In the chapter titled "Living Justly," Ashley uses liberal reference to the Old and New Testaments in order to develop a conception of justice as the highest and best expression of social interaction. Beginning with the premise that the social nature of human beings carries with it a moral mandate for an understanding of what constitutes justice and why justice is to be considered a virtue. The Christian approach to justice is that it is a living thing, a species of practical wisdom that enables the orderly experience of social life (271).
For the Christian, says Ashley, justice is not just a matter of fellow feeling and comity but involves positive action and must define the character of active engagement with others. Justice is to be conceived of in two characters: righteousness, which is consistent with "conformity to the Divine wisdom and will" (272), and a unique commitment to giving everyone what is properly due him or her. In both cases, the implication is that "justice has to do with a relation to another or others" (272; emphasis in original). Thus the Christian formulation emphasizes the social nature of justice. Nor does the concept stop with equal treatment of all persons but entails treating each distinct person according to what is due him or her, and extends the idea to the concept of Christian love.
Under the subhead "Need for Love," Ashley argues that justice is "the most evident kind of morality" (273) and is foundational to the moral teaching of the Church. Especially in recent years, the Church has articulated teachings of social justice as a program of critique against injustices that have dire consequences. From one point of view, of course, justice is really an uncomplicated and highly structured, or "formal," issue: The laborer is worthy of his hire and should be paid accordingly (274). However, for there to be justice as a moral good, the one who pays must buy in to the social norms that assume a just pay...