Christian Faith, Justice, and a Politics of Mercy: The Benevolent Community assumes that the most profound moral conflict today is between two virtues—justice and mercy. Gilman argues that the two are organically linked through the common experience of compassion. In an unjust world, justice cannot establish itself, but requires, in public as well as private life, projects of merciful benevolence. Mercy alone has the power to subvert patterns of injustice, and mercy and projects of benevolence are tailored to establish and sustain patterns of justice, especially fair economic outcomes. To show this, against Rawl’s Difference Principle, Gilman argues for a Distribution Principle, which states that social and economic inequalities should be addressed by policies that directly and primarily benefit the least advantaged members of society, while at the same time minimizing burdens and/or maximizing benefits for the most advantaged. Along the way he shows how in the United States benevolence as a public virtue was disestablished along with religion; how it might and should be re-established without re-establishing religion; and how the Christian tradition provides resources for evolving morally from a liberal, procedural practice of justice to one that embraces egalitarian, economic justice as well. Finally, he demonstrates how in the global community today, Christianity and other traditions can and should make “benevolent community” a reality.

A hopeful and Christ-centered devotional for Christians who know social justice to be a good and holy endeavor On Love and Mercy is a 60-day devotional that invites readers to expand their vision of both personal faith in God and the redemptive and saving work of social action. Breaking down the premise that Christians must choose between being either socially conscious or theologically sound, author Stephen Mattson offers the hopeful message that Jesus—and Christianity—is both. Each day’s entry offers Christians who long to see justice and equity within society with a much-needed source of affirmation, solidarity, and encouragement. These heart-felt devotions bring readers hope and encouragement to embrace social justice as the Christ-like discipline that it always was and is meant to be. On Love and Mercy validates social justice practices within the Christian faith by centering the example of Jesus as the ultimate standard. Although our religion will fail us, Jesus never will. He walks alongside us in living out God’s commands us to love our neighbors to the best of our ability. Step into this journey and discover anew what it means to be devoted to Jesus and justice.

It is often assumed that the law and religion address different spheres of human life. Religion and ethics articulate complex systems of moral reasoning that concern norms, deliberation of ends, cultivation of disposition, and transformation of moral agency. Law, in contrast, seeks to govern human conduct through procedural justice, rights, and public good. Doing Justice to Mercy challenges this assumption by presenting the reader with an urgent conversation between the law and religion that yields a constructive approach, both theoretically and practically, to the complex role of mercy in our legal process. Authored by legal practitioners, activists, and theorists in addition to theologians and ethicists, the essays collected here are informed by timeless principles, and yet they could not be timelier. The trend in sentencing moves toward an increased severity, and the number of incarcerated people in the United States is at an all-time high. In the half-decade since 9/11, moreover, homeland security has established itself as a permanent fixture in our lives. In this atmosphere, the current volume seeks initially to clarify how justice and mercy intertwine in relation to a number of issues, such as rehabilitation, the death penalty, domestic violence, and war crimes. Exploring the legal, philosophical, and theological grounds for mercy in our courts, the discussion then moves to the practical ways in which mercy may be implemented. Contributors:Marc Mauer, The Sentencing Project * Lois Gehr Livezey, McCormick Theological Seminary * Ernie Lewis, Public Advocate, Commonwealth of Kentucky * Jonathan Rothchild, Loyola Marymount University * Albert W. Alschuler, Northwestern University School of Law * David Scheffer, Northwestern University School of Law * David Little, Harvard Divinity School * Matthew Myer Boulton, Andover Newton Theological School * Mark Lewis Taylor, Princeton Theological Seminary * Sarah Coakley, Cambridge University * William Schweiker, University of Chicago Divinity School * Kevin Jung, College of William and Mary * Peter J. Paris, Princeton Theological Seminary * W. Clark Gilpin, University of Chicago Divinity School * William C. Placher, Wabash College

The Bible is full of law. Yet too often, Christians either pick and choose verses out of context to bolster existing positions, or assume that any moral judgment the Bible expresses should become the law of the land. Law and the Bible asks: What inspired light does the Bible shed on Christians’ participation in contemporary legal systems? It concludes that more often than not the Bible overturns our faulty assumptions and skewed commitments rather than bolsters them. In the process, God gives us greater insight into what all of life, including law, should be. Each chapter is cowritten by a legal professional and a theologian, and focuses on a key aspect of the biblical witness concerning civil or positive law--that is, law that human societies create to order their communities, implementing and enforcing it through civil government. A foundational text for legal professionals, law and prelaw students, and all who want to think in a faithfully Christian way about law and their relationship to it.

Disagreements about justice are not simply academic matters. They create problems for practice and for policy-making. In a morally fragmented society in which 'nobody knows what justice is' issues such as wages policy, punishment and poverty become particularly difficult to handle. People striving to act justly are often uncertain how this might be done. Secular theories such as those of Rowls, Hayek, Habermas and modern feminist theorists, examined here, give some guidance for problems of justice that arise on the ground, but have serious limitations. This book argues that Christian theology, although it can no longer claim to provide a comprehensive theory of justice, can provide insights into justice - 'theological fragments' - which give illumination, challenge some aspects of the conventional wisdom, and contribute to the building of just communities in which people may flourish in mutuality and hope.

Keller explores a life of justice empowered by an experience of grace.

The Law of Freedom: Justice and Mercy in the Practice of Law examines the legal and theological roots of the concept of equity, and the implications that the diminishment of equity as a legal concept has for the moral dilemmas faced by the practicing lawyer. Meditating on the book of Micah, the book argues that the Christian duty asks for both strict justice and gracious mercy, with the prophet’s third value—humility—essential for both the individual lawyer and the legal system as a whole to balance strict justice and mercy.