Justice

Justice in modern society According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, justice is defined as, “The maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments.” When reading this definition one may see the clear picture of justice, however, it is when breaking it down and dealing with numerous alternative and hard-hitting situations that this definition becomes complicated. Over the course of the semester, I have come to the realization that there are key elements needed in order to truly discover what justice is. In order for society to correct wrongly accused injustices and pursue just outcomes, society must be a cohesive group capable of respecting others and putting one’s pride away for the good of the other. In addition, justice begins to work when humanity eliminates prideful motivations, and begin to rely on God’s grace to make the world interconnected with his love. In conclusion, after my learning and discussion throughout the semester, I do not see one clear answer in what it means to do justice. This is the case because there are some many different elements and situations when contemplating justice. I am still stumped today with many situations which causes one to pick between two situations. For example, the other day I was watching the movie, Machine Gun Preacher. In this movie, I was faced with a very controversial argument, whether it is right for the machine gun preacher to kill off rebels who at times are children, in the pursuit to save the lives of other children who live impoverished in Southern Sudan. Issues like these are what lead me to a cross road, it is so hard at times to see what is just or fair in a situation and this is where I face many of my complications regarding justice. However, when being faced with these difficult issues, I learned the only way to find the truth is by relying on God’s Grace. Ken Wytsma, pastor of the Antioch

Cited: Campolo, Anthony, and Mary Albert. Darling. The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2007. Print. Diggins, John P. Why Niebuhr Now? Chicago: University of Chicago, 2011. Print. "The Justice Conference to Gather 3500 People in Portland Feb. 24-25." OregonLive.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2012. The Holy Bible: The King James Version. Canberra: Bible Society in Australia, 1993. Print. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 2004. Print.