Here in Canada, today is Thanksgiving Sunday. It’s a commemoration that, depending on how one chooses to interpret it, can be either a tremendous ally or barrier to decolonizing Christian theology here. In the churches in which I grew up, it was unmistakably a harvest celebration, thanking God for the land as the source of … Continue reading In Everything Give Thanks: On Gratitude, Respect, Reciprocity, and Generosity
So far in this series, I’ve explored the possibility of using shalom, peace, as a guiding metaphor for Christian theology and life, and how this would frame ‘faith’ as a peace-making lifestyle. I showed how these ideas are both profoundly biblical and also resonate with common Indigenous ideas about right living, and so could provide … Continue reading ‘All Our Relations’: Christianity and the ‘Community of Creation’
I ended the most recent post in this series by suggesting that understanding Christianity through the guiding principle of shalom, peace or wholeness, could provide a helpful way of framing the concept of faith. Today I’d like to unpack this more, and propose that ‘faith’ is living out shalom, or following the pathway of peace. … Continue reading Faith: Following the Pathway of Peace
“Lord, increase our faith!” These words from the start of today's Gospel reading are some of the most relatable words the apostles ever speak, even if the demand does not work out well for them. Today I’d like to look at what might have prompted the disciples’ demand, how Jesus responded to it, and what … Continue reading Increase Our Faith: A Reflection on Luke 17.5-10
At the end of my series ‘Setting our Stories Straight,’ I suggested that of the biblical idea of Shalom, or ‘peace’ — understood as wholeness, integrity, and the presence of healthy, reciprocal relationships — could be the best way of understanding the internal goals of Christian faith. Inspired by the thought of theologians like Walter … Continue reading Standing for Shalom: Peace as the Heart of God
Matthew Root 