“When Hadad in Egypt heard that David slept with his ancestors and Yo’av the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me leave, so that I can return to my own country.” – 1 Kings 11:21
Since I started this blog about a decade ago, I’ve been pointing out the vast cultural and linguistic differences between the people of the biblical world and us today.
One of this site’s main purposes has been to bridge that gap.
So, today, and over the next couple of days, I’m gonna be focusing on a concept embedded in Scripture that very few Westerners understand.
Having lived for over 20 years in the East (Korea & Japan), I am familiar with this concept.
But until recently, it was still sort of fuzzy and unconscious.
It’s not until I encountered Tom Bradford’s explanation in his awesome Torah Class that the fuzziness faded away.
To quote him…
“This is a concept that is very difficult for Westerners to wrap our minds around, but it is an important one for us to grasp and it is obvious that our highest government officials who shape and direct our Middle Eastern policy have little understanding of this foundational principle of the very societies they are trying to deal with.”
So lemme start by asking you this:
What do you think was the source of Hadad’s burning hatred towards Israel?
The obvious off-the-cuff answer is he wanted revenge for King David’s attack on Edom.
That answer isn’t necessarily incorrect.
But that’s only scratching the surface.
See, when David attacked Edom, Hadad’s honor had been violated.
In other words, he had been deeply shamed.
And the only way to get rid of that shame and restore his honor was to take revenge.
So if, as a Westerner, you’ve ever wondered why a group of people would strap bombs to their bodies and blow themselves up in public.
Or if you’ve ever wondered what the REAL motivation was behind the terrorist attacks on 9/11, this is your answer.
To quote Bradford again…
“This same code of shame and honor is at the heart of the unrest in the Middle East today.”
Bottom line, the Muslim world feels deeply humiliated by America and Israel.
They resent their power and material success.
They resent how such “immoral” and “satanic” countries have defeated them both economically and militarily.
Remember, they call Israel the “Little Satan,” and America the “Big Satan.”
To properly wrap our heads around the idea, Bradford introduces a super easy-to-understand framework:
He says that every society in the world is built around one of three basic ideas:
1) Guilt and Innocence
2) Power and Fear
3) Shame and honor.
Now, keep in mind that most societies have a little of all three.
But one of them will dominate more than the others.
Most people don’t even realize which of these three ideas shapes their society.
They simply grow up thinking that’s how the world works.
That’s why conflict results from cultural differences.
We assume that people from other countries should think the way we think and behave the way we behave.
And when they don’t, we get ticked off and accuse them of being irrational, backwards, or whatever.
Americans, in particular, have this weakness.
They think the whole freaking world should revolve around them.
I say this as an American myself, so don’t get offended if you’re from the US.
Ya feel me here, homie?
Bottom line, this is the biggest reason why people from different cultures misunderstand each other.
It’s also why a lotta international marriages end in divorce.
I’ve witnessed more than my share of marriages between white dudes and Japanese women here in Tokyo just crashing and burning in a couple of years.
I’m positive a lot of it is deeply embedded and irreconcilable cultural differences.
Period.
Two people are looking at the same world…
But they’re viewing it through completely different lenses.
Alrighty, so let’s wrap this up with an interesting thought exercise.
I want you to do two things.
Out of the 3 philosophies I mentioned above (Guilt & Innocence, Power & Fear, Shame & Honor), which one do you think is the bedrock philosophy for the following nations?
America
Israel
Japan
China
North Korea
Pakistan
Iran
Finally, which country are you from, and which of the aforementioned philosophies do you think undergirds it?
Lemme know in the comments.
This is gonna be interesting.
See ya all next time.
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