Definition of Terms: Justice (Part 8)

Excerpt from, “From social justice warrior to Gospel-centered servant of God: An educator’s reflection on critical theory and Christianity” (Linkletter, 2021).

This research paper will address the difference between biblical justice and traditional justice.

The definition of traditional justice has evolved over the years; however, John Rawls’ Theory of Justice (2005) has remained a constant point of reference for the subject.

He explains two principles of justice:

First, “Each person has the same indefeasible claim to a fully adequate scheme of equal basic liberties, which scheme is compatible with the same scheme of liberties for all,”

And second, “Social and economic inequalities are to satisfy two conditions: They are to be attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity; They are to be to the greatest benefit of the least-advantaged members of society (the difference principle)” (Wenar, 2021).

Moreland and Craig (2003) define justice from a traditional Biblical perspective as:

“Equals ought to be treated equally and unequals ought to be treated unequally”

And they explain the different material principles of justice:

“To share an equal share (egalitarianism),

To each according to need (Marxism),

To each according to individual effort or merit (libertarianism),

To each according to social contribution (utilitarianism) (Moreland & Craig, 2003, p. 414).

Rebecca

References

Moreland, J. P., & Craig, W. L. (2003). Philosophical foundations for a Christian worldview. InterVarsity Press.

Rawls, John. (2005). Theory of justice: Original edition. Belknap Press.

Wenar, Leif, “John Rawls”, The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Summer 2021 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2021/entries/rawls/.