by Nick Mattiske

Generous Justice
Author: Timothy Keller
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton

In the past decade there has been a renewed interest in the biblical idea of justice, particularly as it applies internationally, led by such believers as rock star Bono and writer and activist Jim Wallis. Even leading conservative evangelicals such as Rick Warren have begun to recognise that problems such as third-world debt should be addressed by the church as a justice issue and that this can be done from a theologically sound position.

American pastor Timothy Keller, who has something of a radical reputation but is better pegged as simply forthright, is claiming in Generous Justice that dealing justly with the poor is not something trendy, or a repositioning of Christian doctrine, but is a fundamental attribute not only of God but of his followers as well. While most Christians see no problem with abstract conceptions of justice, it is when the rubber hits the road that the brakes are suddenly applied. Suddenly a number of arguments are employed as to why we should focus on the spiritual over the material, and Keller here systematically combats these, while arguing that in the life of the Christian the spiritual and the material are inseparable.

Keller fairly quickly dispenses with arguments about works versus grace. He insists that doing justice is, as it were, post-grace. We are already saved by grace, but it is a question of how the Spirit, now present within us, manifests itself. Fine, we may say, but we should be evangelising, not dabbling in politics. Keller’s argument is that, again, the two are inseparable. Living a godly life is of course a form of witness, and spouting religious froth while ignoring the needs of our poor neighbours can only see us labelled as hypocritical.

So then, we may add, why is charity not enough? Justice can be easily coopted into socialist ideas of redistribution. There is, Keller argues, no getting away from the fact that the Old Testament is in many ways a radical document. Here, in amazing contrast to the practice in other ancient cultures of linking heavenly and earthly power, God sides with the poor and marginalised. And one has to wilfully ignore great slabs of Jesus’ life and teaching to think that he doesn’t do the same. And yet, Keller says — with the current polarisation of US politics in mind — biblical ideas of justice favour neither left nor right, and we should always be sceptical of both.

Keller gives his argument a firm biblical basis, rather than relying on some vague concept of universal rights somehow intrinsic to humankind, as many secular ethical discussions do. God is not something tacked on to the concept of justice to give it legitimacy for Christians. Rather, for the rolling waters of justice, God is their fountainhead.