Social justice in the Hebrew Bible and Christian tradition

Christian Tradition

Biblical Questions

Quite literally, "From the beginning" the first books of the Bible known as the Torah or Pentateuch make clear that social justice is at the center of the nature and will of God of Israel. From a place where "The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters," (Gen1: 2) God creates a good world dispenses justice towards the disobedient in the Garden of Eden and punishes the first murderer Cain. Young and virtuous sons, apportioned to the lesser portion of inheritance are made first by their virtue, and young prophets such as Jeremiah or Moses, uncertain of their rhetorical skills, are told, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, / and before you were born I consecrated you; / I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." (Jer 1:5) Even when the world turns against Israel, the speaker is always able to ask, "Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in you," and God answers the cry of the oppressed, if not immediately, then eventually, over generations to come. (Psalm 16:1)

Question

The schism between what was to become the Eastern and the Roman Churches was initially a political one, namely a dispute between which papal leader had authority. However, doctrinal emphasis was also part of the controversy. In the east there were many churches whose foundation went back to the Apostles and there was a strong sense of the equality of all bishops. The east acknowledged the Pope as the first bishop in the Church, but saw him as the first among equals. In the west, on the other hand, there was only one great claim to apostolic foundation, in Rome. So Rome came to be regarded as the main Western Apostolic seat, giving the Roman pope more theological and political power in the Western reason of Christendom. In the east there was a strong secular head, the Emperor, to uphold the civilized order and to enforce law, unlike the more fragmented territory of Rome. The Eastern church came to be associated more with national and political allegiances, hence the common designations of Eastern orthodoxy according to nationality, such as Greek and Russian Orthodox Church, versus the unified Roman Catholic church. Greek bishops could also marry, although such alliances prevent them from rising in position in the church, where Roman priests took celibacy vows. Regarding doctrine, some could Latin approach as more practical and judicial, while the Greek was more speculative about the nature of the Godhead.

Question

As early as Paul's letters to the Corinthian Christian community one can see the notions of denoting what beliefs as well as what actions are right and wrong for Christians to take. Paul accuses the Corinthians of not taking a common meal, but in his Epistle to the Galatians, Paul associates heresy with "wrath, strife," and "seditious" thoughts. During the medieval era, Galileo was famously charged with heretically denying accepted Church doctrine that the earth revolves around the sun, because of his intellectual scientific study, while Luther was later to accuse the church itself of heretical doctrine, in its doctrinal creation of purgatory and a system of indulgences that was not written about in the Holy text.