The suffering of the innocent and God's justice in wisdom texts (Gerald H Wilson)

I am reading Gerald Wilson's commentary on Job (2007). I really think that we need a deeper understanding of suffering in the Bible if we want to be genuine followers of Jesus. It is because the gospel itself has a lot to do with the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ. The cross, of course, involves the suffering of the innocent One. And without death, there is no resurrection.

Here is a paragraph in the introduction of Wilson's book that is worth citing. (I will highlight a few things in blue.)

"The hard-eyed observations of 'pessimistic wisdom' compare and contrast the assumption of retribution in more expansive literary forms, including the extended discourses of Ecclesiastes and the dialogue/debate at the heart of Job. These discussions expose the weaknesses of retributive thinking and explore alternative worldviews that acknowledge the prosperity of the wicked, the oppression of the poor, and the suffering of the innocent. They also raise questions regarding the sovereignty and justice of God, who permits such circumstances to exist. In the end, however, these questioning forms of wisdom do not seek to undermine faith in God. Rather, they offer their own testimony to a continuing reliance on God and acknowledge the pain and confusion that inhabit the real world of the observant sage. Both Ecclesiastes and Job, after their devastating critiques of naive retributive thinking, counsel readers that the only way forward is to remain in a deep relationship of absolute dependence on God (what Israel calls 'fear of God'), acknowledging his sovereign freedom and admitting, along with Job, that knowing this God transcends (but does not remove!) the questions and doubts that diligent sages uncover in their searching." (page 4)

Income inequality in the ancient world and now (Scot McKnight and Tim De Chant)

In his recent blog post Scot McKnight points us to an interesting post by Tim De Chant, which is about income inequality in the Roman Empire in the ancient world. (Click here and here for the two blog posts.) Here are some quotes from the blog post.

"Over the last 30 years, wealth in the United States has been steadily concentrating in the upper economic echelons. Whereas the top 1 percent used to control a little over 30 percent of the wealth, they now control 40 percent."

"In total, Schiedel and Friesen figure the elite orders and other wealthy made up about 1.5 percent of the 70 million inhabitants the empire claimed at its peak. Together, they controlled around 20 percent of the wealth..."

"These numbers paint a picture of two Romes, one of respectable, if not fabulous, wealth and the other of meager wages, enough to survive day-to-day but not enough to prosper. The wealthy were also largely concentrated in the cities."

"Schiedel and Friesen aren’t passing judgement on the ancient Romans, nor are they on modern day Americans. Theirs is an academic study, one used to further scholarship on one of the great ancient civilizations. But buried at the end, they make a point that’s difficult to parse, yet provocative. They point out that the majority of extant Roman ruins resulted from the economic activities of the top 10 percent. “Yet the disproportionate visibility of this ‘fortunate decile’ must not let us forget the vast but—to us—inconspicuous majority that failed even to begin to share in the moderate amount of economic growth associated with large-scale formation in the ancient Mediterranean and its hinterlands.”"

"In other words, what we see as the glory of Rome is really just the rubble of the rich, built on the backs of poor farmers and laborers, traces of whom have all but vanished. It’s as though Rome’s 99 percent never existed. Which makes me wonder, what will future civilizations think of us?"

The gap between the haves and have-nots was huge in the Roman Empire as well as in many countries in the West today. Since the events of the New Testament took place in the Roman Empire, the socioeconomic context of the Empire is important for us as we read the Bible. (See my previous post about the economic profile of the earliest church in the Roman Empire here.) This, in turn, is important for us today as we try to apply the New Testament to our own contexts in the affluent West.

Why "social" justice? (Scot McKnight)

For a long time I have been thinking whether I should include the word "social" when I refer to "justice" in the Bible. In terms of biblical usage, "social justice" is not strictly speaking the language used in the Scripture. But on the other hand when "justice" is mentioned in the Bible, it has much to do with social and communal living.

In his recent blog post Scot McKnight discusses this matter. Here I cite a few things McKnight says.

Tim King is a former student of mine, works with Jim Wallis, and is pointing out something I would affirm. The word “social” has been added to the word “justice” because “social” has been too often neglected. Having said that, though, I would plead with us to learn to use the word “justice” biblically — it refers to being right with God, with self, with others, with the world — so that we don’t have to add “social” (with others, with the world) and so we can cease with our gnostic-like spirituality where it is only “me and God.”

I am ready to concede the point that if we properly define our terms, the “social” in social justice and the “personal” in personal salvation should both be dropped. But, I’m not willing to stop using the modifier “social” when it comes to justice until Christians fully engage the biblical definition of justice.

Someday, justice will be flowing like a river and righteousness like an everflowing stream.

On that day, we won’t be fighting about whether or not it is “social” justice or just plain old justice that is rolling.

I gather that the last two sentences echo Amos' words about justice. I think Scot McKnight has something for us to ponder here.

Click here for McKnight's blog post.

A Greek Evangelical view of the Greek economic crisis (in Michael Bird's blog post)

Mike Bird posted something really interesting in his (and Joel Willitts') blog. The economic crisis in Greece is affecting the whole world at the moment. In this blog post Mike Bird has asked Dr. Myrto Theocharous (M.A. Wheaton College. Ph.D Cambridge Uni ), Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at the Greek Bible College in Athens, to be a guest writer.

She provides some reflections from Habakkuk as a Greek evangelical herself. Here are two excerpts of what she has to say.

"In the crisis that we face today, although all have sinned, some have sinned to become wealthy and some have sinned to survive. Lots of Greeks see that not everyone is paying to make things right, thus perpetuating an unjust system where the elite always manage to escape with their funds unscathed. It is the lower strata of society that have to carry the burden for the sins of the powerful: their salaries are slashed, thousands have lost their jobs, cannot pay for their rent, stores are closing down one after the other – all sheep to the slaughter for saving the banks."

"How does the evangelical religious minority react to this? On the one hand, the traditional approach continues: the church remains focused on spiritual issues and individual guilt, while passively submitting to the government (appealing to Romans 13) and trusting the EU’s “roadmap” on how to get out of the financial mess. Some tend to emphasize the church’s “heavenly” citizenship and the imminent coming of Christ, which render political involvement futile. Evangelistic efforts and charity continue, both of which focus on saving individuals from the clutches of what seems to be an irredeemable society. Without discounting the traditional approach, some are beginning to place greater focus on systemic evil, assessing what should be the level of their political involvement and what direction it should take. For some the evil lies in the productivity-killing corrupted socialist system of Greece, while for others it is to be found in the poverty-generating greed inherent in global capitalism." (emphasis added)

Click here for the entire blog post. See especially how Dr. Myrto Theocharous applies Habakkuk to the situation.

Serving the poor through incarnational love (Tim Gombis)

Tim Gombis recently posted an excellent post in his blog (on 2nd November 2011). Here I cite from his post some profound insights about serving the poor. I will highlight a few things in this colour.

If we seek to help others motivated by guilt or emotion, we will typically seek to pacify our own immediate feelings rather than seek to do what’s in the long-term best interest of others. 

Doing good that ultimately helps is something radically different.  It requires incarnational love and boldness to get involved personally with difficult situations.  It may also take long periods of time to build trust and establish healthy relationships of mutuality.  Further, most ministry situations will require that we relate from our weaknesses rather than our strengths. That can be very disorienting.

Perhaps most difficult—and why guilt and sentiment hinder rather than help—doing good challenges us to discern when and how to act in ways that benefit others in the long run.  We may have to fight our impulses and resist the manipulations of others in the interests of avoiding doing immediate and long-term damage.

Beyond all this, Scripture doesn’t motivate service to the poor and needy out of guilt.  Solidarity with the suffering and service to the poor and needy are motivated eschatologically and sacramentally.  That is, we are motivated by a future-orientation toward the day of Christ and by an awareness of where we have access to the life-giving and sustaining presence of Jesus.

We could look at a number of texts, but I’ll just point to John 12:25-26:

Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

If you grasp too tightly to stuff and give yourself to lustful accumulation, you will lose your life.  But if you let it go in service to Jesus, you will honored by God himself!  That’s the eschatological orientation.

But Jesus goes on to say that “whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be.”

Where is Jesus?  Read the Gospels.  Where is he? 

Jesus spent his days on earth with the poor, the outcast, the shamed woman in the Samaritan village, the despised and traitorous Zaccheus, the single mother from the red-light district in Syro-Phoenicia.  Jesus goes on to say in John 15 that when we serve others we are sustained by Jesus’ own joy.  There’s a “sacramental” character to serving those in need.  That is, those actions and patterns of life are encounters on earth with the very presence of Jesus.

We serve others, especially those in need, because that’s a pattern of life that is sustained by the life-giving and joy-generating presence of Jesus.  And we serve because that’s the mode of life that has its end in exaltation with Jesus himself at the final day.

....... Christian leaders would do well to cultivate language that expresses these motivations, shaping the imagination of God’s people to serve the world joyfully in the name of Jesus.

Click here for the entire post by Tim Gombis.

Survey: Frequent Bible Reading Can Turn You Liberal (Christianity Today article)

Christianity Today in the US just published an article entitled "Survey: Frequent Bible Reading Can Turn You Liberal". Very interesting findings from a survey in the US, and here are some on the issues of consumption, and social and economic justice.

"Some of the most interesting findings relate to moral attitudes. "How important is it," the survey asked, "to actively seek social and economic justice in order to be a good person?" Again, as would be expected, those with more liberal political leanings were more likely to say it's very or somewhat important. And those who read the Bible more often were more likely to agree. Indeed, they were almost 35 percent more likely to agree at each point on Baylor's five-point scale... Likewise, contrary to liberal media stereotypes, those who are most engaged in their faith (by directly and frequently reading its source material) are those who are most supportive of social and economic justice."

"Likewise, the survey asked whether one must consume or use fewer goods in order to be a good person. Political liberals and frequent Bible readers are more likely to say yes. A conservative Bible reader might not be as prone to say yes as a liberal non-reader, but think of it this way: Ask an evangelical who is politically conservative, has some college education, has an average level of income, is a biblical literalist, and does not read the Bible, and you'll have only a 22 percent chance he or she will say reducing consumption is part of ethical living. Ask the same person, only now they read the Bible, and you'll have a 44 percent chance they'll say so. It's still not a majority, but the swing is dramatic."

The author of the article, Aaron B. Franzen, makes the following observations at the end.

"But frequent Bible readers don't just see the Bible as personal. They also see it as authoritative, written by an author who had a specific context and intent, and they want to conform to its message. After all, why read the Bible with no desire to embrace what it teaches?

In short, sometimes reading the Bible can change views and attitudes because readers are surprised by what's in it. Other times, it's just a matter of discipleship."

Click here for the article in full. (A friend of mine pointed out that the labels of "conservative", "liberal", "literal", etc., are unhelpful. I tend to agree with him.)

Performing the divine warrior - Tim Gombis

In his book The Drama of Ephesians, Tim Gombis says the following in a chapter entitled "Performing the Divine Warrior" (page 156). I will highlight a few things in this colour in italics.

"According to Ephesians, the church performs the cosmically significant role of divine warfare through mundane embodiments of God's life on earth. Cosmic conflict does not involve defiant chest thumping in the face of the defeated powers. On the contrary, we are called to purposeful, humble, cruciform faithfulness as we perform Jesus for the good of the world. As we will see, the church participates in this transformative process, it harnesses and radiates God's resurrection power, which has a transformative effect on outsiders. This is how the people of God transform their surrounding cultures. This is in direct contrast to the church's long tradition of aggressive coercion and harsh denunciation. Such strategies are surrenders in divine warfare, since they are capitulations to worldly community dynamics. The church must also be a community of wisdom and discernment. And finally, the church must be a culture of justice. When the people of God cultivate these patterns of life, the church performs the role of divine warrior in the world." (Emphasis added)

Gombis goes on to say that Ephesians 6:10-18 has more to do with Isaiah 59:15-19 than the armour of a Roman soldier. (pages 157-8)

Then Gombis says,

"The enemy in the church's warfare is not the world or people in the world but the powers. And, as we will see, the strategy is not militant. In fact, Paul's instructions for engaging the spiritual conflict are quite subversive, upending notions of militancy. But we should expect such a move by this point. Throughout the Old Testament, human actors in divine warfare episodes subvert expectations by taking on postures of weakness. Paul performs his role in continuity with this theme through cruciformity; he imitates the earthly performance of Jesus by inhabiting a role of humility, self-sacrifice and weakness. Paul purposefully performs a cruciform role so that God's triumph might be seen clearly by the powers he has defeated in Christ." (Page 159; emphasis added)

"Our warfare involves resisting the corrupting influences of the powers. The same pressures that produce practices of exploitation, injustice and oppression in the world are at work on church communities. The church's warfare involves resisting such influences, transforming corrupted practices and replacing them with life-giving patterns of conduct that draw on and radiate the resurrection power of God. Our warfare, then, involves purposefully growing into communities that become more faithful corporate performances of Jesus on earth." (Pages 159-160; emphasis added)

What is "social justice"? Some thoughts from my friends

Someone asked me recently for a definition of "social justice". I actually found it hard to answer her question, and so I asked some friends to help me. Here are suggestions from them. I think they are insightful.

"One of the first things that comes to my mind is that it isn't about issues, but about the breaking through of God's justice into a social/communal/corporate setting, as opposed to remaining an element of personal salvation."

"Social Justice is about seeking God's perspective on social issues and working for change so that our world (and the issues we face) look more and more like God's will."

"I would say that social justice is the setting right of all relationships in the world."

"Social justice is an expression of God's love, about the last being first and the first being last. It is about the breaking in of God's kingdom on earth."

"I also see social justice inseparably linked to hope. While it is the breaking in of God's kingdom on earth, it also anticipates the future new creation, when there will be no more tears and no more pain and the old order of things has passed away. Social justice is God's order of things, it is the restoration of creation, it is transformation, and therefore it is inherently part of salvation."

"I would prefer to talk about transformation, which includes things like social justice, personal transformation of the human heart (from selfishness to self-giving, from harbouring personal resentments to having an attitude of forgiveness etc) and care for the earth."

As for me, I think one reason why it's hard to define "social justice" is that the Bible does not have the word “social justice”. Instead, the New Testament uses the word dikaiosunē, which refers to a range of notions including righteousness and justice. It seems to me that justice, according to the biblical worldview, does not separate social justice and the justice of God. The Bible speaks of a God who is righteous, justice, loving and always faithful to his covenant with his people. And this God wants his people to do what is right, just and loving; and they are to do so not only as individuals but also communally in their inter-personal relationships. Indeed, God wants us to act justice, show mercy and walk humbly with him in all spheres of life.

Ultimately, if we understand that our Christian life is about following Christ and his self-giving way of life, then walking humbly with God is about living out a cross-shaped life as disciples of Jesus.

If we understand justice from a biblical perspective, then what we call “social justice” is in fact an integral part of discipleship. It is about how we may be faithful people of God.

My new article: The gulf between us and the poor

ETHOS at the Australian Evangelical Alliance has published my article entitled The Gulf Between Us and the Poor.

Here is the heading provided by their editor.

"The gulf between the rich and the poor is not simply an economical one. While the poor do not have moral superiority over the rich, and at least in theory our material affluence should not adversely affect our ability to understand the Bible, is our wealth a hindrance that stops us from fully understanding the plight of the poor and the Scripture?"

There is a great cartoon in the article. Have a look!

Click here for the full article.

Reflection: Two recent movies, discipleship, justice for the oppressed

Two recent movies reflect elements of what I have been thinking in my studies and in my work in an overseas aid and development Christian organisation. Of course different people have different takes on the movies. But here are my reflections.

(1) Movie: Of Gods and Men

Based on a true story, this movie is about the choices made by a group of monks in a monastery in Algeria when their lives were threatened. I think true discipleship is ultimately about following Christ's sacrificial way of life, which is expressed in our solidarity with the community, not least those who are vulnerable and powerless. This is no abstract theology or theory, but a call to be authentic followers of Jesus.

Click here for a review from Guardian, UK.

(2) Movie: Oranges and Sunshine

This movie is based on true events that happened in the 1950s and 1960s, in which thousands of children were transported to Australia from England wrongfully. I think this movies highlights the fact that we need to recognise the fact that injustice and oppression is often embedded in a web of systemic social and individual sins. There are political, social and even religious systems and structures that oppress the vulnerable in our world. We need to stand in solidarity with those who suffer from injustice because of their powerlessness. Unfortunately Christians often are unaware of this, despite the fact that the Bible speaks of this in the Prophets (not least Isaiah, Amos, Micah, Jeremiah, Zechariah) and in Jesus' own ministry.
 
Click here for a review from ABC At the Movies.

Putting the above two reflections together, I think the church is called to participate in Christ's life, suffering, death and resurrection, just as he participated in human frailty in order to accomplish his atoning sacrifice for our sins and his redemption for his entire creation. We are to proclaim this Christ to all humankind - through our words and daily life - so that people may have hope and shalom through faith in Christ Jesus.

Paul wrote to the poor people in Rome (Tom Wright on Romans)

In N T (Tom) Wright's Paul for Everyone - Romans Part 1, he aptly describes the type of people his audience would consist of. I think this provides useful information for us to understand Paul's letter to the Romans, and what the gospel (literally means "good news") means for Paul's audience.

"In ancient Rome as today, of course, the rich people lived up in the hills, the famous seven hills on which the city stands. The original imperial palace, where the Emperor Augustus lived at the time when Jesus was born, occupies most of one of them. Nero was emperor when Paul was writing this letter; his spectacular palace is on another hill, the other side of the Forum. But then as now the poorer people lived in the areas around the river; not least, in the area just across the river from the main city centre. And that is where most of the first Roman Christians lived. The chances are that the first time this great letter was read aloud it was in a crowded room in someone's house in the low-lying poorer district, just across the river from the seat of power." (page 6; emphasis added)

Economic profile of the earliest Christians - Urban Jesus-followers in Paul's letters (Bruce Longenecker)

In his new book Remember the Poor (2010), Bruce Longenecker provides a picture of the economic profile of a typical urban group of Jesus-followers in the days of the New Testament.

Longenecker emphasizes that the following figures are only rough estimates. But it seems that he has done extensive research on this and there are good reasons to use them as fairly reliable background information when it comes to interpreting Paul's letters in the New Testament.

Here is what he says,

"1.  Roughly 10% of this community is among the middling groups of Roman urbanism (ES4), not without economic risk, but also with a relatively significant level of economic security...

2.  Roughly 25% of this community has some minimal economic resources (ES5)...

3. Roughly 65% of this community is marked out by subsistence-level existence (ES6 to ES7)."

It is clear that the majority of the Christ-community in Paul's house churches lived below, at, or near subsistence level. This, I think, means that we should read Paul's letters in light of this important background.

For example, when we see the words "suffering" or "affliction" in Paul's letters, at least one aspect of these words would be related to socioeconomic hardships from the audience's perspective (unless the context clearly says otherwise).

Also, financial generosity in Paul is not so much about the wealthy giving to the destitute. Rather, it is about sharing the scarce resources available in the community. That is, it is about the relatively "less poor" Christians sharing their resource with the poorest among them.

The resurrection as missional paradigm - An Indian perspective

From Michael Gorman's blog he points us to something an Indian New Testament scholar says about the resurrection being a paradigm for mission.

Here is what he says,

"The significance of the resurrection of Jesus in my Indian context is multi-faceted. When I’m talking about the resurrection of Jesus in our multi-religious, multi-cultural and pluralistic culture of India, I have to re-interpret the significance of Christ’s resurrection for our diverse communities. The salvific significance of Christ’s work on the cross, and his resurrection should first and foremost be taught and proclaimed, as the good news of salvation for the various religious and ethnic communities. As a second order to this, when I am witnessing Christ for instance to the Dalits, Tribals and the Adivasis (the poor and marginalized, also called the dust of the dust), I use Christ’s resurrection as a model for liberation out of the clutches of oppression and dehumanization. As Christ was humiliated on the cross, and was raised by the Father from the grave, so also, Christian mission should focus on the upliftment of the oppressed out of the bondages of poverty, casteism, sin and injustice."

Click here for Gorman's post.

Social justice and mission (Centre for Applied Christian Ethics (CACE), Ridley College)

Last year I had the privilege of writing a paper to respond to three speakers at a theological forum at Tabor College on the topic Social Justice and the Mission of the Church.

The speakers were

Michael Raiter, Principal of Melbourne School of Theology (formerly Bible College of Victoria)
Deborah Storie, Chair of TEAR Australia
Steve Bradbury, Director of Micah 6:8 Centre, Tabor College

Click here for the papers.

Reflection: Some thoughts on the cross on Good Friday

Here are some thoughts I have about the cross.

The radical notion of the Son of God dying for the sinful humanity on the shameful Roman cross as the atoning sacrifice is an extraordinary picture of divine participation in human suffering. The Christ-community's suffering is not something unfamiliar with the Creator God, for he allowed his own Son to be subject to ancient Rome’s brutality. The profound “mystery” of God sharing in human suffering has been revealed to us through a notorious object of Roman oppression, namely, the cross.

The identification of God’s Son as a weak and frail human being is at the same time his way of delivering humanity from sin and death, which is of course thoroughly counter-cultural - both in the ancient world and in the 21st century.

What a God we worship. And he calls us to follow him.

Social justice and salvation (Centre for Applied Christian Ethics (CACE), Ridley College)

Last year Dr Tim Foster (Ridley College), Merrill Kitchen (former principal of Churches of Christ Theological College) and I spoke at a theological forum run by World Vision Australia. The topic was Social Justice and Salvation.

Short versions of the papers presented at the forum are now published by the Centre for Applied Christian Ethics (CACE) at Ridley College, Melbourne. There is an additional article written by Nils von Kalm in response to the speakers at the forum.

The full articles can be found here.

Below are the excerpts from the articles (one from each author).

"If Jesus’ death effectively dealt with evil, if his resurrection was bodily and real, and if Jesus now reigns as Lord, we cannot for a moment see salvation as something that lies in the future, but something that is both present and future. This is the whole basis for Pauline ethics. So in Colossians 2 & 3, Paul states that we have died with Christ and we have already been raised with Christ, so we ought to live the resurrection life now. Salvation is about the present and the future. Salvation is not something we wait for, but something we can enjoy here and now, genuinely anticipating what happens in the future." (Foster)

"It must be acknowledged, also, that there is a strong apocalyptic element in the Hebrew understanding of salvation. The religious, social and political control entities constantly challenged the values of justice and equality valued by the Israelites, with the threat of annihilation constantly around the corner. But it is not an understanding of triumph over others as much as a ‘rescue from attacking nations’ (Zech. 12:7) and the ‘gathering of the dispersed’ (Is. 43:5ff) that will have a final conclusion in God’s timing. Salvation is described in Isaiah as a ‘well’ (Is. 12:3), in which ‘all the world can share its salvation.’ The promises of salvation in these Biblical documents were nearly always corporate in their focus. It was not just about the privilege of Israel over and against others but it brought good news for all humanity." (Kitchen)

"People in Rome were familiar with socioeconomic, political and religious oppression. The early Christians in Rome were not exempt from this, experiencing all sorts of injustices. In light of this, Romans 12:9-21 would have made good sense to Paul’s audience. They are called to be patient in affliction (thlipsis) and joyful in hope (12:12). They are to “love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour,” and “associate with the lowly” (12:10, 16; NRSV). The society in ancient Rome was highly hierarchical. Slaves did not enjoy mutual affection from free people. Those in relatively high positions on the social ladder did not normally give honour to those in the lower classes. Hence Paul astonishingly envisages a huge status-reversal taking place." (myself)

"The great hope of the Christian message is that God is in the process of putting the world to rights, as N.T. Wright describes it. What we read in passages like Isaiah 65 and Revelation 21 is the wonderful story of the new heavens and the new earth, of heaven and earth coming together. It is about God coming here to live with His people. What we see is not us going ‘up’ to be in heaven, but heaven coming here. This is the transformation that we long for, and it is coming. It will be a transformation of not just society, but of the human heart as well. It will be a time when there will be no more tears and no more pain (Rev 21:4), a time of justice and peace for all. But note also that Jesus says in Revelation 22, ‘I have come to make all things new’. In the new creation, it will not be just humanity that is transformed, but the whole creation. Our hope is that ‘the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God’ (Rom 8:21)." (von Kalm)

Tearfund's "Silence No More" report - The church to speak up

Silence No More is a report from Tearfund UK. It is about sexual violence in the world and calls the church to speak up for vulnerable women and children. (Click here for the report.)

Here are some key points from the report.

"Prevalent in conflict, sexual violence is common within communities worldwide – but as an issue it remains largely hidden. Women, girls, men and boys are all at risk of sexual violence."

"This report highlights three key points about the largely untapped potential of the church in preventing and reducing the impact of sexual violence:

1 Sexual violence is endemic to many communities across the world but its scale and impact are largely hidden.

2 Many churches deepen the impact of the sexual violence crisis through silence and by reinforcing stigma and discrimination. Action is needed to overcome this.

3 Churches worldwide, and especially in Africa, have huge untapped potential to respond to the crisis, as they are a key part of communal life."

A Matter of Life and Death (Easter reflections)

I wrote an article entitled A Matter of Life and Death a couple of years ago. I re-read it recently, and I actually enjoyed reading it. (Click here for the link to read the full article.)

Here are some excerpts.

"The offence of the message of the crucified Christ is its bold and counter-cultural claim against the basic idolatry of humanity...

We should not shy away from preaching the crucified Christ in our churches...

The Christian hope is not so much about a future otherworldly existence... It is, rather, about a blessed hope of new life at the final cosmic renewal that God has in store for his creation. It means that those who are suffering from emotional pain, chronic sickness, poverty, social injustice and relio-political oppression, have a genuine hope of fullness of life in the new heaven and new earth...

Through the power of the Spirit we proclaim that Jesus is the true Lord of the world, as the disciples did in Acts. We proclaim that this Lord is over and above all the rulers, systems and structures in this world, and He demands justice and mercy for the poor and oppressed. One day He will come again for His own creation, and those who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved through repentance and faith in Jesus. Let us proclaim this message - through our words and life - to a world that is out of joint and yearns to hear the good news of Easter."

(Click here for the full article.)

Justice for the poor and oppressed: The law, the prophets and Matthew (towards a biblical theology of justice)

Micah 6:8 is a well known verse about justice. But do you realise that it is echoed by Jesus in one of his seven woes against the Pharisees and the Scribes? The very people who are supposed to know the Scripture and are in relatively high religious and social positions fail to understand God's purpose and his value system.

And do you realise that the words of Micah can trace back to the Law of Moses, and that Jeremiah has something profound to say about it? Indeed, both the Law and the prophet Jeremiah talk about the circumcision of the heart (or the lack of it) when they talk about the people's failure to seek justice for the poor and marginalised.

I think a careful study of these Scriptures will help us understand God's love for the poor and oppressed - that from ancient times he wants his people to live in such a way that will reflect his character.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the LORD set his affection on your ancestors and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today. Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is the one you praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. Your ancestors who went down into Egypt were seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky. (Deuteronomy 10:12-22)

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. (Matthew 23:23)

This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD. “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh— Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places. For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.” (Jeremiah 9:23-25)

A careful look at these passages will reveal that they are connected with the following themes and biblical stories.

• Yahweh is the Creator God and hence the Genesis story, and hence all praise goes to him
• The Exodus story, in which the righteous, just and faithful God graciously rescued his people from social, economical, racial and political oppressions
• The Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4-5, which is of course the greatest commandment according to Jesus, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." - And note how the next verse makes the heart the location of this love and how it is to be expressed, "These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts."
• The new (renewed) covenant foreshadowed by Jeremiah and Ezekiel, that one day God would circumcise the heart of his people through the outpouring of the Spirit
• This in turn has now been fulfilled through Jesus the Messiah and the indwelling Spirit in the life of the Christ-community, who seek to follow Jesus and his self-giving and love-filled way of life.
  

We can see how these passages can form the basis of a biblical theology of justice for the poor and oppressed. It is about the loving and faithful God, his gracious saving acts, and the demand for faithful discipleship on the part of the Jesus-followers.

(All of these passages are taken from the NIV2011)

Resurrection and God's justice for the oppressed and those who suffer unjustly

Some time ago I posted the following quote from Joel Green's commentary on 1 Peter (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007). I think it's worth posting it again. It is about the resurrection.

Three interrelated motifs help to structure our understanding: (A) Resurrection signals the restoration of Israel. (B) Resurrection marks God's vindication of the righteous who have suffered unjustly; having been condemned and made to suffer among humans, the righteous will in the resurrection be vindicated before God. (C) Resurrection marks the decisive establishment of divine justice; injustice and wickedness will not have the final word, but in the resurrection will be decisively repudiated. To proclaim the resurrection, then, is already to proclaim a new world, and to call for a "conversion of the imagination." (page 28)

I have been thinking that in Acts the apostles' preaching was often about the resurrection (and, of course, the death) of Christ. It's good news for all. But for the poor and oppressed, this is especially comforting, for it is about God's justice and vindication for the suffering righteous. Injustice does not have the final say. God reigns. It is good news indeed.