —is the context for “salvation by grace through faith.”
