Gods Love: Foundation of Justice

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Chapter 1

• Gods Love Foundation of Justice

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Vision of a Just World

• Justice
• What all people are due as children of God made
  in his image
• Process ? the work of justice
• Goal ? a just world
• Implications
• In a just society, all people
• Possess what is their due
• Have access to what is needed to achieve this
  goal
• Work together to make this goal a reality

3
Salvation History and Justice

• Salvation History
• Term referring to the story of Gods relationship
  with humanity
• Gods saving actions for the sake of humanity
• Creation
• The act by which God began all that exists
  outside of himself
• Beginning point of Salvation History
• Ongoing
• Continuing from Creation through the Scriptures,
  Salvation History extends into our own day and
  age
• God is still active and present today
• Social Justice
• Helps us to understand our own place in Salvation
  History and how we are to impact the world in
  positive ways

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Creation

• Creation
• Ex nihilo from nothing
• God created the world
• Good because it is of God
• Not perfect because it is not God
• Human Beings
• Dignity and worth from God
• Justice implications
• All creation is good because it is from God
• All races, ethnicities, and groups of people
• Respect for other aspects of creation
• Environment, animals, etc.
• Opportunity to share in Gods goodness

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Humanity

• Image of God Imago Dei
• we are made good
• we are made to be in relationship with others
• we are made free
• Relationships
• we live out our humanity with other people,
  creation, and God
• Free Will
• the ability to choose what to do
• allows us to sin at times
• greater good of freedom

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Why is There Suffering?

• Key question for believers
• Answered in the Tradition and Scriptures
• Two Insights
• God is Love
• God cannot cause suffering
• Humans failing to love as God loves
• Leads to suffering

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God and Suffering

• God and the Problem of Evil
• God does not cause evil directly, but allows evil
  to happen in order to bring about a greater good.
  
• Example of Sin of ADAM O Happy Fault...
  Leading to Jesus
• Evil - death on a cross ... Good - salvation for
  humanity

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Original Sin

• Adam Eve
• Separates us from four groups
• Our own goodness
• God
• Other people
• Creation
• Sin Human Freedom
• St. Augustine drew connection between sin and
  human freedom.
• God gave humans free will so that they could
  choose right vs. wrong.

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The Exodus and Liberation

• Exodus
• Departure of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery
  under the leadership of Moses
• Led to the Sinai Covenant
• 10 Commandments
• Gods saving action
• Hearing the cries of the oppressed
• Involved in the lives of his people
• Source of hope for future oppressed peoples
• African slaves
• Civil Rights Movement
• Women
• Latin America

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The Prophets

• Prophet
• One who has a close relationship with God and
  communicates a divinely inspired message
• Often lowly seemingly unimportant member of
  society
• Message
• Challenging usually not received well
• Connection between love of God and love of
  neighbor
• Show devotion to God through service to the poor
• Conversion on both personal and societal levels

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The Compassionate Way of Jesus

• God is With Us
• Emmanuel name meaning God is with us
• Matthews Infancy Narrative Isaiahs Suffering
  Servant
• Incarnation
• God taking on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ
• The way that God showed a new compassion for
  people
• In becoming human Jesus raised the value of
  humanity
• Fully human and fully divine
• Jesus faced injustice, suffering, pain, and death
• Jesus practice justice and compassion

12
Jesus Mission of Justice

• Preached the Kingdom of God
• Jesus worked to restore a world of loving
  relationships
• Luke 4 17-21
• Jesus identifies himself as the one who fulfilled
  Isaiahs vision
• See also Is 421-4 611-2
• What do these passages point to?
• Preached the Kingdom of God

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The Kingdom of God

• The way things are when love is more important
  than anything else
• idea not invented by Jesus
• Old Testament roots
• Jesus spin
• 2 greatest commandments
• love God above all else love neighbor as self

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Love Turns the World Upside Down

• Love in the Christian context
• transformative turning the world upside down
• Social Structure in Palestine
• pyramid with high priest on top and sinners on
  bottom
• Jesus transforming love turns it around
• examples the Beatitudes
• New relationships
• with women sinners sick people rich people
  and enemies

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Loves Surprise

• The Cross and the Resurrection
• Cross
• An instrument of torture became the ultimate
  symbol of Gods love
• Gods will
• Followed by Jesus to achieve our salvation

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Christian Vocation