What is Justice?
Justice is perhaps best illustrated by narratives and stories of people’s lives. Stories like Nelson Mandela, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jesus’ interactions with the adulterous woman and Jesus Himself hanging on the cross of Calvary all personify justice. [1] Gary Haugen, Founder/President of International Justice Mission, defines justice as the right use of power. Justice is acting right in our relationships, according to Will Samson. In both Haugen and Samson’s definitions, ‘right’ is determined by, and reflective of, God. [2]
Justice is faith in right action with right hearts. [3] It is the expression of God’s righteousness in the world. [4] According to John Perkins, American economist and activist, justice is about economics. Justice is expressed when money and resources are fairly distributed and accessible. [5] God provided a perfect example of justice in the Garden of Eden, and throughout the Old Testament, when He provided and met needs when people were obedient.
Biblical justice, mandated by Scripture and the way to bring the Kingdom of God to earth, is achieved by making God’s resources and blessings available to everyone. [6] It is demonstrated by the proper use of resources, taking only what you need, as demonstrated by God’s instructions to the Israelites to only collect enough manna for one day. Biblical justice is also about the love that comes from Christ that desires to express itself through meeting people’s needs. “The love of God is not dormant but is a progressively growing flame that burns powerfully and compels us into action when we submit to it.” [7] The evil of the world and the goodness of God must also be dealt with to fully understand biblical justice.
Many different kinds of justice exist including retributive, distributive, restorative and redemptive. Retributive justice is justice centered around an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth as outlined in Exodus 21:24. The impartial punishment involves someone who has harmed others getting their just due. [8] Although retributive justice was outlined in the Old Testament, Jesus redefined Old Testament law, instructing us to love our enemies and do good to those who harm us. [9]
Distributive justice involves the distribution or allocation of resources. Cannon suggests three questions must be asked in regards to distributive justice: What is being distributed (ie., opportunity, power, wealth, resources), to whom (ie., individuals, communities, regions, countries), and by what means (ie., by merit/status, equally)? [10] The reallocation of resources in the 1990s in South Africa following the demise of Apartheid, and John’s instructions to share our extra shirt and food with the poor and hungry [11] are two examples of distributive justice.
Restorative and redemptive justice concern themselves with reconciliation. Restorative justice focuses on rebuilding relationships between the victim and the oppressor by addressing concerns and needs of the victim. On the other hand, redemptive justice focuses less on the victim’s needs, and more on the redemption of the oppressor. Both forms of justice, however, focus on balancing consequences with forgiveness. [12]
Two different philosophical perspectives, divine command theory and authoritative command theory, theorize upon the source of justice itself. [13] Divine command theory identifies God as the source of justice. It is His laws that outline justice. In fact, according to this theory, justice itself is the manifestation of God’s righteousness. However, the authoritative command theory views not God, but humans, who command absolute sovereignty as the source of justice. Justice occurs when people fully obey the laws and rules.
Regardless of the source, justice can be divided into two different types: direct and indirect. Direct justice is sought, for example, by International Justice Mission, an organization that fights against sex trafficking. By rescuing and rehabilitating victims, demanding accountability for perpetrators, and working to change the system, IJM is working to directly end perpetrator violence. On the other hand, indirect justice usually involves systems and structures, like an inner-city school system. While the school is not intentionally and directly abusing the children, the systematic inequalities are. [14]
A discussion of justice cannot exclude a consideration of power and authority. The proper use of power leads to justice, and conversely, injustice occurs when power is abused. Because God is the source of all power and authority, [15] “when power and authority are exercised outside the will of God, an injustice occur[s].” [16] Power is determined in a variety of ways including through political, social, economic, moral, religious, cultural, familial and intellectual mediums. Power may be innate, inherited, achieved or taken. [17] Kevin Blue suggests, “all God’s people are called to deal with power” either through engagement, isolation, struggling against or as reformers. [18]
Charity and Compassion – Are they Justice?
Charity and compassion, while important in today’s hurting world, are not the same as justice. Charity and compassion are about showing the world how the poor, oppressed and forgotten should be treated. Compassionate ministries come alongside the needy, empathizing, comforting and meeting needs. Most churches today have some form of benevolence or care ministry that provides meals, assists a homeless shelter, or sponsors a clothing closet. While these ministries are vital, compassion never addresses the underlying reasons for the needs or problems in the first place. Compassion responds to the effects, whereas justice addresses the causes of injustice, and considers the system inequities that make people vulnerable and needy in the first place. In order to bring about God’s desired justice, the church today must move beyond simply providing charity, and ask the tough questions – why are so many people homeless, divorced, suicidal or jobless? [19] Compassion is relatively easy, but justice is much more difficult because it requires each of us to enter into someone’s story. It requires challenging, long-term work at underlying issues of injustice and oppression. [20]
Kevin Blue, author of Practical Justice, outlines a three-step response to injustice which can move churches beyond compassion. Step 1 involves providing relief to hurting individuals. In Step 2, skills, such as education, training and work skills, are distributed. And finally, Step 3 involves dealing with the broken, unjust system itself that perpetuates the need for Steps 1-2. [21] The story of the Good Samaritan illustrates well, I think, the important, yet different roles of compassion and justice. On the surface, we recognize Jesus’ instruction to provide compassion through medical care and assistance to the injured Samaritan. On a deeper level though, Jesus’ instruction and teaching about who we consider our neighbor to be addresses justice. Sometimes underlying systems of inequality stem from our own disregard for a particular people. However, as the Good Samaritan illustrates, it is that very people group (or nation, or race…) to whom we are to show love.
Fallout of Injustice
The fallout surrounding injustice is indeed great. Health care access, education, fair-housing, living-wage jobs, violence, abuse and poverty are all issues in which real people’s lives are adversely affected. 1 Corinthians 12 tells us that when one part of the body suffers, we all suffer. We should suffer alongside the hurting, suffering people who are caught in the web of injustice. Each issue is complex and cannot be simplified to rudimentary explanations and solutions.
God originally made the earth fruitful and bountiful, with more than enough resources to meet the needs, if stewarded properly. Although clearly we live in a sinful, fallen world, that alone cannot excuse the vastly divergent appropriation of resources today. Psalm 76:9 tells us God “rose up to establish judgment, to save all the oppressed of the earth.” How can the dichotomy of luxurious living and billions in abject poverty be anything but sinful? [22] Sodom and Gomorrah we’re told by Isaiah, was in fact destroyed because they failed to seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan and plead for the widow. [23]
One of the greatest causes of poverty today is deforestation. [24] In countries like Haiti, forests have been depleted by desperate people needing charcoal for heat and cooking. As a result, the land dries up, water sources dry out, and formerly succulent farming soil is eroded away. Eventually people are left with no other option than to eat the dirt itself. [25] “This image of God’s children eating the dust of the earth is a powerful icon of injustice. This is the ultimate sign that humankind and the environment have disengaged from the relationship for which we were intended.” [26]
Capitalism and the Market Economy
Today’s market economy which shapes and impacts not only our Western society, but the global society as a whole, has much to do with social justice. While it is assumed the ‘invisible hand’ of the market will ensure mutually beneficial relationships, the free market actually widens the gap between the rich and the poor. [27] Michael Northcott, professor of ethics at the University of Edinburgh, describes the global economic system as tyrannical. [28] Max Weber, a German economist and sociologist, originally saw Calvinism and capitalism as a brilliant synergy because “the former curbed the immoral greed of the latter, and the latter spurred entrepreneurialism in the former.” [29] However, according to former US Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, we now live in an era of ‘supercapitalism’ in which “market forces and the sheer amount of money and futures being exchanged every day have overwhelmed the democracy on which the United States (and many other countries) are based.” Reich recommends Americans need to push back against corporate takeover of america before it’s too late. [30] Although Jay Richards suggests capitalism is the solution for following Jesus’ mandates in his book Money, Greed, and God: Why Capitalism is the Solution and Not the Problem, his view is not universally supported. Bosnia, recently emerging from decades of communism and now embracing capitalism, shows signs, not of progress, but of splitting apart, due to businesses and individuals competing against each other. “It seems,” writes Ashley Seeber, “that neither communism nor war could undermine their communities, but capitalism has left them weak and estranged.” [31]
C. Rene Padilla, president of the Micah Network, also raises concerns about the apparently dichotomous assumptions by laissez faire market economies and those of God as expressed in Old Testament scripture. Market economies do not operate according to ethics, relationships or the ecosystem. In contrast, the Old Testament declares the state is responsible for “ensuring that socio-political and economic justice is highly honored in society.” [32] Even in times of invasion and oppression by enemies, it is assumed by Scripture that those in power will mediate and ensure justice. [33]
Role of United States
“From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.” [34] While we could debate the reasons as to why, it is clear much has been given and entrusted to the United States. With economic and military dominance, the US has the potential to cause much harm and injustice, and therefore much responsibility is expected. The Christian church, although waning, is still dominant in our society, affecting our culture. “If our churches are preaching, praying, studying, working, singing and worshiping in the spirit of justice, then our members will work, organize, and vote for justice and have the chance to steer our nation toward more just paths.” [35]
As citizens of the US, we must ask ourselves how much we actually value other countries, cultures and people. And do we value them for more than their tourism industry? What would happen, asks Seeber, if the US loved other countries as much as it loved itself? Why, if Jesus is Lord and no one else, does the US allow itself to do what no other country is allowed to do? While the US often seeks retributive justice, does it even know how to seek distributive justice? [36] Lowell Noble, author of The Kingdom of God Versus the Cosmos, suggests ethnocentrism, the “belief that our own views, cultures and perspectives are superior to that of others” is the antithesis of justice, which he describes as, “all people, groups, races, and ethnicities are equally equipped with access to God and the ability to pursue righteousness.” [37]
Solutions start when we stop long enough to listen and understand other people’s stories and situations. Solutions involve admitting that nobody can fully fathom the depth of complexity in the underlying systems of injustice. Solutions recognize that our social, political, and economic backgrounds have shaped our understanding of right and wrong, and may actually cause us to inadvertently misinterpret situations and misuse power. Solutions are about supporting on-going, local efforts that are self-created, and thus true to their contexts. [38] On the other hand, “Power means, ‘we will tell you what to do,’ and knowledge means, ‘we know better than you,’ and influence means, ‘we are entitled to have our way,’ and money means, ‘we control what happens.’” [39]
Social Justice throughout Church History
The early church, although persecuted by society, did not shrink from their responsibilities to their communities. Certain of their eternal security they certainly could have become heavenly-minded, removed themselves from societal concerns, and ignored the pressing needs around them. However, they did just the opposite. “Because Christians felt sure about their true citizenship in God’s kingdom, they were emboldened to take risks and work for the good of the societies in which they lived on earth.” [40] Early Christians, operating in the mode of Jeremiah 29:7, sought the welfare of their city and lived as ‘resident aliens’. An early church document even noted that although they were like any other citizen in their language, customs, clothing, food and way of life, they gave “proof of the remarkable and admittedly extraordinary constitution of their own commonwealth. The live[d] in their own countries, but only as aliens.” [41] For example, during the plagues in Rome, before Constantine ushered in the beginning of Christendom, people were dying by the hundreds of thousands. Despite being persecuted, Christians decided to stay behind, rather than leave Rome with the fleeing masses. They set up “hospices”, easily identifiable by their displayed Christian symbols, where people could drop off their dying relatives. While such a move today might be done in the name of persuading and converting the persecutors, to the early church, it simply represented their understanding of how to live as Christians. [42]
Church in the Middle Ages continued to focus on needs of the poor. For example, St. Francis of Assisi and Clare, founders of the Franciscans and Poor Clares, committed themselves to a life of poverty, living amongst and caring for the poor. During the Reformation period, although the Reformers split from the Catholic Church, they did continue the church’s tradition for caring for the poor. Churches in the modern era have had mixed results with successes and well as failures. The church has often avoided difficult issues like AIDS and racism, while also ignoring Scripture’s call for equal treatment of women. [43] Social justice became a pawn for evangelicalism. “Liberals, in this (mis)characterization, cared about social justice but not Scripture, whereas evangelicals emphasized the Bible, Jesus, and evangelism, which pushed social justice far down the list of religious priorities.” [44] Whereas some people point to movements like the 1974 Lausanne Covenant which began to reconnect social justice with evangelicalism, [45] others are not as hopeful. Richard Stearns, President of World Vision challenges, “If the church is indeed a revolutionary kind of institution, called to foment a social revolution by promoting justice, lifting up the sanctity of human life, fighting for the underdog, and challenging the prevailing value systems in our world, then it seems we should be out in front on social justice issues rather than bringing up the rear.” [46]
The postmodern church appears to be embracing social justice in new, innovative ways through the use of technology, cyber-activism, and cooperative efforts between people and organizations who may have previously been at odds. Its ability to move beyond modern polarities of evangelicalism and liberalism may bode well for social justice. [47] Additionally, as the emergent church movement aims to embrace ancient church practices, [48] there is indeed great potential for social justice in the future, as doing justice has clearly been and important component of church history.
God’s View of Justice
“No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what He requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” [49] Micah’s exhortation to the people of Israel succinctly sums up the messages of the Old Testament prophets. “The practice of justice is at the center of God’s purpose for human life.” [50] Time and again we see God siding with the poor, the powerless, and the marginalized, and expecting His people to do the same. “Engaging God’s mission of justice and reconciliation in this world isn’t an optional add-on; justice is to disciples what waves are to surfers.” [51] In fact, the Hebrew words for justice/righteousness, mishpat and sadiqah, and Greek words for justice, dikaiosune and krisis, are used over 1000 times in the Bible. God Himself is characterized by mishpat and sadiqah, and the Israelites’ holiness was judged based on how well they lived this out. God’s justice is accomplished by His people. In fact, Padilla asserts, “the knowledge of God is so closely related to the practice of justice that the following question can be legitimately raised: could practicing justice be equivalent to knowing God?” [52]
God’s justice even formed the cycles and rhythms of Israel. The establishment of three different Sabbaths laid the foundation of laws which addressed the proper treatment of the poor. The weekly Sabbath reminded Israel to order her life around God. The Sabbath year which required Israel’s reliance on God to meet their needs, forgave debts, freed slaves and mandated the reading of the law. And finally, the year of Jubilee, was distributive justice put in practice as the community’s assets were restructured and distributed. [53]
God’s shalom is wholeness, harmony, completeness and a total sense of well-being. [54] It is the presence of justice in all of human life, expressed in spiritual, social, economic and physical blessings. [55] Originally present in Eden, shalom is now the telos of God’s people. Tikkun olam, the healing of the world, represents the endeavor to restore shalom to God’s world. [56] Martin Luther King Jr. expressed the idea of shalom well when he said, “true peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.” [57]
However, Martin Luther King Jr. also said, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” [58] Shalom is hindered, and fails, in the face of injustice. Injustice, an abusive use of power, leads to oppression. Oppression is punished by God [59], and has devastating, dehumanizing effects on both the victim, as well as the oppressor. Oppression “crushes, humiliates, animalizes, impoverishes, enslaves, and kills people created in the image of God.” [60]
Kingdom of God
In the face of widespread dehumanizing oppression, what are we to make of the kingdom of God? Has Jesus become sanitized and domesticated into a ‘tame savior’, only exhibiting characteristics of goodness and love? [61] Has justice been so hidden or ignored so as to make Jesus’ incarnation only for our own personal salvation, rather than to “inaugurate an entirely new kingdom built upon justice and peace?” [62]
In Matthew 6:33 Jesus taught, “but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” The word “righteousness” is translated from the Greek word dikaiosune, which meant both justice and righteousness, and suggests the way things ought to be. [63] The kingdom of God, then, is directly related to our pursuit of justice. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus contrasts worldly values with counter-cultural kingdom values that we are to express as a preview of the coming kingdom.” [64] Dr. King described Jesus as a nonconformist whose approaches still challenge us today. “Jesus was both pastoral and prophetic, demonstrating unconditional love as well as real righteous anger against the abuse and misuse of power.” [65] God’s kingdom is about proclaiming justice, and while our attempts will be incomplete until the day Jesus returns to defeat all evil, and end all injustice, our prayer is “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” [66]
So What’s a Christ-Follower to Do?
“The Christian faith isn’t all about getting to heaven. It isn’t all about the church. It isn’t all about the individual spiritual life or ‘personal relationship with God’. It is about all of these things, but they aren’t the whole point, or even the main point. The main point is God’s saving love for creation, God’s faithfulness to all of creation, God’s ongoing mission of healing a world torn by human injustice so that it can fulfill God’s original dream. It is about God’s kingdom coming to earth, and it is about God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven.” [67] Jesus was born into a poor Jewish family under oppression by Herod. He spent His first years as a refugee in Egypt. Entering into ministry, Jesus didn’t choose the self-righteous road of the pharisees, or even the withdrawn, ascetic life of the Essenes. Jesus placed Himself among the hurting, broken world, called for individuals to change their hearts, and undertook major changes in Israel’s political, social and economic systems. [68] Jesus’ first sermon, recorded in Luke 4:18-19, declared Isaiah’s vision of jubilee justice come to earth, as He proclaimed the release of captives, sight for the blind and justice for the oppressed.
On the other hand, “contemporary evangelicalism has emphasized personal righteousness and piety and has missed much of the intended meaning bursting through the Scriptures about justice.” [69] The prosperity gospel, claiming the more authentic one’s faith is, the more God will bless them with material riches, is preached despite Jesus’ warnings in about storing up treasures in heaven [70], distributive justice in the the year of Jubilee, and Old Testament prophets’ instructions about sharing with the poor. Over one billion people live on less than $1 per day while individuals in the US enjoy incomes over $75 per day on average. [71] Are we hoarding our manna?
So, what’s a Christian to do? Read the gospels through the lens of oppression and justice. [72] Reconsider Jesus in light of three misrepresentations that hinder embracing His call to justice: the privatized Jesus, prosperity Jesus and apolitical Jesus. [73] The gospel is reduced to personal salvation, and nothing else, with the privatized Jesus. Although our relationship with Him is important, we need to also be about His purposes and work. Prosperity Jesus lines up nicely with the prosperity gospel, reconfiguring Jesus into a ‘heavenly ATM machine’ that distributes financial blessings and comfort to faithful believers. Yet Jesus’ call was to follow Him by taking up the cross. [74] The apolitical Jesus refuses involvement in civic engagements. But a Christian’s civic and prophetic role in government is critical. Dr. King described the church as neither the master nor the servant, but the conscience of the state. [75] By not engaging seriously in such a role, we give injustice even greater power.
Billy Graham expressed quite well his perspective on what a Christian is to do. “I can no longer proclaim the Cross and Resurrection without proclaiming the whole message of the Kingdom, which is justice for all.” [76] A Christ-follower is to strive toward justice as if nothing mattered more. And, considering 1 John 3:16-17 in which our beliefs and responses to people in need are so closely linked, suggesting that our failure to respond means the love of God is not in us, nothing does matter more.
As Christ-followers, we cannot disregard social justice. We cannot expect our church involvement to “count” for our involvement. Each individual we encounter, either in person, or through pictures and stories, is made in the image of God. It is our duty and responsibility as Christians to engage in God’s created world by recognizing that God is about freeing people from oppression. He cares for all He has created, and expects that we do as well. We can “live into our identity as God’s children and the adventure of God’s redemption as we engage God’s mission of distributive justice.” [77]
And as we do so, we need to approach issues with humility, realizing that our ideas are bound by personal interpretation and limited perception. Is there truly one correct interpretation and solution? If so on a broader scale, how can the rich diversity in Christian tradition be accounted for? [78] Clearly there is not one correct way to interpret or initiate justice around the world. Answers lie within each of the diverse communities and situations. Just as the Bible does not present justice as an abstract principle to be blindly applied, but rather a practical, changing application that varied depending on the need and situation, so too must global justice be approached. [79]
While social justice is about the big picture of the proper use of power to create right relationships, it is also inherently small. It is about people’s stories – stories that call others to action. Social justice is about my 10-year-old daughter Lillia who is having a Penny Drive to raise enough funds to build a house in Haiti for a family. It is about a single child’s photograph on the cover of a Compassion, International flier. In fact, Wes Stafford, President of Compassion, International, discovered individuals responded more generously with support and resources when presented with individual stories, rather than overwhelming statistics. [80]
Dr. King said, “The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority.” [81] I have some sense of hope that such a movement of the nonconforming minority is afoot. While it is the large, looming problems that make the headlines, it is the small mustard seeds that are being planted and tended that will conquer massive injustices. But it will take more than tiny mustard seeds. Churches must support right teaching about God’s kingdom and righteousness – teaching that includes personal salvation, social justice and freedom. Churches must become suffering churches, for suffering reveals where our hearts are. [82] Churches must recapture community as a place where men and women, rich and poor, young and old can authentically gather [83].
I am energized and overwhelmed by the prospects for social justice within the church. As big of an issue as it is, it is hardly independent of other topics like rediscovering community, liturgy and consumerism. I’m left wondering if one or the other is more important to tackle first within a church setting, or if it’s more like eating an elephant – you just start anywhere by taking a bite.
End Notes
[1] B. McLaren, E. Padilla and A.B. Seeber, Eds. The Justice Project (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 22.
[2] Ibid., 21.
[3] M.E. Cannon. Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2009), 19.
[4] Ibid., 20.
[5] Ibid., 21.
[6] Ibid., 23.
[7] Ibid., 18.
[8] Ibid., 36.
[9] Matthew 5:43-48.
[10] M.E. Cannon. Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2009), 36-37.
[11] Luke 3:11.
[12] M.E. Cannon. Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2009), 37-38.
[13] Ibid., 35.
[14] Ibid., 42.
[15] Matthew 28:18.
[16] M.E. Cannon. Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2009), 39.
[17] Ibid., 40.
[18] Ibid,. 40.
[19] Ibid., 32.
[20] Ibid., 34.
[21] Ibid., 35.
[22] B. McLaren, E. Padilla and A.B. Seeber, Eds. The Justice Project (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 32.
[23] Isaiah 1:10, 16-17.
[24] B. McLaren, E. Padilla and A.B. Seeber, Eds. The Justice Project (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 198.
[25] Associated Press. Haiti’s Poor Resort to Eating Mud as Prices Rise (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22902512/ns/world_news-americas, 1/29/08).
[26] B. McLaren, E. Padilla and A.B. Seeber, Eds. The Justice Project (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 199.
[27] Ibid., 27.
[28] Ibid., 26.
[29] Ibid,. 60.
[30] Ibid,. 60.
[31] Ibid,. 147.
[32] Ibid., 27.
[33] Jeremiah 21:12, 22:13-17.
[34] Luke 12:48.
[35] B. McLaren, E. Padilla and A.B. Seeber, Eds. The Justice Project (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 19.
[36] Ibid., 146-147.
[37] M.E. Cannon. Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2009), 41.
[38] B. McLaren, E. Padilla and A.B. Seeber, Eds. The Justice Project (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 253.
[39] Ibid., 255.
[40] Ibid., 52.
[41] Ibid., 53.
[42] J. Clark. Church Contexts: Secularism (Portland: Face to Face, October 2010), Slide 3.
[43] B. McLaren, E. Padilla and A.B. Seeber, Eds. The Justice Project (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 55.
[44] Ibid., 54.
[45] Ibid., 54.
[46] R. Stearns. The Hole in our Gospel (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009), 190.
[47] [43] B. McLaren, E. Padilla and A.B. Seeber, Eds. The Justice Project (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 56-57.
[48] A. Walker and L. Bretherton, Eds. Remembering our Future: Explorations in Deep Church (London: Paternoster, 2007), 9.
[49] Micah 6:8.
[50] B. McLaren, E. Padilla and A.B. Seeber, Eds. The Justice Project (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 23.
[51] Ibid., 32.
[52] Ibid., 28.
[53] M.E. Cannon. Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2009), 27.
[54] Ibid., 25.
[55] Ibid., 25.
[56] B. McLaren, E. Padilla and A.B. Seeber, Eds. The Justice Project (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 46.
[57] M.E. Cannon. Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2009), 24.
[58] Martin Luther King, Jr. The Quotations Page (http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/24974.html).
[59] Jeremiah 6:6.
[60] M.E. Cannon. Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2009), 26.
[61] B. McLaren, E. Padilla and A.B. Seeber, Eds. The Justice Project (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 38.
[62] Ibid., 38.
[63] Ibid., 40.
[64] Ibid., 41.
[65] Ibid., 38.
[66] Matthew 6:10.
[67] B. McLaren, E. Padilla and A.B. Seeber, Eds. The Justice Project (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 18.
[68] Ibid,. 39.
[69] M.E. Cannon. Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2009), 21.
[70] Matthew 6:19-20.
[71] M.E. Cannon. Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2009), 24.
[72] B. McLaren, E. Padilla and A.B. Seeber, Eds. The Justice Project (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 39.
[73] Ibid., 41.
[74] O. Guinness. The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 206.
[75] B. McLaren, E. Padilla and A.B. Seeber, Eds. The Justice Project (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 41.
[76] M.E. Cannon. Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2009), 31.
[77] B. McLaren, E. Padilla and A.B. Seeber, Eds. The Justice Project (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 36.
[78] Ibid., 61.
[79] Ibid., 61.
[80] W. Stafford. Willow Creek Association Global Leadership Summit, 2009.
[81] B. McLaren, E. Padilla and A.B. Seeber, Eds. The Justice Project (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 38.
[82] J. Clark. The Form of Church in Scripture (Portland: Face to Face, October 2010), Slide 12.
[83] C. Villacorta and H. Segura. Poverty and Wealth. (The Lausanne Global Conversation, http://conversation.lausanne.org), 5.
