Toward the ends God had in mind

God’s Shalom Project Bernard Ott, translated by Timothy J. Geddert. Good Books, 2004. 140 pages.

This book asks one fundamental question, “How does the Bible help us to know the will of God?” Ott, a graduate of Bienenberg Theological Seminary, Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, and the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (PhD), writes a brief, compelling and readable account of how the biblical understanding of shalom answers that question. The Bible tells the story of God’s plan for restoring wholeness (shalom) to all relationships. But why focus on shalom and not on “salvation”?

According to my own count, the Hebrew word shalom occurs 267 times in the Old Testament, from ordinary greetings like “Is everything all right with you?” to prophetic visions of a “prince of peace” who will bring endless peace to David’s kingdom (Isaiah 9:6–7). The Greek word for peace occurs 92 times in the New Testament. The word “peace” occurs 250 times in the English Bible (NIV), more often than the noun “salvation” (122 in the NIV). As Ott retells the biblical story, it becomes clear that shalom is at the heart of God’s saving purposes.

The strength of Ott’s overview of the Bible’s main theme lies in the way he draws readers into discerning how shalom is woven throughout the plot in the biblical story. Beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelation (leaving a good many gaps along the way), Ott demonstrates that God has a project, that people are truly free to participate in that project, and that God is always engaged in the redemptive work of turning human failure toward the ends that God had in mind from the beginning.

At the heart of God’s restorative project, Ott writes, is the creation of “a people who has returned to God and through whom God can reach all humanity.” This people is called to “a holy life” that demonstrates the heart of the shalom project: “reconciled to God, to fellow human beings, to creation itself.” The life of this people, participants in God’s project, is a “visible sign” to the rest of humanity.

Jesus is the centre of God’s project; He is “a prototype” of God’s “new humanity.” When this reconciled humanity meets as the church, as Christ’s body, “Christ becomes visible.” Continuing God’s work with Israel, the church reveals God’s will to the world, but also stands over against alternative projects run by human and cosmic powers that operate without concern for the well-being (shalom) of God’s creation. God’s project is underway and God’s purposes will not be thwarted.

Each of the 17 short chapters in this book concludes with a series of questions for further reflection and a letter to two fictional characters, Monica and Peter, who affirm and challenge what Ott is writing, and who appear to have certain convictions about biblical teaching. Ott’s agenda, which comes through clearly in his responses to them (their letters are “missing”), is to invite readers to think more deeply about biblical teaching (e.g. topics like atonement and eschatology) by looking through the lens of God’s shalom project. The letters illustrate that Ott is not setting out a theological system, but inviting readers into a fresh conversation with Scripture.

This book was the 2004 selection for Mennonite World Conference’s Global Anabaptist/Mennonite Shelf of Literature. Although it paints with a very broad brush, it invites readers into a fresh conversation with Scripture. It might be an ideal textbook for a Christian high school Bible survey course, a discipleship or baptismal class, or an adult group wanting an overview of the whole Bible.

Gordon Matties is associate professor of Biblical Studies and Theology at Canadian Mennonite University, Winnipeg.