...so what is it? It seems that throughout this forum, its mere definition seems to be debatable. So as Christians, what is considered Social Justice and how should we employ it?
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day. And he stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written,"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
But you have actually quoted from the beatitudes Luke 6, where Jesus says Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Matthew 5 its Blessed are the poor in Spirit because yours is the Kingdom of HeavenSo Jesus was reinforcing the message God had given through his prophets in the past: his people are not to oppress the poor and the powerless such as widows and orphans, but to treat them justly.Moreover the poor and oppressed didn't have to take this treatment lying down, but should protest against it in ingenious and non-violent ways.
I dont doubt that some chose to ignore the spiritual element too.I don't deny that there is a spiritual element to Jesus' teaching, but I wish to emphasise the physical and material element as some choose to ignore it.
I call that social action. I am not sure thats necessarily the primary message in Luke 6 and Matthew 5. I would say that Jesus instruction to His disciples in Luke 12:32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Or when Jesus said to His disciples Mark 14:7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want and again to the disciples Luke 6:20 Looking at his disciples, he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. I think there are many who would see this as scant comfort for someone who is materially poor and not social justice at all.Social justice is working to reduce poverty and above all the injustices that encourage poverty, whether they are a lack of education, unfair wages or unjust trade laws.
ahab said:I dont doubt that some chose to ignore the spiritual element too..
ahab said:I think therefore the responsibility is on us, for us to respond by helping the poor rather than trying to persuade Governments and big business with demonstrations which they often just see as rebellion.
In our country our government does not see it as rebellion, in fact some members of the government are positively encouraged by the concrete evidence that so many people agree with what they wish to propose. As we are so fortunate I think we should do what we can to make use of our privileged position.ahab said:Of course a media campaign is another matter and a very good way of getting the message across but IMO better still for enough people to buy fair trade products to show we do what we say.
Well this thread is asking about that definition.Well this forum has been called social justice.
Ah thats where we differ. To me society includes all views and all beliefs and conditions. The NT is full of scripture which tells us we as disciples are set apart, sort of in the world but not of the world in our thinking, understanding and actions. We pray let His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as in heaven so the implication is that social justice is a justice that the world sees, identifies with and understands, not necessarily fairer for everyone as not everyone has the same idea of fair. Also as to the passage from Luke 4, the Jews saw freedom from the Romans as social justice dont you agree?To me social is about the society we live in, whether our local community or the "world village". Justice is about making things fairer for everyone, just like Jesus said he wanted to do in the quote from Luke 4 I first quoted.
Christians are to be "in the world, but not of the world", which to me means that we are to live differently, according to Jesus' law of love: to love God above all else, to love our neighbour as ourself. However, we are definitely "in the world" and should interact with the people around us in a way that shows God's love for them and puts God's justice into action, by preaching good news to the poor, proclaiming release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, setting at liberty those who are oppressed and proclaiming the acceptable year of the Lord, as best we can, with Jesus' help. God's standard of justice and fairness is the standard we are to use.ahab said:Ah thats where we differ. To me society includes all views and all beliefs and conditions. The NT is full of scripture which tells us we as disciples are set apart, sort of in the world but not of the world in our thinking, understanding and actions. We pray let His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as in heaven so the implication is that social justice is a justice that the world sees, identifies with and understands, not necessarily fairer for everyone as not everyone has the same idea of fair. Also as to the passage from Luke 4, the Jews saw freedom from the Romans as social justice dont you agree?
Erwin said:New Forum: Social Justice
Social Justice
A new forum to discuss Christianity and social justice - how Christians should impact the world in a practical manner.
A lot of times, Christians focus on themselves, and seem to forget that Jesus came for the sinners and the lost. We need to truly love our neighbors as ourselves.
Exactly! Gods justice isnt the same as what many people in society see as justice.puts God's justice into action
ahab said:However I go back to the original Luke 4. Do we preach the good news to the poor as in those on welfare or low incomes and poor housing or do we also preach to the poor in spirit and those who dont know Jesus or the Kingdom of God? Do we just pray for the physically blind to see or also for those who cant see the truth of Jesus? Do we just pray for those physically imprisoned because of their beliefs or who they are, to be set free, or also for liberty to all from the bondage of drugs, despair, depression, bitterness, discontent etc?
Do we just preach to the poor the good news or do we also help them by sharing what we have?
Let's not quibble over minor details.ahab said:I agree with Erwins descripture but I dont think 'social justice' is what it is, to me its more Christian than social and more action than justice.
ahab said:Exactly! Gods justice isnt the same as what many people in society see as justice.
ahab said:Also as to the passage from Luke 4, the Jews saw freedom from the Romans as social justice dont you agree? .
My point is Jesus came to proclaim justice to the nations Matt 12:18 (Isa 42) In his name the nations will put their hope I would contend that justice is the gospel, as Paul says the sin of the flesh is overcome through Jesus' provision of the Spirit. So Paul calls the kingdom of God a matter of power, justice, peace and joy inspired by the Spirit (1 Cor 4:20, Rom 14:17) I would contend that selling possessions and giving to the poor and sharing what we have is social action.Exactly! Gods justice isnt the same as what many people in society see as justice.Quite possibly, but it depends which people, and hopefully Christians have a reasonable idea about what God's justice involves.
Well freedom does mean different things to different people but creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. (Rom 8:21) Quite possibly. Freedom means different things to different people as we had ample opportunity to reflect on at various activities at Greenbelt this year, which was "Freedom Bound".
Not sure what you're driving at, ahab. You seem to want to narrow things down, I think. I'm happy to widen the vision. I like to see the "bigger picture".
ahab said:So if we give a very hungry drug addict some food he may still die from an overdose.
ahab said:You see to me the justice isnt making sure the poor are fed, the justice is Jesus proclaimed, feeding the poor is the justice in action. Therefore I prefer to call social justice the preaching of the gospel and to call social action the looking after the materially poor.
We were looking at the things we might need freeing from such as unjust trade rules or long working hours or just the need to conform, for example. In the Communion Service there was a definite emphasis on Jesus' power to free us from whatever we need freeing from, but also on the need for us to do our part to help certain peope to be more free. Somehow people don't need to talk about Jesus all that much at Greenbelt, it's just so obvious he's there and that that's what the speakers and most others are about.ahab said:As to freedom, I am even more intrigued. Of course different people have different ideas to what freedom is, for example, politcal, sexual, privacy/freedom of speech etc. I would have thought Greenbelt would have been focused or an opportunity to focus on freedom in Jesus, especially to any non-Christains there.
Surely that is what social services do? It seems every time I say faith and works you just tell me about works.Therefore the drug addict needs more than food, and we should give him all the care we are able to, if he is willing to accept it. We should also consider the conditions in which drug addiction develops and do what we can to improve those conditions, which may involve putting pressure on politicians.
Well yes I absolutely agree, social action leads to the opportunity to preach the gospel and gives us credibility when people see we do what we say. But the Kingdom of Heaven came to the wealthy Zaccheus when he gave half his wealth to the poor, the poor that he gave his wealth to only get the Kingdom when they receive the revelation of Jesus Christ like Zaccheus. You seem to have limited justice just to the poor in wealth, what about the wealthy person who all material possessions he/she needs but feels suicidal because he/she has no hope? If social justice is the term to use then social justice should be inclusive of all.Whereas I see giving food in Jesus' name as preaching the gospel, and a way of making it possible that we will be asked who Jesus is and what he means to us.
Well I should hope so too. Jesus has the spiritual power to set us free from all that is not of Him and the Kingdom, but thats available all the time through the Holy Spirit and the peace and healing we recieved from those stripes and that cross.In the Communion Service there was a definite emphasis on Jesus' power to free us from whatever we need freeing from.
Amen, but not just free to trade but set free by the power of the gospel, So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36but also on the need for us to do our part to help certain peope to be more free.
I should hope so too, it is a Christian festival.Somehow people don't need to talk about Jesus all that much at Greenbelt, it's just so obvious he's there and that that's what the speakers and most others are about.