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  Why is it important to understand honor and shame when you read the New Testament?

  Posted by info on 11/11/2024 at 08:48

  PC Hartwig replied 4 weeks ago 8 Members · 7 Replies

  • NT215-01
• 7 Replies

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  PC Hartwig

  Member

  04/25/2025 at 09:10

  People in Jesus’ time had very deeply embedded value systems. I am sure that many of them were very sincere, but one gets the impression that the religious leaders were not above manipulating the value system to their advantage. They would preach the law and commandments, but they did not necessarily keep them themselves. On several occasions, Jesus showed up their hypocrisy. They were incensed by His purity. They tried to shame Him, but could not because He knew what was in His own heart and what was hiding in theirs.

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  Deborah Iacovelli

  Member

  02/23/2025 at 12:05

  I think it’s important to understand the culture of that day, in order to fully understand the stories themselves. Our American culture seems to have shifted far from feeling shame, and few are honored overall. That, perhaps, has contributed to the downfall of this country.

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  Jeff D

  Member

  02/07/2025 at 12:13

  It is important to remember the cultural norms of Jesus day because Jesus was speaking to these people who reacted based upon how they would be perceived inside the precepts of the acceptable honor and shame norms they experienced. When the priest is speaking to the congregation in the synagogue following the healing of the woman in Luke 13, he is attempting to shame Jesus into the acceptable criteria as he sees it. Jesus responds by accurately shaming him as God sees it.

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  Kellie Fowler

  Member

  12/30/2024 at 18:14

  It is important to understand honor and shame when reading the New Testament because it helps one better understand the context of what is spoken or done in Scripture. Knowing that shame and honor are the backdrop of why people believed what they believed or did what they did causes one to grasp better why Jesus (or the Apostles) did or said what He (they) did. If the whole group is affected by choices one person makes it causes one to understand better why people reacted to what happened.

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  Helen Langley

  Member

  12/27/2024 at 13:20

  It is important to understand the concepts of honor and shame when reading the New Testament. This is true because these concepts were woven into the fabric of the society at the time and greatly shaped how people acted (societal norms) and how they were corrected by their peers. Honor had to be protected at all costs and appearance/acquisition of honor was greatly desired. Shame on the other hand was highly undesirable. Shame was felt by more than just the individual and reflected poorly on the family and group as a whole.

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