I've just been looking at quite a good website by another guy also interested in more effectively reaching those folk in cultures which heavily emphasise honour and shame (particularly the Middle East) ... I can concur with a great deal of the content of the website and I'd recommend you take a look. But, I found that he does not place Sub-Saharan Africa into the category of Honour/Shame, which is a similar view to so much Missiology and Anthropology literature. None the less, the reading of the content of his website actually confirms yet again how much honour/shame is a part of life in this area of Africa. (To be fair: my guess is that the site is not rejecting the view that sub-Saharan Africa may have a shame focus, but is simply adopting a premise set down in the past by others.)
One day maybe, I'll do a blog with a bit more info on how we got ourselves into this vein of ministry, but for now I just want to raise a few points of interest in regard to how much this issue of Shame is not just an African or Asian or Middle East issue anymore. Its also a Western issue....in a couple of ways -
because....
1. Western society is slowly losing its Judeo-Christian ethic. Therefore it is also slowly losing its conscious individual accountability to the absolute authority of Almighty God. That means that a guilt conscience that convicts, knowing that God sees whether other people are watching or not, is slowly being lost.
Why?
...because if people don't believe God sees everything they do, or actually don't believe God exists at all, then they are not going to be interested in whether God approves, or is pleased. So God's definition of right and wrong will disappear, and people will only be interested in doing what other people around them see and approve of, or not doing what other people might disapprove of and/or publicly expose.
So then doing wrong will be defined by what is unacceptable to those around 'me' and I will desire to live according to what is acceptable to those around 'me'. An absolute authority that is in place wherever I am, irrespective of whether I am alone or with others, will be irrelevant to my thinking. So as a result, my sinful heart of pride will only lead me to want to avoid shame and seek honour from those around me.
I am seeing this already in the Australian media. Just think about what happens when people get 'caught' for doing something that actually violates the absolute authority of God's standard of right and wrong, and even the authority of the nation's law (which stands and you are guilty of, whether you are caught yet or not). So often those who were 'caught' did not admit to doing 'wrong' or violating a law, but to 'disappointing' those who expected more of them, and doing something 'shameful'. (As in the cases recently of the Aussie Olympian who smashed up some shopfronts in the UK in a drunken rage and was forced to issue an apology before being sent home, and the case of Andy Muirhead - the TV personality who was in court for multiple child pornography charges and issued a statement in relation to it.)
Note: Being ashamed for doing wrong is not necessarily a wrong attitude to have, (shame for doing what is shameful before God is a right attitude) but if it is the only attitude that is exhibited, and if the shame is more about what others think than defying God's law, then we have great reason for concern.
and,
2. As the West becomes more and more multicultural, Asia (also a strongly shame emphasis culture), the Middle East and Africa are no longer far away places. People from these places now live in the West in ever growing numbers. Just because a person is living on 'Western' soil unfortunately doesn't instantly change their religious view or how they think (their worldview) or their life's dynamics, priorities and heart motives. These dynamics also don't only function when a person is in their own home and with their own families, they direct every life decision, action and attitude. We are more and more convinced that the West has failed to realise that these dynamics will influence and direct the workplace relations, social interaction, the definition of right and wrong behaviour, and life priorities of people from such cultures. And they will affect it in such a way as to lead to behaviour that the average 'Westerner' will mis-understand, mis-judge, and mis-apply solutions to.
Most recently we have seen this in relation to the Muslim riots in protest of the YouTube video "Innocence of Muslims" which Muslims said dishonoured their prophet. A most excellent biblical response - to this incident and the West's response, has been published on the "Briefing" website. click here for part one (be sure to read the follow-on parts too)
I would highly recommend every Christian read these Briefing articles....carefully and thoroughly.
This issue is not just an issue for missionaries like us, to study and address.....although we need to, and have not done a good job at it in the past decades....this is an issue for all Christians to understand and address...and urgently!
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