The Ecology of Shalom based on David Brown’s God and Enchantment of Place

  A blog on an assigned class reading 


 The Hebrew notion of peace [ Shalom] refuses to confine the word to purely internal or interpersonal relations but also insists on the totality of a changed environment. One recent rich study of the issue concludes that to put the main Old Testament emphasis on divine action in history or on emancipation is radically to misrepresent biblical categories: ‘the central problem is not emancipation but rootage, not meaning but belonging, not separation from community but location within it, not isolation from others but placement. (156)


 Shalom has such a wide-ranging application and lack of confines that it lends itself to ecology. Shalom looks beyond humanity to incorporate the soundings and a presence. If people can open their eyes to the world around them, they start to see ecological connections and relationships. In David Brown's quote, the terms "rootage," "belonging," "location," and "placement" are terms of awareness and connectivity to the surroundings. It shows that rather than focusing on being free or separated, the old testament is about being aware of and incorporated into the organisms 

in our surroundings. 

            I have always found the Old Testament to be relatively dull and human-centric as its discussions of lineage and family trees often cause me to fall asleep. However, this newfound angle of inclusivity and "placement" is fascinating. Biblical stories have some of the craziest ecological settings, mountain tops, parted waters, and barren deserts. Brown's new perspective illuminates the essential role of ecology in biblical stories and Shalom.

            A boarder application for the world Shalom is a belonging of humans in the realm of the extra-human. In the Old Testament there was much wondering of deserts and other hostile environments, but the company of extra-humans was often preferable to the company of humans. Human civilization had power structures that enslaved Hebrews making the human realm uncomfortable and harsh. Shalom was the word of wishing someone peace that exceed their human situation, it was wishing them a peace and relief in their trials. Peace that is found in a harmony with both the human and extra-human around them.

 

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