Poll: Justice and its implications for Christians/non-Christians

[Bootstrap]

Matthew 23:

“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.

[Bootstrap]

Luke 18:

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

[Bootstrap]

Hebrews 11:

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

[MaxPC]

What is just is relative to one's belief system. But if justice is not enforced then no one even has their own version of justice. Therefore people who share beliefs about what is just should form communities and enforce their shared concept of justice within their community. No one should try to impose their concept of justice on other groups. Politically, early America came closest to this ideal with its highly decentralized government where justice was mostly enforced at the town level and towns were mostly composed of people with shared beliefs and values.

Excellent points, Franklin.

Why even be involved? Nothing is just. It wasn't just that my sins were so wicked that Jesus had to die for me.

Indeed, Chris.

[Josh]

Leviticus 24:

Anyone who takes the life of a human being is to be put to death.

Genesis 9:

Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.

Leviticus 21:

If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned in the fire.

[eini76]

Perhaps it would be good to have examples of people who "unpervert" justice. This is a Central American example, so I hope it doesn't fall afoul of the rules you had for this thread; Bukele, the leader of El Salvador, has made radical changes to the justice system there which has resulted in a very dramatic drop in murders. El Salvador went from one of the highest - or even the highest - to one of the lower murder rates in the world.

I don't think the standard for "perverting justice" necessarily aligns with what Western values around expectation of bribery, transparency, etc. are, but I think they should instead be based on biblical principles.

As Christians, we may end up finding we can't be involved in some areas of political administration because it would be impossible to participate without being involved in something dishonest or that we should not do. An example would be working in a job where bribes are an expected and normal part of daily operations. In a country where this is basically standard, a question of whether people like missionaries, etc. should pay bribes often comes up and can be quite difficult to discern. (It might be required to pay a bribe simply to travel anywhere.)

yeah, You make an interesting observation about the standard for "perverting justice" and how it may not always align with Western values but should instead be rooted in biblical principles. , these discussions are essential for reflecting on our roles as individuals and communities within the realm of politics and justice. Thank you for sharing your insights, and it's valuable to explore these ethical dilemmas to better understand the complexities of living out one's faith in different contexts.