Tag: shalom
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Theologians & Economists: A Vision of Shalom
[Series Index] Earlier in this series, I said human beings build worlds to inhabit and infuse them with meaning. As God's image-bearers, that is simply what we do. But our world-building enterprise has become corrupted. Because of sin, there is always a mixture of goodness and idolatry in all we create. God's mission is about…
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Theologians & Economists: The Rise of Unprecedented Prosperity (1)
[Series Index] Is the state of the world getting better or getting worse? Our mission is to seek the greatest shalom possible in the world, always aware that shalom in its fullness will only be recognized at the consummation of the new creation at Christ's return. But how would we measure shalom? Isaiah 65:17-25 gives…
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Best of It: Principles of a New Realism (Part 5)
[Series Index] Today we wrap up Chapter 8, "Principles of a New Realism," in John Stackhouse's Making the Best of It. The fourth and final section deals with "Liberty and Cooperation." Liberty and Cooperation Individuals … We are free, first from sin and death. No longer must we obey sin and fear death. We are…
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Best of It: Vocation (Part 2)
[Series Index] In Making the Best of It, John Stackhouse discusses "human vocation" and "Christian vocation." Today we are looking at human vocation. Human Vocation All In short: All human beings are called by God to fulfill the creation commandments [Cultural Mandate and Great Commandments], as we have seen. We are to worship God, see…
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Best of It: The Story and the Mission (Part 4)
[Series Index] We continue Chapter Six, "The Story and the Mission," in John Stackhouse's' Making the Best of It. Yesterday we ended with this observation by Stackhouse: Implicit in this vision of the New Jerusalem and fundamental to the Christian ethos is what I call the principle of "win-win-win." Shalom is an all-embracing life of…
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Prosperity: Final Thoughts on the Cycle of Prosperity
It is time to bring my Cycle of Prosperity series to a close. I began this series by discussing shalom's centrality to the biblical narrative. What we call "economic well-being" is an essential component of shalom. While we can talk of shalom for an individual, the biblical image is of shalom is community-wide. Next, I…
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Prosperity: “Your Kingdom Come…”
"Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Christians across the continents and the ages have continually prayed these words Jesus taught his disciples. They are central to the life and mission of the Church. But there are two important implications of this prayer. First, these words are an…
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Prosperity: The Mission of God
The mission of God is not to get people saved. Now that I likely have your attention, let me also acknowledge that getting people saved is an essential piece of God's present work in the world. However, we must view God's mission from God's vantage point rather than ours. Failure to do so inevitably results…
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Prosperity: Shalom Lost
Clearly, shalom does not prevail in the world today. That brings us to the portion of the biblical narrative that follows Genesis 2. Genesis 3 tells us how shalom was lost. A serpent engaged Eve in conversation, asking her if God really said she may not eat from any tree in the garden (knowing full…