A Christian Justice for the Common Good

by Tex Sample

Do Christians bring a unique, scriptural understanding of social justiceto bear on the ills of society? Would such an understanding reshape theway Christians engage and partner with others working to create a morejust world?Much of the modern conversation around creatingjustice focuses on ideas that too often reduce justice to human rights,procedural justice, and even the consumerism of the contemporaryculture/economy. While the priorities of human rights and due processare necessary for fashioning a just world, the Christian understandingof the common good is much richer and calls the church beyond fairnessto forms of liberation, compassion, mercy, and peace that are even moreradical than the best notions of justice that characterize thenation-state at the beginning of the 21st century.A Christian Justice for the Common Good describesa Christian justice for the common good and what it looks like on theground in real world settings. Calling Christians (individuals, as wellas communities of faith) to a concrete version of social well-beingbefitting faithful life in Jesus and God’s vision of justice for theworld, Tex Sample drills deeper and identifies the skills that must becultivated to do justice work with others—work that will create alasting impact while extending a Christian vision for the common good.Theconclusion? The freedom God offers in Christ finds its place inconcrete Christian efforts and the graced wherewithal of people who workgenerously with one another for a new and just life together.Contents The Reduction of Justice to Human Rights2. A Christian Justice3. The Formation of a Just Church4. Skills of Justice5. Doing Justice with Others6. A Justice of the Common Good

138 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 17, 2016

About the author

Is a specialist in church and society, a storyteller, author.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone struggling with the present order of things, for any faithful person wanting a road through the morass of American politics, for anyone who seeks justice but is not satisfied with how we approach it, this is your book. Is my support overstated--no, it is not. Tex Sample takes the issue of justice much farther than the protection of human rights. He defines how it is that an authentic Christian true to the path of Jesus can organize to seek the common good. This is a book for now. It will help me get through the next 3 1/2 years.