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Higher Honor
197 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 4, 2014
a great book about a WW2 soldier who fought against the Japanese and who returned as a missionary in the early 1950's...he talks about his feelings upon returning and about returning to visit those places such as Midway and Iwo Jima, places where great battles were fought and won. He gives us a glimpse on the Japanese way of life, their culture, history, beliefs, religion, heroes, emperor, commoners...all chapters ending with a biblical application...wonderful book..highly recommend it...
September 5, 2012
Best comparison between americans and japanese people. It also shows the discipline and appreciation to little things of the japanese.
February 23, 2019
Here, dear readers, is A Higher Honor, by Robert Boardman, and I rate my reading experience 4/5 stars. According to Goodreads, this means “I really liked it”—which is fair!
Think of A Higher Honor as a compilation of short, true stories that demonstrate Japanese culture—particularly the areas where it differs from American culture. Some stories predate the author’s time, while others he tells as an eyewitness to the events. His experience with Japan as a veteran who fought them as the enemy then returned years later with the love of Christ gives his stories an added intrigue. As per the name of the book, the theme of honor is highlighted by many of these stories. It’s very apparent that Japanese society holds tightly to this virtue.
Something else I appreciate about the book—and this dives into the spiritual value of it—is the way the author gives due glory to God for any good. Writing from a believer’s viewpoint, Boardman counted the virtues in these stories as evidence of a “higher honor” than is found in the world. Even if an unbelieving character showed good virtues, he was unknowingly testifying to the fact that there is a standard of good and bad—and a moral lawgiver. Further, there is an honor more noble to strive for than any honor humanity might find or invent. This is the honor of knowing Christ Jesus and spreading His Gospel of salvation to a lost world. I found this message to be especially strong in the first chapters.
I hate to give a negative impression of a book that started out so refreshing. Unfortunately, I began to like A Higher Honor less toward the end. The final chapters centered on suicide. That's not bad in and of itself, but I was disappointed by the way the author handled it. He revealed that, in Japan, certain cases of suicide were considered honorable—in old eras especially, but even at publication in the 1980s. For the most part, Boardman took an objective stance, neither affirming nor condemning this mentality. But I was troubled after reading chapters about the suicides of Japanese warriors who were highly esteemed and remembered for their “honorable,” self-imposed death. By virtue of the fact that he withheld his personal opinions, I got the impression that the author finds it acceptable that suicide could be honorable. More on my thoughts when in a later blog post.
Though I end on a negative note, my overall impression of A Higher Honor is that I enjoyed it and thought it worth the read. It wasn’t life transforming, but it did spark some valuable thought. That’s 4/5 stars. I would particularly recommend it to anyone interested in Japanese culture.
A NOTE ON CONTENT:
(May contain spilers)
Violence:
-accounts from World War II, including bombings, shootings, and moderate depictions of wounds from true events
-descriptions of multiple instances of suicide, including one particularly gruesome and agonizing form of suicide
-inclusion of a hate propaganda
Sexual Immorality:
none that I recall
Magic and the Occult:
none that I recall
Foul or Offensive Language:
-inclusion and background of a racist hate slogan, which the author opposes and uses with the intent of putting forward a valid argument
False Doctrine or Abuse of Scripture:
-I seem to remember there were a few instances in which I questioned the use of Scripture within the context, but it was trivial enough that it might have been a matter of interpretation, or perhaps something that challenged my preconceived ideas about the meaning of the text.
Think of A Higher Honor as a compilation of short, true stories that demonstrate Japanese culture—particularly the areas where it differs from American culture. Some stories predate the author’s time, while others he tells as an eyewitness to the events. His experience with Japan as a veteran who fought them as the enemy then returned years later with the love of Christ gives his stories an added intrigue. As per the name of the book, the theme of honor is highlighted by many of these stories. It’s very apparent that Japanese society holds tightly to this virtue.
Something else I appreciate about the book—and this dives into the spiritual value of it—is the way the author gives due glory to God for any good. Writing from a believer’s viewpoint, Boardman counted the virtues in these stories as evidence of a “higher honor” than is found in the world. Even if an unbelieving character showed good virtues, he was unknowingly testifying to the fact that there is a standard of good and bad—and a moral lawgiver. Further, there is an honor more noble to strive for than any honor humanity might find or invent. This is the honor of knowing Christ Jesus and spreading His Gospel of salvation to a lost world. I found this message to be especially strong in the first chapters.
I hate to give a negative impression of a book that started out so refreshing. Unfortunately, I began to like A Higher Honor less toward the end. The final chapters centered on suicide. That's not bad in and of itself, but I was disappointed by the way the author handled it. He revealed that, in Japan, certain cases of suicide were considered honorable—in old eras especially, but even at publication in the 1980s. For the most part, Boardman took an objective stance, neither affirming nor condemning this mentality. But I was troubled after reading chapters about the suicides of Japanese warriors who were highly esteemed and remembered for their “honorable,” self-imposed death. By virtue of the fact that he withheld his personal opinions, I got the impression that the author finds it acceptable that suicide could be honorable. More on my thoughts when in a later blog post.
Though I end on a negative note, my overall impression of A Higher Honor is that I enjoyed it and thought it worth the read. It wasn’t life transforming, but it did spark some valuable thought. That’s 4/5 stars. I would particularly recommend it to anyone interested in Japanese culture.
A NOTE ON CONTENT:
(May contain spilers)
Violence:
-accounts from World War II, including bombings, shootings, and moderate depictions of wounds from true events
-descriptions of multiple instances of suicide, including one particularly gruesome and agonizing form of suicide
-inclusion of a hate propaganda
Sexual Immorality:
none that I recall
Magic and the Occult:
none that I recall
Foul or Offensive Language:
-inclusion and background of a racist hate slogan, which the author opposes and uses with the intent of putting forward a valid argument
False Doctrine or Abuse of Scripture:
-I seem to remember there were a few instances in which I questioned the use of Scripture within the context, but it was trivial enough that it might have been a matter of interpretation, or perhaps something that challenged my preconceived ideas about the meaning of the text.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews