The Book By Nicholas Wolterstorff

Culturally speaking, Walter Rauschenbusch may have been years ahead of his time. From the very first chapter of his most famous work, Rauschenbusch’s passion for social justice is quite evident. He certainly had his finger on the pulse of his current generation, noting the compelling movement of the college students of his day to social service (3). It could be argued that the current generation shares this passion and perhaps even his theology. Unfortunately, while as believers we are called to “act justly and love mercy” (Micah 6:8), Rauschenbusch’s system of theology to uphold this love for social justice

Men and women throughout the ages have desired to love others the way the greatest commandment instructs us to. However, due to our sinful nature, overshadowed by the fear of death and our limited physical and emotional vulnerabilities, the love we should have for one another turns into controlling one another, so that we have power and are in control. Instead of giving, we want. Instead of serving, we demand our rights. And scriptures like Matthew 5:48, “Be perfect, as your Father in heaven in perfect” can be frustrating

“Love without justice is nothing but sentimental and justice without love can become naked brutally. When married together they produce twins by the name of liberation and transformation. You must have love in everything you do rooted in Christ and it must demonstrate through actions.” Those are the words of the great Otis Moss III, D. Min. When he interviewed with JET Magazine in April of 2014. He builds his ministry on the principal of “Love and Justice,” and takes great pride in his life testimony, personal views, and the controversy that his work has created.

In the bible it says to ‘love one another as I have loved you’ in John13:34 and Proverbs3:3 ‘Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favour and good success in the sight of God and man’. If we analyse the verses we realise that firstly if we loved people as God loved us, we would want a just world, we would care for them and do everything in our power to help them. Mike demonstrates this in the way he genuinely wanted to assist the hopeless ladies in the pro bono case. Harvey only seemed interested in the money.

In The Natural by Bernard Malamud, Malamud displays the magnitude of how an individual’s decisions can influence their life. Malamud’s main protagonist, Roy Hobbs, is the leading example of this idea, as Hobbs continually faces both his internal struggles stemming from his desire for success, and external struggles attributed to his roller-coaster of a professional baseball career. Malamud uses Hobbs and the sport of baseball as a metaphor for typical American life by depicting Hobbs’ struggles as similar to any average American. Therefore, through the life of Roy Hobbs, Malamud alludes to the average American and explains how moral attitude can lead to a person’s success or downfall.

"There is no such thing as love anymore, / the kind that is so strong / that you kind of feel it in your bones. / you know we used to feel that emotion / when we looked into the faces of our mother, / father, sisters, brothers, family and friends...This novel is dedicated to the era in which we live. / The era in which love, loyalty, truth, honor, / and respect died. / Where humility and appreciation are nonexistent. / Where families are divided and God reviled, / The era. / The Coldest Winter Ever."

In the story, The Natural, certain characters and events are portrayed in a distinctive way that makes this story unique to other books and shows the typical writing style of the narrator. The author uses a repetitive writing technique that is impossible to overlook. The writer of this book is able to catch the reader’s eye with his concept of the importance of beautiful description. The Natural, by Bernard Malamud, uses great imagery that makes the story appealing.

If you love someone, they will love you back. This will of course lead to a better economy and society. When people love each other, they are able to step beyond the divisions placed on them by society. If people are willing to step past those divisions and aid each other, then the class systems become unimportant. This mobility will bring the rich closer to the poor while at the same time allowing the poor to rise higher to the level of the rich. In addition, Winthrop explains that if people love each other, that God will “delight to dwell among … His own people” (158). In other words, the presence of God will encourage them in being successful. Then the ideals of the Massachusetts Bay Colony will spread, along with the concept of God’s love. Even though Winthrop began his argument by affirming the old world social hierarchy, by the end of his sermon he has created a community of love. Winthrop’s steps set up an ideal, harmonious Christian community, mostly free of the divisions caused by social differences. This is remarkable because he is changing the ideals for the new world. A community of love is the beginning of a republic. Winthrop is setting up Americans to create a democratic society by instilling in everyone the concept of the community of love.

Pertaining to the ideas of love and justice, Niebuhr prescribed to the belief that in order for perfect justice to arise, the moral imagination of others must seek to meet the needs of fellow individuals. Because “The love of God is an impartial goodness beyond good and evil,” true justice in Niebuhr’s mind will never be reached on earth. “The Christian gospel which transcends all particular and contemporary social situations can be preached with power only by a church which bears its share of the burdens of immediate situations in which men are involved, burdens of establishing peace, of achieving justice, and of perfecting justice in the spirit

Protecting the rights and dignity of the poor and oppressed is the most important moral duty of the church.’ Critically evaluate this statement with reference to Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King.

No emotion has such universal meaning as love. It is an integral part of the human condition. Love is the basis for by which all other emotions can be gauged. Friendship and even grief are steeped in love. Love is so central to our lives that it is fitting and proper that it should be the topic of so much discussion. Every culture and every writer has some commentary or evaluation of love. The New Testament has its share of love commentary. The entire basis of the Christian tradition is God's love for humanity. "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son." (John 3:6) Jesus preached a great deal about love of neighbor, love of God and even love of enemies. (Matt 5:44) Shakespeare's Biblical knowledge is well known and he

“Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” helps the reader to frame the word love into the classification of Agape Love. The author introduces us to the subject “Love” as a supernatural Being that encompasses just the purest definition of the word (1). This Love was dwelling as outside the temporal and terrestrial territory (2). However, this Love decided to leave and come to earth because of compassion (4), mercy (5), and unbounded love (6) for humanity. Love with its attributes of mercy, compassion, and love aim to bring salvation (7) for the people that have “trembling” or fear God(8).

In the social justice, we are expected to put others before ourselves. In philosophy, love and compassion seem to be a human need. When humans reach out and assist one another, people can thrive and live a lifestyle in which they desire to live. Many times, when people are homeless or hurting, it’s just because there is a lack of support. If support is offered, many a time, these people are able to pass that along, and help others.

Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;

Chesed by default is an act of love because; showing faithfulness to people requires unconditional love. Hosea shows his love for Gomer, even though she has been characterized a “dirty person” by the people around her. Her job as a prostitute is viewed as immoral and usually puts her around poor, vulnerable, and bad people. However, Hosea imitates God love for the poor and shows Gomer more love than he normally would show to others. I feel like in our world today we overlook the poor and vulnerable in our cities. The Bible even states, “You shall not oppress or afflict a resident alien, for you were once aliens residing in the land of Egypt, you shall not wrong any widow or orphan (Exodus 22: 20-21.) I think this Bible verse is still relevant today because; all people have been created in God’s image, which means all people deserve love. Aside from this example of Hosea, another story about Joseph and his eleven brothers comes to my mind about love. Joseph was his father’s favorite child, the other brothers were jealous of this and sold Joseph into slavery and told Jacob, their father, that Joseph had died. Years later Jacob and his eleven sons travel to Egypt looking for food during a famine. What they don’t know is that Joseph is now the Pharaoh’s second in command. Joseph finds his family and gives them a land called Goshen, which is the best land in Egypt. Hosea and Joseph’s love shows how God calls us to love and