Justice

February 27, 20089:29 am Honzo Comments

One of the themes in my Sunday school class is justice. We have looked at God’s desire for material justice [1] in the world. We have looked at such verses as Isaiah 61:8, Zech 7:8-10, and James 1:27; all of which make it crystal clear that one of our functions in this world is to work towards material justice as well as the spiritual redemption of humankind.

My question is: “How does this happen?”

I get the small scale application of this issue. Well, I am lying, I kinda get it. I know how to act justly towards the individual people in my life. I might not be overly good at it, but it is something I am working towards.

I μέν see individual Christians working towards peace and material justice in individual lives as the answer to Ivan’s moral problem with God in “Rebellion,” what δέ I can’t see is how this works on a large scale. I am of the firm understanding that throwing money at the problem (and here I am most specifically thinking about aid to Africa here) only at best perpetuates the problem and quite possibly makes things worse.

Also, I am not a big fan of certain statistics used in showing the gap in material possessions between our world and the developing world. Statistics such as “X people only make $1 a day” assume that the base model for human life is a capitalistic, consumeristic model, as if to say the problem won’t be fixed until They make as much money as Us. Now, at the same time, I see the usefulness of these stats, they help shatter certain conceptions about the material conditions in which these peoples find themselves and help to highlight the need for justice in their lives. What I don’t want to do is bring the God of materialism along with the God of Christianity to the Other.

Whenever I go a thinking about a widespread, “big picture” plan of action, I keep coming the conclusion that a political solution is needed. Given the nature of certain countries’ leaders, a political solution must be predicated by a military solution. Yet, all of this seems to go against my “Kingdom of God” theology. As such, I am at a loss. I know how I would go about trying to fix the problem apart from Christian values, but when I factor those in, I am left with a myriad of contradictions.

And yet, God still demands that we help those in need, and I am to do what God demands. What I need here in an infusion of creativity and ideas. How can we help those in need in the concrete?

I get the need, I need a plan.

By material justice, I don’t mean equal possessions. I am talking about real and tangible justice in this world, as contrasted with waiting around for the just situation we will find in the next. [↩]

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Jake

I hope I didn't sound defensive. I am glad you are thinking about it more than just on Sunday.
So have we come up with an acceptable worldview of justice that allows us to act?
I read this series of comments as, "We can't do anything yet, because we don't really know what justice is, and we would hate to get it wrong."
I realized also, that maybe I didn't answer what communally we can do to enact justice, but rather individually. I suppose to me I can only truly act as an individual and hope that others will act similarly. Do you agree?
(also, sorry I am terribly slow at responding)

henrythomasimler

This helps helps refine our understanding of "justice" from a biblical perspective. I really encourage you to look up the different words. If I remember right, mishpat has a more social justice idea that you are looking for, whereas tsadak refers to righteousness (especially in a more moral sense). This is just building that foundation that Casey was speaking of. With the solid foundation in place, we can start to piece together how the Bible views social justice and use that as a blue print to what we should do. Even though I like to think of myself as NCT (click here and here for more info on NCT), the Mosaic Law really gives a good blue print to how God expected to care for those in need--both in terms of possession and lifestyle.

Henry (Honzo) Imler

So, what is involved with tsadak and mishpat and how does it impact this issue?

henrythomasimler

To kind of go along the same vein as Casey was saying, I think that one must understand the difference between justice in terms of tsadak and mishpat. These two Hebrew words do not mean the same thing. Isaiah 61:8 and Zecharaiah 7:8-10 speak of mishpat and not tsadak. However the LXX rendering of the texts uses δικαιοσύνην (Is. 61:8) and κρίμα δίκαιον (Zech. 7:8-10) (LXX translations are found here and here respectively). The δικα- word group would not help distinguish the different notions that the Hebrew has. I think this would be the best place to start in terms of understanding the biblical notion of justice.

casey

Honzo,
I totally agree. But I believe my starting point should always at the place of the big picture idea. For me to know how "justice" applies to me means that I need to understand the big picture of God's justice (however we determine it). Our view of God's justice will shape our concrete views of how we need to live "justice" out daily. You are right, your post isn't focusing on the theological aspects of God's justice, but I hope to answer your question of "what is my action plan" by starting at the foundational level of understanding God's justice. Justice (theolgically) is a huge theme throughout the bible. And many have an incorrect view of it which shapes their spiritual lives (an example might be that church that goes around to all the Military funerals and protest outside--or an old man who doesn't want to interact with a bunch of sinners). Likewise, a good hearted person who seeks to do good might inadvertently do bad simply because of their ill-understanding of what Justice should mean. (I would assume the old man and the church that protest would say that they are "good hearted")

You were just asking for a plan of action...i was just trying to give one.

You bring up an great point. We sometimes "put Justice" into God's hands to rid ourselves from duties of helping mankind.
casey

Honzo

Jake,

I appreciate your help with good, concrete examples. Please don't take this necessarily as critique of what we are going in class at all - just somethings Meredith and I have been talking about after class.

Josh,

Thanks for the good post! I am really trying to incorporate a real critique of consumptionism and a replacement in my life. The need to move beyond it as a whole is paramount - and, in my opinion, a need to redefine poverty in terms of living conditions, not material possessions.

Casey,

What is justice? Let me tell you a story about a city. Plato jokes aside, a theory of Justice (and not the Ralls book) is needed. In the Xian circles I have been a part of, there has been a great emphasis on unearthly justice and the need to let God be God here on earth. However, the passages above (and others) speak against that and demand our active engagement in the creation of just situations. When I talk about "material justice" I am trying in invoke a certain flavor of justice, not describe the totality of justice. Justice as it intersects with our earthly lives. So, I am just talking about that aspect of justice.

josh

thanks for the link! i just wrote my friend an email about this last night. it's below. thought it was sort of relevant to the conversation.

that's what i've been thinking about a bit. i tried to talk to shane claiborne about this at the conference i was at. cause all those guys keep talking about sustainability, downward mobility, and all that jazz but that's not exactly enticing to someone on the ground floor of the lower middle class. or even in poverty.

because they are still trying to move up. and in essence, are still building off of the same foundation of consumption as those at the top, thinking and believing that more stuff fixes the problem. or better stuff. or more sustainable stuff.

what we need is a larger critique of the myth of consumption. and not just the wealthy.

Jake

I appreciate your trouble. Hopefully over the rest of our lives we figure out new ways to live out justice - And not in some far away sense, but starting now. I think the Romans 3 style of God's justice, namely self-sacrifice to make things right, is what is going to have to happen. Yes, our money. Yes, our material resources. But moreso our lives. I see a few ways we can help a country swimming in injustice. Let's take Colombia. One way is to move there, teach the community love and fairness through our lives, educate families, and protect children from slavery.
Another way would be stay in the US, make money in an just way, keep from spending it on coffee, cocaine, etc produced by slave children, send micro-loans to contacts in Colombia dedicated to fair labor, and teach others to buy wisely.
That would be a start.

Casey

I think I understand your thinking on the topic. Let me build on some ideas.

1. Justice is not a term that means equality. It has a deeply rooted theological meaning. I have recently coined a catch-phrase, "sloppy theology equals sloppy Christian living." Our first job would be to understand the theological or Christological work of the word "Justice." As we sharpen our understanding of "justice" we can sharpen our understanding of what it means for Christians to "live out" your action plan.

2. I love TV show called OFFICE. Earlier this season, before the strike, Micheal Scott did something that might relate. I know, I know...how could Micheal Scott ever be drawn into a theological discussion! He created a Marathon for his employees to run in. He was trying to save the whole planet! But in doing so, he struggled. In the end, he was told that he just needs to do his part. What your part and my part is...in God's Kingdom will be different. I might work in the US...you might be in China. Bottom line, we are workers in his kingdom. Be sensitive enough to hear his calling. And be willing to serve where/when he says.

3. I don't think the "Materialistic Justice" and a theologically sound understanding of "justice" are the same. I could not figure out if you were relating the terms as one thought or if you recognized a difference between the two. This is where...a study of Justice can help us.

4. Read the book of Habakkuk. He has a dialogue with God about justice...God's justice.

Feel free to pick my brain on these things. I enjoyed your post. I hope these thoughts could be a little helpful.

Theology for the Masses

Justice

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