Curated content for the church
All of the curated articles on Sunday to Saturday.
A comprehensive history of the terms justice, social justice and biblical justice. On the technical side, but if you just want the facts then this is an excellent starting point. If you would like a different writing style, but similar content try Tim Keller's "What is Biblical Justice?"
In an excerpt from Tim Keller's book, Generous Justice, he explains that biblical justice consists of two Hebrew words - mishpat (to treat people equitably) and tzadeqah (a life of right relationships) - and when those two words are brought together in today's terms it would be called social justice. If you would like a different writing style, but similar content try Joe Carter's "The FAQs: What Christians Should Know About Social Justice."
Associate professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary W. David O. Taylor says all that we need to do to learn about justice and the Bible is to open the book of Psalms. In the book we can learn what Biblical justice is, who should pursue justice and what justice looks like.
From the four gospels to Isaiah to Micah and more, the Bible paints a clear picture that Christians should pursue justice, not just with words, but with action. These actions can help repair the credibility of the church while helping marginalized groups in addition to serving as a witness to the power of the Gospel.
Professor and department head of sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago Michael O. Emerson writes about Christians who get so caught up in social justice/injustice that they abandon Christianity. Emerson says that the means and the ends matter and that divorcing Jesus from justice ultimately leads to failure and frustration.
Biola professor Joe Hellerman sees three problems when an all lives matter slogan or variation on that theme is used to counter a black lives matter statement. One problem is that social context means something.
Living in intimate relationships with people of color or at the very least speaking with people of different opinions is a must for Christians to work through racial issues says Natasha Sistrunk Robinson, the Assistant Director of the Center for the Development of Evangelical Leadership (CDEL) at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Sistrunk Robinson also explains three things to help white evangelicals know where some black people are coming from when they say black lives matter.
Pastor David Williams attempts to breakdown the difference between BLM's hashtag, movement, and network while trying to get at the truth. Although this is centered around InterVarsity's position in 2016, much of the article is relevant today. Lots of excellent links included in the article to dig deeper as well.
Using the story of boxer Mohammed Ali leaving his Christian faith because the church he attended would not stand up for him in the face of discrimination actor Gauis Charles wonders if the Christian church is in a similar moment. The church in the past has been complicit with slavery and many churches have not engaged in anti-racism teaching. Will the failure of the church to lead on issues of race result in people walking away?
Christians may disagree on whether police reform is needed or if it is needed to what extent. Regardless of that debate writer Charles Holmes Jr. says that Christians need to lead by example and get involved in law enforcement "to exemplify what love and true service in minority and poor communities looks like."
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