Honour and Shame
Ancient Mediterranean society and culture was dominated by honour and shame. - B.J. Malina
To function well, with meaning and depth, and with appropriateness in the Holy Land (Middle East) one must be aware of the nature of the "honour - shame" culture. Honour is the claim to social worth plus the public acknowledgement of that claim. Shame is the opposite of honour. Shame ocurrs when a claim to worth is publicly denied and repudiated. To "be shamed" is always negative and results in a decrease of honour. To "have shame" is positive, because it means to be concerned about one's honour. A "shameless" person is not so concerned, and therefore considered as outside the pale of normal human behaviour and relations, close to being insane.
Of course the terms "honour" and "shame" are rather meaningless until one knows exactly what behaviour counts as "normal" -- which varies between different cultures and between different historical periods. It is no simple task to comprehend the social "codes of conduct."
Honour is primarily a "group value," something belonging to a group of which one is a member, especially the family. If a member of the group is honoured, the group enjoys that honour. If a member of the group is shamed, the entire group is dishonoured and lowered in value.
The "honour - shame" culture is important to understand or to at least appreciate not just because it helps one to function in middle eastern society today, but because the scriptures were written in an honour - shame culture by peoples who lived the values inherent in the honour - shame "system." We can understand more richly the Old and New Testament scripture texts when we hear the stories and know their impact upon the people who heard and who were challenged by those stories and by the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels. Only then do we realize just how radical some of the teachings truly were.
To function well, with meaning and depth, and with appropriateness in the Holy Land (Middle East) one must be aware of the nature of the "honour - shame" culture. Honour is the claim to social worth plus the public acknowledgement of that claim. Shame is the opposite of honour. Shame ocurrs when a claim to worth is publicly denied and repudiated. To "be shamed" is always negative and results in a decrease of honour. To "have shame" is positive, because it means to be concerned about one's honour. A "shameless" person is not so concerned, and therefore considered as outside the pale of normal human behaviour and relations, close to being insane.
Of course the terms "honour" and "shame" are rather meaningless until one knows exactly what behaviour counts as "normal" -- which varies between different cultures and between different historical periods. It is no simple task to comprehend the social "codes of conduct."
Honour is primarily a "group value," something belonging to a group of which one is a member, especially the family. If a member of the group is honoured, the group enjoys that honour. If a member of the group is shamed, the entire group is dishonoured and lowered in value.
The "honour - shame" culture is important to understand or to at least appreciate not just because it helps one to function in middle eastern society today, but because the scriptures were written in an honour - shame culture by peoples who lived the values inherent in the honour - shame "system." We can understand more richly the Old and New Testament scripture texts when we hear the stories and know their impact upon the people who heard and who were challenged by those stories and by the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels. Only then do we realize just how radical some of the teachings truly were.
posted by Philip | 5:02 a.m.
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