Social Justice from a Biblical Perspective

Jay Richards

"Every second of the day, you act in your own self-interest..."

Arthur Brooks

"Government spending on charitable causes leads people to give less to charity"

David Koyzis

"Ironically, then, property becomes more concentrated under socialism than under capitalism and, if the former Soviet Union is at all typical, material equality remains as elusive as ever"

Abraham Kuyper

"It is perfectly true that if no help is forthcoming from elsewhere, the state must help..."

Dorothy Sayers

"It is the business of the church to recognize that the secular vocation, as such, is sacred..."

Robert Recktor

"Kids with divorced parents are more likely to abuse drugs, be violent, have abuse, be expelled from school, and drop out of high school"

David Gushee

"Marriage is the best predictor of financial and economic well-being"

Henry Hazlitt

"People tend to see only the immediate effects of a given policy, or its effects only on a special group, and to neglect to inquire what the long-run effects of that policy will be on all groups. It is the fallacy of overlooking secondary consequences"

Etienne Gilson

"Piety is no substitution for technique"

Paul Marshall

"Religion is one of the fundamental shapers of human life"

Paul George

"Social Justice means complete and genuine equality of all people"

Medea Benjamin

"Social justice means moving toward a society where all hungry are fed, all sick are cared for, the environment is treasured, and we treat each other with love and compassion"

Bob Geldolf

"Something must be done, even if it doesn't work"

David Larson

"The most important predictor of marital stability in America is religious attendance"

Dorothy Sayers

"The only Christian work is good work well done"

Robert Nozick

"We are not in the position of children who have been given portions of pie by someone who now makes last-minute adjustments to rectify careless cutting"

Dorothy Sayers

"What the Church should be telling him is this: that the very first demand that his religion makes upon him is that he should make good tables"

Rick Ufford-Chase

"When I speak of social justice I begin with the teachings of Jesus..."

Fredrick Hayek

-Economic equality through the government redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor -Wrote "The Mirage of Social Justice" -No one has knowledge to give every person what they need or deserve

John Rawls

-One of the most modern theorists associated with the term of social justice -Wrote "A Theory of Justice"

self-caused poverty

-laziness -foolishness -short-sightedness -greed

imposed poverty

-oppression -social/cultural factors

Unhealthy approaches to tackling poverty

1. Throw more money at it 2. One size fits all 3.Encourage or enable pathology

21-29

Age range that has the most unwed mothers according to Kay Hymowitz

absolute poverty

Falling below a set standard of living condition- lacking the bare minimum for survival

Gertrude Himmelfarb

Families create a bond that fosters "personal knowledge"- being vulnerable, sharing advice

Carl F. Henry

Noted that the Bible reveals 4 primary roots of self-caused poverty

righteousness

Our relationship with God

justice

Our relationship with others

Rawl's Principles of Justice

That each person should have equal rights and that inequalities should be arranged so tat they are to everyone's advantage and so no one will be blocked from occupying any position

Michael Novak

The problem with social justice is the meaning of the term. SJ rightly understood is the disposition or skills needed to improve other conditions. It is a virtue. It is working with others to accomplish a common good.

Virtue

The skill of working with other people

Robert Recktor's research

Welfare spending is projected to cost taxpayers $10.3 trillion over the next 10 years

subsidiary

a company created by another company

subsidiarity

an organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest, or least centralized competent authority

relative poverty

having less than others have

civil liberties

held by each individual citizen

civil rights

held by individuals, but were threatened on the basis of group identity and therefore required protection on the basis of group identity