By Luke Joyce
It is difficult enough to discern the best individual path for our own lives, without even giving thought to how we should engage the institutions that govern our society. And yet, as Christians, we are called to be part of God’s ongoing redemption of his entire creation, of which those institutions are a part. This call means aligning our individual selves with God and allowing his work to be done in our institutions through us. While the Old Testament prophets yearned for both righteousness and justice (Amos 5:24), our language today tends to separate the two along lines of individual righteousness and societal justice. Even the New Testament writers struggled with the distinction as Paul often emphasizes individual faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) and James emphasizes the works that impact society (James 2:14-26).
As Christians, we often struggle with how to process and address injustices in our own lives and communities, as well as with how to use our lives to make a difference in the institutions of which we are a part. Our society may not face the exact same struggles as those of the biblical authors, but we know that the wisdom they offer comes from the same God that is with us today.
Call for Justice: From Practice to Theory and Back is a relevant book for those seeking to live out God’s calling in their own life, as well as fulfill their purpose in a society that yearns for justice as Amos did and cries out for the institutional solutions that only come by living out the righteousness and faith that drives us to action.
This book offers a timely discussion as it traces an exchange of letters between renowned Christian philosopher, Nicholas Wolterstorff, and the Co-Founder of ASJ, Kurt Ver Beek. ASJ-Honduras (which also serves as the Honduran chapter of Transparency International) works for justice in Honduras through the transformation of institutions – ranging from the national police force to the property institution to the public education system and beyond – by engaging with government and civil society, identifying and dismantling corruption and offering data-driven solutions to systemic problems like police corruption, high rates of impunity and land titling systems the wealthy abuse at the expense of indigenous peoples. Without ASJ’s work in Honduras over the last 23 years, problems like these could have continued unchecked.
The format of the book is an engaging back and forth between theorist and practitioner, teacher and student. For a time, Wolterstorff was Ver Beek’s professor at Calvin University, and now readers can benefit from their continued discussion and friendship, as their deep thought and desire to live out their faith is informed by one another and shared with us. Much of the conversation centers around ASJ’s work in Honduras, how it is rooted in a biblical framework, and how it seeks to inspire the work of others in institutions around the world.
Although Dr. Wolterstorff draws on his other works at times, this book provides fresh perspectives in an accessible way that is both enlightening and thought-provoking. One’s understanding of public justice will only be aided by his insights. For instance, he points out the dramatic differences between an evil Revelation 13 government and a good Romans 13 government, writing that “Scripture regards government as one of God’s good gifts to humankind,” and that “the central and indispensable task of government is to secure justice,” citing Psalm 72. Any injustice perpetrated by government, then, is simply not as God intended, nor as God intends to leave it. Wolterstorff explores the biblical treatment of righteousness and justice, and it is worth noting that righteousness and justice are actually the same word, justicia, in the Spanish spoken by the staff of ASJ in Honduras. Perhaps there is a greater understanding of God bound up in that conflation. That, as Christians, we are indeed invited into the transformative work of justice that God has for us, and that we can only do so thanks to the righteousness extended to us through grace by faith in the completed work of his son, Jesus Christ.
“Any injustice perpetrated by government, then, is simply not as God intended, nor as God intends to leave it. ”
As the seasoned practitioner, Dr. Ver Beek frequently offers examples from ASJ’s history and concrete advice for application. What if government is not performing its God-given responsibility of securing justice, especially for the marginalized? Ver Beek walks the reader through ways ASJ has critiqued government in the past, how they audit governmental institutions and how they walk alongside the government, both to improve the lives of the most vulnerable and to strengthen the government in its efforts to grow closer to what God intended it to be. He describes the value and methodology of working in coalitions (both with government and civil society), offers a litmus test for identifying justice work and explains how ASJ’s efforts in Honduras in the areas of workers’ rights, public education, police reform and more show over and over both the risks of engaging in justice work and the value of it for society.
How can Christians in the United States apply lessons from the justice work in Honduras to our own contexts? As the book closes, Wolterstorff explores the unhealthy sides of two issues he identifies as current problems in the U.S. One is the resistance to the idea of “social justice” by some American Christians, which he suspects is historically tied in some people’s minds to theological liberalism, and in turn and unfortunately, to partisan politics. The other is the rise of populism, which he describes as primarily “lament over loss” which “almost always includes economic loss,” but is ultimately “fed by a deep sense of moral grievance.” In discussing both issues, Wolterstorff seeks not to knock down one particular side or another, but rather to help us understand complex issues in an effort to more appropriately engage with each other for the benefit of all. He points out that, “Loving one’s neighbor often goes beyond what justice requires; but it never falls short of doing what justice requires.” Near the end of the book, Ver Beek points out how lessons learned in Honduras by ASJ have already been shared in Chicago through engaging with community leaders to tackle violence in the city, in Brazil through sharing at a conference on land rights and in Berlin through taking part in a Transparency International summit. He emphasizes the immense importance of trust in a properly functioning relationship between a government and its people, saying, “We should want both for citizens to trust in institutions and for institutions to be deserving of that trust.”
Two lifetimes rich with perspective are contained in this book. The authors experienced problems that others said were too big, and yet they still chose to set about the work and theory of making these wrong things right, drawing strength and guidance from the God of justice and relying on the help of fellow justice-seekers around them, notably including each other. They learned from situations that readers may never experience, and yet their stories are filled with perspective and inspiration that will offer guidance for the unique challenges readers will face as they pursue justice in their communities. Through the stories contained in the pages of Call for Justice: From Practice to Theory and Back, readers will catch a glimpse of the work of the kingdom and be prepared and inspired for the work of justice God has set aside for them.
Luke Joyce works for ASJ-US as the Executive Assistant and is Deacon of Social Justice and Reconciliation at Harderwyk Ministries in Holland, MI.
WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
1. Sign up to receive Shared Justice's monthly newsletter and stay up to date on the latest content, resources, and highlights.
2. Write for us! Email sjsubmissions@cpjustice.org for more information.
3. Form a Political Discipleship group and advocate for a justice issue in your community. Political Discipleship is an 11-week praxis-based curriculum that helps Christians form lifelong habits and practices of citizenship. Email katie.thompson@cpjustice.org for more information.