Why Do Justice?

As seen and heard on Ms. Theary C. Seng's BLOG...

Retired Yale Philosopher Nick Wolterstorff giving a series of lectures on Justice in Honduras, attended by Ms. Theary C. Seng

Ms. Theary C. Seng, Ms. Navy Chann in Honduras for JUSTICE: THEORY MEETS PRACTICE Seminar

LECTURE No. 1

"Role of Justice in Christian Scripture"

(Why Practice Justice)

(Ret.Yale philosopher/theologian Prof. Nick Wolterstorff)

Tuesday, 19 June 2012 Diary

Yesterday (June 18),  all the other participants arrived from around the world, about 20 of us altogether.

This seminar on JUSTICE: THEORY MEETS PRACTICE will be a combination of lectures given by former Calvin College (30 years) and Yale philosopher Nick Wolterstorff and site visits as well as presentations by each of the participants.

Yesterday, Nick presented his theory that God commanded the Israelites TO DO JUSTICE AS A WAY OF REMEMBRANCE OF DELIVERANCE (out of Egypt), focusing on Deuteronomy. 25: 17-22:

Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge.  Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there.  That is why I command you to do this. 

When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it.  Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.  When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time.  Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow.  When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again.  Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow.   Remember that you were slaves in Egypt.  That is why I command you to do this.

Before he developed this theory, he started by giving 4 reasons why North American Christians are suspicious of or uncomfortable with "PRIMARY JUSTICE" (but gung-ho about "criminal justice"). He noted that God LOVES primary justice.  And that the Bible does not give a theory or definition of justice; it is assumed that everyone knows what justice is.

Christians are comfortable with doing CHARITY/BENEVOLENCE (e.g. soup kitchen) but have a discomfort when asked to do PRIMARY JUSTICE (involving a critique of someone or something as unjust, and tacitly implying they must do something about this injustice). In developing his theory that God demands us to do justice as remembrance of deliverance, he noted that in the Bible, especially the Old Testament, it gives a special preference to the "Quartet of the Vulnerable" - widows, orphans, aliens/sojourners, the impoverished".

Nowadays, we call these individuals the "unfortunates", a word not used by the Old Testament, which demands no responsibility from us, because it's their fault. Liberation theology speaks about "Preferential Option for the Poor" (or "Vulnerable"). Whereas God loves justice for the "widows, orphans, aliens, impoverished".  Why? Because unlike the rich which encounters injustice only EPISODICALLY, for these "quartet of the vulnerable", injustice is a DAILY CONDITION.  As such, when we seek justice, we must give priorities.

Today (June 19), we have field visits, with focus on security concerns. Honduras, as everyone keeps telling me, is the murder capital of the world. It is also a Christian nation of Protestants and Catholics. Within the last 20-25 years, Evangelical Christians grew from 5% to 50% of the 7.6 M population. This disconnect between the high murder rate and poverty to Christian growth is jarring. Similar to Cambodian Christians, we must move from having received salvation to the "working out" of our salvation, the maturing stage.

- Theary, Tegucigalpa, Tuesday, 19 June 2012

More photos and info at:

  

www.thearyseng.com