Christianity is an offense to the concept of honor. Our God, the very God that spoke the world into existence, took on the form of man, lived in that form with all the indignities of flesh then allowed himself to be stripped, beat, mocked then killed hanging on a cross with criminals.
Christianity is an offense to the concept of honor. Our God, the very God that spoke the world into existence, took on the form of man, lived in that form with all the indignities of flesh then allowed himself to be stripped, beat, mocked then killed hanging on a cross with criminals.
Exactly. J.P. Holding points out that you really can't understand the Bible unless you understand the honor/shame paradigm. However, it is through the Messiah that God ultimately works the process of breaking down human pride (the craving for worldly honor) and the fear of shame. He did so by taking the same that we rightly feel and placing it all on Yeshua (Jesus) on the Cross, while taking Yeshua's proper honor as the unique Son of God and gifting it to us.
In addition, I would argue that the giving of the Spirit has transformed society gradually away from honor/shame and to an inner awareness (conscience) of right and wrong. One of the challenges we face today is that we've come to take conscience for granted and don't realize how little a role it plays in most cultures, whether you're talking about Arab culture, Asian culture, or black street culture.
Shalom