Generous Justice, by Timothy Keller
Justice, or equity, means different things to different people. The question pertinent to Christians is: what does God mean when he tells us to “do justice” (Micah 6:8)? Justice is more than mere charity to the poor or equity for the subjugated. In his book, Pastor Keller shows us that justice reflects the character of God. Since God is righteous, justice is about us being righteous. In Keller’s words, we “do justice when we give all human beings their due as creations of God.” It is for this reason we help the poor and advocate for the oppressed. But God is also very generous. Everything we are and have is because of him, creation and salvation included. His generosity is unparalleled. Thus, we must also be generous, especially with our justice. This topic should matter to you as a Christian. If you want to know more, I highly suggest reading this book.
When Helping Hurts, by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
Helping people is a very practical way of living out a life of righteousness. But how do we do this wisely? Oftentimes, more privileged (i.e. wealthy) Christians default to charity. This kind of justice is centrally about relief, or meeting the immediate needs of individuals and groups. But relief is not always helpful. Impoverished individuals are not benefited in the long-run when they are given a hand-out. This might create a sense of entitlement. Corbett and Fikkert have written a thoughtful book about helping others through means that promote sustainable improvement in people’s lives. They contend that Christians need to be more discerning about how they offer help. I happily recommend this book.
Recently, there has been a surge in atheistic polemics, most famously spearheaded by Richard Dawkins. In addition to Dawkins, there are other voices that have added to this surge, including Christopher Hitchens, author of God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. While Dawkins centrally argues for atheism from an evolutionary biologist’s perspective, Christopher Hitchens argues for it using historical examples and philosophical rhetoric. He is a self-described anti-theist. By doing so, he doesn’t count himself among those that simply deny the existence of God, rather, he is decidedly against anyone who would persist or propagate any belief of God. He is so passionate about this cause that he campaigned for anti-theism in a series of public debates with Pastor Douglas Wilson.
