The Heart of Restorative Justice in the Heart of God. In this 35 minute chapel message given at Eastern Nazarene College, Mako introduces four principles of justice: meritocratic-retributive (rewards); distributive (human needs and rights); libertarian (freedom); and restorative (relations). Every public policy debate involves a question about how to order and organize these four principles. Explore how and why Christian faith organizes these four principles, and how and why secular thinking cannot order them. Christians therefore have an opportunity and calling when engaging the public square. Here are the slides.

Hank Green, What is Justice? Crash Course Philosophy #40. Crash Course, Dec 19, 2016.

Watch this 10 minute educational video that introduces the question, broadly, without exploring Christian faith.

Whose Justice? (undergraduate version) or Whose Justice? (law school version)

Check out the slides of this evangelistic conversation starter. Consider showing both Christians and non-Christians the questions it brings up, and discussing your responses to them. Here are instructions on how to talk about the questions it raises, especially with non-Christians.

The Impact of Jesus

A written message and slides on how Jesus brought about a radical change to human history. Christian faith brought about dramatic improvements in health care and hospitals, abolition, education and schools, science and technology, criminal justice reform, and beauty and the arts. A 15 - 20 minute read.

The Role of Jesus in Revolution and the Pursuit of Justice

A written message, graphics included, on how Jesus inspired twentieth-century non-violent resistance movements around the world, and why. Spotlights Tolstoy in Russia; Gandhi in South Africa and India; Ahn Chang-ho in Korea; the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S.; the Filipino People Power Revolution; Solidarity in Poland; the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia; the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa; the Women’s Movement and Liberia’s Civil War. This is a shining thread of moral clarity, courage, and hope during humanity’s bloodiest century. A 15 - 20 minute read.

Jesus and Our Desire for Justice 

Slides of a presentation demonstrating why biblical justice and Jesus’ atonement are linked through God’s vision for relationship. The presentation examines the four types of justice: meritocratic-retributive; distributive; libertarian; and restorative. We observe these four principles in Scripture, so each of them are important, but secular thought has no ability to organize them. Scripture, however, does organize them in the following way, generally: restorative; distributive; meritocratic-retributive; and libertarian. We further anchor this order in a restorative, healing atonement accomplished by Jesus of Nazareth: sin as “obstruction of justice” through the corruption of human nature, and Jesus as healing human nature in himself as a faithful human partner to God, and therefore establishing divine restorative justice.