GENEROUS JUSTICE
It is commonly thought in secular society that the Bible is one of the greatest hindrances to doing justice. Isn’t it full of regressive views? Didn’t it condone slavery? Why look to the Bible for guidance on how to have a more just society? But Timothy Keller sees it another way. In Generous Justice, Keller explores a life of justice empowered by an experience of grace: a generous, gracious justice.
Here is a book for believers who find the Bible a trustworthy guide as well as those who suspect that Christianity is a regressive influence in the world.
““[Keller] offers a persuasive plea for evangelicals to embrace social justice efforts... Without ever resorting to hyperbole, Keller carefully analyzes Old and New Testament passages to make the case that God’s heart for justice on behalf of widows, orphans, immigrants, and the poor is indisputable, and that an encounter with grace will inevitably lead to a desire for justice.”
““Keller does not manipulate the emotions with heart-rending stories or melodramatic rhetoric. He does not offer slanted and reductionistic readings of redemptive history in order to reinforce his political ideology... A good pastor, Keller knows that all those [biblical] texts, faithfully interpreted, will do their own work of pressing into a believer’s heart.”
““Generous Justice is the best book I’ve ever read about putting Christian faith into action... Were all Christians to respond to Keller’s understanding of Biblically based justice, it wouldn’t simply result in more social programs, food and shelter and health care for the needy. It would result in a world defined by shalom, a comprehensive peace, a world in which human beings flourish.”
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“This is the most biblically informed and intellectually careful (read the footnotes!) “social justice” book I know of. Justice skeptics and justice proponents alike will learn from Generous Justice.”