Doing Justice and Loving Mercy: Compassion Ministries, Mentor's Guide, MG16

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D O I N G J U S T I C E A N D L O V I N G M E R C Y : C O M P A S S I O N M I N I S T R I E S

9. How free are we to experiment in specific projects and initiatives as we seek to demonstrate the justice and mercy of God at home and abroad? Why is this freedom important to those seeking to make a difference in the world today?

Doing Justice and Loving Mercy: Society and World

Segment 2: Ethnocentrism and Difference, and War and Violence

Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis

As representatives of the Kingdom of God, we are called to maintain a biblical vision of the concept of difference. In a world of mind-numbing diversity and cultural difference, we must grasp the various dimensions of culture and how these dimensions wrongly perceived may easily lead to bigotry and hatred. The concept of difference may erect barriers among people, causing paternalism, suspicion, and malice. When difference becomes toxic, it may easily lead to violence, terror, and even war. Christians have taken three positions in regard to war through the centuries: total pacifism, the concept of “just war,” and relative pacifism (in light of the nuclear threat today). The answer to the concept of difference is the need for believers to embrace a dynamic ministry of Christian peacemaking, a strategy that celebrates difference, encourages forgiveness and reconciliation, and strives to demonstrate to all people the love and mercy of Christ. Our objective for this segment, Ethnocentrism and Difference, andWar and Violence , is to enable you to see that: • Believers in Jesus Christ are called to represent the life and ethic of the Kingdom of God, and as such, we are called to affirm and express a biblical vision of the concept of difference. • Understanding culture is critical to understanding difference in the world. Culture can be defined as “that integrated, well-established, and communally defined pattern of behavior and worldview which influences the cognitive, affective, and evaluative dimensions of its expression.”

Summary of Segment 2

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• The concept of difference has many implications for doing justice and loving mercy: differences are spiritually important, real, socially significant,