THE CHRISTIAN CALL – THE FIGHT FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND FREEDOM

Rev Arlington W Trotman BD writes why it is imperative for Christians to combat injustice and how they can do so

When the Christian community is determined to fight for justice, no one should give up until that justice is achieved. People are still striving for justice in the case of the killing of Kelso Cochrane in Notting Hill, 1959, and the call for justice in the case of Stephen Lawrence is unfinished business. The fight goes on, as Dr Martin Luther Jr reminds us:

“When the King of Norway participated in awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to me, he surely did not think that in less than six days I would be in jail. He and almost all world opinion would be shocked because they are little aware of the unfinished business….”

Christians today need look no further for models of inspiration and impact for freedom and justice than at the lives and works of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr and the Reverend Sybil Phoenix. Social justice for them was more to do with contact, challenge, and fearless but informed action, as well as fairness for all people.

Social justice is also linked directly to criminal justice, where death by murder or unlawful killing in any form can impact the individuals of entire communities – for example, war or the deprivation of a person’s rights. Social justice encompasses and is indicative of what rights must be fought for in society.

Acting for justice demands the motivation of Christian faith and instinct, working for what is right. We are entrusted with a particular responsibility, based on the central principles of our faith, such as to love God and justice.

‘He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God’ (Micah 6:8 NIV).

What is Social Justice?

The term ‘social justice’ has been attributed to Luigi Taparelli, an Italian Jesuit priest, who used it in the Italian unification movement of the 19th century. Others link the expression to the 18th century Enlightenment thinkers and Catholic theologians, who referred to it as the “justice of society” or the social contract.

Social injustice occurs when one or more persons are insufficiently rewarded or acknowledged to be right for their efforts and are then subjected to punishment or harm. Jesus assures believers fighting for justice that we are doing the right thing. He said: “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40 NKJV).

Bias

Against this clear command, bias (the conscious or unconscious preference that denies a person’s or community’s rights) can occur in private and in public. Such bias can defeat the common good, and prevent the development of harmonious, unified and balanced environments in church and society.

Poverty

Social injustice is often associated, rightly, with poverty. Christians have always sought to meet the needs of those living in poverty, most recently through food banks, aid agencies and others. But poverty remains the normal condition of life in which over three billion people live on less than £2.30 per day. These are mainly people from a Black or Brown ethnic background.

Black and Brown

The need to fight for social justice reaches its climax whenever a life, a career, livelihood, or educational achievement is lost because of discrimination against non-white ethnicities, such as the disastrous fire which destroyed so many lives in Grenfell Tower in 2017. Such living conditions are often reinforced by social or ethnic bias – preferences that are made inequitably. Christians can insist authorities and individuals do the right thing.

The Fight

Listed below is a basic outline of some methods and ways by which Christians can get involved in the fight for social justice. This might include persons undertaking roles, such as social justice advocates, campaigners, educators, pastoral supporters, pastors (Street Pastors), specialist leaders, trainers, and other workers. Volunteering is a primary role. There is often a price to be paid, as you can imagine, for giving up time and often money; raising funding; experiencing disappointments; and using appropriate communications. But moments of relief, triumph and success can be expected too.

Our work for social freedoms in Britain may occur in response to Government policies and delivery of services, such as police, housing, education, health, employment; right-wing and far-right-wing interests; mono-cultural groups, such as white-only churches; and often members of the community inclined to prejudice based on colour, religion, ethnicity, Black gender, and other differences.

Causes for Social Justice

The fight is often against the transmission of a culture of racism following negative stereotypes, built on the legacies of transatlantic enslavement and colonialism. These often include:

• psychological and psychiatric suffering and damage; lack of education and opportunity; the stain of unbiblical and irrational ideas of race and its biased application to Black and Brown people: there is ‘only one race – the human race’

• people seeking asylum, food freedom, safety, and security from violence; health equity and security

• production of refugees, who are internationally protected under the 1951

• personal ignorance and deliberate rejection nd marginalisation of people of different identities from the mainstream

What can Christians do?

Christians of all ethnicities can act justly and effectively by getting ready, understanding the issues, and committing to act justly, with relevant openness and

1. prayerfully reflect – continually with God, and with persons or groups, remembering we are, at this point, seeking just outcomes, a non-invasive form of discipleship

2. engage with the group, local church, family, individuals, campaigns to understand the issue

3. learn the right people to contact, e.g., victim(s) whom we might accompany on their journey

4. contact/write to our Member of Parliament (MP) whenever we or the victim(s) are affected by decisions of the UK Government or Parliament

5. mobilise the local community and/or church, with permission from victims or the campaign

6. contact non-governmental organisations

Legal Centre, etc, for support with inequality issues

7. decide when it is right to take a break from your activities – personally, I have always found a change of issue or circumstance necessary after six to eight years, to refresh

Christians are disciples of Christ, enabled to live, speak and act by God’s grace, through the Holy Spirit, using our education and training, and our awareness of suitable methods to fight for social justice. We are called to live out the power of agapé love with an unconditional quality, compassion, and informed selflessness.

Rev Arlington W Trotman BD is currently a retired minister of the Methodist Church in Britain. He has served as a senior pastor and Assistant National Superintendent of Wesleyan Holiness Church UK, Secretary of Churches’ Commission for Racial Justice (CTBI), and Moderator of Churches’ Commission for Migrants