Shalom: The Bible's Word for Salvation, Justice and Peace, a book that American Christians need to read, was published in 1987. Most theology throughout the history of the church has been written by middle or upper class Christians. Not many people, until modern times, had the income to be able to study Hebrew and Greek and related subjects. So there were few theologians from among the poor and oppressed. More than we realize our ideas, even our questions are powerfully shaped by culture and class.
Perry Yoder had earned a Ph.D. in Near Eastern languages and literature and had become an OT scholar. He wrote a first draft of Shalom; then he went to the Philippines and lived among the oppressed poor. Yoder states:
I wanted to dialogue about peace in a third-world context of poverty, oppression, and their struggle for change. . . . My experiences were shattering and shaping. . . . As a result, the original draft was greatly revised.
The basic issues of life looked different when seen through the eyes of the oppressed poor. The questions for theology to answer were different. Very few white American theologians wrestle with the extensive biblical teaching on oppression and then apply it to the American context. When Yoder saw oppression in action and witnessed it devastating impact on the lives of the poor, he had to rewrite his theology of the OT. But even Yoder fails to do a thorough biblical study of oppression. He does an in depth biblical analysis of justice and shalom, but he does not do so with oppression though he uses the concept widely in his discussion.
So before I do my review of Shalom, I will do a brief review of the biblical teaching on oppression by the Hebrew scholar, Thomas Hanks. Hanks is one of a very few scholars who has analyzed oppression in the OT. See his fine book God So Loved the Third World: The Biblical Vocabulary of Oppression. Originally written in Spanish, it was published in English in 1983.
Oppression is a major OT concept; oppression and its synonyms are found 555 times in the Hebrew OT; about 125 times in the English NIV OT. Judgment fell upon the nation of Israel because of idolatry and oppression. In Hank's analysis of the Hebrew roots commonly translated oppression, he found the following meanings: crush, humiliate, animalize, impoverish, enslave and kill. One could define oppression as follows: Oppression occurs when people in power and authority, usually through social institutions, misuse that power and authority cruelly and unjustly to crush, humiliate, animalize, impoverish, enslave or kill persons created in the image of God.
Oppression is the opposite of shalom and the absence of justice; oppression is a horrible word, shalom is a beautiful word. If a person does not have a profound understanding of the horror of oppression, she/he is unlikely to develop a passionate concern for social justice---Jubilee justice, kingdom of God justice.
Oppression crushes people; justice repairs the crushed. Oppression humiliates persons; justice affirms persons. Oppression animalizes people; justice humanizes people. Oppression impoverishes people; justice prospers (necessities of life) people. Oppression enslaves people; justice liberates persons. Oppression kills people; only justice beyond this life can provide shalom for these persons. Justice stops oppression and creates the conditions for shalom.
If I were to recommend one book to help a person develop a theology of society, my first choice would be Perry Yoder's Shalom. To create a theology of society, to understand the kingdom of God, a person must have a comprehensive grasp of Hebrew ideas and concepts of community and society before one can understand the social side of the NT concept of the kingdom of God. Other key books that I would recommend are: A Kingdom Manifesto, An Eye for an Eye, and The Upside-Down Kingdom.
Whether they realize it or not, most middle and upper class Christians benefit from the status quo in society. Generally speaking, society has been good to them. So they find it hard to believe that the same political and economic system can be oppressing the poor. Poverty and oppression then are not a central concern of the church nor of theologians. So Yoder's book is quite unique because it addresses these ideas and issues in depth.
Yoder begins with a chapter describing and analyzing shalom---God's ideal for society. Shalom has three emphases:
1. "Shalom as material well-being and prosperity." Strangely, this is the primary meaning of shalom, according to Yoder. Hebrews blended spirituality and earthly life. Shalom is applied to every area of life. If prosperity preachers want to proof text shalom, they can have a field day 'proving' that God wants us all to prosper. One caution: biblical prosperity cannot come at the expense of others, paying low wages to increase profits. The rich who prosper by oppressing the poor are violating biblical shalom. Yoder declares:
Not all prosperity is a sign of shalom. . . . Only the prosperity which comes from moral integrity and involves the well-being of all is shalom prosperity. . . . justice---not prosperity by itself---becomes the true measuring stick for whether or not there is shalom.
2. "The second major realm to which shalom is linked is that of social relationships." Or kingdom justice, Jubilee justice. Social relationships, community and social structures must be regulated by justice. Justice stops oppression and creates the conditions for shalom. False prophets declared "Shalom, shalom," at a time when an elite were prospering in the midst of idolatry and oppression. The phrase "No justice, no peace," accurately reflects the close tie between justice and shalom. Oppression---------justice--------shalom.
3. "Shalom as straightforwardness." Shalom does have a personal ethical thrust---personal righteousness. In this sense, shalom is the opposite of deceit. Judges are to be honest, persons of character. Then they will render just decisions.
To summarize, shalom is not just a personal relationship with God. Shalom is also a community word; it is more than personal peace or personal prosperity. Shalom is concerned with social harmony, with wholeness in every area of life. A community divided by a large gap between the rich and poor is not just; therefore, shalom is not present, no matter how many false prophets say so.
Yoder claims that the NT Greek word eirene, usually translated peace, is roughly equivalent in meaning to shalom. On this basis, I paraphrase Romans 14:17 as "The kingdom of God is justice, shalom and joy in the Holy Spirit." Justice and shalom communicate the social dimension of the kingdom of God much better than do the words righteousness and peace which most English readers interpret on an individual basis.
Yoder concludes this chapter with a question:
If the coming of shalom demands [social] transformation, should not the church be leading the way in dismantling the structures of oppression and death wherever they are found so that shalom, God's will, may be done on earth as it is in heaven?
Chapter three is entitled "Justice is Basic."
Justice is basic to God's character and his rule---the kingdom of God. God is justice as well as love. God loves justice. "God's rule is shown through a liberating justice." In Exodus, God acted to free the oppressed Hebrews. Justice is aggressive---see Job 29:7-17. Justice is especially concerned for the powerless, the poor, the oppressed:
only a justice which is based on need will really serve the interest of the underclass and transform their situation from one of need and oppression to one of sufficiency and freedom.
Chapter four is titled "Salvation: shalom justice in action."
"God's salvation of Israel from slavery is an expression of God's justice; it helped those in need, corrected injustice and thus brought shalom." Salvation and shalom in the OT are holistic including the material and the social as well as the spiritual; they include the liberation of the oppressed. Surprisingly to some, salvation in the NT also includes the physical and social as well as the spiritual. But many American Christians have overly spiritualized and dejusticized the NT. Sin is both personal and social---embedded in cultural values and social institutions; therefore, salvation must also be both personal and social; see Ephesian two for both the personal and social gospel.
Chapter five is titled "The atonement: an act of God's justice."
Yoder discusses various theories of the atonement. Then he adds what he calls what he calls the "messianic view of the atonement." Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. The Messiah is concerned about justice and shalom. See the Messianic passages from Isaiah: 9:7, 11, 16, 28, 42, 61. All these passages mention justice.
Chapter six: "Law: instrument for shalom justice."
What kind of a society should a liberated people build? God gave Israel the law to create a just society. Without the principles of justice built into society "yesterday's oppressed may become tomorrow's oppressors." Yoder strongly argues that there is a needed link between liberation and the law. "The doing of the law is a fitting response to God's acts of grace." "Liberation is liberation from oppression not from the law. . . . biblical law was to be an instrument of shalom justice."
Practically, biblical law addressed the need for charity for widows and children, access to resources for the able-bodied such as gleaning, and justice laws to provide equal access to capital resources such as land so that persons and families can be self-sufficient.
Chapter seven: "The state, shalom, and justice."
For several centuries Israel lived under a king. Some kings oppressed the people as God said they would. Other kings stood for justice. Yoder discusses the rise of the state in some detail.
Chapter eight: "The prophets, the state, and shalom."
Too often the functioning of the state led to the "concentration of wealth" and "oppression against the underclass." As this happened, God sent prophet after prophet calling kings, princes, priests and prophets to do justice/righteousness. Oppressors who passed unjust laws were denounced; also the military leaders who misused their power.
To be continued in Yoder's book Shalom, part II
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