Christian justice and public policy /
Duncan B. Forrester.
- Cambridge, U.K. ; New York, N.Y. : Cambridge University Press, 1997.
- 1 online resource (xiv, 274 pages)
- Cambridge studies in ideology and religion ; 10 .
- Cambridge studies in ideology and religion ; 10. .
Includes bibliographical references (pages 260-268) and indexes.
Theology and public policy yesterday and today -- 'Nobody knows what justice is': the problem of justice in a morally fragmented society -- Punishment and prisons -- Poverty -- Fairness is not enough -- Justice and the market -- Communication, gender and justice -- Lively and truthful survivals? -- Love, justice and justification -- Justice and community -- The hope of justice.
Disagreements about justice are not simply academic matters. They create problems for practice and for policy-making. In a morally fragmented society in which 'nobody knows what justice is' issues such as wages policy, punishment and poverty become particularly difficult to handle. People striving to act justly are often uncertain how this might be done. Secular theories such as those of Rowls, Hayek, Habermas and modern feminist theorists, examined here, give some guidance for problems of justice that arise on the ground, but have serious limitations. This book argues that Christian theology, although it can no longer claim to provide a comprehensive theory of justice, can provide insights into justice - 'theological fragments' - which give illumination, challenge some aspects of the conventional wisdom, and contribute to the building of just communities in which people may flourish in mutuality and hope.
Christianity and justice. Church and social problems. Christianity and politics. Political planning. RELIGION--Christianity--General. RELIGION--Christian Life--Social Issues. Christianity and justice. Christianity and politics. Church and social problems. Political planning. Rechtvaardigheid. Christendom. Rechtstheorie. Theologie.