The contours of Justice: A Christian Call to Action |
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Ethiocross// February 24, 2008// Menelik Asfaw "We need to remember that the concept of human rights resides in the God of creation. The origin of human rights is Creation - man's creation in the image of God. Thus, the purposes of human life proceeds from this divine gift which bestow man dignity, equality and responsibility. Our unique value comes from the fact that we are made in the image of God. Therefore, to dehumanize human beings is an insult to the God who made man in his own image. Human right is important in God's eyes. " |
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My aim in this short article is to briefly point out what justice means and to present its implications for Christians. In light of many Christian's unfortunate "position" against involvement in what they characterize as "politics," I believe it is high time that we address this matter. As Christian believers, we recognize both our opportunity and our responsibility to offer a Biblically based view that can help shape our walk and influence in this world. Whether we will enter the public square and offer our view is no longer an open question. We are in that square, and we will not withdraw. Let me say at the outset that I do not intend to break any new ground with this article, but merely to restate a position taught in Scripture and long held by Christians. Let me also say that I do not intend to discuss what are usually regarded as the primary theories of truth and justice. Justice and the Bible The Bible is filled with the notions of justice. Over and over again the Bible confronts us with the declaration that God loves justice. In fact the Biblical vision of justice is firmly based on the justice of God. To read Isaiah 61:8 is to hear God saying "I the Lord love justice." Scripture passages such as Isaiah 1:17; 32:16-20 and Hosea 2:18-20 use rich imagery in describing justice. Proverbs 24:24 clearly warns us against misrepresentation, injustice; "He that saith unto the wicked, Thou are righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him." They paint a word picture of justice using terms such as peace, security, rest, confidence, love, compassion, commitment, faithfulness and fruitfulness. Justice is connected with right relationships among people and in all of creation. It provides a strong foundation for overcoming adversity and conflict. Enforcement of laws, government oversight, impartial courts, and fair and equitable responses to crime are parts of true justice (though the biblical vision of justice goes beyond that). Justice focuses on individual and social well-being. Where there is no justice there is no peace. Where there is no equality there is no tranquility. Biblical justice is fundamentally personal and relational. Moreover, it envisions a fullness of life for all. The biblical conception of justice is rooted in and stems from the vision of shalom. Shalom in the Bible is a richly textured idea. Generally translated as peace, shalom means more than a lack of conflict. It envisions people in active, right, fruitful relationships with each other, with God and with creation. Peace in this sense not only reduces or prevents conflict but also fosters individual and social well-being. It yields a fullness of life for all. Justice then, biblically understood, seeks shalom, God's shalom among people. When we fall short helping the oppressed, defending the orphans, and fighting for the rights of the poor, shalom suffers and it is unjust to leave both the wrongdoing and the resulting harm unresolved. If we forget the poor and do not work toward freeing people from oppression of others and from system of abuse, we fail to claim the mandate of the scriptures.Practicing biblical justice rebuilds and increases shalom for the affected individuals and society. At this very moment our country desperately needs God's justice and shalom. And we are called, we believe, to stand and speak for justice, justice that attempt to respond to wrongdoers and to the harm they have caused so that relationships within the community are strengthened, injuries are resolved, community values are upheld, and victims are protected. God and his son Jesus have a special affection for the marginalized, ignored and unwanted people. We should have the same attitude as the people of God. We all know the adversarial nature of our country's court procedures. Courts are unable to process cases in an appropriate amount of time due to the government intrusion. We all know that judges are there only to execute the interest of the present regime. We all know the ethnocentric ideology of our government. We all know the brutality and tyranny of our government. How can we, then, shut our ears and close our eyes to such unprecedented crime? How can we disregard when People treated unfairly by tyrants? How can we turn our backs when our citizens blamed for things they have not done, denied things they deserve, overlooked when they should have been recognized, treated in an inferior manner, or have otherwise suffered without just cause? Many have lost their loved ones, their jobs, their properties, their homes, their friends, their spouses, and even their lives unjustly. Some have languished in prisons for crimes they never committed. Others have endured the poverty, squalor, and disease of slums through no fault of their own. Where is the justice in all of that? How can we live peacefully as if none of these things are happening in our country at this very moment? It would be a blatant dismay to our people if we disregarded their situation. Moreover, it would be a disgrace to our God, if we believe in a God of justice. Let's not forget these current facts about Ethiopia. All human rights agencies unanimously verified that there is no press freedom in Ethiopia. We are rated 150 out of the 169 countries where there in no press freedom (see Reporters without Borders annual report, 2007). Ethiopia is one of the top 20 countries at the bottom of the index. All private owned press (except those who fan the sentiment of our government) has been banned or politically anathematized since the May 2005 election. Quite a number of journalists have been put to prison by the authoritarian regime. We know that those journalists who dare to criticize the regime are still in prison and we have every reason to fear that others will suffer the same fate. Web sites like Ethiomedia.com, nazret.com, Ethiopianreview.com, Ethiopolitics.com and several others media outlet have been blocked or made inaccessible. Peaceful demonstrators have been killed by the government snipers/soldiers; though the government confessed that 193 innocent civilians were killed, according to other sources, the numbers are higher than what the government admits. Corruption is becoming prevalent in the land. Until recently, the recurrent character of corruption is unfamiliar in Ethiopia. We need to ask why there is more corruption at this time than in others. A corrupt society, where no one trusts anyone else, is doomed to poverty. The source of political corruption is absolutely none other than lack of transparency and accountability. Ethnocentrism is infecting all systems and structures. One has to be from a particular tribe to get a job or do a good business. Key government positions are reserved for a particular group of tribe. We must all stand against the ethnocentrism fashion of our government before our land demonized, satanised and diabolized by this infectious syndrome. Having said all these we need to distinguished between revenge and injustice. Here I am not talking about revenge in anyway. I don't approve nor endorse revenge. For Christians revenge is morally wrong. Moreover, I don't advocate nor cultivate it. Christians are not backers and promoters of vengeance. As Miroslav Volf succinctly puts it, "revenge multiplies evil" (Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Striped of Grace, Zondervan, 2005, p. 161). Revenge or retribution won't solve our problem. In fact it worsens it. Revenge begets revenge. Retribution produces retribution. Revenge and retribution begets more hatred, revulsion and detestation. Revenge and retribution contains evil and it threatens countries and societies with inevitable destruction if we don't address it responsibly. If we have a sensible mind, we need to learn from what happened in Rwanda and Yugoslavia a few years back. Who in the world said that the horrible things that happened in these countries won't happen in Ethiopia? Look at the recent killings in Kenya. Right before our eyes people are killing each other on the basis of ethnic background. It is revenge and ethnocentrism/tribalism that caused all these mass slaughters and massacres. Here we Christians should agree with what Miroslav Volf has said: "we need to absorb the impact of evil or to use Leo Tolstoy's word we need to swallow the impact of evil" (Free of Charge, p 161). By that he means we need to pursue the path of forgiveness and reconciliation as followers of Christ. That's what God did. He bore the evil and set free the whole world from the power of evil. In the book of Romans, Christians are told not to avenge. Instead, they are told to give the matters to the ultimate judge - God. Rather than retaliation, they are told to "bless those who persecute them." This seems foolishness. But in reality, it is the best solution. It breaks the cycle of evil. Evil cannot and will not be eliminated by revenge. It can only be destroyed by forgiveness and reconciliation. Therefore, Christians have not the right to subscribe retributive justice in any way or by any means. From Right to Responsibilities We strongly believe that Christians can argue about human rights from the fact of imago dei. The legitimacy of human rights grounded on God's creation of all human beings in his image. All men bear the image of God. We assert unreservedly that the whole question of the ultimate source of human rights rests on this fundamental truth that man is made in the image of God. The entire conception of human right becomes tenuous for Christians unless it is grounded in man's primal right - divinely stipulated dignity. All other rights are derived from this basic right. This fact answers the all-important question of what makes rights right. We need to remember that the concept of human rights resides in the God of creation. The origin of human rights is Creation - man's creation in the image of God. Thus, the purposes of human life proceeds from this divine gift which bestow man dignity, equality and responsibility. Our unique value comes from the fact that we are made in the image of God. Therefore, to dehumanize human beings is an insult to the God who made man in his own image. Human right is important in God's eyes. If we Christians concentrate only on moral and spiritual freedom to the exclusion of legal freedom, we diminish the love of neighbor. Israel was condemned several times because of her abandonment of the poor. Christians should respond to the cries of the oppressed. We have a responsibility to secure the rights of others. In the other words, "we are our brother's keepers" (Gen. 4:9). The voice of the blood of our country men cries out day and night before God. Unlike Cain who deserted his brother, we have a responsibility to stand alongside the voiceless. We have a duty to serve the poor and to defend the powerless. In this regard, we Christians have an obligation to set the example for rest of the world. We should be the sign of God's original purpose where human dignity and equality are recognized. When the Bible condemns the taking away of life, it is invariably asserting the dignity of human life. "You shall not kill" means "have respects for life." As Paul asserted, "there is no favoritism with God" (Eph. 6:9). The good news about injustice is that God is against it. God is in the business of justice. God loves justice and hates injustice. Models of human right advocates Of all the human right activists/advocates, Martin Luther King, Jr. Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Desmond Tutu are the most renowned Christians who have responded to the issues. They believed that the struggle for justice, peace and equality - basic human right - is inherent in what it means to be Christian. They also believed that the God of Scripture consistently identifies himself with the poor and the oppressed. These three people are the most provocative voices to emerge from a totally anti human situation - racism and ethnocentrism. These people are peaceful protesters who believed in non violence. I am very well aware that standing for justice and equality may be costly and it is costly. However, if we are lovers of God we have to be lovers of justice. Justice moves a society toward equal distribution of power, equal access of resources, and social respect for the diversity of human and non humane life. As Leonardo Boff, the great Latin American theologian, reminds us there is inter-relatedness between ecological, human, social and spiritual aspects of life. Justice is thus political, ecological, economical, cultural and spiritual. Though one may have a problem with the teachings of liberation theology, we need to appreciate its critique of society and the ideologies sustaining it and its critique of the activity of the church and of Christians from the angle of the poor and oppressed. If one really cared for and believed in the Christian ideals, one had to answer the question: should the Church and Christians be involved in the history of the world? I believe the answer to this question is a resounding - yes! It is not hard to imagine where ignoring this fact is likely to end up in a country where people abandon justice. It is, then, our privilege to join hands with those who are fighting for social justice. We are, after all, the hope of the world. May God's grace enable us to live that out! Writer Menelik Asfaw can be reached at: - menelik_asfaw@yahoo.com "" |
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