Hitler was advocating for all these people as long as they were German, but he twisted the concept of social justice and by spreading lies, for example by saying that in order to feed the hungry Germans (in reality, affected by the Great Depression) they (Germans) needed to kill as many Jews, Poles, Ukrainians, and Russians. That Germans were supposedly take away from these inferior people and give it back to supposedly godly Germans. In Hitler’s sick mind, all these people were responsible for making Germans poor, naked, widows, and orphans, so according to Hitler, robbing and killing them was social justice.

There is no evidence the apostles and the earliest church believed in the Nicene Trinity. The apostles probably had a sketchy grasp on Greek and they were part of a religion famous in the ancient Mediterranean world for being strictly monotheistc. The apistles were not Nicene Christians. They believed in Jesus as Lord, but they hadn’t gotten through to the “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one being with the Father.” That was a couple of centuries in the future.

For those of us who believe in social justice, I don’t see an over-reliance on the law or a focus on law only.

Just to be clear, I’ve never meant to suggest that it has been “law only”. It’s sometimes helpful to speak as if that’s the case just to make the point clear, but I think I’ve been pretty consistent in allowing that non-coercive, non-manipulative means are in play. I see three big questions:

     (1) Could we work more on shaping the “heart”?
     (2) Is Chris Hedges on to something in his distrust of law? (specifically: this excerpt)
     (3) Is there anything special to the Christian focus on grace, mercy, forgiveness, repentance, and a reorientation from tribalism/​selfishness to service of others?

Do you think there is any use in asking such questions?

In the US, it’s also becoming more obvious that race isn’t our only problem …

Who ever thought that was anything like our only problem? Am I really weird in thinking that humans seem to like dominating other humans and that this desire can be accomplished in many, many different ways? Indeed, I’m a bit worried about those who ignore that dynamic and end up playing Whac-A-Mole.