Against God?

I (Randy, here) have been repeatedly asked when telling friends about the Dikiaos Project, "what is biblical justice ? Is that just a Christianized term for secular ideas of social justice?" Simply put, the Bible has some very specific and somewhat unique teachings related to how we live our lives and treat others. With that in mind, I thought I would outline a few of the main teachings of Scripture over the next few blog posts. So let's jump right in:

1. Biblical justice holds all injustices (sin) to ultimately be against God himself.

While from a secular perspective wrongs are more or less committed against their recipients, the Bible teaches that any time we lie, cheat, steal, wound, malign, misrepresent, and the like we not only do so against the direct recipients of these actions, but also against the God who made and loves them.

Several texts could be pointed to here, but let's keep it simple and just look at one:

James 3:9-10: With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.

The book of James is deeply concerned with those things that divide people and cause us to mistreat one another. While this verse is often cited in reference to gossip and the use of dirty words, there is more to be seen than just that. James points out that because humanity is made in the Image of God (Imago Dei - a theme we will cover more in a later post) every person has an intrinsic worth. James points to the absurdity of a moth that can both worship God and wrong someone made in his image because the two completely incomparable. To wrong another human being is to wrong our heavenly Father.

Next time you spend time in prayer, consider meditating on this teaching and ask the Holy Spirit to show you any areas that you have offended the Lord through acts not specifically directed toward Him.

Grace and Peace,

Randy & Lindsay

some prayer points and a ministry opp...

well, things are moving right along -- randy started his winter quarter at fuller jan 3rd and linds just started an interterm class at talbot (her semester will start jan 31). he's loving his ethics and theology classes. she's loving getting into the practicum series where she'll get to meet with students to give spiritual direction soon!

things to pray for:
*randy is not going to the student conference we mentioned last, however, he has created a teaching session for another chi alpha person to lead at the conference (so it'll be like we're there... kind of :). the session will teach students why Biblical justice is distinctive from secular ideas of justice.

*randy has been invited by a professor at a southern CA university to come and teach one of the foundational concepts of Biblical justice. it's called the "hermeneutical circle" and provides a framework for considering social injustice in light of Scripture. (if you're curious, ask randy to explain what the hermeneutical circle is!)

*our beta-testing campuses/chi alpha leaders -- they will be starting up their Biblical Global Justice classes in the coming weeks and need lots of prayer as they invite students and get the word out about the class (geographically, these campuses are in areas such as Washington, D.C., California, and New Hampshire).

*lindsay's ministry through spiritual direction -- this spring she will begin meeting with two undergrad students at biola university. we believe this ministry will bring wonderful depth to our ministry in chi alpha. (don't know what spiritual direction is? just ask! she loves to talk about it!)

blessings and love,
randy & linds

Happy New Year!

It's been awhile, but we thought it was time for an update:

In December, we finished our school sessions -- we each had four graduate level classes, so it was intense, but we loved what we learned! Our break from school was much needed and filled with family time in both Louisiana and California. :)

We chose topics to research and focus on for papers and projects that we will use as we continue piecing together the class. Randy chose racial issues to write a paper on and Lindsay chose to focus a big writing project on immigration-type issues.

The Justice class is coming along well! Randy is putting some of the sessions together as we speak because starting in just a few weeks, we have 5 campuses committed to be our "beta testers". These campuses are in different parts of the country and represent different kinds of demographics. These groups will try out our class with their students this spring and touch base with Randy regularly to provide feedback on what's working and what might be adjusted for future classes.

Our hearts are expectant and eager for the beta-testing to start. We will have direct contact with students from all over the country through our class leaders and we cannot wait to see and hear how they react to the message of Biblical Justice.

Please pray for the following:
*Health -- Both of us have been fighting colds and sickness and in order to stay on top of both school and chi alpha, we really can't afford getting sick!
*Randy's up-coming conference -- He is being flown in to share about the Justice course with students at a regional student gathering in early February. He will have a chance to lead an elective session and address students from many different campuses on the east coast.
*The rest of the class compilation process -- Almost all of the research is done, it's just putting things together and sending it to the testers.
*For students (and the class leaders) -- That God would touch and transform some hearts through this spring course. Last year, Randy had students share how deeply they were impacted by learning about this important aspect of God's character (his heart for the poor, marginalized, and for justice within our communities, etc.). Pray for more of these stories!

Blessings and grace,
Randy & Lindsay