By Pam Hinrichs
This is the third installment in a four-part series examining what the Bible says about justice. In this installment, we'll look at how Christians can do justice. You can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
How Do We Do Justice?
The Lord instructed Zechariah to "Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other" (Zechariah 7:9-10). God calls us to action. Administer is a verb, it is doing something about injustice. The Lord also tells us something about the nature of the justice to be administered. It is to be "true", genuine, not just in form but in substance. The Lord is calling for deeper investigation and thought. Acting justly is thinking critically and deeply about the marginalized, asking how the system, law, or policy affects them and what is equitable.
Equal Justice Initiative has released a new report, Unreliable Verdicts: Racial Bias and Wrongful Convictions. The report documents how excluding Black people and other people of color from juries can increase the chance of a wrongful conviction, especially in death penalty cases.
The report cites an incident from a 2017 trial in Renton, WA, showing that our region is not immune from this type of bias. Section 5, entitled Profiles in Exoneration is a particularly powerful section filled with stories of people who were wrongfully convicted by non-diverse juries.
Reports like these help us to better understand where bias and discrimination persist in our systems of justice so that we can advocate for changes that will make the system more fair for everyone.
By Pam Hinrichs
This is the second installment in a four-part series examining what the Bible says about justice. In this installment, we'll look at what God asks of us as believers. You can find Part 1 here.
God's Requirement To Do Justice
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matthew 22:36-40). The first commandment is about our relationship with God and counters our tendency to worship something other than the one true God. The second commandment is about our relationship with each other, each of us being made in the image of God and counters our tendency to 'play God' in the lives of other people, especially when we perpetuate injustice.
In BelPres' Just Neighbors sermon series, we learned about the history of redlining and how it has contributed to the wealth gap between Black and White families in the United States and our region. A new self-guided walking tour lets you get a first-hand look at how redlining shaped Seattle.
Created by long-time residents of the Central District, the tour takes you on a tour of the neighborhood, either in-person or virtually. Download the app to your phone, grab a friend, and take a guided walk around the Central District to learn this history. Or, visit the website and experience the tour virtually. You can learn more about how the tour was developed in this Seattle Times article.
This is the first installment in a four-part series examining what the Bible says about justice. In this installment, we'll look at how justice relates to the character of God.
Justice and God's Character
By Pam Hinrichs
Created by God in God's Image
"So God created man in His own image." (Genesis 1:26-27)
"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it." (Psalms 24:1)
We've curated some resources from BelPres, our denomination - Presbyterian Church (USA), and religious leaders to help you think about current events, especially regarding immigration, in light of our Christian faith. You may not agree with everything, but hopefully hearing these perspectives will help you apply a biblical lens to your analysis.
Check out this Seattle Times article to find events from local cultural, community, and arts organizations to celebrate Black History Month in Seattle.
Learn about Black American History with Crash Course Black American History, a series of videos featuring important people and historical events. Editor's Note: Be sure to check out the video on one of my personal heroes: Ida B. Welles.
A Documentary Review by Vicki Foreman
In early May 2020, Snohomish, WA, 30 miles north of Seattle, was in the running to be named "Coolest Small Town in America". On May 31st that image was changed by an armed group claiming to be protecting the businesses of Snohomish from the local people who had staged a peaceful protest the night before, standing against the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
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