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

/ 4 7

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

The ground for doing justice and loving mercy among the poor in the city is the affirmation of the imago Dei in every boy, girl, woman, and man. Every person is worthy of care because they share in God’s unmatched, unique, and irreplaceable imago Dei .

Now is the time for you to discuss with your fellow students your questions about the theology of doing justice and loving mercy, and getting to the heart of the meaning of the imago Dei for doing ministry in the city. It is clear that we must lay a proper theological foundation before we can truly explore the various dimensions and elements of compassion ministries in the Church. As a disciple of Jesus and an emerging Christian leader, you need to master these ideas, and explore the implications of them for your own life and ministry. Here is your opportunity to consider with your fellow students your own particular questions regarding the theology of justice and imago Dei ideas covered in the segments. The questions belowmay help you explore your own, more specific questions about the material. * Is it possible to believe that God is both creator and maker of the heavens and the earth and not also believe that God is concerned about the world and those who live within it? Explain your answer. * Is the concept of world as kosmos a negative or positive concept in Scripture, or both (cf. John 3.16 with 1 John 2.15-17)? How do we know that God loves the inhabitants of the world but that he is against the world system? * Of all the views covered in the lesson about the relationship of the Church to the world, which one makes the most sense to you so far in your studies? * Does a serious theological problem exist if we view the Church as the agent of the Kingdom and not the Holy Spirit as the agent? What is the role of the Holy Spirit in the Church as the people of God represent the Kingdom in the world? * Does it weaken what we believe if we try to correct our theology by saying that God is the God of all nature as well as the God of salvation, the God of creation as well as the God of covenant, and the God of justice as well as the God of justification? Explain. * We defined the imago Dei (i.e., image of God) in Scripture as “the unique condition of all human beings that they are made like God and therefore

Student Application and Implications

page 309 8

1