CHRISTIAN CONVERSION IN SHAME-BASED CULTURES

Eastern Shame-based Culture

The Eastern shame-based culture is rooted in public, corporate concepts of social behaviors that disgrace the larger community living in solidarity, ripping it of its honor; it could be one individual acting against social norms that could bring shame to an entire community.  Shame cultures “rely on external sanctions for good behaviors;” shame reduces one’s standing and position within the community and represents a loss of face (TT, 79).  Whereas the Western guilt-based culture is individualistic and rooted in the “internalized conviction of sin” for transgressing against authority emanating from societal norms or boundaries or prohibitions (TT, 79). The external group-identity shame-based and internalized individualistic guilt-based cultures are both functional to bring people to Christ as the Cross deals with both—guilt and shame.

The Concept of a Multi-Individual Conversion Experience in a Shame-Based Culture.

The concept of a multi-individual or community conversion experience in a shame-based culture is more acceptable than individual stigmatized conversion because the shame and dishonor brought by conversion is mitigated through group solidarity for those groups w-hich depart from their original ancestral venerated religions or beliefs.  In a shame-based culture, families and clans are strongly integrated within the larger social community as people identity and the group needs take precedence over individual needs; the external authority is hierarchical and failure to meet obligations causes shame; maintaining social status and reciprocal obligations are of prime importance to save one’s face (TT, 80-81).  The shame-based culture gets its thrust from community solidarity firmly rooted in ancestral beliefs and social norms.  So if a whole community or group of people departs from the community religion/belief to adopt a new one, the impact is lessened because it minimizes the social dislocation and avoids shame charges against one particular person, whose blood can only restore the family or group honor (TT, 98).  Also the new identity they acquire in Christ, where guilt and shame are lifted off in the Cross of Jesus who bore our guilt of sinning against divine laws and our shame of dishonoring God by rebelling against and rejecting Him, frees them from the shame stigma and heals them gradually as they abide in their new Christian identity.  “The remedy for shame is not affirmation; it is incorporation into a community with new, different, and better standards of honor” (AD, Return of Shame).

Why is such a Concept Biblical or Unbiblical?

The multi-individual or household or group or community conversion, in general and in a shame-based culture, is a scriptural concept and has precedents in the Book of Acts in the conversion of the households of Cornelius (Acts 10), Lydia (Acts 16:15, Philippian Jailer (Acts 31:34), and Crispus (Acts 18:8).   All these conversion precedents took place among people in the Greco-Roman world which is a shame-based culture, characteristic of the ancient Mediterranean world, equally to the Jewish culture (DF, 122); in other words, shameful Jewish group conversion to Christianity, though not explicitly mentioned, took place during Jesus’ times as He was gaining disciples and followers every day.  In the Book of Acts, Peter’s first sermon ushered 3,000 (Acts 2:41) and second sermon ushered 5,000 (Acts 4:4) into the Christian community and many priests obeyed the faith (Acts 6:7).  The Book of Acts does not explicitly specify or talk about group conversion or detail the shaming response from the Greco-Roman or Jewish communities to such converts; but they were persecuted, mistreated, imprisoned, put to death, and scattered (Acts 8:1-3).

Tennent has experienced the group conversion in India where extended families come to Christ; and this corporate conversion experience is seen as “multi-coordinated personal decisions,” that implies individual faith and repentance (TT, 99).  Orlando Costas, a missiologist from Costa Rica, argues that “the concept of multi-individual decisions gives a sociological orientation to the experience of conversion,” because it is both a personal individual act of faith taken in a group setting, where the group shares the same experience and takes the same decision to follow Christ together, acquiring a new identity that will still hold them together as a group, the Body of Christ (TT, 99).  The concept is scriptural because of similar biblical precedents in the Book of Acts and because it is an individual act of faith within a group setting; so it is a sociological Christian conversion experience that profits from the negative shame-based cultural features in an affirmative sense.

Multi-faceted Effects of Community Conversion—Dangers and Advantages

In a shame-based culture, community conversion has dangers and advantages.  The dangers can go up to crimes to save family honor, known as honor crimes, which has surpassed sexual defilement to include conversion, which means departing from community faith and dishonoring the family or clan. The Arab world is a shame-based culture where honor is restored by revenge and blood.  Muslim background brothers (MBB) are considered civically dead, persecuted by family and state, rejected by society;  even the church is afraid of them and shuns them because of the problems that surround them in connection to the State Security.  Conversion in Christianity from Islam in Egypt is considered an issue of legal order and state security; so for state to conceal its involvement, it has passed the responsibility to hardliner Muslim conservatives to persecute them and to chase them.  Some were even thrown in prison, tortured, sexually assaulted, and mistreated with stress-duress techniques to renounce their Christian faith.   Most MBBs end up leaving Egypt and immigrating where they can practice their faith.  Few of them remain but they pay a high price for abiding in Christ amidst hostility and jeopardy to their lives; they live a double life as Muslims outwardly and Christians inwardly.  MBBs in Egypt, though not a community conversion experience, find one another and gather to pray together and form discipleship groups where they learn the Bible together, share their struggles, and encourage one another to be Christ-like.  The advantages of community conversion is the solidarity and support they get from the community as they all grow together in their new identity in Christ; there is mutual support and reciprocity.  They abide in their new identity as they worship together and grow together in Christ.  Christianity is not an individualistic religion but is a community of faith where people strive to live together in oneness—a matter that is present in community conversion.

Precedents in Paul’s Letters Critiquing Shame-based Culture and Individualistic Culture

Paul’s worldview was a mixture of Jewish-Greco-Roman cultures that were shame-based cultures, with group identity exerting external pressures and failure to obey hierarchical authority would bring shame.  Paul positively expounded on the shame-culture of the Greco-Roman world to encourage Christians to submit and obey secular authorities as instituted by God (Rom 13:1-7) (DF, 134); culture is not inherently sinful but certain features could be used in the service of the gospel, in as long as it honors God.

In his letter to the Galatians, there was a conflict between Jews and gentiles over circumcision; it is obviously a Jewish shame-based cultural heritage where the uncircumcised are defiled and unclean (Gal 6:12-13) and have no salvation.  The Jewish identity of shame-based culture was strongly operative even after accepting the new identity in Jesus Christ; Paul criticizes this Jewish distinctness that is tantamount to cultural imperialism and focuses on their new identity in Christ—the new creation—that transcends all cultural allegiance (DF, 135-136).  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Flemming, Dean. Contextualization in the New Testament:  Patterns for Theology and Mission. Madison, Wisconsin:  InterVarsity Press, 2005.