Social Justice In Christianity

There is a close relationship between Judaism and Christianity both historically and theologically. Jesus, the twelve disciples, and members of the earliest Christian churches were all Jewish. Jesus’ family followed Jewish customs and Jesus even often quoted the Hebrew bible, the original language of the Jews. Also, Jesus’s followers believed him to be the messiah which is a Jewish figure predicted in the Jewish bible. However, despite its Jewish origins, it was not long before Christianity considered itself as something other than just a new Jewish establishment. Some significant factors that are taken into consideration when comparing these two faiths are their laws, their social justices and their portrayal of the messiah.

Just as other

Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society based on the principles of equality and solidarity that understands and values human rights and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. In “To Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility”, Rabbi Jonathon Sacks states that social justice has a central place in Judaism. One of Judaism’s most distinctive and challenging ideas is its ethics of responsibility reflected in the concepts of simcha, referring to gladness or joy, tzedakah, referring to the religious duties to perform charity and benevolent acts, chesed, referring to deeds of kindness, and tikkun olam, referring to repairing the world. Catholic social teachings consist of the aspects of Roman Catholic doctrines, which deal with matters concerning collective aspects of humanity. A distinctive feature of the Catholic social doctrine is their concern for the poorest of society. Key areas of the Catholic’s social teaching include life and dignity of the human person and preferential option for the poor and vulnerable. It is clear that both faiths value and induct the idea of social justice within their way of life with premier of upright

Messiah is the Anglicized version of a Hebrew term “Moshiach” meaning “anointed one”, designating a king or High Priest, who were traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil as described in Exodus 30:22-25. The traditional Jewish understanding of the messiah is that he is full human and born of human parents without any supernatural elements involved, however is expected to have a relationship with God similar to the prophets of the Tanakh. It is believed that he is a descendant of King David and will restore the kingdom of Israel and usher in an era of peace, prosperity, and spiritual understanding for Israel and all the nations of the world. As for the Christian culture, the translation of the Hebrew word Messiah became the accepted Christian designation and title of Jesus of Nazareth. Christians believed that the prophecies in the Hebrew Bible refer to a spiritual savior and believe that Jesus is that Messiah. Christians believe that Jesus was fully human and fully divine as the word of God who sacrifices himself so that humans can receive salvation. Jesus waits in heaven at the right hand of god and will judge humanity in the end of time when he returns to earth. Judaism, however, dismisses the thought of Jesus being the messiah and accuses him of being a false