 |
| ||||||
 |
|
|
| Theology | |
|
The Marrow of Theology from XVI - Justice and Charity toward Our Neighbor "10 The truth of religion cannot stand with the neglect of justice and love toward our neighbor. James 1:27, 1 Jn 4:20,21 ... 11. Therefore, finally, religion is best proved and tired by justice, as frequently set forth in the Scripture. ... 29. a community or whole society is more to be loved than an individual member of it, because a joining of a part with the whole is greater than a joining with another part. ... 2 Sam 21:17, Lam 4:20, 30. The two acts of love toward our neighbor are praying for his good and working for his good. Matt 5:44. ... 58. Although all acts of justice contain love, there are some in which justice shines forth more and others where love rules. 59. Therefore, the distinction arises whereby some duties are said to belong to justice, strictly speaking, and some to love. Christ is the author of this difference and formal distinction, Luke 11:42, 60. Acts of justice have in themselves the sense of obligation and the feeling of equality towards others. ... 65. Justice has two parts. The first is distributive justice, which gives to each one his own; the other may be called emendative justice, which restores to each one his own. 66. Distributive justice can follow only from a right judging of things and persons and a fit comparison of things to things and persons to persons. ... 69. Commutative justice results when there is equality between what is given and what is received. 70. Corrective justice presupposes an injustice; it is either civil or criminal." (p. 300-307) from XVIII - Humanity toward Our Neighbor "1. Justice directed toward our neighbor's situation concerns either his person or his outward possessions. 2. Justice toward his person concerns either his life or its purity. 3. That which relates to his life is humanity and is commnded by the sixth commandment. The meaning of this commandment is that human life - as the Scripture describes it in Gen 9:5, 6, The soul of man and the blood of man - should be properly cared for. The duty treated here is reightly and wholly embraced under the name of humanity." (p. 314) from XX - Commutative Justice "5. There are two parts of perfect possession, ownership and use, Luke 20:9, 10:1; 1 Cor 9:7. ... 7. Justice is called for in acquisition and use. ... 13. All things are said to have been common at the beginning of the world also after the flood, in the sense that no man owned or possessed them in a particular way. They were available in common for anyone who would first take or occupy them This explains the blessing of God upon mankind: Gen 1:28, 9:7. ... 31. Poverty consists in the absence of possessions and riches in their abundance, 1 John 3:17. ... 44. Generosity embraces not only free giving, which includes the forgiving of a debt, but also free lending. Luke 6:34, and hospitality, Rom 12:13; 1 Peter 4:9. ... 56. Covetousness, or the immoderate keeping of the things we have, Prov 11:24, is opposed to generosity. So is avarice, or the greedy desire for things we do not have, 1 Tim 6:9." (p. 321-324) from XXI - Telling the Truth "1. The justice which affects our neighbor indirectly is truth telling and contentment. The former affects our neighbor through his belief; the latter through some work or action of ours ordered by one of the previous commandments. 2. Truth telling is the virtue of heeding the truth in giving testimony. Matt 23:22,; Eph 4:25; Ps 15:2." (p. 325) from The Marrow of Theology by William Ames, Pilgrim Press, 1968. Ames was an English Puritan exiled in Netherlands. He dominated American religious thought even though he never came to America. Return to Homepage |
|
|
CSCO, P.O. Box 60123, Dayton, OH 45406; email: