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
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
A few weeks ago, I had a difficult conversation with a friend, who was quite upset that I continue to identify as a Christian, when, in his mind, ‘Christianity has done nothing good for the world’ and is ‘just a bunch of baseless stories’ that are ‘inherently damaging to everyone’ who hears them. The good … Continue reading Christianity and the West Gone Wrong: How Did We Get Here? (and How Can We Make It Right?)
