公义特会创办人Ken Wytsma在他的着作Pursuing Justice里写下了一个有趣的观察——我们会用「真相」来描述今天的世界，包括其中一切的破碎和不完美；而「公义」就是描述世界原初（以及将来）在神计划里的模样。马丁路德金用了另一种方式表达，他说：「道德宇宙轨迹虽漫长，但终将归向公义。」终将归向公义的愿景，正是我们如今追求公义的主要原因。这种对公义的趋向，就像小鸟与生俱来就知道过冬的时候要飞往哪个方向。又可以说，我们心里有一种未被满足的渴望，因此会渴求「shalom」（平安）的经验，想要经历上帝创造世界以及所应许的平安、和谐和完美。
活在这种「已然未然」的境况中，也见于与公义有密切关系的两个概念：爱与人权。当上帝为人类的爱设立了一个标准：「你要尽心、尽性、尽力、尽意爱主——你的神；又要爱邻舍如同自己。」（路十27），一方面订立了一个以人的能力无法达到的目标，但另一方面又唤醒了我们的心，我们知道这是真实的、高尚的，是我们所渴望的爱。我们渴望爱邻舍，也会试着爱邻舍，但我们同时知道我们的爱有限，要等候主再来之时的最终转化。所以，即使爱和公义各自的目标好像大相迳庭，但在这一点上二者是共通的——我们如今竭力追求，为要向着最终的目标进发。二者之间还有一个更根本的共同之处：爱就是公义的燃油。没有爱，公义是冷酷和审判式的。没有爱，公义也没有转化的力量。没有爱，公义在平安里没有终点。这种爱是人性的，同时也是神性的，这爱是上帝救赎、转化世界的动力：「神爱世人，什至将他的独生子赐给他们……」（约三16），这爱也是我们如今追求公义的动力。
当谈到人权，许多信徒会认为因为人有罪性，所以说什么「人的权利」都是违反基督教的。因此，让我们先谈谈另一概念：上帝认为人性里还有值得他救赎的东西，否则他直接再来一次洪水就好了，何必冒险、并牺牲他最宝贵的儿子？神在创造中赋予人性有一种潜能，使人类除了其血肉之躯外，还是有尊严和价值的；也因为神性的爱，能看透现实中的不完美，看到了「未然」中的人性。没错，人性因着罪恶而败坏、破碎和扭曲，但上帝的公义知道原初的人性、以及当中美妙的潜质，因而决定以公义和正义、怜悯和恩典取代惩罚。
某些信徒会认为联合国于一九四八年通过的《世界人权宣言》是不应该的，因为其宣言似乎采取了一种人文主义的立场。然而，此宣言并不是出于人文主义的动机，反是深受基督教影响，用以回应在两次世界大战中各国的草菅人命和大量屠杀。三十条宣言之中，许多都有其圣经根源，而其他也是由最基本的权利所延伸演变而来。而其最根源的信念，就是相信人类有一种生来的价值和尊严，我们必须尊重其他人。即或有些人会认为人权是种自私的追求，我们作为基督徒，却需要明白到这其实是神起初创造的意图，原因有三：一、这让我们跟其他非牟利机构在社会的议题上有一共同的根基，我们不需要掩饰自己基督教的工作背景；二、我们要承认，不管人是否认识上帝，上帝都已赐所有人类有尊严和价值，因此我们也尊重其他非牟利机构；三、上帝既已这样赐下恩典，其他非牟利机构也为着公共的善而愿意分享他们的时间、精神和技能，我们也感谢他们的工作，因为他们的工作也成就着上帝在世界里公义的计划。使徒保罗在罗马书二章提到，所有人在上帝的审判和恩典之下都是平等的，也有些人在不自觉之中都是在服侍主、遵行了他的旨意。
许多人权律师都是基督徒。何佩芝是位香港的基督徒人权律师，她多年来致力于为难民争取权益。她决定以人权律师的身份追求公义，是因为她坚信要全心全意地用她的热诚和精神去跟随神。她在二○○四至○五年在伦敦大学学院读法律时，读到一篇关于人口贩卖的研究报告，发现自己对此课题有浓厚兴趣。她受着律师的训练，加上心里火热想要服侍上帝；在她寻索前路之时，牧者便建议她可以成为人权律师，把能力和热诚结合起来服侍。
她关于人权的大部份工作，都始于怜悯之心。这个人需要帮助吗？然后她的法律背景会促使她问：那么法律可以如何纠正这样的情况？然而，当同一样的需要屡次出现，并屡次得出同一样的法律回应，我们就有理由相信问题的根源可能是一个系统性的不公义。何佩芝有机会为难民进行司法覆核，也开创了一些先例让难民得到更公平的对待。她最大的满足感源于她知道这是神所呼召她去做的事，而她在社会公义上所拥有的影响力也是独一无二、是上帝安排她去成就的。
公义、爱和人权之间的互动，为神学、热诚和法律训练提供了一个强而有力、有效的结合，因而推动了政府和社会的公义进程。更加重要的是，这样做能以真实和可见的方法实践圣经的教导，使「被掳的得释放、叫那受压制的得自由，报告神悦纳人的禧年」（路四18下-19）。
（聂东尼牧师负责在湾仔葡萄藤教会促进公义事工，是今年十月二十至廿一日亚洲公义特会的主持。特会详情请浏览www.thejusticeconferenceasia.com。本文资料和意念搜集自以下文章，谨此致谢：Justice［Nicolas Wolterstorff］、Justice in love［Nicolas Wolterstorff］，以及跟帝理律师行何佩芝的个人访谈。）
Justice, love and human rights
by Tony Read
In his book ‘Pursuing Justice’ Ken Wytsma who is the founder of The Justice Conference movement throughout the world, makes this interesting observation. He says ‘truth’ is the word that we use to describe the world as it is today with all its brokenness and imperfection but ‘justice’ is the word that describes the world as it is intended to be (and will be) in Gods plan. Martin Luther King put it another way when he said “The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice”. This sense of momentum that is embedded in the idea of justice is one of the major factors which compels us to pursue it now. It’s as if we have a sense of direction and purpose like a bird’s magnetic true-north that enables it to keep flying onwards in its migration journey. To put it another way there is an unfilled yearning to see and experience the ‘shalom’, the peace, harmony and perfection that God’s creation of the world and humanity promises
This sense of living in the ‘now but not yet’ is also true of two other concepts closely associated with justice; namely love and human rights. When God established his benchmark for human love by saying that we are to ‘love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind and our neighbour as ourselves” (Luke 10:27) it set a target which we knew we could not achieve in our human strength but at the same time awakened something deep within us that recognized that this was true and noble and to be desired. We have the desire to love our neighbour, and we may try to do it, and yet we know that our love is imperfect awaiting the final transformation of the coming age. So while it may seem that love and justice are totally different objectives they have at least this commonality that we emgage them now as a means of moving towards a final destination. But there is an even more fundamental relationship between the two. Love is the fuel that powers the engine of justice. Without love justice remains cold and judgmental. Without love justice has no transformative energy. Without love justice has no final destination in Shalom. This love is both human and divine. It is the motivational force for God’s redemptive work of transformation of the world “God so loved the world that he gave his only son…“ (John 3:16) and it is the motivation for our pursuit of justice now.
When talking about human rights many christians consider the idea that sinful humanity is due any rights at all is almost anti-christian. So we begin here with the idea that God sees something within humanity that is worth redeeming, otherwise why not just start again with another flood? Why risk everything with a sacrifice that cost God his most precious son? It is because there was this potential embedded in humanity at creation that brought a sense of dignity, value and worth to human kind which lifted it above mere flesh and blood and because there was a divine love that sees beyond the imperfection of the present into the ‘not yet’. It is true that humanity is marred, broken, and distorted by sinful rebellion, but God’s justice saw what was intended in all its amazing potential and decided to respond with justice and righteousness, mercy and grace instead of just damnation.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948 is regarded negatively by many christians as a sort of statement of faith for humanism. However it arose not from humanistic intentions but from strong christian influence in response to the brutality and large scale slaughter of human life in two world wars. Many of its thirty declarations have their origins in biblical roots while others are derived by extension from those primary rights. But at its root there is the same conviction that humanity has an inherent value and dignity which implies that we need to treat each other with respect. As christians it is essential that we see human rights as grounded in God’s intention at creation even if others would see them as an end in themselves. There are three reasons for this. Firstly, It gives a common basis for interaction with other ngo’s on social issues without having to disguise the fact that we are working from a christian platform. Secondly, we need to acknowledge that God has graced all humanity with dignity and worth regardless of whether they acknowledge him or not, so we treat other ngo’s with respect. Thirdly, as a result of this grace gifting from God they are also motivated to share their time, energy and skills for the common good in a way that contributes to Gods plan for justice in the world so that we can value their work. The apostle Paul in Romans 2 recognizes that all humanity stands equally under the judgment and grace of god and that there are even some who unknowingly serve him by carrying out his will in ignorance.
It is not surprising then that a significant number of lawyers who work in the human rights field do so because they are Christians. Patricia Ho is a Christian human rights lawyer in Hong Kong who has fought for many years for the rights of asylum seekers here. Her decision to pursue justice as a human rights lawyer developed out of a number of convictions in her heart to follow God with all of her passion and energy. In 2004/5 while studying law at UCL London she discovered a passionate interest in human trafficking while studying for a research paper on the topic. As she struggled to make sense of her formal career training as a lawyer and her passion to serve God in a meaningful way her young adults pastor suggested that she could do both as a human rights lawyer.
Much of her work in human rights starts with compassion. Does this person need help? And quickly leads into her legal training - how can the law help to right a wrong in this situation? However when the same specific need and legal response begins to repeat itself there is every reason to suspect that there is a systemic injustice at the root of the problem. Patricia has had the privilege of conducting judicial reviews of such cases in the asylum seeker field and seen new precedents established to bring about more just treatment of refugees. Her greatest satisfaction is knowing that she is doing what God has called her to do and that she is making a social justice impact that she is uniquely qualified to fulfill.
The interaction of justice, love and human rights provides a powerful and effective combination of theology, passion and legal training to bring about significant changes in the justice landscape of governments and societies. But just as importantly it can play an important role in ‘releasing captives, setting the prisoner free and bringing the Lord’s favour’ (Luke 4:18) in a very real and tangible way.
Tony Read is the Justice Advocate for The Vine Church in Wanchai, the host of The Justice Conference Asia on October 20-21 this year. We sincerely hope that you will join us in the conference this year. For more, please visit www.thejusticeconferenceasia.com. This article is based on information and ideas gratefully gleaned from ‘Justice’ and ‘Justice in love’ both by Nicolas Wolterstorff, and a personal interview with Patricia Ho of Daly and Associates
