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Mona Terry: Path Seeking Harmony - COMPACT DISCSTitle: Path Seeking Harmony Artist: Mona Terry Label: CD Baby Product Type: COMPACT DISCS UPC: 634479422997 Genre: New Age Release Date: 2006 11 14 Number of Discs: 1 The Mojeda Productions disc is a meditative collection of all original, inspirational music designed for reflection, and features Terry's work on harp, vocals and percussion as well as Norton's performances on flutes, piano, guitar and vocals. When Norton and Terry offer music, they
Title: Path Seeking HarmonyArtist: Mona Terry
Label: CD Baby
Product Type: COMPACT DISCS
UPC: 634479422997
Genre: New Age
Release Date: 2006-11-14
Number of Discs: 1
The Mojeda Productions disc is a meditative collection of all-original, inspirational music designed for reflection, and features Terry's work on harp, vocals and percussion as well as Norton's performances on flutes, piano, guitar and vocals. When Norton and Terry offer music, they showcase the unique reflective style they have developed together. Each has spent much time in a wide variety of musical expressions. Terry and Norton's professional careers have covered European and American venues, musical theater, private instruction, sacred music, public and private stage performance, charity benefits, choral recordings and HeartSong healing retreats, as well as performances in the presence of the Dalai Lama, Holly Near, Nelson Mandela and Maya Angelou, among others. Artists' Statement: The music in A Path Seeking Harmony consists of compositions we have carefully created, inviting all to seek harmony with the Divine, find healing, and bring peace to the world. As you listen, you are invited to unwind, just as you would at a healing retreat. We offer an opportunity for meditative music to bring hope and healing to you. Designed to invite you into a contemplative space, this music can also inspire expressive movement and dance. Background: The collection the duo has recorded for this disc is diverse, even as it weaves together common threads. Norton plays a variety of flutes (including the alto recorder, a Native American cedar flute and a penny whistle), as well as piano and guitar, and she provides vocals for some pieces on this recording. Terry, a harpist, also provides some of the CD's vocals, and plays percussion on instruments that range from the djembe drum and a rainstick to prayer bells and wind chimes. The songs include harp and flute solos, prayerful reflections that combine harp and alto recorder, and chants combined with everything from the djembe and chimes to the piano, guitar and penny whistle. "When I first heard the sound of the alto flute and harp together it was magical," Terry enthuses. "What a special and healing sound!" She continues, "I was inspired to create melodies so that these two instruments could carry the listener to another dimension of calm and inner peace." Norton says, "Music is universal and healing. It is absolutely phenomenal how deeply the spirit can be calmed when soothing sounds are at hand. To have an opportunity to offer that to others is truly humbling and exciting!" She also cites their complementary talents and shared values as key to their collaboration. "Mona writes wonderful and carefully crafted melodies," says Norton. "I bring music that is spontaneous and evolving. We laughed and cajoled each other through these individual selections until the sum was definitely greater than the parts, and truly greater than we individually could imagine." Terry agrees. "I am proud of the ability that we have of gently pushing each other to new levels of growth and musical development," she says. "This project caused each of us to face some inner fears and try many new things for the first time. And we never could have done it without the amazing patience and skill of our sound engineer and co-producer Dave VanDerKamp, who really worked magic with what we recorded." She also notes that this CD release is a beginning rather than an end. "This music just taps the surface of what we have yet to offer." From the Quad Cities Times, Davenport, Iowa, November 30, 2006 Few people would dispute the power music has in altering the way one acts or feels. The debut CD of two Quad-City musicians aims to impact both the body and soul of listeners. Mona Terry and Jean Norton have just released "A Path Seeking Harmony," a collection of original music intended for meditation, reflection and contemplation. Both offer vocals on the 10-song disc, while Terry also plays percussion and harp, and Norton performs on flutes, piano and guitar. The Quad-City transplants - Terry hails from Los Angeles, while Norton grew up in Michigan and lived in New York City before returning to the Midwest - met while working together on a program using music to aid cancer patients. Norton, who is a chaplain at Genesis Medical Center in addition to minister of music at Edwards Congregational United Church of Christ in Davenport, was searching for a harpist, and Terry answered the call. The project was a good fit for Terry, who has played harp for 10 years and is studying in a musical healing and transitional program in Chicago. Soon, she will become a music practitioner and use music to heal and comfort patients in hospitals, hospices, rehabilitation centers and birthing rooms. Among the healing benefits of music is the ability to match patients' heart rates and pulses with the beat of the music she plays, Terry said. Participating in the program has helped Terry grow as an artist. To best aid her patients, she must assess how they are feeling and respond appropriately with music, she said. Often, this means using improvisation or playing songs of unconventional styles. This musical flexibility also comes into play at the HeartSong spiritual and religious retreats in which Terry and Norton participate. The musicians strive to reach each listener, no matter where they're at in their spiritual journey, and help bring them closer to God or the Divine, Norton said. "Music helps to unleash whatever one has in their core or their very soul," she said. "The kind of music that helps a person connect to God is different." "We really have to be in the moment," Terry added. Playing together has allowed the artists to learn from one another, Norton said. She has pushed Terry to be more spontaneous in her music-making, while Terry has encouraged her to be more diligent about the process, she said. The musicians hope to make more CDs together. But their immediate goal is for their music to reach listeners on physical and spiritual levels, and encourage them to improve the world around them, Norton said. "We are hoping that this is a tool that can help people let go of tension or angst or anxiety," she said. "Our further hope is that it gives the energy and strength to bring peace to the world and to work for justice." From the River Cities Reader, Davenport, Iowa, November 29, 2006 Mona Terry & Jean Norton The Coffee Artist Café Saturday, December 2, 2:30-4:30 p.m. While perusing press releases during this time of year, 'Escape the winter winds with hot coffee, munchies, and good music' is one of those invitations that immediately catches my attention, as those are three of my favorite things even in the summer. On December 2, this triad of treats will be in ample supply at the Coffee Artist Café (1711 Fifth Avenue in Moline), where local musicians Mona Terry (a noted area harpist) and Jean Norton (frequent music director for the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre and the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse) celebrate the release of their first collaborative CD, A Path-Seeking Harmony. In the recording's collection of inspirational songs, the gifted musicians - who will also perform at Saturday's event - employ guitar, harp, piano, alto flute, percussion, and vocals in a series of beautifully arranged compositions; having heard the CD, I can attest that the results are lovely and thoughtful, and that they back up Terry's press-release claim: 'Designed to invite you into a contemplative space, this music can also inspire expressive movement and dance.' I'd better make sure, though, that I have somewhere else to be on December 2. The last time I indulged in expressive movement and dance, I had 'cuffs slapped on me. - Mike Schulz.
Tracks:
1.1 In This Moment
1.2 Promise
1.3 Let Me Let Go
1.4 Seeking Guidance
1.5 Morning Prayer
1.6 Alleluia
1.7 Prayer for Healing
1.8 Pres de la Mer
1.9 O Most Holy One
1.10 Journey Home
Audio Sample:
All soundclips are provided by Tidal and are for illustrative purposes only. For some releases, the tracks listed may not accurately represent the tracks on the physical release.
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4.5 ★★★★★
Based on 22 reviews
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
A must read book for anyone who doubts the bible
Format: Paperback
I was interested to read this book because I was already familiar with the author William Mounce having studied his book, “Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar” and knowing that he was on the oversight committees of the ESV and NIV bible translations so felt I could trust his validity.
His book is based on academic research but written to a nontechnical audience which makes this a great tool to share with anyone who has doubts about the bible. With that said, I found it to be intelligent with a lot of reference material. I didn’t want to skim over any part and read it slowly so I could understand what was being said.
One of the reasons people doubt the bible is they say there are contradictions and errors. There are 2 chapters regarding apparent contradictions. With each contradiction, he addresses it with facts and gives clarity to what could seem confusing.
Other chapters teach on the Historical Jesus, The Canon – how we got 27 books in the NT, Textual criticism, Translations and The Old Testament.
I found this book to be very informative and interesting, one I will keep going back to for reference.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2021
★★★★★ 5
Excellent Read!
Format: Paperback
William Mounce always has a way with bringing things to light clearly, just read his Greek text books and you will see that. His new book “Why I trust the Bible” answers a very important question for Christians. We are to be people of the book, and today many try to cast doubt on God’s words. These attacks on the Word of God come from both the left and right of the issue, atheist and the KJV only crowd.
Mr. Mounce handles the issues with clear and accurate facts. From the reality and deity of Jesus Christ to the reliability of canon we call scripture. Does he have a biased? If he does he tells you, but he also is very pointed at the goal, showing I CAN trust the bible. “Why I trust the Bible” is a great read if you want the facts but don’t want to spend hours reading the arguments in multiple books or websites. Mr. Mounce provides the evidence and the tools for you to dig deeper and see where and what was said for yourself.
I would highly recommend this book as the issue is handled very concisely and with great clarity.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2021
★★★★★ 5
It argues for the reasons for helping the poor and provides ways to do so with helpful examples.
Format: Kindle
In Chapter 1 “What is Doing Justice?” Keller says just as tithe is the right or due of the priests, the poor and needy have rights to have their needs met. Any neglect shown to their needs is not called merely a lack of mercy or charity but a violation of justice. The Bible introduces God as a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows (Psalm 68:4-5). Giving justice and defending to the poor and weak is one of the main things he does in the world. He identifies with the powerless and takes up their cause. Because most of the oppressed are those who are poor and powerless, God gives them particular attention and has a special place in his heart for them. Justice is more than merely giving the poor small, perfunctory gifts, but turning the their life to a life of delight. Justice includes generosity.
In Chapter 2 “Justice and the Old Testament” Keller says Jesus has fulfilled the ceremonial laws of Moses, including clean laws of touching, diet, dress; sacrificial system and temple worship ordinances. However, the basic principles in the Old Testament remain the same. Christ only changed the way in which Christians exhibit their holiness and offer their sacrifices. Today, people are required to offer God their entire lives as sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2), as well as the sacrifices of worship to God and the sharing of their resources with others (Hebrews 13:5). Although the Bible does not guarantee that no one will ever fall into poverty, God promises that He will richly bless His people so that if they are kind and good to the needy around them by being openhanded and freely lending everything he needs, there would not be a poor man among them, that no one will suffer from permanent, long-term poverty. The money we have is as much a gift of God as the manna was a gift to the Israelites in the desert. The Biblical laws for the use of land criticize the statism that disregards the precious treasure of personal rootage as well as the untrammeled individualism which secures individuals at the expense of community. The three causes of poverty, according to the Bible are oppression, calamity, and personal moral failure. Taken in isolation no one factor – government programs, public policy, calls to personal responsibility, or private charity – is sufficient to address the problem.
In Chapter 3 “What did Jesus Say About Justice?” Keller says Jesus wants his followers to be profoundly generous to the poor, spending more money on them than on the rich and the friends. Genuine concern for the poor is not a means of getting salvation but rather the sign that you already have salvation. Whatever a person does to the poor is done to Jesus. The Bible sees sexual immorality and material selfishness as both flowing from self-centeredness rather than God-centeredness. Gospel preaching that targets some sins but not the sins of oppression cannot work among most people in the world, people who are poor peasants and workers. Our first responsibility is to our own families and relations (1 Timothy 5:8), and our second responsibility is to other members of the community of faith (Galatians 6:10). However, our responsibility also includes doing good to all people, including strangers such as foreigners.
In Chapter 4 “Justice and Your Neighbor” Keller says Jesus said that loving God and neighbor is the way to get eternal life. To this, the expert in the law asked who his neighbor is. Using the story of good Samaritan, Jesus says that anyone in need is our neighbor. We should not refuse to help others by saying that they are not yet in extreme poverty because we would not wait until we are in extreme poverty before doing something to alleviate our suffering. We should not say I cannot help anyone because we mean I cannot help anyone without burdening myself, cutting in to how I live my life. We should not refuse to help others because they are ungrateful and wicked because Jesus saved us not even though we are ungrateful and evil people. We should not refuse to help the poor who fell into poverty because of their own selfish, indolent, or violent behavior unless they continue in those evils. Even if they do persist in the same evil, we should still help the family members of those evil people. Jesus is the great Samaritan who came down and saved us out of his compassion on us, the spiritually dead.
In Chapter 5 “Why Should We Do Justice?” Keller says two basic motivations for doing justice that the Bible gives are first joyful awe before the goodness of God’s creation and second the experience of God’s grace in redemption. The fact that humans are created in the image of God shows that every human being deserves respect. God gave to humans management and authority over the earth but not the ownership. God gave the poor the right to receive favor and good will from the rich as the rich have received favor and good will from God. A person who experienced of God’s grace can no longer have pride and haughtiness and aloofness toward the poor.
In Chapter 6 “How should we do justice?” Keller says doing justice requires constant, sustained reflection and circumspection, thinking through how to do justice in every area of life.Vulnerable people need multiple levels of help. Keller call these layers relief, development, and social reform. Relief is direct aid to meet immediate physical, material, and economic needs. Development is giving an individual, family, or entire community what they need to move beyond dependency on relief into a condition of economic self-sufficiency. When John Perkins explained his philosophy of ministry, he always named three basic factors. One he called “relocation,” though others have called it “reneighboring a community.” This means the helper should live within the community and thus have firsthand knowledge of the needs of the neighborhood and real accountability to the residents. Perkins also spoke of “redistribution,” something others have called “reweaving a community.” This means that financial capital, social capital, and spiritual capital that are invested into the community should stay within the community for the benefit of the community. By “financial capital,” we of course mean the ability to attract businesses that not only provide goods for customers, but also keep wealth and financial capital in the community itself. By “social capital,” Perkins meant the training and retaining of local leadership. “Spiritual capital” refers to the spiritual and moral influence of the churches in the neighborhood. There is a third important factor in John Perkins’s strategy for rebuilding poor communities. He names it “racial reconciliation.” This includes empowering the resident of poor communities to control their own destiny as well as inviting professional helpers from outside to play a role. The new bonds with others in Christ are stronger than our relationship to other members of our own racial and national groups. The gospel gives believers critical distance from their own culture, enabling them to critique their own cultural idols. When these new insights are established in the consciousness of a Christian, a church, and a community, the resulting unity of relationships becomes both a means to reneighboring and reweaving and a direct witness to the world of the reality of the gospel. Besides relief and development (both individual and corporate) there is social reform. Social reform moves beyond the relief of immediate needs and dependency and seeks to change the conditions and social structures that aggravate or cause that dependency. Doing justice and generosity should not be the means to evangelism nor be considered the same thing as evangelism nor be considered something detracts from evangelism. Instead, they should exist in an asymmetrical, inseparable relationship. Doing justice and generosity is inseparably connected to preaching the gospel because the gospel produces love and concern for the poor and the deeds of justice and generosity give credibility to the preaching of the gospel. In other words, justification by faith leads to doing justice and generosity, and doing justice and generosity make many seek to be justified by faith. The most loving thing anyone can do for one’s neighbor is to help him or her to have a saving faith in God, to have a saving relationship with Him that will result in eternal life with Him. Christian church, like any other institution or organization, cannot do all things well, and thus should do the work of relief and some development inside and around its community for their own members, neighborhoods and cities and let its members to do the work of development and social reform through appropriate organizations and institutions.
In Chapter 7 “Doing Justice In the Public Square” Keller says there is no consensus on what justice is. People assume the other side know they are simply being unjust, but the reality is nearly everyone thinks they are on justice’s side. Justice is not a matter of common sense because people have differing opinions about what freedom and equality, what things that define justice, are. The causes for which justice is invoked are always matters of deeply held beliefs, rooted in particular view on matters of faith such as human nature, happiness, right, and wrong. There are competing visions of justice in our society which can fall into three categories: maximizing welfare, respecting freedom, and promoting virtue. Attempt to talk about justice in the supposedly neutral terms of freedom and equality that we can all agree on did not work because our ideas of justice are rooted in views of life that are nonprovable faith assumptions. The forbiddance to bring religious beliefs into public argument has made debate or discourse over normative matters barren, unsatisfying, and shallow. We can’t agree on what justice is because we are not allowed to talk about our underlying beliefs publicly. We are locked in endless disagreement, largely because we live with the illusion that we can achieve moral and religious neutrality. Many great political and influential figures in the past used religious language to argue for their cause. Prohibition of bringing personal morality into public policy is thus absurd. Our law is itself a codification of morality, much of it grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Although Christians should not be strident and condemning in their language or attitude, Christians should not be silent about the Biblical roots of their passion for justice. Christians’ work for justice should be characterized by both humble cooperation and respectful provocation. Common grace of God gives skills in science, scholarship, crafts, government, art, and jurisprudence to nonbelievers as well. Christians and non-Christians have common values that can form a connection between them. Believers should let their coworkers know of how the gospel is motivating them, yet also they should appeal to common values as much as possible. At the same time, they should be respectfully provocative with them, arguing that their models of justice are reductionistic and incomplete. Christians should talk about how their beliefs are different than those of non-Christians even if they have the same basic social goals. Valuing things is always based on beliefs about the purposes of life, human nature, right and wrong, all of which are moral and religious. As Aristotle and other Greek philosophers reasoned, unless we can determine what human beings are here for, it is impossible to determine how we should live. Many prominent thinkers and scientists say that human being does not have inherent worth. Therefore, even atheist and agnostic philosophers acknowledge that the concept of human rights requires a religious dimension. Many nonreligious people believe in human dignity and human rights. However, it is just that any such belief is religious in nature.
In Chapter 8 “Peace, Beauty, and Justice” Keller says the Jewish description of the creation is unique in that God created the world as a craftsman or an artisan with much care and planning. God created all things in an interdependent, harmonious relationship to one another. Just as rightly related physical elements form a cosmos, so rightly related human beings form a community, and this interwovenness is what the Bible calls shalom, or harmonious peace. Shalom means peace resulting from right, perfect, and joyful relationship in all dimensions – physical, emotional, social, and spiritual. When there is crime, poverty, and family breakdown, there is no shalom in the society. However, when people share with others, work together for good and functional public services, school, and flouring businesses, the community experiences shalom. Broken relationship with God resulted in war, crime, family breakdown, oppression, injustice, hunger, sickness, aging and physical death. Doing justice means bringing shalom to the community, especially for the poor and the weaker members of the society. Perceiving the goodness of God in His sacrificial love makes doing justice and other things that honor and please God a delight to people. God identifies with the poor not only symbolically but also literally in the incarnation and death of Jesus. He had little the world valued and the little he had was taken. Though He was rich, for the sake of us He became poor, so that we through His poverty might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).
In section titled “Justice Includes Generosity” in chapter 1, “What is doing Justice?”, the author seems to say that generous giving to the poor is a requirement from God. Mercy, compassion, or charity are not a requirement, but justice is. Therefore, generous giving must be justice, and justice unconditionally includes generous giving. Thus, the author equates justice with generosity or generous giving of time and resources. The author went further by saying that those who do not actively and generously share their resources with the poor are robbers.
I must disagree with what the author said above. When generous giving to the poor or generosity becomes justice, it means the rich have the legal obligation to give to the poor, and the poor have legal right to demand goods from the rich or even take goods from the rich without their knowledge. When the rich accuse the poor of stealing from them, the poor would be able to say “It is justice for us to receive generosity from you. Therefore, it is not stealing but merely exercise of justice and practice of our rights.”
Instead of calling generous giving to the poor justice, I believe generous giving to the poor is a righteousness. It is a righteousness that God demands from the rich. However, God did not give the poor the right to demand or steal from the rich. God merely gave the poor the right to ask for what they need from the rich, and the right to receive from the rich whatever the rich give them. If mercy, compassion, and charity to the poor by the rich are a requirement, an obligation on the part of the rich, some people may argue that generous giving to the poor can no longer be called mercy, compassion, or charity by the rich. I think they have a solid ground to argue that case, but indisputable truth that remains unchanged is that the generous giving to the poor through the rich is mercy, compassion, and charity by God.
The author said, “We do justice when we give all human beings their due as creations of God.” It is equally true to say, “God does justice when He gives all human beings their due as creations of God.” Then when the poor receive goods, or rather when human beings receive life, health, wealth, and peace from God, are they receiving their due from God? If so, human beings do not have to give thanks to God because they are only receiving their due from God and God merely doing what His Justice requires Him to do.
I agree with what Keller said regarding what Christians should do to help the poor. I could feel the enthusiasm he has for helping the poor while reading the book. I also give due respect to the efforts he has made. It seems to me he has done appropriate research for writing on this subject. He has proposed well-thought-out ways to help the poor. His mention of inputs from many other people, particularly those from Abraham Kuyper and John Perkins, were especially helpful. These various inputs helped considering the task of helping the poor in a more balanced and multifaceted way. Most importantly, he has a first-hand experience of helping the poor which gives him invaluable knowledge and know-off from which he can draw and helps him critically assess the benefits and shortcomings of inputs from others. I believe more improvements can be made upon the helping ministry that he and others have built upon. However, due to lack of first-hand experience, it is difficult for me to propose any valuable improvements.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2021
★★★★★ 5
Marries God's Grace, Orthodox Theology, and Social Justice
When I ordered Timothy Keller's "Generous Justice," I thought I was buying a book about God's justice (in condemning sinners), which has been assailed by so many recently. Never have I been so pleasantly and emotionally surprised by a book. What Keller has done instead is to wed a theology of God's grace to us, and one that is fully orthodox in nature, with a biblical emphasis on social justice. Keller's main thesis is this: God's "generous justice" to humans who are poor in spirit and in great need is a motivation for our administering social justice - as well as an evidence that we have truly received the grace of God.
This is truly a mind-blowing, heart-rending thesis - and it's hit me like a ton of bricks! The very night I read this book, I read (from the Book of Common Prayer) the prayer for Social Justice in our Evening Prayer service at church. Obviously God is trying to teach me something, and I think He's trying to teach you all the same thing. That something is that Christians are to be involved in social justice not only because it's a commandment but because it's a response to a life that's received the grace of God (His "generous justice").
Keller cuts across the great conservative/liberal divide in this book. He has something that most of you will at first disagree about, but when you truly consider it, you'll find that he's probably right. Social justice is about caring for the poor and alienated, both as individuals and as communities. To conservative Christians he preaches that social justice does indeed involve changing entire communities and that real oppression and social injustice still exists in the U.S. To liberal Christians he preaches that much of poverty really does come from the personal moral failings of individuals. In fact, he outlines 3 possible causes of poverty: oppression, calamity, and personal moral failure. He believes that the biblical emphasis is especially on the larger structural factors (although I don't necessarily agree with him here.)
Perhaps most importantly, Keller is putting his money where his mouth is: his Redeemer Presbyterian Church is located in Manhattan.
What Keller does best, beginning with the Old Testament and continuing through the teachings of Jesus and the Epistles is to show God's concern for social justice. You cannot read this book without being challenged to want to be more involved in correcting social injustice, whether at the individual or social level. This book hit me like a ton of bricks because years ago I had read Ron Sider's Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger while in college. I was originally moved by the book but then became aware that Sider had made a lot of errors in his theology and thinking. For years, I allowed this and the liberal emphasis on the social gospel as opposed to the true gospel to shield me from the biblical message of the need for justice.
This book has been like a sledgehammer to my soul, and it will take me months and years to sort out what God would have me do next.
In addition to providing the biblical and theological rationale for caring for the poor and disadvantaged, Keller turns towards a more practical approach towards the end of the book, which was exactly what I needed. He answers questions I and many others have, such as "What if I don't live by an area of poverty?" (then look for the disadvantaged, abused, neglected, sick, single parents wherever you are!) He discusses 3 levels of help that need to be offered: relief (direct aid to immediate needs), development (giving a family or community what they need to move beyond dependency), and social reform (changing the conditions and social conditions that cause dependency).
Keller divides his book up this way:
Introduction: Why Write This Book?
Chapter One - What is Doing Justice?
Chapter Two - Justice and the Old Testament
Chapter Three - What Did Jesus Say About Justice?
Chapter Four - Justice and Your Neighbor
Chapter Five - Why Should We Do Justice?
Chapter Six - How Should We Do Justice?
Chapter Seven - Doing Justice in the Public Square
Chapter Eight - Peace, Beauty, and Justice
There are still things I disagree with about the book, and I have a few areas where I think Keller could have been clearer or more forceful so as not to mislead.
My 1st objection is that Keller seems to emphasize justice in terms of structures more than the justice we seek for individuals (for example, the many ways I seek justice among my kids at home). Keller didn't talk about this side of things enough. He also, in my opinion, doesn't adequately take into account the moral failings that are the cause of so much of American poverty since the 20th century. It's not that he isn't aware of this side of things: I just think he understates it.
Second, while Keller's clearly aware that our contemporary situation is not a theocracy like that of ancient Israel, too much of the time he seems to assume that the social justice we seek is out in the world at large, as opposed to the social justice we seek specifically in the Church. The New Testament letters are clearly more heavily weighted toward how we seek justice specifically in the Church, which is to model social justice for the world, even as the justice of national Israel was to be a model for the nations. He also doesn't address the problem that in ancient Israel and the first century Church, Christians knew who the poor were because there was little social mobility. They knew who was really lame and who was faking; they knew who had fallen on hard times; and they knew who was merely lazy or malicious. It's much more difficult for Christians today to discern this, and Keller makes no (or at least inadequate) reference to the traditional Christian distinction between the deserving and the undeserving poor (an issue that several books by George Grant discuss more adequately).
In spite of these errors or exaggerations, "Generous Justice" is still a book every church should be discussing. Read it, and see if it doesn't break your heart and make you more aware of God's grace to you, as well as your need to do justice to those around you!
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Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2010
★★★★★ 5
How the Gospel & Justice go hand in hand
Anything by Tim Keller is worth reading and re-reading. His book Generous Justice is no different. I worked my way through it last week as I prepped my sermon on James 2.
Here is the main idea of the book: "If a person grasped the meaning of God's grace in his heart, he will do justice. If he doesn't live justly, then he may say with his lips that he is grateful for God's grace, but in his heart he is far from him. If he doesn't care about the poor, it reveals that at best he doesn't understand the grace he has experienced, and at worst he has not really encountered the saving mercy of God. Grace should make you just."
One of the more interesting things I found in the book was how Keller weaved through Scripture and looked at the various places that justice, poor, widows, orphans, etc. are talked about in the Old and New Testaments. He also pointed out how God is introduced in Scripture as "the father to the fatherless and defender of the widow" almost more than any title. Which strikes me because God is often associated with suburbia. If the church and his followers are to be like him, what does that mean our lives should be like? What would we have to do so that we are identified as "the father to the fatherless and the defender of the widow?" Keller answers, "If God's character includes a zeal for justice that leads him to have the tenderest love and closest involvement with the socially weak, then what should God's people be like? They must be people who are likewise passionately concerned for the weak and vulnerable."
But what does doing justice mean? It has become a polarizing word and idea. Often, "doing justice" is associated solely with left wing politics or liberal Christianity, the social gospel. In fact, after spending the last 2 weeks talking about loving the overlooked at Revolution I was asked by someone if we were getting political as a church. While the question is misguided, I understand where it comes from. Evangelical Christianity is more focused on souls and eternity, which we are called to and incredibly important, but we are also called to love people and meet practical needs at the same time. I don't think you can separate the two (or at least we shouldn't separate the two), even though lots of people do. Justice is intricately associated with the gospel. Keller says, "We do justice when we give all human beings their due as creations of God. Doing justice includes not only the righting of wrongs (the gospel), but generosity and social concern, especially toward the poor and vulnerable. This kind of life reflects the character of God. It consists of a broad range of activities, from simple fair and honest dealings with people in daily life, to regular, radically generous giving of your time and resources, to activism that seeks to end particular forms of injustice, violence, and oppression."
Here are a few things that jumped out:
-A true experience of the grace of Jesus Christ inevitably motivates a man or woman to seek justice in the world.
-God loves and defends those with the least economic and social power, and so should we. That is what it means to "do justice."
-The Bible gives believers two basic motivations for doing justice - joyful awe before the goodness of God's creation, and the experience of God's grace in redemption.
I highly, highly recommend picking up this book. Every Christian needs to wrestle with what it means to be changed by the gospel and the implications on how we live and what that means in terms of the overlooked and "doing justice" in our world. For more, check out [...]
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Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2011