Thursday, May 18, 2006
Needham, P (1986) A Contemporary Theoogy of Social Service. sept the officer
'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth' (Genesis 1:1, RSV**). Dualism was denied. God was creator of all. Nothing was to be held back from his Lordship.
Included in his Lordship were human social relationships. It is no accident that six of the Ten Commandments have to do with social relationships and that the Old Testament is replete with social imperatives about righting injustices, advocating the cause of the poor, the outcasts and the disadvantaged, and offering concrete support to the sojourner, the widow, the fatherless, the brother in need. The psalmist cries out:
Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. (Psalm 82:3, 4 4)
The prophets intensified awareness of this covenant of social responsibility, often contrasting it with self-centred religious piety. In his first series of oracles, Isaiah, acting as spokesman for God, rails at Judean piety:
Bring no more vain offerings;incense is an abomination to me.When you spread forth your hands,1 will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, 1 will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. (Isaiah 1:13a, 15-17)
Sin had brought alienation not only from God but also from other persons, and the future to which God was calling his peopleincluded the healing of social wounds and the exaltation of social rejects:
The Christian's point of departure in the matter of social responsibilty, therefore, is that in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, there is the restoration of the social covenant and the power to live by it. If in his death Jesus 'has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility' (Ephesians 2:14b), then we have an unavoidable calling to reach out to the alienated and prove the whole truth of what the gospel of reconciliation is able to do. Indeed, according to Paul, the purpose of God in Christ is 'to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven'
We are compelled to conclude that the mission of the Church is authentic only where the poor and oppressed are being ministered to. Ministry which by its very nature excludes the poor or is insensitive to their needs is no real ministry at all because it has lost the gospel's focus.
What conclusions do we now draw with regard to a theology of social service which is faithful to the Scriptures? At this point we have come to the following conclusions:
(a) Social relationships are an important part of God's covenant with his people, and an unmistakable sign of man's sinfulness is his social irresponsibility and insensitivity.
(b) The poor and oppressed are the special focus of the social covenant inasmuch as their position in society tends strongly to exclude them from its benefits and opportunities.
(c) God's will for man's social relationships, expressed in the Old Testament law, is made possible through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
(d) Christ calls his Church to servanthood and empowers his people to carry out a mission which is truly universal because it pays special attention to those whom society has excluded.
Social reconciliation
We move from these to two ific conclusions regarding a specific theology of social service:
(e) The starting point of a theology of social service is the covenant of social responsibility which was commanded in the Old Testament, established through Jesus Christ, and realised in the calling of his disciples.
(f) From this perspective it is impossible for social service to be perceived as charitable acts toward less fortunate people. Rather. it is to be understood as concrete steps toward realising the new reality of social reconciliation which has come in Christ. Social service takes place within the new human family which Christ makes possible. There is no condescension in it. It is based upon the deepest respect for persons as potential members of the household of faith.
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Included in his Lordship were human social relationships. It is no accident that six of the Ten Commandments have to do with social relationships and that the Old Testament is replete with social imperatives about righting injustices, advocating the cause of the poor, the outcasts and the disadvantaged, and offering concrete support to the sojourner, the widow, the fatherless, the brother in need. The psalmist cries out:
Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. (Psalm 82:3, 4 4)
The prophets intensified awareness of this covenant of social responsibility, often contrasting it with self-centred religious piety. In his first series of oracles, Isaiah, acting as spokesman for God, rails at Judean piety:
Bring no more vain offerings;incense is an abomination to me.When you spread forth your hands,1 will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, 1 will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. (Isaiah 1:13a, 15-17)
Sin had brought alienation not only from God but also from other persons, and the future to which God was calling his peopleincluded the healing of social wounds and the exaltation of social rejects:
The Christian's point of departure in the matter of social responsibilty, therefore, is that in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, there is the restoration of the social covenant and the power to live by it. If in his death Jesus 'has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility' (Ephesians 2:14b), then we have an unavoidable calling to reach out to the alienated and prove the whole truth of what the gospel of reconciliation is able to do. Indeed, according to Paul, the purpose of God in Christ is 'to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven'
We are compelled to conclude that the mission of the Church is authentic only where the poor and oppressed are being ministered to. Ministry which by its very nature excludes the poor or is insensitive to their needs is no real ministry at all because it has lost the gospel's focus.
What conclusions do we now draw with regard to a theology of social service which is faithful to the Scriptures? At this point we have come to the following conclusions:
(a) Social relationships are an important part of God's covenant with his people, and an unmistakable sign of man's sinfulness is his social irresponsibility and insensitivity.
(b) The poor and oppressed are the special focus of the social covenant inasmuch as their position in society tends strongly to exclude them from its benefits and opportunities.
(c) God's will for man's social relationships, expressed in the Old Testament law, is made possible through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
(d) Christ calls his Church to servanthood and empowers his people to carry out a mission which is truly universal because it pays special attention to those whom society has excluded.
Social reconciliation
We move from these to two ific conclusions regarding a specific theology of social service:
(e) The starting point of a theology of social service is the covenant of social responsibility which was commanded in the Old Testament, established through Jesus Christ, and realised in the calling of his disciples.
(f) From this perspective it is impossible for social service to be perceived as charitable acts toward less fortunate people. Rather. it is to be understood as concrete steps toward realising the new reality of social reconciliation which has come in Christ. Social service takes place within the new human family which Christ makes possible. There is no condescension in it. It is based upon the deepest respect for persons as potential members of the household of faith.
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