A Relational Agenda E-Book

Jonathan Tame

• Herausgeber: Sallux Publishing
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 428

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

What framework can guide Christian engagement with major economic, social and political issues in public life in 21st century Europe? What other schools of thought exist apart from Catholic Social Teaching and Christian Democracy? Sallux has collaborated with the Jubilee Centre in Cambridge over several years to apply a new framework, agenda and strategy for Christian social reform, called Relational Thinking. It starts with the Christian belief that human beings are created by a relational God to form relational societies – the contemporary application of the ancient adage to 'love our neighbour as ourselves'. This book is a compilation of fi ve reports, two of which discuss the overall concept of Relational Thinking, while the others demonstrate how it can be applied to three contemporary issues: the need for monetary reform, the challenges of artifi cial intelligence and the ethics of remuneration. You can fi nd other examples of issues being analysed from a relational perspective, from business to city transformation. Deeply biblical, Relational Thinking builds bridges through the language of relationships to connect Christians with people of other faiths or none, and o er a fresh approach to Europe's greatest public policy challenges today.

Leseprobe

A Relational Agenda

how putting relationships first can reform European society

edited by Jonathan Tame

COLOPHON

A Relational Agenda: how putting relationships first can reform European society

edited by Jonathan Tame

© 2022 Jubilee Centre. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

The Jubilee Roadmap © Jubilee Centre 2012, 2019

Catholic Social Teaching and Relational Thinking © Jubilee Centre 2017

Crumbling Foundations © Jubilee Centre 2016

Artificially Intelligent © Jubilee Centre 2019

Just Pay © Jubilee Centre 2019

Unless otherwise stated, scripture taken from The Holy Bible,

New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®. Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Limited, a division of Hachette UK. All rights reserved worldwide. “New International Version” and “NIV” are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Used by permission.

Contact data:

Sallux Publishing

[email protected]

EPub format: ISBN 978-94-92697-26-4

Cover design: Reproserve, the Netherlands

Cover image: Prague, or ‘Old Town from above HDR’ by Pithawat Vachiramon. Creative Commons Licence 2.0: image adapted.

Since 2011, the activities of Sallux have been financially supported by the European Parliament. The liability for any communication or publication by Sallux, in any form and any medium, rests with Sallux. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

About Sallux & Jubilee Centre

Sallux | ECPM Foundation

Sallux is the political foundation for the European Christian Political Movement (ECPM). Sallux means “Salt and Light” and we want to spark a salted debate where needed and shed light on the issues we face. We present solutions by organising events and distributing relevant publications, and will not stay on the safe side of the status quo.

Jubilee Centre

The Jubilee Centre offers a biblical perspective on social, economic and political issues, and equips Christians to be salt and light in the public square. We believe the Bible describes a coherent vision for society that has enduring relevance for Britain and the world in the twenty-first century. At the heart of this social vision is a concern for right relationships. We seek to study, disseminate and apply this vision in order to provide a positive response to the challenges faced by individuals, communities and policy makers.

Introduction: Relational Thinking and a biblical vision for society1

Part of the problem is that Christians are too bound up with single- issue politics - abortion or euthanasia or Sunday trading. There are two reasons why we must go beyond single-issuepolitics. First, if we focus on a few single issues it leaves much of public policy debate without a Christian influence. And, second, it’s very difficult to win an argument on a single issue without putting those issues into a wider context and showing how they are part of a wider social vision. Now, where is that wider social vision to be found? - Michael Schluter

Do we still need a ‘big idea’?

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marked a watershed in history. From then on, capitalism in one form or another was the only show in town, and the era of rival grand narratives in politics was over. Now, what is good is what works; policy should be assessed only on pragmatic criteria. This tectonic shift 30 years ago ushered in an era of pluralistic societies living with multiple visions of what is socially desirable.

However, this pragmatic approach has problems. It takes a long time to observe the full effects of policy, so pragmatism is experimentally

hazardous. More fundamentally, policies are seldom if ever value-neutral. Pension provision, for example, involves a choice between individual, family and state responsibility. The tax and benefit system may support marriage or make cohabitation more financially attractive. A policy platform built on a case-by-case approach is likely to be full of internal contradictions.

Since market economics triumphed after the fall of communism, there have been few attempts to outline a coherent social vision. The grand vision for an ever-closer union of European states was accelerated after the creation of a common currency, the euro. However, following the expansion of the EU eastwards in 2004 and 2007, the great financial crisis of 2007/08 and the migrant crisis of 2015, anti-EU sentiment has been growing. The rise of nationalist and far right parties in European and domestic elections indicate that the post-war consensus around liberal, democratic values in the Western world may be crumbling. Is it time to revisit the need for a ‘big idea’ for society? This is the same question which led to the foundation of the Jubilee Centre and the ideas expressed in this book.

Seeking an alternative to capitalism, Marxism and socialism

Jubilee Centre’s story began in East Africa in the 1970s, where its founder Michael Schluter was part of an ideological discussion about development and nation-building at the church he attended in Nairobi. Which of the different approaches to national and economic development around them was the closest to the Bible? Was it the African socialist model in Tanzania, the capitalist system pursued in Kenya or the radical Marxist approach in Ethiopia? Meanwhile, contemporary Christian reflection in Britain centred on identifying biblical principles to critique public policy. The Left stressed justice; the Right stressed stewardship. However, such general principles were inadequate to evaluate newly independent nations in post-colonial Africa. Michael was encouraged to take a fresh look at Old Testament law as an ethical foundation for public life. New Testament ethics were given largely to Christians; they assume the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit and were given to guide individuals and the church rather than societal behaviour. So the command by Jesus to ‘turn the other cheek’ is not an appropriate basis for sentencing armed robbers in a law court. Jesus himself points to OT law as the God-given source of ethical teaching when urging his disciples to act as salt and light in society, in the tradition of the prophets (Matthew 5:11-20).

A careful and judicious reading of the political, economic and social system contained in the Law of Moses proved a rich and rewarding study. Although the laws appeared at first sight to be a random collection, closer examination revealed remarkable internal consistency. Here was a coherent pattern of political economy which had self-evident relevance to the questions posed in East Africa in the late 20thcentury.

Overcoming the objections

When suggesting that biblical law (defined as ‘an integration of different instructional genres of the Bible which together express a vision of society

ultimately answerable to God’2) can provide a framework for public policy, people raise a host of reasons why we should not seek to apply it to life today. Four of the more important objections are:

1) ‘Biblical law has no continuing role in the NewTestament’

A superficial reading of the New Testament makes it appear that OT law has been made redundant by the coming of Jesus. But Jesus insists that he has not come to abolish the Law (Matthew 5:17) and Paul elsewhere says that ‘the Law is good if one uses it properly’ (1 Timothy 1:8). Biblical law was intended to generate Israel’s social organisation and ethical distinctiveness, which was part of its calling to be ‘a light to the Gentiles’ (Isaiah 42:6).

2) ‘There is no mandate for Christians to promote biblical lawin

society today’

The immediate answer lies in the incentive offered by Jesus, ‘anyone who practises and teaches these commands will be great in the kingdom’ (Matthew 5:19). There is an intrinsic link between law and kingdom. As Paul says, the law was put in charge to bring us to Christ (Galatians3:24). However, if the kingdom is only where the rule of Christ is acknowledged in people’s hearts, what is Christ’s relationship with the rest of humanity? The New Testament claims that Christ’s reign is over all humanity, both as creator and as redeemer, whether people recognise it or not (Matthew 28:20). So Christians have God-given authority to challenge society with both law – rightly applied – andgospel.

3) ‘Biblical law upholds a society based on patriarchy andslavery’

The gender issue in OT law is complex and significant allowance must be made for the cultural context of the Ancient Near East. In agricultural societies generally, land inheritance cannot pass down through both sons and daughters or plots would become more quickly subdivided and scattered. This was clearly an issue in Israel, and when there was no male heir, an exception could be made as in the case of Zelophehad’s daughters (Numbers 27). However, although men inherited property, women could hold prominent roles in managing their households (such as Abigail in 1 Samuel 25 or the noble woman in Proverbs 31) andcould be leaders in the Israelite community (such as Miriam and Deborah).

With respect to slavery, Israel’s institution was a far cry from life in ancient Greece or Rome. Slaves in Israel were allowed to run away (Deuteronomy 23:15-16) and were released every seventh year (Deuteronomy 15:12-15). Indeed, OT slavery is more like a domestic service contract, albeit giving considerable power to the householder. It was in effect punishment in the community for a thief or a person in debt (Exodus 22:3) and was probably in most cases more humane than the social exclusion and enforced inactivity of a modern prison.

4) ‘It is not clear which parts of biblical law should be appliedtoday’

While many of the laws and their penalties are part of Israel’s ceremonial law, and thus are fulfilled in Christ and no longer binding on the Christian (e.g. the food laws), Jesus insists no part of the Law can be entirely dismissed on grounds of cultural irrelevance (Matthew 5:17).

The reformers’ categories of moral, civil and ceremonial law are helpful if seen to describe different purposes rather than different types of law.

One specific command, to keep the Sabbath holy, for example, may be regarded simultaneously as having moral, civil and ceremonial functions. It is the moral-civil function of the Law, not its role as a sign of the OT covenant (Exodus 31:13), which is relevant to the ordering of society today.

What principles for political economy?

The next question is to ascertain which principles of biblical law could be applied today, in a largely secular context. The following are worthy of consideration:

* The foundation of the state should be a covenant or promise between regions or sections of society which binds the parties together for good or ill, as in a marriage, so that there is commitment to resolving disputes rather than resorting to force orwithdrawal.

* The extended family should be given as great a role as possible to ensure its long-term cohesion. This should include economic and welfare functions as well as provision of emotional support, and nurture and education ofchildren.

* All extended families should have geographic roots in a physical location and some permanent stake in property. This helps to ensureproximity 0f family members and stable local communities, and also some equality in social relationships while still allowing differences in levels of income and wealth.

* Surplus money should be channelled as far as possible within extended families and communities where returns are non-financial, or provided as equity capital to business so that risk is shared fairly between suppliers and users ofcapital.

* Crime should be regarded not as the individual breaking the rules of the state, but as a breakdown of relationship between offender and victim, and between offender and local/nationalcommunity.

* The power of central government should be restrained to ensure participation of people in decisions governing their lives. ‘Subsidiarity’ encourages direct political involvement and helps develop relationships within the local community.

* National unity is to be built not on military or executive centralisation, but on a national system of law, education and medicine informed by shared values andaspirations.

These principles were found to be mutually reinforcing; they form a pattern of political and economic organisation.

Identifying the ‘big idea’ of biblical law

However, one issue remains outstanding: what holds all these laws together? What is the central theme of the pattern found in biblical law, which could aid its application to contemporary societies? The answer is as simple as it is profound. After replying to a slightly different question from a lawyer, Jesus went on to address directly this question:

‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on thesetwocommandments.’ Matthew 22:36-40

Love, of course, is not the language of finance or economics: it is the language of relationships. God measures a society, Jesus says, not by the size of its GDP or by the efficiency of its markets, but by the quality of its relationships. Such a finding is hardly surprising. Christianity is a relational religion, built around the doctrine of the Trinity. John points out that God is not an isolated individual living in a silent universe.

Rather, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’ (John 1:1). As John Zizioulas has observed:

‘The chief lesson is that if God is essentially relational, then all being shares in relation: there is, that is to say, a relational content built into the nature of being. To be is to exist in relation to other beings.’3

Other aspects of Christian doctrine are equally focused on relationships.

The central term ‘covenant’ is a promise which establishes and shapes a relationship. The atonement is explained by Paul as bringing about reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19), the restoration of a broken relationship. Eternal life is a developing relationship (John 17:3). Paul teaches that spiritual gifts, knowledge and generosity to the poor are worth nothing without the right quality of relationships (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). From the moment of conversion, the individual is called to become part of a new community and not to live or act in isolation (e.g. Ephesians 2:19). The language of relationships is pervasive in Christian doctrine andexperience.

Relationships: what relevance to public policy?

It is not immediately obvious how the focus on relationships can be used to develop new approaches to diverse areas such as economic policy, financial services, healthcare provision or the prison system. However, the Jubilee Centre had an opportunity to learn how to do this in the UK context when it led the Keep Sunday Special Campaign from 1985 onwards, which opposed Margaret Thatcher’s plan to deregulate Sunday Trading in Britain. To have any chance of winning, a wide coalition of retailers and trade unions had to be brought together to work with churches and concerned individuals.

When addressing such a coalition, it was not possible to use explicitly Christian arguments. The case had to rest on preserving family life, protection of low-paid shopworkers from pressure to work unsocial hours, and environmental factors. These are hinted at in Scripture as reasons for the Sabbath institution (e.g. Deuteronomy 5:15; Exodus20:11).

This approach was consistent with Christian teaching but didn’t rely on adopting specifically Christian language. It was to provide a model for the future in how to balance the need to involve the wider world in seeking social reform while remaining faithful to biblical ideals. In seeking to write a book that examined systematically the impact of public policy on people’s relationships4Michael Schluter and David Lee realised that the contemporary language around relationships was inadequate for this task. So they developed the concept of ‘relational proximity’ in contrast to ‘relational distance’; any given relationshiphad

an optimum level of proximity, which could be evaluated using five facets or dimensions of interpersonal relationship. These were:

* quality of communication(directness)

* frequency, regularity and amount of contact, and length of relationship (continuity)

* variety of context of meetings and encounters(multiplexity)

* mutual respect and fairness in the relationship(parity)

* shared goals, values and experience(commonality)5

A later opportunity to work with the Scottish Prison Service to assess the quality of relationships between prison officers and prisoners led to the development of a formal measurement tool based on relational proximity.

This tool has since been applied in companies and homes for the elderly, and between organisations in Britain’s National Health Service. Although without explicit biblical foundation, relational proximity grew out of reflection on the reasons behind many biblical laws, and helped to identify the impact of much biblical law on the structure of neighbour relationships. These biblical roots have been explored systematically by GuyBrandon.6

Many features of Western society today undermine relational proximity. High levels of mobility make it difficult for people to develop close relationships with neighbours. Social media has the effect of dividing our time among more and more people, so that each contact tends to become more superficial; video streaming and music culture often inhibit conversation; urban planning norms and high-rise buildings have lessened opportunities for people to have frequent contact; the large size of companies and financial institutions threatens mutual respect and fairness in relations with customers and suppliers.

The relational approach can be used to critique legislation and the structures and working practices of organisations. It offers an alternative ethos for sectors of public policy, for example relational justice for the criminal justice system, relational schools and relational healthcare7. It can also provide a basis for relational companies in the business sector8.In these and other ways the relational approach, informed by biblical principles, can provide a reform agenda for public life.

Relational Lifestyle

The relationships theme overcomes the artificial divide between justice in public life and virtue in private life. Christians wishing to think and act relationally in their lives at work and at home will study the life of Jesus, who shows us how to relate to God and to other people perfectly, both by his life and in his teaching. This covers every area of life. Agape, or unconditional, love is the ultimate goal for the Christian (1 John 4:7- 12).

The primary requirement of a relational lifestyle is the need for long-term, deep, committed relationships. These will generally be focused within the extended family but also reach outside it. To achieve such relationships, roots are critical; this is why teaching about the Jubilee, which is primarily concerned with maintaining roots, is foundational to the social structure of OT law.

Time can be seen as the currency of relationships. In society today, smart phones and social media facilitate contact with greater numbers than ever before, but such wider contact is generally characterised by greater superficiality. To have a few close and deep friends, inside and outside the extended family, it is essential to prioritise relationships. Jesus sets relational priorities in his ministry after much prayer (e.g. Mark 3:13-17; 5:37) and his relationship with his Father in heaven always takes priority over all other relationships (e.g. Mark1:35-7).

Close friendship, however, is more than a commitment to roots and prioritising of relationships. It involves sacrificial (agape) love, a willingness always to forgive, and an ability to expose one’s innermost thoughts and feelings to another person. Such self-exposure is often painful, always risky. The experience of deep and painful relationships has enriched much of the greatest literature and art, including Goethe’s poetry, Solzhenitsyn’s novels and Rossetti’s painting.

Relational Thinking: secular ideology or Christian strategy

Does Relational Thinking (sometimes referred to as ‘Relationism’) have the ideological ambitions of capitalism and socialism? Such a suggestion immediately rings alarm bells for Christians. Ideologies smack of idolatry, solutions apart from salvation, and frameworks of politicalthought and action which do not acknowledge the Lordship of Christ. While Relationism could perhaps be regarded as an ideology in the sense of flowing from a worldview which is not shared by everybody, it should certainly not be regarded as an autonomous body of human thought.

The Relationships Foundation was established as a sister organisation to Jubilee Centre in 1993 as a catalyst to help make Britain into a more relational society. It is based on Christian values, but does not require any theological beliefs of its supporters. Following the earlier model of the Keep Sunday Special Campaign, the Relationships Foundation simply states that it is founded on the ethical or relational values of the Judaeo-Christian tradition. Thus its framework can be endorsed by any who recognise the central importance of good relationships for human well-being, and who are persuaded by rational argument or intuition that the underlying principles are sound, regardless of their source.

So Relational Thinking is less than a fully Christian framework of thinking. By focusing on love for neighbour exclusively, it fails to require the first commandment: to love God. The absence of the vertical dimension of relationships means that the essential motivation for building strong social bonds and restoring broken relationships, even at personal cost, is missing. However, in seeking to influence a society where Christians are a minority, Christians cannot appeal to thefirst

commandment, to love God, in the way that the OT prophets did. Such an appeal today is the task of evangelism. The most Christians can hope for in a pluralist society is to persuade people of the benefits of biblical social teaching, and thus to have national laws based on Christian rather than secular values.

In addition, by focusing public policy and personal lifestyle on the issue of relationships, Relational Thinking speaks in the categories and language of Christianity. It has been termed a ‘translation strategy’, helping to express in contemporary, secular terms many of the core concerns of biblical teaching.

Promoting Relational Thinking in the 21st Century

For those who are convinced that it is possible to derive a biblically based agenda for political, economic and social reform using the relational approach, it is essential not just to analyse what is wrong in society but also to try and change it positively. Jesus called us not to be passive onlookers, but to be active as salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16). The task is immense. Western societies are locked into an individualistic and consumerist worldview which is reinforced by the priorities of giant global corporations, especially through advertising, and by the preoccupation of political parties with economics and human rights. The centralisation of state power and individualisation of financial services (e.g. pensions, insurance, savings) provide further reinforcement. How can this stranglehold be broken?9

The day of the think tanks is passing away; it is no longer sufficient simply to promote ideas at an intellectual level. Policy is made increasingly after practical experiment, pilot schemes and regional initiatives. If Relational Thinking, or Relationism, is accepted as a strategy for Christian political and personal engagement, we can expect widespread reform initiatives at national, regional and local levels based on the framework it provides. Those in national and local politics, in business and financial services, in the professions and in caring roles will work towards a fresh vision and with a renewed agenda.

Whether Relational Thinking has a long-term impact on Western society will depend primarily on whether it stays in touch with its biblical roots. Divorced from biblical teaching, it will lack the coherence and cutting edge derived from the wisdom of God’s revelation inScripture. It will also fail to attract and sustain the support of Christians who recognise explicitly or intuitively the truth and wisdom of its approach. If constantly renewed with the insights of biblical reflection, it may successfully challenge the current dominant Western ideologies.

The component parts of this book

The five parts of this book develop a broader introduction to Relational Thinking, and were published originally as separate booklets in Jubilee Centre’s Long Distance Christian series between 2012 and 2018.

The Jubilee Roadmap articulates a positive vision of society rooted in biblical ideals – most notably the practices and impacts of the Jubilee year. It also condenses the Jubilee Centre’s thinking on how a biblical, relational framework can be applied to contemporary society. It suggests that two alternative directions of travel can be taken by policy makers: one that accepts the prevailing ideology of individualism, while the other promotes a society based on good and just relationships. These contrasting directions are illustrated with reference to eight major themes: Family, Property, Community, Government, Finance and the Economy, Work and Rest, Welfare and Justice.

Relational Thinking and Catholic Social Teaching goes on to compare and contrast two perspectives on Christian social engagement. Catholic Social Teaching is a school of thought originating in the 1891 papal encyclical Rerum Novarum and has influenced Christian Democratic political parties across Europe for over a century. Relational Thinking is more recent and draws from a particular interpretation of biblical law. This section explores ways the two perspectives might complement each other in helping Christians to engage in the social, political and economic challenges which Europe currently faces.

The other three sections move from general considerations to three specific areas where Relational Thinking can be applied – to finance, technology and business.

Crumbling Foundations is a biblical critique of modern money. Although there has been much discussion of the nature of capitalism and the shortcomings of the banking sector following the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, there has been less analysis and critique of the monetary system that underpins our economies. The way we create money now – involving a complex interplay between central and commercial banks, electronic and physical cash – is a far cry from the Bible’s use of silver and grain as currencies. Nevertheless, this section argues that the Bible’s principles are eternal and have ongoing application in creating monetary systems that are both just and fit forpurpose.

Artificially Intelligent? dispels some of the sensationalism around Artificial Intelligence, asking instead how a fresh understanding of humanity can shape the trajectory of AI development. It draws on research interviews from ten leading AI practitioners and thinkers, and provides a distinctly biblical framework for understanding this new wave of technology.

Addressing all levels of expertise, the insights and guidelines provided are intended to enable Christian leaders in church, business and public service to make informed responses to AI that are rooted in their faith.

Finally, Just Pay? proposes a biblical framework for exploring the topic of remuneration – how much people should be paid at both the top and the bottom of a business or organisation. After explaining how remuneration decisions are made, the section introduces three major themes,

drawn from biblical reflection – justice, dignity and reward. Justice is concerned with the fair amount of pay, to ensure families are protected from destitution. Dignity is concerned with the right kind of work and protects the agency of workers. Finally, reward is about working for the right reasons, and work which leads to the common good. Together, they provide new insight into the ethics and relational implications of remuneration.

Although these pages only offer a limited range of examples of how Relational Thinking can be put into practice in today’s world, and the emphasis is primarily on the UK, it is hoped that this book will provide an inspiring introduction to a biblically-based framework and strategy which can contribute significantly to social reform in European societies in the 21st century.

Jonathan Tame

Executive Director, Jubilee Centre

Cambridge 2019

Acknowledgements for The Jubilee Roadmap

This short booklet is a distillation of more than thirty years of thinking about biblical social reform, developed by Michael Schluter through the work of the Jubilee Centre. Along the way many people have helped to shape these ideas, particularly John Ashcroft of the Relationships Foundation. John and Michael, as well as Jeremy Ive, JonathanTame and Alan White, have provided detailed feedback on various drafts of The Jubilee Roadmap. Carrie Bedingfield of Onefish Twofish also helped us to explore different ways to illustrate the idea of a complex, interconnected model of society.

The Jubilee Roadmap

A biblical foundation for relational societies

by Guy Brandon

Foreword by Chris Wright

Foreword to original

From its foundation in the 1980s I was privileged to have a connection with the Jubilee Centre, both through personal friendship with its founder, Michael Schluter, and also through a shared understanding of how the Bible, and especially the Old Testament, relates to contemporary ethical issues. My own work on Old Testament ethics found very practical application in the publications and campaigns of the Jubilee Centre.

For three decades the Jubilee Centre has been active in bringing a biblical perspective to the public arena of social policy, legislation and reform. Key to the Centre’s theological position is the use of the Old Testament as a normative authority for Christian social ethics: New Testament texts such as Matthew 5:17-20 and 2 Timothy 3:16- 17 require that Christians are obliged to search the Old Testament scriptures for ethical guidance, and confining the relevance of Old Testament law to Israel BC is fundamentally misguided.

This holistic approach regards the whole social system of Israel as a normative model. That is, rather than take isolated laws and attempt to derive moral principles from them, we need to see how individual laws and whole categories of law, as well as the many social, economic and political institutions of Israel, functioned together. God did not just give arbitrary laws to an otherwise ‘neutral’ community; God created that community, moulding them out of an unpromising crowd of escaped slaves into a people with distinctive structures of social life in relation to the historical and cultural context in which they lived. It is this total community that was to serve as God’s model for the nations. Therefore, any principles we derive from different parts of the model must be integrated and be consistent with the whole.

I am delighted to see this handy and helpful summary of the ways in which the biblical and relational work of the Jubilee Centrecould

impact church and society. May it prove informative and inspirational to many and enhance the transforming power of the salt and light of those who seek to live by, and to live out, the values of the kingdom of God.

Christopher J.H. Wright

International Director, Langham Partnership, August 2012 Author of Old Testament Ethics for the People of God

1. Setting thescene

1. Why thisbooklet?

The decades since the Second World War have seen far-reaching developments that have profoundly changed the way we live, communicate and do business – from cheap travel and the sexual revolutioninthe1960sthroughtotheexpansionoftheinternetandrise of mobile technology in the ’90s, to today’s profusion of smartphones, email and social media. 21st century consumer culture, with its emphases on sex, shopping, celebrity and the self, represents a very different landscape to that of 50 or even 20 yearsago.

Social, economic and political problems

Alongside these developments have arisen social problems which defy easysolutions:familybreakdown,crime,healthandmaterialinequality, aswellashighlevelsofpublicandprivatedebt.In2007/08,theGlobal FinancialCrisismarkedawatershedinourhistory.Astheeventsofthe Credit Crunch and following recession unfolded it becameincreasingly clear that the economic system we had taken for granted for so long is broken, and that fundamental changes have to be made to avoid even worseconsequences.Whilsttheimpactsofthefinancialcrisiscontinue to make themselves felt across the world, the problems facing our society cannot be reduced to the health of the economy alone. Theloss of faith in Capitalism and the period of austerity that has followed the financialcrisispromptedtherecognitionthatsomeprofoundchanges– political,socialandeconomic–werelongoverdue.Consequently,there isanunprecedentedopportunitytoreshapetheworldinwhichwelive: to reassess our values and start again with freshpriorities.

A Christian response

Thisbookletwaswrittentoarticulateapositivevisionofsocietyrooted inbiblicalideals–mostnotablythepracticesandimpactsoftheJubilee year. The immediate context of this was the 2008 financial crisis, and the accusation that the Church has not been able to offer coherent answerstothemanyproblemsfacingoursociety.Properlyunderstood, though, we believe that the Bible has much to teach us about how we can go about changing society for the better – actively bringing aboutjusticeandlivingfaithfullytoGodinthedecisionswemakeas

individuals, churches and as a nation.

2. Joined-upliving

It is tempting to think that the problems facing our society can be fixed quicklyandsimply.Loweringinterestratesstimulatestheeconomy.Raising theretirementagegeneratesmoretaxesandlowersgovernmentexpenditure. Adjusting child benefit encourages more parents back into work. In purely economic terms, these make some sense.

Complex, interwoven problems

The catch is that society is a complex system. As the previous diagram shows, nothing exists in isolation. Every problem we fix by these means createsarangeofside-effects.Likebubblesunderthewallpaper,ifwepush one down it often leads to unintended consequences elsewhere. Policies thataffectemploymentalsoimpactcouplesandfamilystructure,sincethey influencewhoworkswhere,forhowlong,andforhowmuchmoney.Family structure affects the welfare budget, which picks up the costs of broken andstrugglinghouseholds.Interestratesimpactemployment,buttheyalso affect how much families pay on their mortgages and credit cards and the financialproblemsorfreedomtheyexperienceasaresult–eitheratthe time or perhaps many years later.

The messages we receive about these interlocking aspects of society also play a role in shaping our cultural standards, what and who we value and prioritise:whethertheopportunitytomoveforworkismoreimportantthan stable, rooted communities; whether sexual freedom is more important thanstrongfamilies;whethermypersonalchoicesaremoreimportantthan the welfare of society as a whole. None of these things can be viewed in isolation.Butthatisthebasisonwhichpublicpolicy–sooftenshort-term, single-issue and fragmentary – tends tooperate.

The need for a holistic answer

If we really want to address our social and economic challenges in alasting and meaningful way, we need a holistic vision rather than just single-issue political campaigns. We believe that the kind of society the people of Israel were called to be, described in both the Law and the prophets’ critique of their failures, serves as an inspiring example of how a society can ‘walk in the ways of the Lord’ – offering unique insights into the untidy collection of interconnected problems weface.

3. The biblical vision forsociety

The verse that epitomises the society depicted in the first illustration is Judges 21:25, ‘In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.’ Without a source of guidance society disintegrated into a collection of individuals, each going their own way: like our own, an individualistic culture that lacked overall coherence anddirection.

This is diametrically opposed to the Bible’s vision for the ideal society. From Creation, through the Covenant with Abraham and later Israel, to the Crucifixion and beyond, the loving relations among the Persons of the Trinity provide the basis for God’s concern with rightrelationships.

Flourishing relationships

Jesus summarised the laws of the Old Testament in terms of flourishing relationships:‘“LovetheLordyourGodwithallyourheartandwithallyour soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. Andthesecondislikeit:“Loveyourneighbourasyourself.”AlltheLawand the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’ (Matt. 22:37-40)

God’s concern for healthy relationships is the underlying theme that can informourunderstandingandapplicationoftheBible’slaws:everythingin the Bible is about the quality and strength of our relationships with Godor our neighbour. Christianity is a relational religion. The Trinity, the idea of Covenant, the Incarnation and the Cross are all fundamentally concerned with relationships between God and humanpersons.

The Jubilee year

The Jubilee year (Lev. 25), was central to the nature of biblical society. Its fundamentalprinciplewasthatlandcouldnotbeboughtorsoldpermanently but was returned to its original owners every 50 years. Overall the Jubilee laws shaped the economy, limited debt and poverty, governed patterns of work, rest and welfare, and supported strong families and communities. As a whole, biblical law is designed to provide the opportunity for close relationships, and to maintain them – whether within families, in business transactions, in religious worship or between differentnations.

This idea is alien to the modern mind. We are used to thinking ofourselves as individuals and in terms of our personal rights and freedoms, rather than our responsibilities to others and how we fit into society as a whole. The Bible’s emphasis on right relationships is a challenge to our culture’s destructivefocusontheselfandprovidesaframeworkwithinwhichwecan apply its teachings to our situationtoday.

2. The biblicalmodel

1. Israel as a model forsociety

Both Old and New Testaments offer profound insights for our culture, but it is the Old Testament that provides detailed information about how God wanted his people to structure their economy and society. Unlike Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God, the Old Testament model builds in measures to account for ‘hardness of heart’: humans’ innate tendency to go their own way. Such tough realism is essential when dealing with the realities of a secular society, over against God’s ideals for the Church (cf. Matt.19:8).

An integrated vision

Even Christians can be sceptical about the relevance of the OldTestament. Itcanseemsoremotefromourculturethatwesometimesbelieveitcannot possibly have anything helpful to say. However, one reason that the vision of society described in the Old Testament is uniquely relevant is because it was so highly integrated. Different types of relationship and themes of public policy worked in harmony, rather than in competition. This is important because looking at a single topic from a biblical perspective – perhapsdebt,abortionorworkers’rights–isnotenough.Evenifthewhole span of biblical thought is applied in detail to a specific issue, the idea still needstobeconnectedtotheotherinterwovenstrandsofsociety,firstinthe historical, biblical setting and then in the application for our ownday.

To understand how to apply a principle drawn from the Bible, then, we first have to understand how the different laws fitted together for Israel to create the relational ideal. Otherwise, it risks becoming disconnected fromrelatedissues,potentiallyleadingtounintendedandperhapsharmful consequences.Understoodasawhole,themodelofIsraeloffersa‘paradigm’ or comprehensive template we can use to tackle the problems that faceour ownsociety.

Eight themes

The illustration and the sections below illustrate the relationships between someofthemostimportantthemesofbiblicallawandthesectionsofsociety they impacted: Government, Community, Family, Finance and the Economy,Property,WorkandRest,JusticeandWelfare.Althoughthere areotherthemesthatareimportanttolifetoday–suchaseducationorthe environment–thesignificanceofthestrandsaddressedhereisindicatedby the amount of space they occupy in the Bible.

2. Overview of Biblicallaw

The Jubilee laws in Leviticus 25 are fundamental to understanding this paradigm and thus we have treated them as iconic for the system as a whole. These laws were given to Moses on Sinai, to be applied ‘when you enter the land I am going to give you’ (Lev. 25:2). The section of the book of Leviticusinwhichthischapterisfoundisintenselyfocussedupontheidea ofholinessasaconditionofstayingintheland(cf.Lev.26).Leviticus25lays out some of the core principles that shaped Israel’s society and economy – interconnected values and priorities that provided the foundations for the kindofsocietythatGodwantedhispeopletobuild.‘Holiness’hassocialand economic dimensions, as well as those which are religious andsacrificial.

Interconnected laws

Beyond this, the laws described in the Old Testament – many of them in Deuteronomy – address many different areas of life. Some laws are fairly narrow, relating predominantly to one area. Nevertheless, because society is so interconnected, these could have wide-ranging effects – as the next illustration demonstrates. So, for example, laws around marriage are most directly relevant to the integrity of the family, but this had major consequences for the family’s relationship with the wider community, the economy, the environment and much else besides. Other laws are cross- cutting,addressingseveralareasoflifesimultaneously.Thelawsaboutthe Sabbath encompass the strength of the family, workers’ welfare and the health of the economy, as well as the nation’s relationship withGod.

As with the other strands, the laws governing the Israelites’ relationship with God were not inseparable from other areas of life. Some of the laws in the Old Testament – such as those applying to sacrifice and festivals – are moreobviouslyrelevanttothenation’sspirituallife.However,therewasno distinction between sacred and secular law: society as a whole wasordered accordingtoGod’sinstructions,andkeepingtheLawwasacriticalelement of Israel’s relationship withGod.

Jesus’ coming changed the status and form of observance of certain regulations. Therefore we do not observe sacrifices or commands about exclusivitytoday(suchasthefoodlaws),sinceJesus’sacrificehasrendered these obsolete in that form. However, he placed the highest importance on the Law as a whole (Matt. 5:17-18) and was adamant that he had notcome to abolish theLaw.

The extended family

The extended family was the building block of society. Unlike our nuclear families (for which there is no word in the Old Testament), which comprise only parents and children, these were much larger units of perhaps 20 or 30peopleconsistingofthedescendantsofasinglelivingancestor–typically several related families over three or four generations, living in a cluster of buildingsontheirsharedancestralplotofland.Aswellasbloodrelatives,in wealthier families these groups would include hired workers, servants and adoptedchildren.

Networks of support

Itwaswithintheextendedfamilythataperson’sprimaryneedsforprovision andbelongingweremet.Theseunitswereeconomicallyself-supporting,and also acted as a safety net for those who did not have families of theirown.

The three-generational family was the fundamental unit of society, but it was also part of much wider networks of relationships: the village or clan, the tribe, and the nation of Israel as a whole. Each of thesegroupings would have met various needs – protection, justice, trade, finance, welfare, employment, education, worship – asrequired.

Safeguarding family

A large number of the Bible’s laws were designed to protect and strengthen the family because it was so important and played such a central role in social, political, military and economic life. Because of the way the family was integrated with so many other parts of society, these laws – whether economic, sexual or ceremonial/religious – also had the broader purpose of influencing the character of the nation as a whole, shaping it from the groundup.

Property

CloselylinkedtothestatusofthefamilywasIsrael’srootednessintheland. Thevisionwasthateachextendedfamilyhaditsownplotofland,whichhad been allocated when the Israelites first entered the land of Canaan (Josh. 13-19).Thisenabledeachfamilytoremaineconomicallyself-sufficient,and provided a platform of equality across all the different families in Israel. It alsohelpedtostrengthenandmaintaintheinter-generationalrelationships that existed within the extended family.

However, the land did not belong to the Israelites outright: it was loaned to them by God. Most land could not be bought or sold on a permanent basis, ‘because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants’ (Lev. 25:23). If a family fell on hard times, it could sell its ancestral plot to another family, but only until the next Jubilee Year, every 50th year. These factors–ultimateownershipbyGodandlong-termstewardshipbyextended families – also helped to foster a sustainable approach to theenvironment.

A permanent inheritance

Intheeventthatlandhadtobesold,itsvaluewasthereforelimitedbecause it could only be sold on a leasehold basis: the value was directlydependent onthenumberofyearsofcropsthenewtenantwouldreceivebeforethenext Jubilee year, when the plot reverted to its original owners. (The exception tothiswasurbanproperty–andeventhen,thesellerwasallowedtobuyit back for up to ayear.)

Thismeantthatnofamilywasfacedwithpermanentlossoftheirruralland and, at least once in a person’s lifetime, there was a chance of prosperity and independence for everyone. It also meant that the wealthy could not amasslandattheexpenseofthepoor.Aswellasthisredistributionofland every fifty years, citizens who had pledged to work for others due to debtor poverty were released to return to their families every seventhyear.

Community

Another effect of the Jubilee laws was that families had strong collective rootsintheirplotofland.Thelandwastheirmeansofproduction,andtheir shared stake in it meant there was a strong incentive to stay together.

The Jubilee laws, therefore, supported both the stability of the extended family and relationships withinthe wider community. Populationswere relativelyfixedandmobilitywaslimited.Itwasrecognisedthatpovertyand the need for employment were common reasons why people would leave their existing communities, and various measures aimed to make this unnecessary. Where someone was forced to move to find work, there were periodic opportunities to return home, with debts written off every seventh year, and land returned to its original owners every fiftiethyear.

Long-term roots

This was important because family and community could not perform their functions properly if they were scattered and fragmented. Long-term roots meant that there were opportunities for strong relationships to be developedacrossmanydifferentareasoflifeandacrossgenerations.Under these circumstances trust was easier to establish, since two parties did not exist in isolation but might have generations of shared history, plus manyfamilymembersandfriendsincommon. Thereciprocalarrangements this enabled had benefits throughout the community and underpinned a healthy economy and welfare system, as well as dramatically reducing the need for outside intervention by more centralised (government)authorities.

The role of government

The Bible is extremely cautious about centralised power of any kind. This was partly a reaction against the abuses the Israelites had experienced in the highly centralised and bureaucratic state of Egypt, where Pharaoh was viewed as a god. Similarly, the Assyrian, Babylonian and Roman empires comeinforheavycriticismonthegroundsthattheyarepronetocorruption, violence and injustice at their citizens’cost.

Limited power

SamuelwarnedtheIsraelitesthatestablishingakingandstateapparatusin Israelwouldentailalossoftheirfreedomandwouldrequireheavytaxation topayforitall(1Sam.8).Unlikeneighbouringcountries,inIsraelthepower ofthestateoveritscitizenswascarefullycircumscribedtopreventtheworst abuses from occurring (Deut. 17:1420). The king was not to amass money and possessions, or military hardware, and was to be subject to the Law, not above it – including its requirements for land ownership and economic sustainability.

Decentralised government

Consequently central government did not have a major role in the early period of Old Testament Israel. Its task was rarely to intervene directly,but more routinely to enable the different groups in society to carry out their rolesmosteffectively.Powerwaspasseddowntothelocallevelasfaraswas possible, with families and communities governing themselves and higher authorities only being involved when a problem became too large to deal with. The immediate form of government for most citizens consisted of the ‘elders at the gate’ of the city, who judged local matters (e.g. Ruth4:11).

Stateintrusionwaskepttoaminimum;insteadresponsibilityandinitiative wereencouragedatalocallevelwheretheywouldhavetheeffectofhelping people bond together through their collectiveinvolvement.

Economic sustainability

Family and community relationships were further supported by the Bible’s approach to the economy, debt and interest – though these were not consistently observed through Israel’s history (Neh. 5; Jer. 34:8-11). The Jubilee laws were intended to ensure that inequalities could not occur asa resultofawealthyeliteopportunisticallybuyinguplargetractsoflandfrom the poor and effectively enslavingthem.

An interest-free economy

Debt was carefully regulated. The Israelites were not allowed to charge one another interest (Deut. 23:19), and loans were cancelled every seventh year (Deut. 15:1-6). This meant that debts could not spiral out of control, pushingpeopleintolong-termpoverty.Thewealthywerenotabletoexploit the vulnerability of the poor in this way, meaning that inequalities would not becomeentrenched.

Debt was seen as a last-ditch solution to hardship, not something routine andtrivial.Jesusfrequentlyuseddebtasanimageforsin,includinginthe Lord’s Prayer. It was recognised that debt always entailedan element of enslavement, with the resentment that could easily follow: ‘The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender’ (Prov. 22:7). Similarly, interest was a tool by which the rich unjustly extracted further money from their debtors: ‘He who increases his wealth by interest amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor’ (Prov. 28:8).

Putting money to work

Biblical law sets out a different framework. It expects a close link between an investment and its return – rather than money multiplying simply throughthepassingoftime.Thefamiliarpictureisthatpeopleshouldonly reap where they themselves have sown; people have to work for an income, or make some contribution through their involvement when their money is invested (Luke 19:22-23). Together, these measures helped to promote relational independence, economic sustainability, and prevented long-term inequalities from arising and being perpetuated. In turn, this protected families from having to sell their land, or people being forced to move away from their communities to find workelsewhere.

Welfare

Stable families and communities, rooted together in the land they owned, formed a vital strand of the welfare system. Gleaning laws required thatthe Israelites left some of their harvests so that the poor could collect the remainder (Deut. 24:19-22). When someone fell on really hard times, they couldtemporarilysellthemselvestoanotherfamily–thoughthiseffectively meant being treated as a hired worker, rather than as a slave (Lev. 25:35- 43).

Relational poverty

However, poverty was not understood solely in financial terms. The people who are repeatedly mentioned in the context of welfare are ‘the alien, the fatherlessandthewidow’(Deut.24:19):groupswhowerepoorbecause