Paul Hammer "There is More to 'Justice'"

From the D&C:  September 24, 2014

There is more to ‘justice’

The front page words, Seeking Justice (Sept. 19), prompt me to ask, what is justice?

Sometimes we seem to emphasize justice as proper punishment, even the death penalty for especially horrific evil deeds (e.g., beheading people, killing a policeman). Certainly this may be part of an understanding of justice.

But biblical understandings of justice move beyond this. We see this when a prophet like Micah says, “Do justice,” or the prophet Amos says, “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” We see this when Jesus says, “Strive first for the kingdom of God and God’s justice.”

Their use of justice points beyond to righteousness, i.e., the right-making of social, economic, and political relationships to enhance human life. Such justice moves beyond a balancing of scales to the building of structures that can lead to “liberty and justice for all.”

PAUL HAMMER

BRIGHTON