Christian Social Ethics

[jennywren]

I am taking Christian Social Ethics as a summer class. We are learning about John Rawls' theory of Justice. So far it is a lot of theory! Christian Ethics needs also to be about action.
I saw these on MK's facebook profile and filched them:

"I was hungry and you formed a humanities club and you discussed my hunger. Thank you.
I was imprisoned and you crept off quietly to your chapel in the cellar to pray for my release.
I was naked and in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance.
I was sick and you knelt and thanked God for your health.
I was homeless and you preached to me of the spiritual shelter of the love of God.
I was lonely and you left me alone to pray for me.
You seem so holy; so close to God.
But I'm still very hungry and lonely and cold.
So where have your prayers gone? What have they done? What does it profit a [person] to page through his book of prayers when the rest of the world is crying for help?"
--By M. Lunn

"Stop doing wrong, and learn to do right. Seek Justice. Encourage the Oppressed. Defend the Cause of the Orphan. Plead the Case of the Widow." (Isaiah 1:17)

One of my class mates said that we just need to wait for history to cycle around and things will get better. How can we sit and wait and not do whatever we can to alleviate the suffering of others and make the world the place God intended it to be?

Just some sketchy thoughts tonight, but worth thinking about.

Comments

[changinglight.livejournal.com]

Wow...

thank you so much for posting this. It articulated so many of my own thoughts...One of my class mates said that we just need to wait for history to cycle around and things will get better. How can we sit and wait and not do whatever we can to alleviate the suffering of others and make the world the place God intended it to be?

I had similar conversations (minus the explicit references to God) in social work school for almost all of last year. And we can't just wait around for things to change. It's hard to feel that the small things make a difference, but as your Lunn quote attests, they do make a difference. And it's the small, individual moments that can help us keep moving forward while we work on the bigger issues.

Thank you for some thought-provoking, action-inspiring words this morning. I truly needed them.

[avengangle.livejournal.com]

Oh, I like those quotes. It's the step after recognizing that there are hungry/homeless/etc. people in the world -- well, okay, now you have to do something about it. Something real. Something concrete.