by Joseph
“Through Jesus’s death and resurrection, God forgives our sin. Though guilty, we have now been made innocent.” This is the gospel, as most of us first heard it.
If the above statement resonates with you, you may be from a guilt-based culture. The West traditionally has a strong sense of right/wrong, good/evil, and individual moral responsibility. The ‘bad news’ — that all humans are sinners and deserving of punishment — has historically been accepted by most.[1] This means the good news — God’s forgiveness for our sins — is something that people may be ready and willing to hear.
But if the above gospel statement doesn’t resonate with you, it could be that you are shaped by a culture that doesn’t adopt a guilt-based worldview.[2] India, where I grew up, is generally more concerned about shame than guilt. The question is not, ‘Have I done something wrong?’ but rather, ‘Has someone seen me doing wrong, which would then create disharmony or dishonour in our relational network?’ In shame-based cultures, we wonder not whether something is right or wrong in a universal sense, but instead whether it will bring our relationship closer together or further apart.
A practical illustration is the value is placed on truth vs maintaining social relations. Consider the scenario of not wanting to go to a friend’s party you were invited to. In Australia, we would often say ‘no’ directly. In India, saying no directly would be considered rude — bringing shame on your friend — so we would instead give an excuse, like, ‘I’d love to come, but I’m busy with work.’
Alongside guilt and shame, other anthropologists added a third category: fear-based societies. Here the focus is on who has power to harm or to reward, and striving to earn the favour of these powers, be they earthly or spiritual. Growing up in slums, many of my neighbours, be they Hindu or Muslim, would ultimately be operating in a fear framework. The Hindus that I know would be happy to visit Muslim shrines, and vice versa — going anywhere they heard had the power of healing. From a position of vulnerability, people are often seeking a powerful protector and patron, be that a god, saint, political leader, or even white person.
Now consider how the guilt-based gospel sounds to people coming from a shame- or fear- based framework. They are generally not asking the question, ‘How can I be free from the guilt of my sin,’ so the answer, ‘God forgives your sins through Jesus’ doesn’t really address a felt need. To believe this ‘good news,’ we would first need to convince them of the ‘bad news’ that they are sinners and guilty in God’s eyes.
This is a key question of contextualisation. For many, contextualisation means outer appearances and practices — what clothes we wear, how we pray, what words we use. These things are important, true. But perhaps more important is the message itself, not just the means of communication. I believe there is one God, but I also believe in three persons within that one Being. In the same way, though there is one Gospel, could it be that there are multiple angles or facets to this good news, which each speak more powerfully to different cultures?
I write this as one who is personally more at home within a guilt-based framework. I don’t like that shame- and fear- based cultures are more about ‘whether you are caught’ than what you did in private. But I — and my fellow Westerners — need to grapple with the question: Is the framing of guilt a necessary prerequisite for the gospel message? Or, better yet: Did Jesus primarily use a guilt-based framework?
Searching the Scriptures with this new lens, it now seems to me that Jesus’ actions speak powerfully to a shame-based culture. He included the outcasts — sinners, prostitutes, tax collectors — ate with them, loved them, even had them as His disciples. Rather than keeping them separate to maintain His purity and honour, He included the ‘sinners’ in his family and gave them His honour. Many of those he healed — lepers, the bleeding woman, the Roman centurion’s servant — were in a shameful social status. By healing them, He not only physically restored them, but also restored them to a social position of harmony and connectedness.
So what might the gospel message be in a single sentence for a shame-based culture? Maybe something like: “Through Jesus, God adopts us into His family so that we all belong, giving us a place of honour at His banquet table.” Indeed, I have found this type of gospel message to resonate more, as it answers a type of question that people are asking.
People often ask me: “Why do you choose to live and work in a slum? The people are dirty, uneducated, useless.” This provides an opportunity to say, “I love because God loves; God is on the side of the broken and lonely, the hurt and sick, the ashamed and outcast.” The gospel in this context is not so much a message of guilt being overcome by sacrifice and forgiveness, but rather of exclusion and shame being overcome by warmth, hospitality, welcome, and radical inclusion.
What about fear-based cultures? What does Jesus have anything to say to them? Some of the most common phrases in the gospels are ‘Do not be afraid’ (appearing eight times) and also ‘Take heart’ (four times). Jesus consistently demonstrates His authority over evil spirits, sickness, and the natural elements. Jesus speaks as ‘one with authority’ (Matt. 7:28-29, Mark 1:28), which attracts large crowds to him.
He relativises the earthly power of authorities like Pilate, making statements like, ‘Any power you have comes to you from above.’ He also uses the language of power struggle describing how He is ‘casting out the ruler of the world’ (John 16:11) and ‘overcoming the world’ (John 16:33). Jesus gives His disciples this authority to cast out demons and diseases (Luke 9:1-2), and remarkably even says we will do ‘greater things than this’ (John 14:12).
Summing it up in a single sentence, perhaps it would be: “Through Jesus, God has asserted His authority over all earthly and spiritual powers, setting us free from fear and bondage.” Again, this framing resonates more with my neighbours than the Western guilt-based gospel because it answers the type of questions they are asking. The social justice and power angle resonates with both me and my neighbours. In struggles with the authorities over slum demolition or corruption incidences, I like to tell people that God is on their side — the powerless and vulnerable — not the side of the powerful.
In terms of spiritual powers, I feel a bit sheepish to admit that often my neighbours have more faith in God’s action in the world than I do. While I typically use a ‘hospital first, prayer as last resort’ approach, many of my neighbours do the opposite. While I have not witnessed anything that I personally would regard as a miracle, some of my neighbours feel that God’s actions through my prayers have helped them overcome a disease and, as a result, ask me to pray for them next time they are sick (and also ask me to take them to hospital!). The lame walking, the deaf hearing, the blind seeing — this is a gospel that resonates with the poor.
The good news is not just about God overcoming our guilt. It is also about Him defeating our shame and fear through His love and power. By broadening our cultural lens, we can deepen our own faith and also share a message that truly is good news for our neighbours.
[1] Maybe not so much in a postmodern framework, but traditionally.
[2] Credit to Ruth Benedict for this framework.
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Joseph is an Australian who grew up in South Asia. He now lives and works with the urban poor on issues of education, health, and government entitlements. His organisation, Servants to Asia’s Urban Poor, seeks to bring the transformational power of Christ through incarnational holistic ministry.
