The Search for Shalom: The Quest for Peace in an Age of High Anxiety

Many analysts have noted that this is an age of high anxiety. Nowadays, most bookstores have shelves of books documenting people's anxious condition and offering a variety of self-help cures. The Search for Shalom is not a self-help book. Rather, it argues that self-guided efforts to treat this anxious condition will only make it worse. The search for peace must lead elsewhere. Many people have been scammed by Satan, the prince of scammers. As a result, they don't give much attention to the one who actually offers them shalom—true peace. Instead, they continue to be controlled by their fears and anxieties. People spend their lives serving various idols, the most popular of which is Mammon. They nurture their grudges, refuse to forgive, and live in the rubble of broken relationships. Some of those who consider themselves Christians, instead of serving as ministers of reconciliation, enlist as soldiers in the culture wars and end up fighting the wrong battles with the wrong weapons. Many people, therefore, live in a state of war. No one should be surprised, therefore, at the sharp rise in the use of antidepressants and antianxiety medications. So where can people find peace?