John Paul Vicory

The definition of justice in the Old Testament is vital to our understanding of justice today. Many theorists have placed the idea of inherent rights in the fourteenth century. If justice was not rooted in the Bible, then the fourteenth century definition (Wolterstorff, 2008) would be irrelevant to the contemporary Christian practice of justice. It would be based on the evolution of human thought instead of the basis of Christian faith, the Word of God.

In the Old Testament, justice was not an institution, it was a way of life (Wolterstorff, 2008, p.74). The institution came out of an understanding of inherent human rights. God loved the people of Israel, and all people, so he called them to practice justice. He held them accountable to just standards not for justices’ sake, but because of the worth that people had to God. Through the Old Testament especially, sacrifice for wrong doing is a central theme. Before God’s written law, the Patriarchs had to burn offerings to God for their repentance. Sacrifice, especially to God, would be completely unnecessary in a justice as right order context. The importance of practicing justice was made evident not only to Israel, but also to the surrounding nations. If God’s definition of justice lay in the institution of justice only, he would have no grounds for expecting the other nations to practice justice. How would the other nations know what justice really was if they didn’t have the Law of God? How did the Patriarchs know of justice or Joseph when he distributed grain for all of Egypt and the surrounding people (Genesis 41 & 47)? There was no Law at that time, but people knew because God created everyone with a sense of what is right and wrong.

The entire basis of what is right and wrong is dependent on worth. Since God has infinite worth, we ultimately deprive him of the rights in which he is due( Wolterstorff, 2008, p. 81). He created humans in his image and to deprive them of inherent rights is stripping them of worth. This is not only an act of injustice against the other person, but an injustice against God for defacing his image. This idea is fleshed out in the New Testament.

Jesus is God bringing justice to earth. It is God’s love that motivates justice. Because of God’s love for the world, he brought forgiveness, but also justice. For forgiveness to take place, the victim and perpetrator must recognize the inherent rights that God has as a perfect being and the value that he gave to humans by creating them in his image. Forgiveness cannot be separate from justice (Wolterstorff, 2008, p. 101). Jesus proved that justice was inherent and not defined by social order when he defied the social order of the day by reaching out to the diseased, afflicted, and oppressed. The forgiveness of sins by Jesus’ death on the cross is the central point of the New Testament. Since there cannot be forgiveness without the concept of justice, the entire theme of the New Testament is love and justice. The writers of the gospels showed Jesus’ love for those he came in contact with (2008, p. 117). His public interaction showed that he cared about the equality of people and highlighted the injustices that were being done to them so often. Not only was he there to lift up those who were oppressed, he came to show the backwardness of those who oppressed.

In the Old Testament, God is constantly reminding the Israelites of the bondage he brought them out of in Egypt. In the same way, we can look to Jesus as a constant reminder of the freedom from sin that we have been brought out of. We can also look back to the Old and New Testaments and see the value that God sees in every individual, whether they were called his people or not. The freedom that Christ brought on the cross and the example of love and justice that he showed during his life and death are the basis for all actions that we take as Christians. The idea of the inherent worth of humans, and the treatment of them that follows, is not an idea that originated a thousand years after Christ’s death, but is an idea that is foundational to the writings of the Old and New Testaments. Not only is it conceptual, but practical as well. God called the Israelites and the surrounding people groups to act justly in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, he lovingly gave himself as an example of the practices of justice and forgiveness. As we seek justice, we see Jesus as the perfect example of defending the poor and oppressed, and turning the idea of justice as social order upside-down.

Wolterstorff, N. (2008). Justice: Rights and Wrongs. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

I recently received word from Edith at St. Ameria in Jinja. Some of the children that she cares for are from the war torn north. Some of the children went back to the north to visit any guardians they may have up there. Some were sent back having learned that there guardians were no longer around. This could mean that over the course of the last few years, they have been victims of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) or that they have moved on, forgetting or dismissing these children as a part of their responsibilities. Either way, these children, already misplaced, are now without whatever family or relation that they had. Please keep them in your prayers.

Response Post to a film about child soldiers in Uganda.

The Lord’s Army

Tribal Conflict

Africa has only recently known borders. Most of Africa is populated by tribal people. Most of the borders in Africa have not been drawn along cultures, people groups, and languages because to do this would be impossible. Instead of tribes being able to live on their land in peace as they had done for generations, country lines demanded country rulers.

Janina Matuszeski and Frank Schneider (2006) examined the correlation between ethnic lines and civil war within the boundaries of recognized 189 recognized countries. The economists found that people, even within the confines of a national border, adhere to other people that think and speak like them and at the fringes of those ethnic lines is where the conflict zones and civil wars break out. The government body usually only represents a fraction of the population who, in turn, watch out for the interests of their ethnicity causing rebel groups to rise up.

This is a pattern that occurs in many places. I am sure that when Joseph Koney first started his resistance, his intentions might have been good. That was a long time ago and since then he has produced evil deeds beyond belief. Many tribal communities have also been introduced to the Gospel and claim to be “Christians” yet still hold strongly to animistic traditions as well. Koney’s kingdom does not sound like the one that Jesus talked about. There is obviously something wrong with his thinking.

The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), and many other rebel groups who abduct child soldiers are able to brainwash the children at a very vulnerable age. Even though the family structure is much different and community based among many societies and tribes in Uganda, there is also a sense of caring for one’s-self even among children. Most children go to school away from their parents and when they get back have a lot of responsibility. It is also good to have a lot of children among the Acholi and birth control has generally been looked down upon until recent years. There are a lot of children to take care of and because of HIV and AIDS, there have been fewer parents to care for them. The caretakers, whether it be aunts, uncles, or grandparents have many mouths to feed and have to concentrate on those children who are most likely to succeed. Former child soldiers have been changed, and reintegrating them back into society at any level is a risk. Fear us a big driving force in animistic cultures and fear is what keeps guardians from having their children back. Therefore, social aid not only has to address physical, mental, and emotional care, but also spiritual for the child to succeed.

Matuszeski J., Schneider F. 2006. Patterns of Ethnic Group Segregation and Civil Conflict. Harvard University. Retrieved from http://www.cgdev.org/content/calendar/detail/12518/ on February 18, 2008

“So keep your head above water, but don’t forget to breathe” – Alexi Murdoch

Since arriving in the Northwest more than 6 months ago, my blog posts have reflected what has been going on with me; disconnected and distant. The transition from YWAM hasn’t been the easiest for me. I went from a family where every one knew each other, shared meals together, cried, laughed, fought, got sick, danced, prayed, and believed together in an environment where we saw new and exciting places every day. We met people, walked in the footsteps of Jesus, Paul, Peter, Moses, Plato Aristotle, and others I have never known or heart of. It wasn’t always glamorous, but it was a constant adventure where we saw immense beauty, but also immense sadness in affluent and developing countries alike.

So, I come back to the worst Northwest winter that anyone can remember, only knowing a couple of people. Is this really where I am supposed to be? It was like stepping into a new country, different people, different types of communication, a different way of life. At first (and sometimes still) I didn’t like it. It is difficult. Nothing made sense, but slowly, the pieces started coming together about why I had been led to such a place, and those pieces are still coming, being fit together in ways I couldn’t imagine to form something that I still cannot make out.

I haven’t been patient, or made all the right decisions, but God has been faithful still. I am learning to be patient, learning about a good community, and most of all, learning to be content in all things, whether it is the location or job of my dreams, or whether I am happy all of the time or not. I have a lot to learn about the difference between my timing, my plans, and what God has for me. He is trustworthy even though I have shown that most of the time I have not trusted Him.

His ways are higher than mine, and he leads me to quiet waters, even though to me they don’t seem so still. He is calling to me, “Don’t forget to breathe,” He says. “Your life and breath is a gift and you can choose to be miserable if you don’t accept it. No matter where you are, no matter how hard the struggle is to keep you head above the water, don’t give up, but don’t forget to breathe. Don’t be so lost in the waves around you that you can’t see that I have given you the opportunity for abundant life every day. Don’t miss this opportunity to take hold of life and live it with everything that you have, to find fulfillment and joy in Me even though the waves are crashing everywhere around you. I’ve got you in the palm of my hand and I have a purpose for this time.”