Honor and Shame by Roland Muller

Reflection of Honor and Shame

This is a book that I was required to read for one of my classes. Just reading the introduction made it hard for me to put it down and as a result, read the entire book well before my class even began. I have since gone back and re-read it to not only refresh my memory but also to gain even more insight in to the mind and culture of Middle Eastern people.

I honestly had no idea of the vast differences between the Western mindset and the mindset of Muslims. I knew there were differences, but much of my knowledge came from news or magazines or from other Western media outlets. Shame on me for gaining my “education” from these sources - I should know better. But reading this book has made me realize that though Westerners tend to base most things on right and wrong, other societies are run based on honor and shame. And while right and wrong are strong influences in our society, honor and shame are just as powerful if not more so in Muslim cultures.

In reading this book, I’m also now aware that shame and honor is part of the cultures within the 10/40 window, and not based solely in the Middle East. For more info on the 10/40 window, go here: 10/40 Window When I think about this, it helps me to understand that we’re not just talking about a few million people but millions upon millions of people who live in societies where shame and honor exist and govern the actions of its people. It speaks to the immense undertaking that’s before us to present the Gospel in a way that is relevant to these people. It tells me that we have to understand these different cultures so that we don’t offend and turn people off but rather understand how to communicate the Gospel message to them while being sensitive to their way of social interaction. Does this mean we must “water-down” the Gospel message? Absolutely not however if we are to reach these people, we need to understand how they operate in their social strata. Even simple hand gestures can make the difference between someone accepting us or becoming offended and turn away from us.

I intend to read Mullers’ other books including “The Man from Gadara” and “Tools for Muslim Evangelism”. With 1.2 billion Muslims in the world and growing, it’s more important now than ever to understand this people group and become educated about how they view their culture and what’s important to them. One of my favorite lines in the book is when Muller says that he’s traveled all around North America and has tried to concentrate his preaching around the fact that God not only offers forgiveness of sins but He also offers freedom of fear and a lifting from shame. What a wonderful message for a Muslim to hear! He goes on to say that “Cross-cultural contextualization of the Gospel is simply knowing how to start the Gospel message from a place of common understanding.” Until we get to this place, we will have a very difficult time sharing the Gospel message. We all need to understand this more than ever now and by becoming more aware of different cultures and attitudes, we'll have a better chance to be able to find that common ground to work from in order to share the message of Jesus Christ. I have to admit that reading some of the stories in the book are still hard for me to wrap my mind around but I am becoming more aware of the culture and its way of life.