Malicdem 1

Paul Martin T. Malicdem

Faith, Spirituality, and the Church
Mr. Javier Miguel A. Galvez
10 April 2019
Sin as the Desire of God
One can easily infer, through analysis of stories and themes in the Old Testament, that
faith and shalom intertwine. The three key elements in the Old Testament allude to a central
theme of faith––a commitment to human freedom in action. However, human freedom may
tend to move away from shalom, which refers to community and harmony between and
among God and his creation. Specifically, people are called to faith in hopes of rebuilding
shalom with God. In totality, this paper shall argue, in addition to the evident relationship
between faith and shalom, that God’s love for mankind is manifested through the very
presence of sin.
Shalom is a controlling vision that centers around ideas of “joy, well-being, harmony,
and prosperity.”1 Essentially, it resists anything remotely related to sin––tendencies to
division, hostility, fear, selfish drivenness, and misery. 2 Shalom has three dimensions: vision
encompassing all of reality, historic political community, and orderly fruitfulness. Vision is
the creation of God, which encompasses both harmony and disorder such “that light, life, and
joy become possible.”3 Analyzing this, one can infer that the existence of harmony is
dependent on the existence of its converse, which is disorder. This is particularly interesting
considering the image of God in the Bible. political community refers to realities of social
disorder through poverty, oppression, and discrimination and the acts of justice undertaken to
resist such, which in turn build a viable community or shalom.4 Orderly fruitfulness refers to
the personal experience of a joyous life in community.5 From the discussion of shalom, one
may question the grounds necessary for establishing shalom. This is how the concept of faith
becomes relevant to building shalom.
According to Roger Haight, faith the channeling of human freedom to “objects, truths,
and values which give meaning to human existence.”6 Freedom in faith is not merely one’s
power to choose, but ultimately the dedication to a supreme reality. 7 This supreme reality
manifests itself through a set of values––one that fills the individual (passive dimension), as
well as one that the individual dedicates to, but not on the basis of testimony. 8 This
commitment is manifested through human action, more specifically “the sum of total
concrete decisions that make up a person’s life.”9 In turn, faith can be said to have moral
implications as expressed in doctrine, which sets a framework for action.10 Essentially, faith is
an unconditional commitment to a supreme reality, which in turn entails a specific way of
1 Walter Brueggemann. Living Toward a Vision: Biblical Reflections on Shalom (NY: United Church Press,
1983).
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Roger Haight, Dynamics of Theology (NY: Orbis, 2001), 15-31.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid.
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behaving and acting. Eventually, such framework leads to the building of shalom.
The discussion of faith implies that religions or belief systems offer general ideas of
expressing such. For instance, Christianity sets up a certain framework of faith through the
Bible. Specifically, the Old Testament is defined by the following elements: creation,
covenant, and the day of the Lord. The first two shall be discussed. Creation is made explicit
the Bible through the first few chapters of Genesis. Here, God is made known to man as an
all-powerful and sovereign creator, and man is made explicit somehow as subordinates
following the breaking of peace. This alludes to the breaking of shalom, which God
eventually reveals, through key people in the Old Testament, can be brought back. The
covenant refers to a binding contract between God and his people. One instance of such was
Abraham encountering God at Sinai. There, Abraham was promised a great nation, but in
return was expected along with his people to obey God.
The elements of creation and covenant allude to a cycle of shalom, wherein it is created,
destroyed, and restored. The destroying of such can be attributed to the lack of faith, such that
a commitment to the supreme reality of God was lacking. Eventually, God makes it a point
that shalom can be restored through faith, which is manifested through the covenant. Here, a
direct relationship between faith and shalom is identified. In the Old Testament, there is a
recognition that shalom was broken. God then chooses the Israelites as his people, and
promises to make a great nation for obedience (or faith) in return. This obedience marks the
covenant that will not only empower the Israelites, but will also ultimately bring them closer
to God through community and harmony, or shalom. Ultimately, God’s purpose of shalom is
achieved through faith.
Such relationship between faith and shalom is quite evident. However, there lies even
greater inquiries: Why was the breaking of shalom necessary in the first place? If evil and
social disorder are so clearly undesirable and if God were truly an all-powerful creator, why
did sin exist in the first place? If God were truly all-knowing and all-present, did he not see
the breaking of shalom coming? Such questions suggest that the Bible, or at least the Old
Testament, is ultimately a contradiction; however, further analysis suggests that the events in
the Bible were meant to be.
In asking these questions, God’s merciful nature is neglected. Such mercy brings into
light the fact that sin allows for forgiveness. To take away human freedom would entail faith
as impossible to achieve, owing to its non-existence. Sin broke shalom. Through sin and the
deviance of faith, shalom would not have even been broken in the first place. In turn, its
restoration would not have been necessary. Without oppression, justice would not exist.
Without sickness, there would not be any cures. Without sin, man would forever be alienated
from God. So God created freedom, giving way to injustice and disorder. This is because
human freedom necessary entails sin. God loves man so much that he made sin possible. Sin
brings mankind closer to the ultimate purpose of shalom.
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Bibliography

Bruegemann, Walter. Living Toward a Vision: Biblical Reflections on Shalom. NY: United
Church Press, 1983.

Haight, Roger. Dynamics of Theology. NY: Orbis, 2001.