Dear Theophilus

The words "right," "righteous," "righteousness," and "just," "justice," and "justification" in scripture all come from the same greek word " dikaiosyne " (dee-ky-oh-soon-ay). From there, in the english translations of scripture, a theo-political battle has taken place which has overspiritualized the word to narrowly define dikaiosune  as a personal experience or legal status given to us individually by God. And so they largely translate the word as "righteousness." Then for 500 years post-Reformation we have debated the salvation implications of individual righteousness as a gift from God. The Romance languages, namely Spanish, free from German influence, do not have this problem. They translate it as "justice". Take for example Jesus' beatitude: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Does this mean that we are blesse...

"No Christian can evade this responsibility. They cannot say that the poor are in poverty because they will not work, or they suffer because they are lazy. Having come before God as nothing and being received by God into the Kingdom through grace, the Christian should know that they have been made righteous (justified) so that they can join God in the fight for justice. Therefore, whoever fights for the poor, fights for God; whoever risks their life for the helpless and unwanted, risks their life for God. God is active in the lives of those who feel an absolute identification with all who suffer because there is no justice in the land." ~James Cone, "The Gospel of Jesus, Black People, and Black Power." (p. 45 - updated with inclusive language).