Source: (2001) Washington, DC: Prison Fellowship International
In this brief essay, Van Ness sketches the fundamental elements of the idea of shalom as found in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, and connects shalom to understanding and responding to crime. Shalom does not signify an illusory picture of human existence; it points toward an ideal state. This state consists of more than the absence of conflict; it consists of right relationships among people, of fullness and wholeness in community. With respect to the harm caused by crime, shalom points toward community peace through reparation for damages and restoration of broken relationships
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