Are "human rights" and "social justice" Biblical?
Clues can be found in Scripture's account of creation and the unique role assigned to Adam: Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:26-27)
The fact that we're made in the Image of God has implications as to what a human being is and how he or she should be treated. This is what the concepts of "human rights" and "social justice" are all about when stripped of their modern political overtones.
Biblically, justice is simply a matter of the Church rolling up its sleeves, becoming the hands and feet of Jesus, and attempting to redress from a relational perspective those factors and limitations that conspire to keep those around us mired in hopelessness and despair. Doing right by one's neighbor is an idea that figures significantly in the words of Christ.
What can you do to make a difference this week?
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