Learning the Words: Justice

The blog Defeating the Dragons (by fellow ex-fundamentalist, Samantha) is running a series of guest posts on “the words many of us didn’t have in fundamentalism or overly conservative evangelicalism– and how we got them back.” Today, I’m participating in that series, talking about the word “justice.” How fundamentalists view the word “justice” and how feminist and liberation theologians view the word “justice” are two VERY different things:

The justice of God, to fundamentalists, has absolutely nothing to do with human ideas of justice. God doesn’t have to be fair. God doesn’t have to set wrongs right again. God doesn’t have to do anything, because he’s (the fundamentalist God is always viewed as a man) God and y’all best shut up and deal with it.

God can send hurricanes because he doesn’t like gay people. That’s the justice of God to fundamentalists. God can send a shooter to murder a bunch of children because God’s mad that public schools don’t promote Christianity. That’s the justice of God to fundamentalists. He can send a six year old to hell for sneaking a cookie out of the cookie jar before dinner. He can torture people infinitely because of finite offenses. He can expect people who have never heard of him to believe in him…or else. That’s the justice of God to fundamentalists.

Justice is a word that I had to reclaim in my own mind.

Read the rest here!