Category Archives: Justice

Book Reviews

Leave a reply

The Bible’s Salvation Story

2 Replies

One of the areas with the intense debate in recent Christian theology has been understandings of salvation. Much of the debate has focused on theories of the atonement, theologies of the cross, interpretations of theologians such as Anselm and Luther, views of the doctrines of Christian tradition.

Not so much attention has been paid to the biblical portrayals of salvation, except as viewed through the lenses of the various atonement theories. I have been working on a book that does indeed focus directly on biblical theology. I have gotten quite a bit done on this project; I am calling it: Mercy Not Sacrifice: The Bible’s Salvation Story. I mostly need yet to flesh out the chapter on salvation in the book of Revelation and to complete a concluding chapter, “Is There an Atonement Theory in This Story?”

Since I am focusing my energies elsewhere for the time being (and since I have struck out so far in my tentative attempts to find a publisher), I will post here on Peacetheology.net the manuscript as far as it has been developed.

Theology for Restorative Justice

Leave a reply

I am working on a book with the tentative title, Healing Justice (and Theology): An Agenda for Restoring Wholeness.  This small book is meant to be both an introduction to the emerging practices of restorative justice that seek to provide an alternative to the spiral of violence characteristic of our current criminal justice system and an analysis of theological resources that might undergird a Christian approach to restorative justice.

I start with an summary of some of the current dynamics in North America that are placing us in an ever-deepening crisis. At the heart of this crisis, I suggest, is a problematic commitment to what I call the “logic of retribution” that rather than leading to healing of the alienation caused by crime instead mainly heightens the alienation. This logic of retribution has theological roots and hence needs to be challenged on a theological level.

The bases for an alternative approach to justice, one that focuses on restorative rather than retributive dynamics, may be found in the Bible. I look at the big storyline of the Bible and then more closely at the portrayal of justice in the book of Amos, the life and teaching of Jesus, and the early Christian writings of Romans and Revelation.

The concludes with a summary of present-day efforts to embody restorative justice practices and to provide alternatives to the spiral of vengeance.

These are links to the book’s nine chapters:

1. Introduction: An Agenda for Restoring Wholeness

2. Our Current Crisis

3. The Logic of Retribution and Its Consequences

4. Healing Theology: A Biblical Overview

5. Old Testament Justice (Amos)

6. Jesus and Justice

7. Justice in Romans and Revelation

8. Putting Restorative Justice into Practice

9. Restoring Wholeness: The Alternative to Vengeance

Bibliography


The Book of Revelation Speaks to American Politics

Leave a reply

The book of Revelation does have prophetic bite, even if not as usually presented. Back in the Fall of 2006, I was asked to write an opinion piece on the 2006 election and the widespread defeat of Republican congressional candidates.  So I turned to Revelation for some ideas and ended up suggesting that the critique of the Beast in Revelation may certainly apply to Republican hubris, but when considered more thoughtfully also applies to all American Democrats who also support the American imperial project.

I called the piece, “The Lamb’s Power and Modern America.”

Rereading this essay now, after the Democrats greatly expanded their 20o6 gains in the 2008 election, including the presidency, I definitely think I was on to something. We, frustratingly, are seeing little diminishing in the commitment of the President and Congress to America as Empire.

Healing Justice

Leave a reply

Here is a link to an article I published in The Mennonite, October 20, 2009.  The article, “Healing Justice,” is an introduction to a theological rationale for the concept of restorative justice.

The United States currently in the midst of a terrible crisis wherein our criminal justice system undermines public safety and violates the principles of genuine justice and fairness.  One reason people in our society accept such a destructive dynamic is theology that justifies a “logic of retribution” leading to strong support for violent punishment.

Biblically, justice has more to do with healing than with punishment—as we see in looking at several representative texts.  Jesus (echoing the Old Testament prophets) calls us to heal our concept of justice in order to embrace a justice that heals.

Salvation in the Bible—Violent or Nonviolent?

1 Reply

One of the big debates in Christian theology these days concerns how we understand salvation, atonement, reconciliation with God–and how this understanding relates to God’s and humans’ approaches to wrongdoing and justice that may or may not accept or even advocate violence.

I am developing an argument for an understanding of salvation that draws directly on the Bible and advocates for consistent nonviolence.  On September 12, 2009, I presented a set of five lectures at the London Mennonite Centre on theme, “Mercy Not Sacrifice: The Bible’s Salvation Story and Our Hope for Wholeness.”  I have posted those lectures here.

I start by looking at some ways salvation theology tends to underwrite human violence, focusing most extensively on our criminal justice system.  I then discuss how the Old Testament can actually be read as presented a peace-oriented salvation theology, reiterated and deepened in Jesus’ teaching and with his death and resurrection. I conclude by suggesting that Romans and Revelation also present salvation in peaceable ways.

Responses are welcome!

A Book of Questions: Job

2 Replies

Here is the seventeenth in a series of Bible studies that present the Bible as being on the side of pacifism.  This essay, “A Book of Questions,” considers one of the most enigmatic books in the Bible, the Book of Job.

In the spirit of the book itself, the essay generally focuses more on asking questions of the book of Job, God, and theology than on giving answers. Is Job a hero and “God” the villain of this book? If so, what might the point be–and how might the book’s perspective be instructive for peace theology?

Is it possible that the book actually makes the case for a very positive view of humanity–not the “humans are only dust” traditional view? And that the book means to leave us with the conclusion that we have the calling to love justice and pursue it even when we can’t be clear about God’s involvement? Even when the world does not seem to operate according to the dictates of justice that often?

How do we sustain faith and practice justice in a chaotic universe?  The book of Job doesn’t answer this question–but perhaps it challenges us in ways that might help up as we struggle with it.

Israel’s Fall and Its Hope: Jeremiah and 2 Isaiah

Leave a reply

Here is the sixteenth in a series of Bible studies that present the Bible as being on the side of pacifism. This essay, “Israel’s Fall and Its Hope,” looks at two of the voices of understanding and hope in Israel following the destruction wreaked on their political and religious worlds by the Babylonian Empire–the prophet Jeremiah and the prophet who words are contained in the book of Isaiah, chapters 40–66.

These two prophets reinforce the critique of Israel’s corrupt power politics, underscoring the dictum that those who live by the sword will also die by the sword–a dictum certainly applying to political entities. However, beyond the critique, these prophets offer words of hope–God’s mercy nonetheless endures.

Their message is that the God of Israel remains a God of healing love whose call to Israel to bless all the families of the earth remains in effect. However, as the story will emphasize as it continues beyond the destruction and exile, this promise will never again be centered around a nation state–but rather around countercultural faith communities whose hope rests on the word of God, not on weapons of war.

Johanna W. H. Van Wijk-Bos. Making Wise the Simple: The Torah and Christian Faith and Practice

Leave a reply

Johanna W. H. Van Wijk-Bos. Making Wise The Simple: The Torah In Christian Faith And Practice. Eerdmans, 2005.

Van Wijk-Bos, professor of Old Testament at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, has written a helpful and important, if somewhat frustrating, book on a Christian appropriation of Old Testament law.

I greatly appreciate Van Wijk-Bos’s sympathetic reading of Torah and her deep concern for faithful Christian living. She helps us better understand how from the start Torah was rooted in God’s healing mercy–not legalism and fearfulness. She writes as a Christian, but with high regard for the Jewish tradition. While the scholarship is deep and sound, the writing is accessible, clear, and generally engaging.

However, the book’s organization seems fragmented and the book doesn’t follow as coherent a flow of logic as might be desired. It’s impact is lessened by its scatteredness.

Overall, though, Making Wise the Simple makes a strong contribution on a vital theme.

Book Review Index

The Prophetic Faith: Amos and Hosea

Leave a reply

Here is the fourteenth in a series of Bible studies that present the Bible as being in the side of pacifism. This essay, “The Prophetic Faith: Amos and Hosea,” reflects on the challenge Israel’s 8th century prophets brought to the injustices and idolatries that characterized the community of God’s covenant people.

Amos focuses on a critique of Israel’s injustice that incongruously co-existed with thriving religious practices. Such injustice, though, turns the religious practices into the worst kinds of blasphemy. Amos warns of inevitable consequences to such a departure from the intentions of Torah, but he concludes with a vision of healing that points to an over-arching concern on his part not simply to point to judgment but to point to the possibility of restoration should genuine justice be practiced.

Hosea goes even further in pointing to the possibilities of healing should Israel turn from its violence and idolatries. Hosea grounds this hope in an understanding that God’s “holiness” moves God to turn from punishment and toward healing.