Teaching Justly for Justice

JUSTICE SHOULD BE both a hallmark and a main goal of teaching. Christian theology has tended to neglect the theme of justice and to limit its attention to retributive justice, rather than the more basic primary justice, that justice which has broken down when injustice occurs. Two reasons for this neglect are explored: the idea that love supplants justice in the New Testament, and the tendency for English translations of the New Testament to translate the Greek dikaiosunē and related words in terms of rectitude rather than justice. The relationship of justice to personal worth is explored, together with reasons why teachers should focus both on teaching justly and on teaching for justice.