...Finally, as Christians, the compatibility of social justice and Christianity must be discussed. It doesn’t take a Bible scholar to see that many of the main issues of social justice are overwhelmingly unbiblical. First and foremost is what is commonly referred to as a women’s reproductive rights, which is essential to say abortion in a nicer way. “Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’” Jeremiah 1:4-5 these verses clearly state that the humanity of an individual is established long before birth even before Proverbs 6:16-17 states “These six things the Lord hates… Hands that shed innocent blood.” This is...
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...Frank Van Der Veken Midterm Exam On this popular television show, the host announces comments that are very arguable. He states that bishops, priests, and nuns have no business talking about justice and that the, along with activists and theologians are turning the church into something like the Communist Party. The host does not agree with any relationship between faith and justice. He contends that faith is about trusting in God and God’s mercy and does not require promoting justice. Also, he insists that justice is a socialist idea, not a Christian one. Overall, making a bold observation that faith has nothing to do with justice. Although, this host has strong opinions, he needs consider more factors before making such bold points. Everyone has their own opinion and not all Christians understand faith in the same manner. According to one of Avery Dulles’s writings, The Assurance of Things Hoped For, faith has multiple understandings throughout both Testaments of the Bible. Faith can be defined as an acceptance of God’s promises and demands. “In the Old Testament faith is depicted as the appropriate response to God’s faithfulness to his covenant promises” (Dulles 17). Overall, faith is tested by obedience and fidelity. In the New Testament, it refers to faith as Pistic which is a Greek word that means faith and further, a truth in God. Moreover, faith means personal trust in Jesus as the bearer of the kingdom (Dulles 17). According to Dulles, faith can...
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...witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, NIV). Through Christ, the first community of Christians - the Apostles - was created to serve as an example of the need to love Christ not just as an individual, but also to share with other believers and grow spiritually as a collective body of Christ. The Bible provides Christians with an assurance that Christ’s love is to be experienced and shared by all who believe in Him. In Acts 2:42-47, Paul describes one of the early Christian communities learning the “apostles’ teachings and fellowship”. He states, “All the believers were together and had everything in common.” “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.” The apostles fostered the Christian’s need to learn about Christ and praise Him together in their own daily life as well as the manner in which they shared the life and word of Jesus with the new Christians. In addition to a Christian community providing mutual learning and worship, the Bible also describes Christians as encouraging one another and inciting one another in the love of Christ. In Hebrews 10:24-25 it is said, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of ding, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as...
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...that this would be an ideal time to find out what the Quaker movement was all about. I asked Bob if I could interview him by asking him a series of questions and he responded by saying yes but before I had the opportunity to ask the first question, he told me that there were four branches of Quakers which certainly intrigued me. The four branches of Quakers are as follows: The first is the liberal branch that is non-programmed and has no minister or leader. They sit in silence and speak as they are moved to speak. It is non Christocentric. This is what the particular friends meeting I visited is about. The second Quaker branch is the conservative friend branch who likewise sits in silence but they tend to be more focused on the Bible and Christianity. This group is Christocentric. The third Quaker branch is the Evangelical friend who tend to have worship meetings with leaders and singing, sitting down and getting up, the way traditional churches do. Bob stated that they believe in salvation through Jesus Christ. Finally, the fourth Quaker branch was difficult for him to characterize because they bring together both the non-programmed meeting along with the programmed meeting. Tom said, “They tend to be a little more theological traditional than our branch. A lot of people only meet with one kind or another so they are not aware that there are even three other branches.” I asked Bob it there were any other Quaker Branches in the Columbus, Ohio area and his reply...
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...again and help the many that are suffering. 2) Injustice is a failure of moral imagination because in order to move move from injustice to justice, we have to reimagine the world. The conversion to justice demands that we are able and willing to see, think, and imagine differently. The lyrics to Imagine seem to agree with this premise. "Imagine there's no countries.... Nothing to kill or die for." This relates to the premise of the injustice of war and innocent victims. "Imagine no possessions......no need for greed or hunger." These are all injustices in the world and are things we can cure by reimagining the world as one. 3) Justice is the virtue or human togetherness and it governs our relations with others by ensuring we respect their dignity as persons and give them their due. Justice isn't something that begins by creating a bond between ourselves and others however. Instead it recognizes and honors that bond that is already there. Justice is there everyday in our lives. A just person lives with others in mind. Such persons see the bonds that link all of life together and recognize the obligations and responsibilities those bonds create. They know we can't be indifferent to the well-being of others, whether near or far away, because every human being is connected to us and, therefore a family member. 4) a. Commutative Justice- Regulates our...
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...Given its status as a significant religious text, it is unsurprising to find at least somewhat of an emphasis on moral reform within the Old Testament. Perhaps far more interesting, however, is a consideration of the political implications contained underneath these morality-based commentaries. In certain passages, for example, the Hebrew Bible seems to undoubtedly prioritize social justice. At the same time, however, one might find encouragement of aid for the needy but an allowance for the preservation of the status quo. Through an analysis of several passages from the Old Testament, one can see that despite a prevalent insistence on respect for religious authority, the Hebrew Bible largely uses its prophecies to argue for a radical transformation of the political power structure. A call for a complete rejection of the status quo is evident as far back as Deuteronomy. In its Chapter 18, for example, Deuteronomy “detestable ways of the nations” in the Hebrew G-d-given land are criticized, while it is said that G-d will drive out those nations” (Deut. 18:9-12). Though somewhat vague in language, such indicates that nations doing...
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...between the law and justice · if the law is unjust, people will feel that it is right to break the law · if the law is unjust, they are not fulfilling their purpose of making sure that people are rewarded for their work. · if the laws dont create a just society , people will think the legal system isnt working and might start a civil war. · if laws are unjust, they will disrupt rather than unite society. theories of punishment 1. retribution is the theory that criminals should pay for their crimes because : · it makes criminals pay for their crimes in proportion to the crime committed . · it make s the criminals suffer for their crimes · it punishes the criminal. 1. deterrence is the theory that the punishment should put people off committing crimes . 2. reform is the theory tht criminals should be taught not to commit crime again.Many people think this is the best way because: · the onl way to stop crime is to turn criminals into law abiding citizens. · most criminals have had a bad upbringing and they do no know how to live without crime. · gives criminals meansto find propper jobs and stay out of trouble 1. protection is the theory that punishment should protect society from criminals. · capital punishment is a good punishment for murderers because if they are dead they cant kill anyone else. · long sentences keep criminals out of society. · community service keeps vandals of the street in their leisure time. why justice is important for...
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...Final: Capital Punishment a just social problem SOC 203 Intro to Social Problems The debate of capital punishment will always generate passion, it is one of the most debated issues in the Criminal Justice system. The absence of capital punishment would prove a greater problem for the sake of society. Many opponents will argue the death penalty should be abolished, they fail to offer up any comparable alternatives for the crime for murder. It is a harsh punishment but, in all fairness, the punishment fits the crime. Capital punishment does what the name suggests: it punishes and it removes the notion that one can kill and get away with it. It serves as a deterrent for those contemplating murder and in the end, it brings justice. Capital punishment defends the sanctity of life and until we evolve to the place where murders are no longer a part of our society, we must punish this crime fairly. To know we have removed a murdering criminal from the street is a relief thankful to deterrence of violent crime, retribution, Christianity, and innocence. One argument for the death penalty is the fact that it deters crime. Those enticed by killing someone might think twice if they know their life will be taken as a consequence. Joanna Shepherd explores the history of capital punishment and explains that while many studies produced mixed results, modern economic studies reveal executions “significantly deter murders” (Shepherd). In addition, Wesley Lowe reports when the death penalty...
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...elaborate on an issue that arose during that time which was Civil Rights. He got his first bible when he was four, was influenced by Martin Luther King’s speech on the Social Gospel and King’s view on Civil Rights. He seemed to have learned about Civil Rights and the Social Gospel from listening to MLK. Also he attended Jim Lawson workshops to learn more on protesting without having violence. When John Lewis was four years old, he got a bible for Christmas from one of his uncles. John Lewis clearly remembers the first words his mother said to him from the bible which was “In the beginning, god created the heaven and the earth.” (Lewis et al 26.) In the bible, there was one passage that John could not fully understand which reads “Behold the lamb of God ——which taketh away the sin of the...
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...the Messiah, but it can be argued that one can take any tidbit of information from a source (not just the bible) and use it, whether within context or out of context, to support one’s argument. In my opinion, as far as the prophets are concerned, just because the prophets seem to predict the coming of the Messiah because of the parallels that have been drawn between the books of the prophets and the New Testament does not necessarily mean that they were able to predict the future—it means that the New Testament authors such as Matthew had either heard or could refer back to the writings of the Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah, Micah, and Hosea. The problem is not that the authors of the New Testament were trying to build a bridge to the old; the problem is that over time the people have come to think like Borg did in his period of “pre critical naïveté” that “the prophets were supernaturally inspired predictions of Jesus”. For me, the skeptic, it seemed all too convenient that the Old and New Testaments would match up so well in the seemingly never ending series of predictions and fulfillment; almost like the Nostradamus nonsense that you hear about on the History Channel. I wondered what it was that made people make this jump, this connection. That’s when I read that this way of reading the prophets had been reinforced by the best selling book “Halley’s Bible Handbook” which dated back to 1924. According to Borg the central claim of the handbook is that “by the time...
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...The Bible: A Dogma or a Set of Guidelines? Dietrich Bonhoeffer Kayla Tremblay November 27, 2012 The Bible: A Dogma or a Set of Guidelines Dietrich Bonhoeffer November 27, 2012 I. Introduction a. Dietrich Bonhoeffer i. Biography ii. Christianity and War iii. Thesis: As demonstrated by Bonhoeffer in his war against socialism, religion cannot be looked at as a dogma and instead should be a malleable doctrine that is subjective to history. II. Body b. Christian Doctrines iv. Fundamental guidelines v. Use of the bible 1. Hitler a Christian? vi. No rules in war c. Moral Ethics vii. Ethics of Conviction vs. Ethics of Responsibility viii. Rationality d. Just War Theory ix. St. Thomas Aquinas x. Guidelines for a Just War xi. Just War is applicable e. What about Christians and Pacifists? xii. “Put your sword away” xiii. No such thing as a “Just War” III. Conclusion f. Summary xiv. Thesis: As demonstrated by Bonhoeffer in his war against socialism, religion cannot be looked at as a dogma and instead should be a malleable doctrine that is subjective to history. g. So what? xv. Accomplishments xvi. Interpretation xvii. Cost-benefit analysis Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor and theologian living in Germany during the time of Nazi...
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...Social Justice Issue- Poverty Poverty can be defined as the state of a person when their basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter are neglected (World Health Organisation, 2015). The social justice issue of poverty is often associated with other countries, but many do not realise that poverty is a concerning issue in Australia as well (World Health Organisation, 2015). Australia is often called the 'lucky country' as it is a safe, peaceful and fair place to live- however this not always the case. There is approximately 2.5 million Australians living below the national poverty line and as a result their basic needs are failing to be fulfilled (ACOSS, 2014). A recent media article published in the Sydney Morning Herald by Judith Ireland,...
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...Elements of Religious Rona Williams REL/133 May 26, 2014 Elements of Religious Religion is significant to many who believe in the bible and so are all of their religious traditions. In describing the basic components of religious traditions and their relationship to the sacred. It offers many seculars a reason for wanting to live and a comfort of security, The knowledge or awareness’s is the driving force behind the belief of one God a higher power and for some the sacred. I will include what a religious tradition says including its teachings, texts, doctrine, stories, myths, and others, What a religious tradition does including worship, prayer, pilgrimage, ritual, and so forth, and how a religious tradition organizes including leadership, relationships among members, and so forth. Christianity and its teachings was organized Religious tradition is a custom that people of one religion do because it was done for many years by supernatural beings or idols. These traditions are different for each different religion. In studying each religion, it is noted that each has texts, stories, myths, and other traditional aspects that permits others or bible believers read about the traditions of that religion. The Hindu religion is known to be the hardest religion to study and many other texts that tell the stories of the lives of certain high gods, goddesses, and/or heroes. It also explains why we must celebrate certain holidays and how we should celebrate them. Most of...
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...dedication within the creative minds of these two creative thinkers, it’s possible that oppression and segregation would still remain a part of our society. Many Civil Rights leaders are responsible for the equality growth in our culture, and Hal Cone and Cornel West has been influential in ensuring Blacks continued to advance in America’s society. Both men contributed an important view to Civil Rights, and is known as leaders who changed the way the world worked personally, socially, and politically. James Hal Cone is a Black libertarian theologian who was born in the early 1930s. The Reverend Hal Cone has written several books about liberation theology. His core contribution to society has been bridging the social gap among Blacks and Whites, and providing clarity between the bible and African Americans. He used his education and...
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...Justice as Fairness Harvard philosopher John Rawls (1921-2002) developed a conception of justice as fairness in his now classic work A Theory of Justice. Using elements of both Kantian and utilitarian philosophy, he has described a method for the moral evaluation of social and political institutions. Thesis: While John Rawls theory of Justice as Fairness argues that all social values are to be distributed equally unless an unequal distribution of these values is to everyone’s advantage, his argument is flawed by his reliance on the veil of ignorance and his two principles of justice that are difficult to apply in society. Imagine that you have set for yourself the task of developing a totally new social contract for today's society. How could you do so fairly? Although you could never actually eliminate all of your personal biases and prejudices, could you take steps at least to minimize them? In his book, A Theory of Justice, Rawls attempts to argue a position to do this very thing. He asks us to imagine a fantastic scene: a group of people are gathered to plan their own future society, hammering out the details of what will basically become a Social Contract. Rawls calls this the “Original Position.” In the Original Position, the future citizens do not yet know what part they will play in their upcoming society. They must design their society behind what Rawls calls the Veil of Ignorance. Rawls says in his book titled the A Theory of Justice, “No one knows...
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