Theologian Randy Woodley identifies this deeper engagement as the Hebrew word shalom, which is often translated simplistically as “peace.” Woodley asserts that shalom “is active and engaged, going far beyond the mere absence of conflict. A fuller understanding of shalom is the key to the door that can lead us to a whole new way of living in the world.”1 Shalom combats the dualism rampant in Western culture and is instead rooted in a more Hebraic “passion for equilibrium, a sense of system in which all the parts cohere.”2 Shalom, therefore, does not eschew or diminish the role of the other or
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