God has a vision for relationship involving all things. God calls for human partnership to restore that vision. God’s justice is restorative and centered in Jesus. See the 101 section of our self-paced Study Guide on Christian Restorative Justice if you have not already. This page — Section 201 — will explore the Bible. Why do God’s taking of human life in the Old Testament and the possible fate of some people in hell showcase His restorative, not retributive, justice?
201: God’s Actions in the Bible
201: Lesson, Reading
Read Robert Arakaki, Evidence for Christ's Descent into Hell to see how the early church for 1,500 years explained why God allowed for human mortality, and how that relates to Jesus. Also, skim over Genesis 3. (10 - 15 minutes).
201: Lesson, Video 1
In this 75 minute video from 2023, Exile and Mortality as Restorative Justice, Mako Nagasawa and Katelyn Hannan present the case for God’s restorative justice to professionals in the anti-trafficking endeavor. Here are the major topics by timestamp:
0:48 Introduction to the Class and Its Purpose
9:50 Session 1 Recap and Discussion of Robert Arakaki's article, Jesus and the Harrowing of Hell
15:19 (Katelyn) Exile and Mortality as Restorative Justice
28:56 (Mako) Why Did God Have an Israel?
54:33 Q&A, Responses to the Restorative, Medicinal Framework
1:01:10 Q&A: Was Death Present in Creation Before the Fall?
1:04:18 Q&A: Didn't God Say in Scripture, "I Create Evil"? and Doesn't Paul Say That Creation Is Groaning Because Death Didn't Exist Before the Fall?
1:08:37 Q&A: Shouldn't Christians Celebrate the Gift of Death Since We Go to Be With the Lord?
1:12:48 Q&A: Since Jesus Descended to the Dead, What Does that Mean for All Future People?
201: Lesson, Video 2
In this 90 minute video also from 2023, God’s Restorative Justice in Jesus, and Divine Fire as Purifying, Mako Nagasawa and Katelyn Hannan present the case for God’s restorative justice to professionals in the anti-trafficking endeavor. Topics by timestamp:
0:48 Introduction to the Class and Its Purpose
9:50 Recap of Sessions 1 and 2
12:44 Responses to the Pre-Readings: Blog Posts 1, 3, and 4
22:44 (Mako) The Magisterial Protestant Reformers' Context
32:08 (Mako) Jesus and Retributive vs. Restorative Justice at the Cross -- an examination of Jesus' quote of Psalm 22, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?"
52:43 Q&A
1:05:11 (Mako) Human Destiny, Divine Fire, and Deservingness vs. Desire
1:29:25 Q&A
Slides to the Presentation:
God's Restorative Justice in Jesus, Divine Fire, and Human Destiny
201: Confirm What You Learned
Watch at least the first 60 minutes of this class recording. This is a presentation Mako gave to the 2022 Reconstruction class. It covers the early Christian understanding of human being, human becoming, and how we co-create with God our human desires and human nature. We spotlight how the theme of divine fire always starts out as God’s call towards purification. Only after resisting the purification does divine fire appear to be experienced as torment. The full video is 2 hours including the Q&A.
201: Put It Into Practice
Choose at least one of the evangelistic presentations below, and try it in conversation with others:
What Can We Do About Evil? (and smaller version and brochure version)
Check out the slides of this evangelistic conversation starter. Consider showing both Christians and non-Christians the questions it brings up, and discussing your responses to them. Here are instructions on how to talk about the questions it raises, especially with non-Christians. See also this conversation tree.
Does the Good Outweigh the Bad?
Check out the slides of this evangelistic conversation starter. Consider showing both Christians and non-Christians the questions it brings up, and discussing your responses to them. Here are instructions on how to talk about the questions it raises, especially with non-Christians.
Check out the slides of this evangelistic conversation starter. Consider showing both Christians and non-Christians the questions it brings up, and discussing your responses to them. Here is an associated message that shows how to talk about the questions it raises, especially with non-Christians.
201: For More Inspiration
Would people in Hell choose Heaven if given the chance? In the popular modern show The Good Place, people can and do. In C.S. Lewis’ classic portrayal of a bus ride from Hell to Heaven, all but one do not. That may be surprising. See more.