Do Christians bring a unique, scriptural understanding of social justice
to bear on the ills of society? Would such an understanding reshape the
way Christians engage and partner with others working to create a more
just world?
Much of the modern conversation around creating
justice focuses on ideas that too often reduce justice to human rights,
procedural justice, and even the consumerism of the contemporary
culture/economy. While the priorities of human rights and due process
are necessary for fashioning a just world, the Christian understanding
of the common good is much richer and calls the church beyond fairness
to forms of liberation, compassion, mercy, and peace that are even more
radical than the best notions of justice that characterize the
nation-state at the beginning of the 21st century.
A Christian Justice for the Common Good describes
a Christian justice for the common good and what it looks like on the
ground in real world settings. Calling Christians (individuals, as well
as communities of faith) to a concrete version of social well-being
befitting faithful life in Jesus and God’s vision of justice for the
world, Tex Sample drills deeper and identifies the skills that must be
cultivated to do justice work with others—work that will create a
lasting impact while extending a Christian vision for the common good.
The
conclusion? The freedom God offers in Christ finds its place in
concrete Christian efforts and the graced wherewithal of people who work
generously with one another for a new and just life together.
Contents include:
1. The Reduction of Justice to Human Rights
2. A Christian Justice
3. The Formation of a Just Church
4. Skills of Justice
5. Doing Justice with Others
6. A Justice of the Common Good
