Justice in Love (Emory University Studies in Law and Religion

by Nicholas Wolterstorff

An eminent Christian philosopher's take on justice, rights, wrongs -- and what love has to do with it all

Love  and  justice  have long been prominent themes in the moral culture of the West, yet they are often considered to be almost hopelessly at odds with one another. In this book acclaimed Christian philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff shows that justice and love are at heart perfectly compatible, and he argues that the commonly perceived tension between them reveals something faulty in our understanding of each. True benevolent love, he says, is always attentive to justice, and love that wreaks injustice can only ever be "malformed love."

Wolterstorff's  Justice in Love  is a welcome companion and follow-up volume to his magnificent Rights and Wrongs  (Princeton, 2010). Building upon his expansive discussion of justice in that earlier work and charitably engaging alternative views, this book focuses in profound new ways on the complex yet ultimately harmonious  relation  between justice and love.

Genres: Philosophy, Theology, Religion, Nonfiction, Justice

306 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2011

About the author

Wolterstorff is the Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology, and Fellow of Berkeley College at Yale University. A prolific writer with wide-ranging philosophical and theological interests, he has written books on metaphysics, aesthetics, political philosophy, epistemology and theology and philosophy of religion.

Reviews

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clearly articulated and convincing case for understanding love as being attentive to, rather than supplanting, justice. Argues for a NT continuity of the OT theme of God's concern for justice for the vulnerable, while also defending generosity and forgiveness as acts of justice. I found his categories for love (benevolence, care, beneficence, attraction, etc.) interesting - it makes me want to read C.S. Lewis's Four Loves, and perhaps some other works. In this work, he fleshes out some thoughts that he left hanging in Justice: Rights and Wrongs. His final discussion of Romans as a defense of God's justice in his extension of justification to the Gentiles is sure to be controversial, but I found myself sympathetic, having read N.T. Wright's Justification. His account of Justification as the dismissing of the charges (he sees it as analogous to forgiveness) on account of a person's faith in God (not necessarily Christ, i.e. Abraham, though faith in Christ is faith in God) is alluring, but he does not venture further to explain how Christ's faithfulness ground's God's justification of sinners. Though his linguistic exactness does make conventional atonement seem flawed or inconsistent (like N.T. Wright's description of imputation), his lack of a coherent alternative leaves readers unsatisfied about a matter that lies at the center of the Christian faith - the salvific purpose of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection.

This book made me think a lot and challenged the way I think about Christian faith and the relationship between love and justice. I'll have to have to re-read it (once I'm up for reading something this mentally taxing again..).

[Bo White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wolterstorff brings some sanity to this discussion for me and his two books (justice and justice in love) have been formative for me. I recommend them both, particularly if you're interested in international work and missions. For example, poverty is linked Biblically to injustice and this cannot simply be ignored or swiped away. Wolterstorff treats the rule of law and our love as the highest order of law with intelligence and depth.

[Ben Fredrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

His books are deep and dense and incredibly helpful/insightful. This book seemed to take on too much and unlike his book Justice, I away less convinced on a number of points. But that doesn't take away from the key messages of the book which are solid. His understanding of agape love, in particular, and its relation to justice is immensely helpful!

[Joe Beery · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are bones to pick here, but Wolterstorff is truly brilliant in both his philosophical acumen and his biblical exegesis. Irrespective of points of disagreement, I think this is essential reading for understanding the Christian call to ethics and to understanding biblical justice.

[Joey Le · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a great start to discussing the relation between love and justice. But Wolterstorff does not really conclude with a clear argument or direction. It's almost like he ends on a cliffhanger.

[Jesse Thorson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really starting to love the work of Nicholas Wolterstorff. He offers a really helpful understanding of justice/love in an agapeist ethical framework, and then a nice exposition of God's generous justice in Romans.