Sunday, August 28, 2011

Random Thought #11

I'm not really sure how I feel about the term "social justice" anymore.  To me, justice has always implied a series of systematic rewards and punishments based on people's actions.  Justice is when good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people.  In fact, when I hear the word justice, I usually think first of its punitive aspect: providing reprimands for evildoers.  I see justice as the responsibility of the police, the legal system, and (in rare cases) Batman.  Justice is the stuff for which district attorneys, primetime pundits, and desperate politicians call.  There's a bitterness to it.  There's a zeal for vengeance and vindication that appeals to something base in humanity, and I'm just not sure that's healthy anymore.

When it comes to Christianity, I think we should favor social mercy.

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