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

ethical chocolate?

randy sent me an email asking if i wanted to go to a viewing of a documentary: the dark side of chocolate...

most people know how much i love chocolate, especially dark chocolate! little did i know that there really is a dark side to it. after viewing the film, we learned how often child labor and inhumane labor practices are used in the production of cocoa from the harvesting of beans to the production of cocoa powder & butter. children are lied to, manipulated away from their families, promised money, and then never given a chance to return home. they are forced to work, being denied privileges of healthcare and education.

of course, both of our hearts dropped when we realized how severe the issues are and how closely we come to the situation by continuing to buy products that come from companies who turn a blind eye to these unethical practices at the bottom of the production chain of events. so we made a decision: through education, we will make changes. small things really do add up and can make a difference! we can seek to learn about the way businesses make their profit and allow our buying power and voices speak!

some practical things we can do:
*stop buying chocolate if it is not a "fair trade" product (or equivalent -- we will post a list of groups that certify fair trade principles globally)
*start buying fair trade products (you can research approved brands to find local stores that sell them)
*check out our local fair trade groups, for example: fairtradela.com (or fairtradepasadena.com for those of us in this area)
*think before you buy and when possible, buy products from reputable companies (that practice fair labor principles)

current thoughts on justice & deuteronomy

It seems that everywhere we turn, Randy and I see themes of justice...

I (Lindsay) am taking an Old Testament Survey class and so it is required to read through the entire Old Testament this semester. In reading Deuteronomy recently, I have begun to see God's heart for justice in an entirely new way. Even in the 10 commandments, I can see God's intentions to set up a society in which there is fairness and equality, the protection of human rights, and an appreciation of the gift of humanity.

My textbook reads:
"Commandment 10: Human Rights and Privileges (Deut. 24:17-26:15)
'You shall not covet... anything that belongs to your neighbor.'
Coveting is desiring to have something that is possessed by another. The legislation surrounding this commandment suggests that the rights of individuals need to be protected... it urges that rights we enjoy ought not be taken for granted."

This is precisely what Randy and I wrestle with so often when we dig into material and research for the class on Justice. Just this week, I was reading in another textbook about prayer, specifically the "prayer of tears." In Scripture and Christian history, we see over and over again instances of God's people seeing the reality of sin in themselves and the world and learning to sit before God broken over it. For some, these "tears" are more of an internal response to the consequences of sin, for me this is often a very full experience of internal and external mourning. This is a healthy posture to seek growth in, to ask the Lord for brokenness over the wrongdoings within our own lives and the world around us.

Within hours of my reading and reflecting on this different kind of prayer, Randy came home touched to the core about issues in Columbia. He joined a student group this week that seeks to learn more about the injustices around the world and look for ways to do something about it. They had invited a Columbian pastor to share about his situation and Randy was cut to the heart. It was all over his face, those internal "prayers of tears" of his heart, when he came home that day. In Columbia, inhumane treatment of workers and corruption in government-type entities prevails often. This was a reminder to Randy and I that we as Americans sometimes benefit from this injustice because, as was the case with this particular pastor's reports, he was sharing about an American company that profits from the poor treatment of workers and then sells their products to us daily in the States.

These things are heavy on our heart this week and we continue to seek God on how to respond.

wedding pix!

website update!

just an fyi to anyone who is wondering what happened to our wedding website...

we've consolidated everything now, so this is the place to get in touch with us! if you were looking for info on the wedding, we'll provide some here and hope to get more pictures up soon, so stay tuned!

we had the perfect wedding in northern California, at the University of California, Santa Cruz. it was a garden wedding and our dear friend, Pastor Eric Treuil performed the ceremony for us. when we think back to that day, it's a huge reminder of God's blessing -- everything turned out well and we enjoyed every moment of it! (hopefully the pictures will do some justice to the beauty of our day and location, as well as the loved ones who were there -- we had an AMAZING photographer, Kelly Kirksey Fisk). :)

and our registry info: bed bath & beyond, crate & barrel, and amazon.com.