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For many Christians, the concept of social justice is linked to Christology in that if detached from its origins it becomes merely a human endeavour. Many of the principles of contemporary Social Justice movements are inextricably linked to Christianity by way of Jesus and his message. The Salvation Army is a Christian organisation that aims to help the poor in our society, those who cannot help themselves. Their official position on social justice is that Jesus Christ is the answer to humanities deepest need, and that Christians should apply his teachings of love and compassion to all human beings, especially those in need. Caritas is a Catholic social Justice organisation which utilises the message of Jesus in terms of its’ Social Justice mission. The Caritas slogan: Compassion in Action, clearly shows the link between the organisation and the principle teachings of Jesus, namely Compassion, as does their vision statement, which includes the bible quotation "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, To let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.” (Luke 4: 16-19) These organisations along with many other social justice movements aim to practise compassion and perpetuate equality regardless of social stigma, and it is this endeavour that they are inextricably linked to the teachings of Jesus, but is it Jesus the Christ of Faith or the Jesus of History which inspire these movements? Jesus in his time, the Jesus of History, was a Jew who lived in First Century Jewish Palestine, which was ruled indirectly by the Roman empire. To Judea in the South, a circle of religious Jewish aristocratic elites collaborated with the Romans, while Rome ruled in the North, Galilee, through Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. There were three main societal systems in this era, the hierarchical system, the peasant and the purity system.
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