Sources of Christian Restorative Justice

 

Sun in the trees. Photo credit: Unknown.

 

Introduction

 

God seeks to restore people, relationships, and the created world to the beauty and growth which He intended for all from the beginning. In particular, Jesus restored human nature through his own human faithfulness, and now calls us to undo sin and harm with his partnership. Hence, God does not punish sin because He is backward-looking. God’s justice is restorative, calling for our partnership in restoring harm we have done, in order to continue moving forward.

The video clip below is from our 2019 Conference: Healing Atonement. It addresses how God’s justice towards Israel in the Old Testament was restorative.

 
 

Four Principles of Justice and the Secular Inability to Organize Them

 

The following messages and presentations are good examples of how to engage non-Christians and Christians alike. Mako has discussed Christian restorative justice at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Harvard law school, church groups, neighborhood and community meetings. For practical action steps, see our Study and Action Guides.

 

Given to Eastern Nazarene College, Feb 6, 2013. A 35 minute video of Mako’s chapel service talk highlighting the four types of justice and the secular inability to organize them. Hence, Republicans elevate libertarian justice (in economic issues) and then meritocratic-retributive justice, whereas Democrats elevate libertarian justice (in social issues) and then distributive justice (e.g. human welfare) and then meritocratic-justice. But in Scripture, God puts restorative justice first, then distributive second, then meritocratic-retributive third, and then libertarian fourth with modifications. When secular people use “justice” language, we show we were made by a God of restorative justice, are alienated from Him, and need Jesus who restores human nature, first in himself, now in us. See also the slides.

 

Jesus and Our Desire for Justice 

Slides of a presentation demonstrating why biblical justice and Jesus’ atonement are linked through God’s vision for relationship. The presentation examines the four types of justice: meritocratic-retributive; distributive; libertarian; and restorative. We observe these four principles in Scripture, so each of them are important, but secular thought has no ability to organize them. Scripture, however, does organize them in the following way, generally: restorative; distributive; meritocratic-retributive; and libertarian. We further anchor this order in a restorative, healing atonement accomplished by Jesus of Nazareth: sin as “obstruction of justice” through the corruption of human nature, and Jesus as healing human nature in himself as a faithful human partner to God, and therefore establishing divine restorative justice.

 

The following video is a 40 minute presentation with 20 minutes of Q&A following. Mako Nagasawa spoke at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in March 2022, explaining various activities of God in Scripture as His restorative justice: 1) "An Eye for an Eye" as Restorative Justice; 2) God's Treatment of Israel as Restorative Justice; 3) God's Presence in Israel as Restorative; and 4) God's Atonement in Christ as Restorative. These slides accompany the presentation. This video follows a chapel service which was not recorded, which was on the four principles of justice (see above). See also a 60 minute English and Spanish translation of the most important parts of this content (Zoom video recording).

 
 

Conversation Stations

 
 
 

Sources of Christian Restorative Justice:

This section explores theological reflection on God’s justice as restorative: in Scripture; the Early Church up to John of Damascus; the Orthodox tradition, both Eastern and Oriental; the Roman Catholic tradition; and the Protestant tradition. See our Restorative Justice Tutorial, or go back to the main page of Sources, or the main page of Politics for how to apply this vision.