POST VATICAN II CHRIST-CENTERED ETHICAL THEOLOGY

Dr. Jean-Marie Hyacinthe Quenum,S.J. 1

The Post-Vatican II Christ-centered ethical theology historically grounded is more consistent with the

material, social and spiritual dimensions of redeemed humanity. The post-Vatican II ethical theology is

more contextual, less abstract, legalistic and individualistic, respectful of human dignity, and inclusive

in its universal approach of the good intentions and goals of the person inspired by Christian faith to

become better. It is shaped both by Christian revelation and the world situations of poverty, violence

and injustice calling for solidarity, common good, virtuous life and cooperation between nations.

The post-Vatican II ethical theology goes beyond the old moral theology of manuals stressing sinful

human behaviors and restores the dynamics of Christian way of living under Christ’s lordship, the

source of ultimate good. The Holy Trinity is then the measure of all good through the Father’s

covenant to restore the created world in Jesus Christ by the renewal of human heart under the

guidance of the Holy Spirit. Post-Vatican II Christ-centered ethical theology is at the service of

Christian discipleship that targets the human heart loving God and neighbor as oneself as the radical

norm of Christian existence in sexuality, politics and management of the environment for a meaningful

life consistent with the will of the Trinitarian God as divine Persons in communion with the created

world.

1 Dr. Jean-Marie Hyacinthe Quenum is a Beninese Jesuit who teaches theology at the Jesuit School of Theology of Hekima

College in Nairobi (Kenya).

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Introduction

Christian moral theology as an academic discipline presupposes the self-actualization of Christian

mystery in the community of faith called the Church. Christian moral theology draws its methodology

and principles from the followers of Jesus Christ worshiping the Holy Trinity and making the

fundamental option to live as recreated children of God under the process of God’s justification and

sanctification in Christ through the Holy Spirit. By becoming Christ-like and by discerning in their

daily lives what is good and evil and what is right and wrong through the use of their reason, Christians

have developed a specific moral theology linked to the sacrament of reconciliation and the search for

moral guidance. This normative morality was sin and act oriented around intentions, circumstances,

adequate knowledge, freedom and process of deliberation. Our aim is to give a general view of the

change that has occurred in Catholic moral theology, fifty years after the Second Vatican Council.

In Post-Vatican II Church Christian moral theology has become in academia, a field of Christian ethics

dealing with Christian living in a world of secularized societies. Appropriately called theological

ethics, Christian moral theology has become an inspiring discipline, based on Scripture, reason,

character formation, commitment to the reign of God, common good, virtues, social responsibility and

the goal to become better people of God after the last Adam, Jesus Christ.

How does Scripture shape theological ethics by taking God as the ultimate center of values and virtues?

How does Christian Ethics refine Christians’ abilities to live their fundamental option to be the

covenantal people of God and to strive to be morally right and good? In which ways is theological

ethics a promising discipline enhancing Christian social and prophetic responsibilities in today’s

world? We will show with the help of post-Vatican II theological ethics, how Christians in their

intentions to become Christ-like manifest their fundamental relation to the Trinitarian God creator,

savior and transformer of the world by leading a virtuous life of moral responsibility and goodness.

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We intend to focus on moral persons, disciples of Jesus Christ responding to the Gospel of Jesus Christ,

the Lord and Savior of the world whose death and resurrection changed the way redeemed human

beings relate to the Trinitarian God and to one another. Scripture as the final Word of God interpreted

by human reason became in post-Vatican II Council Church the essential source from which the moral

agent seeks application and transformative action by reflecting the true and perfect humanity of Jesus

Christ.

1. The Scripture Interpreted by Human Reason as the Essential Source of Post-Vatican II

Theological Ethics

Christian faith is inspired by the proclamation of Scripture as the Word of God shaping the moral life

of the covenant people of God and allowing him to rule over their lives (1 Peter 1:25).

The Word of God is the gift by which God reveals himself by sending his eternal Word to dwell among

human beings (John 1:14). Jesus Christ is the Word of the Father present in human history through the

life and mission of the Church (1 John 1:1). As mediator and fullness of all revelation, Jesus Christ is

the ultimate norm for the human person. Any Christian is ultimately inspired by an encounter with the

Lord Jesus Christ experienced in the proclamation of Scripture in the Church.2 Jesus Christ is

encountered by the hearers of the Word of God who are the heralds of the Gospel which is the

manifestation of God’s Trinitarian life in human history (1 John 1:4). This love is lived personally and

communally through Christians motivated by the love of God in human circumstances.

To recognize God as the source and goal of moral striving gives direction to the moral life. We

are always to act in ways that are responsive to the presence of God in our lives and that will

2 Joseph Ratzinger, “Sources of Moral Theology: Keynote Address” in The Priest , September 1984, pp:10-18.

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bring us toward fuller communion with God as the goal of our lives. In order for this to happen,

we must be guided by those values which are in accord with what God values.3

The proclamation of Jesus Christ as the fulfilment of the Scripture leads people to receive the meaning

of life born from him, who alone saves, justifies and sanctifies by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Through

Jesus Christ, the human person is transformed to act according to the great narrative of the Scripture

which finds its climax in the ministry and paschal mystery of Jesus Christ.4

Scripture interpreted contextually by the best biblical scholarship has become the foundation of

theological ethics since the liberating encyclical of Pius XII on the subject and the promulgation of the

Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation. Recently The Word of the Lord5 of Benedict XVI has

stressed the importance of the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church.

Going beyond proof texting and the passive repetition of abstract moral standards based on sinful

behavior, the enlightened use of Scripture reveals the various patterns of salvation history where God

intervenes among human beings and communicates his will and who he really is by interacting with his

creation through the mysteries of redemptive incarnation of Jesus Christ and the activity of the Holy

Spirit in the body of Christ which is the Church. In fact Jesus Christ became what we are so as to make

us what he is. Human beings in moral striving become like Jesus Christ by being transformed by the

Holy Spirit who makes them participators of God’s Trinitarian life. The constant themes of the

Scripture are related to the redemptive and sanctifying humanity of Jesus Christ. Because Jesus Christ

is true God and true man, he can make human beings like himself. To be like Jesus Christ is the goal of

Christian moral life as Jesus Christ is the center and end of human life (1 Corinthians 15:28).

3 Richard M. Gula,S.S. Ethics in Pastoral Ministry, Paulist Press, New York, p.10.

4 John P. Meir, A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus; Doubleday, New York, 1991-2001.

5 Benedict XVI, The Word of the Lord, 2010.

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Scripture reveals to the believer the redemptive presence of God in the person and work of Jesus

Christ6. Theological Ethics is the continual reflection on this mystery in the light of socio-economic

situations calling for wide varieties of moral options. It confronts the social and political issues of

contemporary societies. Research of biblical scholars has fed the theological reflection of Christian

ethicists with a fresh approach of what God has done graciously in human history and how men and

women are responding holistically to the constant moral themes of the Old and New Testaments.

The world today needs the Word of God as light shining in devastating and chaotic human situations. It

has the power to bring meaning and transformation inspired by prayer, lively worship, public witness

and theological reflection. This theological reflection on human existence values interpersonal

relations and the commitment to the reign of God awakened by faith seeking understanding. The Word

of God is seen as the promises of salvation realized in Jesus Christ (Luke 24:25). It initiates a

covenantal relationship with God and is the source of divine truth revealed for the salvation and

transformation of human beings. Human beings in theological ethics are called to be hearers of the

Word of God. By listening carefully to the Word of God, believers are transformed into followers of

Jesus Christ who fully understand his instruction, precepts and wisdom as the goals of their human

existence. By reverently and appreciatively obeying the Word of God, they become fruitful and they

are blessed to share the Trinitarian life of joy, immortality and glory.

This approach of moral transformation flowing from the Scripture, interpreted by human reason, is the

distinctive feature of post-Vatican II Church. The moral agents are no longer isolated from God’s

revelation in the Scripture. They are connected with the biblical claims of God as author of the basic

nature of all reality. All moral acts belong to God’s plan for human life and for the created world. The

evangelist Luke summarizes Jesus Christ’s own statement on how redeemed human beings are to lead

an ethical life

6 Joseph Ratzinger, “Sources of Moral Theology: Closing Address” in The Priest September, 1984, pp.19-30

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But why do you call me “Lord, Lord” and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to me,

and hears my sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man

building a house, dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the

stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it is founded on the rock.

But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a

foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently and immediately it fell and the ruin of

that house was great.7

The discovery of the eschatological dimension of Christian message has made Jesus Christ, the

decisive climax of human history.8 What human beings hope for is already realized in the life, death

and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Scripture preached today in the context of liturgy is the testimony

of the Trinitarian Persons in their interaction with the created world. The Trinitarian Persons in

communion act in human history by leading God’s people through their covenant love. The living God

of Scripture is constantly present to his people by acting graciously on their behalf. He is the source of

life, the subject of soteriological actions and the transformer in depth of created reality in the body of

Christ which is the Church. Post-Vatican II theological ethics relates Christian living to the mystery of

the Holy Trinity assuming human pains, anxieties, fears and hopes. Post-Vatican II theological ethics

is more historically oriented, more biblical, more person-centered and communitarian. It recognizes the

identity rights of the marginalized and works for the rehabilitation of social roles distorted by sin. It

encourages feminism, the movement of human rights and humanitarian concerns. Post-Vatican II

theological ethics has worked out the notion of a hierarchy of laws in moral evaluation. It

acknowledges laws of nature, laws of Scripture, human laws and customs.

7 Luke 6: 46-49.

8 Rudolf Schnackenburg, Jesus in the Gospels: A Biblical Christology, John Knox Press, Louisville, 1995.

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Biblical stories of creation, liberation and redemption are meant to inspire the covenant people of God

to act in ways pleasing to God. In biblical narrative, God in his wisdom has chosen to form the

Christian character of his people by providing models of life-giving behaviors such as the one of the

Good Samaritan, the grateful leper or the Good Steward. Jesus’ parables are good metaphors in form of

stories. They express God’s ecstatic relationship with his creation by bringing people from familiar

situations of everyday life to less familiar moral decisions about the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ parables

play a central role in the formation of moral character. The moral agent can identify the situations and

characters related to the Kingdom of God and apply the insights of the stories to new situations calling

for moral decisions that anticipate the coming of the eschatological Kingdom of God in human history.

The commandments of God found in Scripture are meant to be understood in their original settings for

a deeper application to new situations. Prayerful reflection on Scripture can help develop and refine

good habits of the heart – virtues which form human character. They are practical skills oriented

toward good actions. A moral agent in theological ethics perspective has a sound mind informed by the

principles and insights of the Word of God to bring about out of good habits some good actions for the

sake of the Kingdom of God and for the welfare of human beings in societies. Good habits are formed

in social settings through discipline, love and training. Good habits or virtues are meant to restrict bad

impulses and vices fostering responsible behaviors consistent with the message of the Gospel.

For today’s theological ethics, Scripture is the primary authority for how the disciples of Jesus Christ

are to live their daily lives as persons in family, work-places, market-places and as citizens. By

listening to the Word of God and applying its content to new situations they receive the unearned gifts

of theological virtues associated with faith, hope and love. Theological virtues strengthen the acquired

human virtues of prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude needed to build a society free of social

evils such as war, violence, permissiveness and abject poverty. In today’s world the virtues of altruism,

trustworthiness and mutual care can make a difference in ethical life.

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2. Theological Ethics and Character Formation through the Seven Sources of Moral

Transformation

Post-Vatican theological ethics in our view has seven sources: Scripture, the life-stories of God’s

people, the major contributions of natural and social sciences, prayer, the guidance of the Holy Spirit,

the teaching authority of the Church and the life of the saints.

In post-Vatican II theological ethics, life experience of God’s people connected with Scripture has

become the second vital source for moral decisions. Christians have been inspired by the life-stories of

ordinary people who showed moral strength, hope, serenity, trust, compassion, forgiveness, generosity

and solidarity in disturbing and challenging situations. These moving stories of human greatness have

stimulated moral reflection in both individuals and communities. Linked with Scripture, life-stories of

God’s people have provided models for the formation of conscience and character. The contemporary

life stories of God’s people have addressed the issues of poverty, war, bio-engineering, death and

dying. Wherever the narrative methods are used in life-stories, the aim is to discern positive values for

inspiration. Post-Vatican II theological ethics is less prohibitive by fostering biblical and

anthropological values such as faithfulness, protection of life, quality of interpersonal relationship,

social responsibility and virtuous life. But contemporary cultures compel theological ethics to dialogue

with new trends of post- modern and post-Christian societies. Theological ethics cannot just reaffirm

traditional moral views without expressing them in contemporary and convincing language.

Theological ethics is learning to know the specific situations of our time and to discern new ways of

integrating the concerns, anxieties and hopes of today’s people in its principles. Then social and

cultural analysis are used in theological ethics in order to understand the human person shaped by

social and cultural conditionings.

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The third source of theological ethics is the major contributions of natural and social sciences to the

understanding of what it means to be human. Today the human person is perceived as a related being

growing and maturing through different stages corresponding to a dynamic psychic development

involving the mind, the heart and the body. The physical embodiment of the human person has been

explored by natural and social sciences and theological ethics has renewed its understanding of the

human body in moral evaluation. Today, the human body is seen as good and holy. Theological ethics

values sexuality as intrinsic to the human relationship with God. Salvation includes the recovery of

sexual wholeness. Sexual sins are no longer seen as violation of predetermined sexual norms but as an

alienation from the divinely intended sexuality. As culture and social environment play a great role in

the maturation of the human person, today’s theological ethics is attentive in moral evaluation to the

data of particular cultures and societies. The human person as social being in every aspect of life makes

the former individualistic and legalistic approach of morality unacceptable. The major contributions of

natural and social sciences to theological ethics help to bring change in social structures by

campaigning for better structures consistent with new ways of being human inspired by the Gospel.

The fourth source of theological ethics is prayer. Prayer is the fundamental activity of a disciple of

Jesus Christ. The disciple enters into contact with the Trinitarian God through the inner life of prayer.

Prayer is a quality time set apart to review one’s daily life. It allows the disciple of Jesus Christ to make

daily decisions by seeking God’s heart. Prayer consists of listening to God’s Word in faith (Hebrews

4:2). By building human life on the rock of God’s Word, the disciple is open to the agenda of God.

The human heart is the deepest part of the human person experiencing the creative presence of the

Trinitarian God. From the human heart purified by the presence of the Trinitarian God flows the moral

transformation of the person called to discipleship by Christ and anointed by his Spirit.

The fifth source of theological ethics is the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who prays in

the human person enables the disciple to hear and obey the voice of Christ. The Holy Spirit guides the

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believer in the quest of moral transformation. Christian moral transformation requires friendship with

Jesus Christ who helps the disciple to appropriate and to assimilate his life, passion, death and

resurrection through the work of regeneration of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit as comforter

empowers the believer to experience a deeper relationship with the Trinitarian God that brings the

fruits of a blessed life. A blessed life is the one that confirms the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians

5:22-23). The Holy Spirit makes the disciple of Jesus Christ an entire new creature (2 Corinthians

5:17). By living and walking in the Spirit the disciple acquires a new character (1 Corinthians 13:3-8).

Moral transformation is seen in kindness, humility, patience, forgiveness and thankfulness (Colossians

3:12-16).

The sixth source of theological ethics is the moral authority of the Church giving guidance for the

transformation of the human person. The Church has moral authority over the disciple of Jesus Christ.

A lifestyle of submission is required in the body of Christ (Romans 13:1, 5; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13;

Ephesians 5:21; Hebrew 12:9; James 4:7). Submission to the guidance of the Church is a Christ-like

behavior worth of Christian imitation (Philippians 2:1-11).

The seventh source of theological ethics is the life of the saints providing inspiration for moral

transformation through their total gift to God and to others in limitless love. The saints by grace have

led outstanding lives of love. They laid down their lives for God and neighbor. They provide

significant models for Christian living and their stories move others toward gratitude, growth and

generosity.

What then are the greatest challenges of theological ethics today? The logic of desire explored by depth

psychology has placed pleasure and comfort at the pinnacle of human fulfilment. To say “no” to a

desire is to repress it for a law that brings frustration, dissatisfaction and depression. A person led by

the logic of desire rejects rules, regulations and laws. The desiring person constructs a subjective

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morality and rejects any objective morality. The subjective view of morality exalts gratification through

pleasure, comfort and freedom from the law. The law is seen as repressive by the desiring person who

does not accept any limitations. This instinctive tendency to attain pleasure is increasingly noticed in

contemporary societies with the development of technologies and the widespread avoidance of pain

and suffering. Long-term relationships and coherent projects of life are sacrificed for every new desire

and every new gadget of consumer societies.

The task of theological ethics is to confront the desiring person with the reality of life that emphasizes

the quality of human relationships, the power of self-sacrificial love and the right use of God’s given

humanity. Theological ethics is about how to live true humanity in the sight of the good and wise God

of the Scripture. Human behavior cannot be beyond good and evil. Human behavior in the plan of God

is the object of ethical attention and objective norms. By privatizing and trivializing the use of God’s

given humanity, the desiring person does whatever gives enjoyment and personal satisfaction. This

self-centered approach of morality fosters subjectivism, relativism, materialism, hedonism and

lawlessness. It inflates the ego and deprives the self-centered person of true peace, joy and happiness.

What is finally the originality of post-Vatican II theological ethics? Post-Vatican II theological ethics

has the originality of being non- judgmental. It aims at showing God’s mercy and acceptance toward

those who have not yet understood the path of salvation brought by Jesus Christ. It provides supportive

and brotherly community for those who are sincerely wrong. These people are no longer blamed but

accompanied by wise disciples of Jesus Christ in pastoral ministry.

In a pluralist world, post-Vatican II theological ethics is open to dialogue which is today the fruitful

method of relating with others in respectful way. Dialogue in a world of competing and conflicting

values makes Christians vulnerable, modest and ready to learn from others.

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3. The Theological Ethics a Promising Discipline enhancing Social responsibility and

Spiritual Choice for the values of the Trinitarian God

Post-Vatican II theological ethics has a positive vision of the Christian lifestyle based on intense

fellowship called love. This love coming from the Trinitarian God is the bedrock of Christian ethical

transformation. Christian ethical transformation is inspired by the love of the Father for his only

begotten Son sent to redeem human beings by the wise and loving power of the Holy Spirit. Human

beings made in the image of the Trinitarian God are persons capable of love. Christians in their

personal lives are in close relationship with the three persons of the Holy Trinity who live in the

deepest part of them (1 Corinthians 6:19; John 14:23; 1John 4:12, 16). By living in love, Christians

experience God’s presence in their personal lives. The indwelling of the Triune God empowers and

strengthens the Christians to act ethically in any and every situation. Christians who are aware of the

presence of the Trinitarian God in the depth of their hearts can do anything God wants them to do.

Theological ethics is today the framework of Trinitarian love that empowers and strengthens human

transformation. God dwelling in Christians is the measure of ethical transformation. This

transformation flows from the indwelling of the Triune God who inspires in Christ the commitment to

the reign of God in the world. The Triune God living in Christians invites them to be holy (1 Peter

1:16). Holiness implies divine adoption leading to an interior transformation that makes Christians to

be like Christ. By being like Christ, Christians act ethically when they give public witness to the

Trinitarian God meeting the deepest needs of human beings, the need of fellowship, shared life and

communion. Theological ethics is about the values of the Trinitarian God. The Trinitarian God loves

His creation and wants the transformation of the creation into His Kingdom. The eternal begotten Son

of the Father came into the world to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Jesus’ sacrifice

on the cross was the supreme demonstration of the Father’s love for the world (John 3:16). Jesus’

resurrection brings to the world the blessings of God in terms of peace, righteousness, joy, healing,

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holiness, forgiveness, reconciliation and communion with the Trinitarian God. Theological ethics is

about the values of the Kingdom of God: brotherhood or sisterhood in Christ, righteousness, joy, peace,

healing, holiness, forgiveness, reconciliation and communion. An authentic Christian theological ethics

is concerned with the restoration of wholeness through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all people,

forgiven and sanctified. A Trinitarian theological ethics is Christ-centered. Christians who honor

Christ by their commitment to Kingdom values do the will of the Father and the Holy Spirit guides

them for the greater glory of the Trinitarian God. The Trinitarian God is glorified when the world is

transformed into the household of God. A vision of the blue planet as a refreshing garden for the

human family rejoicing together under the Trinitarian God is the goal of Post-Vatican II Trinitarian

theological ethics.

The post-Vatican II Trinitarian theological ethics we have developed in this essay has shown the

relevance of the Word of God for the Christian living of the post-modern person. The Word of God can

shape the lifestyle of the post-modern person. The post-Vatican II Trinitarian theological ethics teaches

the post-modern person how to use freedom which is the highest gift of the natural person in order to

enter in the awesome supernatural life of the revealed Trinitarian God. The Word of God in both Old

and New testaments is basic and radical for ethical life. God’s way is the best for human existence.

Christians by following Jesus’ way of life loves God and the neighbor (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus

19:18, 34). They take God as life’s companion and the neighbor as the human face of God. Christians

are journeying toward the absolute future of God called the Kingdom of God when they opt for a

virtuous life of love. They are set apart to mediate the presence of God in the world. The post-Vatican

II Trinitarian theological ethics is the practical frame for a renewed relationship with God, with the

neighbor and with the creation. The Trinitarian God becomes the center of human life. Christians who

live out from the indwelling of the Trinitarian God are genuine human beings depending of God’s

strength, grace and power. They radiate God’s love in humility through the ongoing exercise of their

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freedom for a shared life of service, self-sacrifice and communion. They become stewards of the good

creation of God promoting justice, integrity of creation and brotherhood or sisterhood without borders.

Trinitarian theological ethics promotes the virtuous life of compassion that characterizes the public

ministry of Jesus Christ who was open to the needs of people he encountered in various circumstances.

To live a Christ-like compassion today requires the ethical option to side with the abused, the

marginalized, the poor and the oppressed dehumanized by uncaring people. Compassion is only

possible when the ethical person overcomes tribal consciousness by expanding the horizon of

benevolence to all human beings in need of help. The compassionate moral agent is the one who is a

state of connection with all human beings through a positive perception of their presence. The true

compassionate person is fully aware of the dignity of all human beings as creatures of God deserving

attention, acceptance and unconditional love. By refusing to label them through a conditioned mind

shaped by upbringing and past life-experiences, the compassionate person expands the horizon of

hospitality by being gracious to all human beings imaging in the world the compassionate love of Jesus

Christ.

Our broken and divided world calls for an overflowing compassion. The Trinitarian gift of compassion

is the love by which the disciples of Jesus Christ are recognized as faithful messengers of the Gospel

(John 13:35). It is the love that shares patiently the plight and the sorrows of others in attitudes of

solidarity that it is healing. It is a hopeful awareness of being one with others. In this sense, the post-

Vatican II Trinitarian theological ethics is a successful story of an academic discipline which has

superseded the legalistic objective morality of forbidden sin that had made God’s people predominantly

unhappy and guilty for many centuries. Trinitarian theological ethics is convinced that God is already

working in the lives of people for their wholeness. By becoming aware of the values of God through

the proclamation of the Word of God, the moral agent is called to a free change attitude of heart that

promotes a virtuous life of steadfast love.

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Conclusion

Fifty years after Vatican II the pilgrim people of God think differently about moral life. The splendor of

the truth is in the person of Jesus Christ inviting human beings to share the perfect goodness of the

Trinitarian God through a virtuous life of love. Moral life is no longer about forbidden behaviors and

acts which are intrinsically evil. Moral life flows from the human person whose heart is purified by the

Gospel message of Jesus Christ and who makes the fundamental option to share the Trinitarian God’s

values in the body of Christ led by the Holy Spirit in the renewed family of the Father.

Doing theological ethics is a personal and communitarian option to be better people in the midst of real

human history rife with ambiguities, conflicting options and paradoxes. In the Post-Vatican II Church,

normative morality is slowly dying for a Christ-centered and Kingdom-centered theological ethics

focusing on the human person pursuing a virtuous life of love required by the baptismal experience of

the Trinitarian God. Doing Trinitarian theological ethics implies the rejection of moralism, legalism

and authoritarianism for a better approach of the human person as a discerning agent inspired by the

Gospel that does Justice, Peace and fellowship in the redeemed world.