Bible Justice

What is justice? Is it a fitting punishment for a crime? Or a court or officer of the law? Is it the law itself? It has many definitions and interpretations, depending on various people. Some interpret it very simply, saying that it is fairness in every situation. Others give the word more complication, saying that it is doing what is morally right and fair. Oxford Dictionary defines it as many things, including, “Just behaviour or treatment...The quality of being fair and reasonable.” Black’s Law Dictionary defines justice as, “The constant and perpetual disposition to render every man his due.” All are various meanings and interpretations of one, single, word, that has been explored in many books and novels, including one by Harper Lee. In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the characters of Atticus and Mr. Raymond to show the meaning of true justice and how it transcends prejudicial divisions.

The literal meaning of justice is ‘the quality of being morally right and fair’ but there are various theories which can be considered and compared since they all define justice in a different way.

Deuteronomy 15:10 says “You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him.” Acts of social justice are referred to as Tikkun Olam.

The criminal justice system incorporates some of the standards of biblical justice, while disregarding others. Biblical and secular justice both require the recognition of a criminal act and necessitate the application of an appropriate punishment. When God established His law the ultimate goal intended was to bring justice that promotes forgiveness and restoration of the sinner in honor of His covenant with mankind. Psalm 130:3-4 says, “If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared” (KJV). Criminal law’s definition of justice suggests the idea of redemption while penalizing and punishing offenders in an effort to exact vengeance and maintain order and peace.

What is justice? Is it a means through which one can gain success, or a medium through which one can accomplish their personal wants and desires? Or is the word Justice just a façade we use to please our own selves, regardless of whether what takes place around us is just or not. I am Reverend John Hale, and I for one am confused as to what Justice actually is or what it is meant to do.

Religion and biblical traditions have influenced current ideas of justice and morals of a community. Martin Luther King Jr. took biblical ideas into account when describing justice is today. Justice recognizes the dignity of every human being. The Ten Commandments and Beatitudes represent that one’s morality stems from their faith and if one has good faith, their actions should reflect it. Not only should one follow the Ten Commandments, they should strive to act out the Beatitudes bringing forgiveness, generosity, kindness, and compassion to their lives.

"Learn to do good, see justice, correct oppression: bring justice to the fatherless. Plead the widow’s cause." Isaiah 1:17 this is just one of many biblical refrences towards the word and action of "Justice". Since the begining of mankind, with Adam and Eve , two biblical characters, justice began in an act that provoked punishent forever towards the two ater eating a forbiden fruit. Justice has always came in different forms and definitions, the one things certain about justice has always been that in every different view and perpective it has carried the same core meaning. If you asked anyone what justice meant to them they would say words like, equal, just,

Judges 11 illustrates this through Jephthah’s plight. He is introduced as one of the major judges of Israel and he faces the Ammonites. While asking for God to

Luke’s Gospel greatly emphasizes the social justice aspect of Christian living. Throughout the third book in the New Testament, the story and history of Jesus Christ is written, and Luke preserves the many sayings of Jesus warning that those with material possessions have a

Although, overall there is no definite answer to the questions. The answer may be generally the same. For example, what is justice? Justice is the maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments. This can differ from person to person based on their beliefs, but overall be generally the same.

Justice can be defined as doing what is right. According to The Republic, Plato shows the various definitions of justice: giving back what is owed to a person, doing good to your friends, doing what’s best for society, and doing whatever gives advantage to the stronger. Thrasymachus believes that its human nature to do unjust if it benefits us. Glaucon reveals that truth aspects about human nature by showing its easier to do injustice when it results in our own benefit.

The meaning of justice is to fight for what you believe in. For instance, when the shepherd, in the playwright ‘Oedipus the king’, did not want to kill the baby. He used justice because he knew killing the baby would be the wrong thing to do On the other hand, the shepherd knew that the queen Jocasta would be disappointed but he brought justice by keeping the baby alive. Sophocles is the author of the Greek tragedy called Oedipus the king.

At this point in the study, one must now look at specifics of justice throughout the Bible. This will be done by breaking the text into sections so thorough analysis can be achieved. However, one must note that the fundamental study of justice throughout the Bible could take pages to flesh out. Thus, this paper is simply a survey of justice and there are undoubtedly far more pages one could explore. The previous pages have set a solid foundation for the following content. With that, the starting place for this study will begin like any other story, at the beginning, the Torah or Pentateuch in this instance. The Torah and can be translated as “the law of God” and Pentateuch means the first five books of the Bible (Bruckner 2002). These titles

However, the prophets define righteousness as the way that God acted in the world. (i.e.: Jer 9:23-24). Justice is described in how people were to live in the world in relation to each other and to other people. Justice in this sense does not carry the legal meaning sometimes attached to it. It is not making sure that everyone gets exactly what they deserve based on law. There is some dimension of that in other traditions where justice is what God brings to those who violate his torah. But in the prophet’s justice it means to practice grace and mercy towards those who have no power to serve it for themselves. It means to protect and defend those who are helpless and powerless.

Throughout history, people have been trying to create an improved, fair, and equal system of justice, not only to better society in which one lives, but to also find a sense of meaning in what responsibilities people should hold within their civilizations in order to create this just way of living. As early as the Old Testament within the Bible, we see examples of how the Hebrews formed their own justice. This can be seen in the in text of the Ten Commandments which were written in a form of law. Laws were significant even in this basic form of context, such as the Ten Commandments, which offered the ideas of right and wrongdoings and the sin for violating others for one’s own benefit. This not only