The Feed

We can agree that Justice goes beyond compassion, but we also know that compassion is a fundamental part of the equation. We have also introduced the “justice continuum” illustrated in the external Charity/Individual Development/Community Development/ Structural Change — unpacked as give a man a fish, teach a man to fish, give a man fishing equipment and educate him how to use it, and give a man a pond…as well as the internal C/ID/CD/SC continuum — unpacked as addressing and acting on guilt/compassion, addressing and acting on personal conception of race, dignity and equality, addressing and acting on community conceptions and responsibility of race, dignity, and equality, and conviction and action for social and economic transformation.

We will spend a lot more time on these core concepts in the coming months.

We also compared and contrasted Compassion and Justice with the following examples:
Compassion
Relieving human need
Seeking to minister to individuals and families
Involves responding to a felt need of another
Doesn’t change systems
Usually non-controversial
Biblical example: the Good Samaritan
Ministry examples: tutoring school-age children, giving money to a domestic violence shelter, serving meals to the homeless once a week, performing music for the sick or elderly

Justice
Removing the causes of human need
Seeking to transform the structures of society
Acts out of a feeling that something is not right
Changes systems
Often controversial and causes discomfort
Biblical example: Moses and the Israelites in Egypt
Ministry example: lobbying state government for a welfare reform bill, buying only fair-trade coffee to serve at home or church, building low income housing units for the poor, launching a racism education campaign for the community