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. Thus, Scripture leads us to a common good, public good paradigm; see this brief debate on X/Twitter.

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

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 Study Guide, or go back to the main page of Sources, or the main page of Politics for how to apply this vision.