The biblical reason for the elimination of social inequalities lies in the origin and potential destiny of man, as well as In God’s universal love for the world (John 3:16; Mt 5. 43-48) . The roots of Western civilization are deeply rooted in the Bible. revelation that man comes from a single couple (father and mother) and was created in the image of God. [1] The common participation of all humanity in imago dei means that all men are heirs to the inalienable rights of dignity and intentional meaning. Agreeing with Lincoln on the axiom that all men were created equal, but rejecting participation in imago dei means that ultimately, there is no reason for a common responsibility among men.
Given the fact that socialist humanism came to power, while denying the creation of man with a divine image, human dignity and equality have become mere slogans, very useful for propaganda purposes. George Orwell ridiculed the consequences of socialism, rejecting the foundation of equality in his book Animal Farm, [2] Djilas and, more recently, A. Solzhenitsyn described the historical consequences of an ideal society without foundation in divine creation. [3]
- The profound relevance of truth about human origins is summed up in the biblical commandment to love one’s neighbour as himself (Lv 19:18; Mt 22:39).
- But the failure of men to live as brothers.
- Even though creation has driven them to do so.
- Thus.
- It is due to the inherent selfishness that sin has made universal; the substitution of unjust structures with more equitable structures may end up being crowned with failure.
- Unless there is a much deeper transformation among the men who establish and control their power.
- You must always maintain that the Church’s primary responsibility is the proclamation of the gospel and depends on the subsequent spiritual modification by the Holy Ghost to create a community in which the unsasured can see a model of the kingdom of God.
Therefore, the interests of social justice must always be kept in a subordinate relationship to evangelism, which is the means used by God to restore the divine image through the indwelling of Christ (Col. 3:10). We can rightly say that the goal of humanity is the “communal perfection” [4] of those who have become the Body through the incorporating action of the Holy Spirit (1Co 12, 13). The God who gave sinners their most precious gift, the Son, cannot tolerate indifference to the matter in which countless people drag their tortured existence, desperately waiting for the Kingdom to be offered to them. For this reason, Jesus Christ commands his disciples to go throughout the world and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all the commandments he has given them (Mt 28,19,20). While liberal socialists classify social inequalities as criminal, an insult to man and God [5], evangelicals seem to accept incongruously with great ease that much of this same world has not. yet he heard the message of salvation. On the other hand, where the gospel has been proclaimed and accepted, a new joy and hope have replaced the prevailing despair. [6] Traces of the image of God began to emerge (cf. Rm 8. 28s with 2Co 3. 2. 18).
[1] The theory of evolution explains man’s growth by the occasional survival of the strongest and fittest. It becomes absolutely impossible to defend human social justice, if this theory is accepted. The concept of man proposed by Marx, who denied all essence in the human being, was carefully analyzed by J. Andrew KIRK: “If Marx had used biblical categories to express himself, he would have denied that man was made in the image of a personal and infinite God [?]; exclusively to matter ?, in “The Sense of Man in the Debate between Christianity and Marx”, Bulletin of the Theological Fraternity, 1974, n. 2. According to Marx, man is all his social relations (ibid. , p. 5), capable of reflection and self-realization through work and the creation of history. Man is then truly a man when he transforms the natural world (ibid). Reinhold Niebuhr played the?mito?of man’s creation in the image of God as a fundamental paradox of finitude and freedom V. Dennis P. McCANN, C Christian Realism and Liberation Theology, Maryknoll: Orbis, 1981, p. 56.
[2] New York: Scoreboard, 1954. [Portuguese edition: The animal revolution, trad. Heitor Aquino Ferreira, Sao Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2007]
[3] M. DJILAS, The New Class: An Analysis of the Communist System, New York: Praeger, 1957, 1976, p. 26. This most recent book and publications, such as the books of AA Solzhenitsyn, show that an idealistic system is not a sufficient incentive to ensure justice in society. It has now been historically verified that communist society leaders committed indescribable atrocities in their quest to achieve their superior ideal. See also, JAKIRK, “The Meaning of Man in the Debate Between Christianity and Marxism?”Themelios 1. 2, spring 1976, p. 41-49; 1. 3, summer 1976, p. 85-93.
[4] Emil BRUNNER, Justice and Social Order, New York: Harper, 1945, p. 45. Brunner positively points out that community can only exist if there is a difference. There is no difference, there may be unity, but no community, which implies reciprocity in the gift and in the reception.
[5] V. Gustavo GUTIERREZ, A Theology of Liberation, Maryknoll: Orbis, 1973, p. 291ss. [Portuguese Edition: Liberation Theology, Sao Paulo: Loyola, 2000]
[6] The secular press in Brazil reported this phenomenon regarding Pentecostals in the editorials of the magazines Manchete and Veja.
By Tim Keller, from the first chapter of the book “Generous Justice”, which launches the Oedes Vida nova.
Does social justice have to do with the theology of liberation, with a full mission?Or with the sheer grace of God?
In this book, Tim Keller discusses the fundamental relationship between the gospel and justice and gives us a biblical vision of social justice, and shows us that concern for justice in all aspects of life is neither an artificial addition nor a contradiction to God’s message. Scripture, because the Bible is the true basis of justice.