Peace like a Diamond

Description

 

Peace Like a Diamond

Facets of Peace

Christopher J. Walker

Reflecting on peace and its different dimensions led me to liken it to a precious diamond that has different facets all of which are important: peace with God, peace with oneself, peace with others especially in close relationships, peace in society including considerations of war and peace, and peace with the environment.  In the following pages I do so drawing on a range of reading and in particular my theological and biblical knowledge. A book could easily have been written on each topic, but to do so would miss the primary purpose which is to show that each facet of peace is important and inter-related.  My hope is that the contribution made though this work will give people, in one book, the various dimensions of peace and their significance and bring the reader to an appreciation of each facet.

 

The Author

I wrote the book because I have had a long standing interest in peace.  Reflecting on peace and on what I was both reading and experiencing in my life, it occurred to me that there were various dimensions to peace.  While there are books on war and peace, or dealing with conflict in relationships, I did not know of any book that dealt with the different dimensions and tried to show their interrelatedness.  Yet I was conscious from my biblical knowledge that the Hebrew word for peace, “shalom”, had this broader encompassing sense.  So I decided to write about the five dimensions of peace I identified as primary.  I had a range of material to draw upon and thought that to summarise ideas from this would be helpful to people.  If they were interested in more detail on a particular subject they could easily follow up by going to the books to which I refer and are in the notes and bibliography.  I had in mind a broad audience of thoughtful Christians and others who would appreciate having in one book the different dimensions of peace explored and shown to be connected.  People can engage the book individually but could also read it as a group and have useful discussions on each chapter.  I hope that it will foster the idea that peace is an important part of Christian discipleship and give people some ideas as to how this can be practiced.  I have deliberately used a number of stories in the book with this

 

Book Recommendations

Dr Walker’s book provides a resource which contains practical information about peace in personal and community life.  Walker writes in a style that is easy to read, which means that the content is accessible to both academics and those with less formal training.  His chosen theme is vitally important at this time, both at the personal and community level: clearly Walker appreciates the timeliness of his topic.  One can only wonder what would happen if individuals, groups and even the leaders of nations, took the time to take seriously the challenges Walker offers us.

Rev Dr Peter Powell, Director, Pastoral Counselling Institute

   

What can one say about peace in a world characterised by stress and depression, anger and conflict, violence, environmental degradation and the focus on self orientation/individualism to the detriment of the common good?  Chris Walker weaves together in this book people’s stories (some well known and others not known), Biblical stories, Christian concepts, psychological understandings, his breadth of reading and reflection.  This text certainly draws attention to the real meaning of ‘shalom’.

Carolyn Thornley, Dean of Candidates, United Theological College, Sydney.

 

 One of the great dilemmas of life is struggling with conflict, violence and the everyday tensions that go with being human. Chris Walker encourages us to use the themes and stories of scripture and the tools of faith to develop our hope for peace and the capacity to live it out.  Peace like a diamond is a solid and sparkling gift to those who would work on developing peace-filled and peace-focused lives. It covers historical understandings and theological ideas in a warm conversational style that invites engagement and action. Useful for general interest or the committed pacifist, I recommend this book for all those who want to make the connection between heart, mind and action.

 Amelia Koh Butler, Director, ELM Centre

 

At last, in this book, we have a systematic and practical theology that puts commitments to non-violence and ecology into the mainstream of Christian thought, commitment and action.  I commend this book for its holistic understanding of personal, relational, communal and systemic levels of Christian faith and responsibility.

Ian Stehbens, CEO Peacebuilders International

 

 A gem of a book.  Chris Walker takes peace as a multi-faceted jewel, ranging from peace with God, peace as personal and social, and peace based in justice. Using biblical and other significant peace-people as a guide, he explores the church’s call to be a peace-making people. Walking the reader through the discussion with conversational and lucid prose, the author takes us to the large challenges of justice, war and ecological respect and preservation, not sidestepping the difficulties of this topic, yet arguing his case as a peacemaker, Minister and surfer! A key theme running though the book is the necessity for people to inhabit peace as a way of life. We need more Australian books like this one.

Rev Dr Wes Campbell, Chaplain University of Melbourne, peace activist, and convenor of the national working group on Doctrine for the Uniting Church in Australia.