#john stackhouse

If profane language has a privileged place in the lexicon of contempt, then Christians have a unique mandate to avoid profanity. It's not that abstaining from pejorative language outfits us with some holier-than-thou halo. It's that we are called to live with a servant's heart, affirming the dignity of every human and the sacredness of existence.

Theologian John Stackhouse points out that our primary vocation as Christ followers is not to 'stay pure,' but rather to cultivate shalom. From Isaiah's picture of a wolf living peacefully with a lamb (11:6), to Paul's description of a new reality that obliterates racial, socioeconomic, and gender-based power structures (Gal. 3:28), the biblical vision of shalom dissolves any notion of hierarchy. All of creation joyfully submits to the beautiful rule of its Creator. There's no room for one creature to hold another creature (or creation itself) in contempt; God alone occupies a superior plane.

Of course, it's possible to religiously avoid disdainful language while being seized with contemptuous thoughts. But, as the Book of James reminds us, our tongues are like rudders to the ships of our thought lives. Taming our language, in other words, is a good place to start.

And so I am trying to avoid language that expresses contempt towards people, situations, and yes, even traffic lights that dare to defy my will. Such an endeavor goes beyond comedian George Carlin's 'Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television'—even the most innocuous words, if uttered from a contemptuous heart, can mutate into curses. Conversely, certain evils can indeed be worthy of contempt and there are times when 'adult language' is appropriate. But in every case, our words should reflect our calling to participate in hallowing, rather than profaning, the world. If it's truly strong language that we're after—language with power and impact—what could be stronger than the language we use to cultivate shalom?"

Our calling as Christians is to "make shalom", according to speakers at the first of three Faith & Global Engagement events organised by The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Regent College Marketplace Institute this weekend.

Speaking at "Faith at Work",  John Stackhouse, Sangwoo Youtong Chee Professor, Theology & Culture, Regent College, said the calling of Christians was the constant creativity of "shalom". The Hebrew word means peace, harmony, wholeness, well-being, and can be brought into our daily lives, according to Stackhouse. "Make Shalom, make it flourish," he said.

"I don't believe God ever under-resources anyone to do his will," said Stackhouse. 

Organiser Daniel Chua, head of the School of Humanities at HKU, said bringing faith into the workplace in Hong Kong was particularly challenging  "We are proud of our 'can-do' spirit in Hong Kong," he said. "But I think sometimes there are no human beings in Hong Kong, just 'human doings!'" According to Chua, there is great segregation between our being, and our believing, and what we actually do. "We need to ask ourselves, does God really care about my work?" he said.

Business consultant Mark Mayhew pointed out the difficulties of aligning faith with working practices. "How on earth do we connect the dots, the cosmic scope of our faith in the midst of our everyday work?" he asked. Mayhew offered two ideas to improve the connection between faith and work. The first was to seek friendships of like-minded people in the workplace: "Friendship leads to sustained impact," he said. "We may love the hero, we love the single person who climbed the mountain first, but we often forget, really God made us as a community. Groups of people can make a difference."

The second way was to follow the "art of the shalom innovator" - to celebrate and critique the interface between the gospel and our own situation.

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Chris Date

Dr. John Stackhouse, Jr., Sangwoo Youtong Chee Professor of Theology and Culture at Regent College, Vancouver, Canada, joins RethinkingHell.com contributor Chris Date to discuss his story as a conditionalist and his lecture, “Hell and the Goodness of God.”     Continue reading →

Episode 3: The Goodness of God with John Stackhouse [ 46:03 ] Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

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