In the same space where this column appears, Boyd wrote an editorial entitled, “The problem with ‘biblical justice’” (November 2007). There are a number of points in Boyd’s editorial with which I agree, but I’m not ready to throw the baby out with the bath water on this issue. I will argue this position not only biblically, but also in light of the plight and fight of African-Americans.

I want to start with where I agree with Boyd. He stated that, “Our modern sense of justice centers on the ‘inalienable rights’ of individuals, including the right to political freedom. But where in the Bible do we find any reference to inalienable rights or political freedom?”

I agree with the point being made here for two reasons. First, connecting the Constitution with the Bible to form a framework for biblical justice is the foundation for the limited view of justice found in the contemporary connection of extreme right-wing political ideology with the Bible. I can make the same case for extreme left-wing mainline Christians who connect the most liberal side of the Democratic Party with the Bible.

Greg Boyd is so right that the political polarization of the parties has found residence within the Church in America. This is a great tragedy, for it cripples the ability of the Church to be a force of evangelism, discipleship and justice.

What I need my friend to understand more deeply is what is at the root of the major political parties bringing further division into the body of Christ. I say that the two major political parties are simply “repaying the favor” to the Christian Church in America and this is what leads to my second point.

According to some evangelicals, there are biblical roots and a great Christian heritage connected to the development of the Constitution and Bylaws of this great nation. With this in mind, we must remember the role the European-American church and other European-American groups—who considered themselves Christian—played in the development of phrases such as “inalienable rights” and “political freedom.”

I could make the argument that these rights and freedoms have biblical roots in terms of the biblical righteousness and liberty that comes from Christ. The problem is that these rights and freedoms were limited to Europeans and “Christ” is replaced with “the pursuit of happiness.”

We must also remember the role many European-Americans’ misuse of the Bible played in the treatment of Africans and Native Americans during this time. In the context of African-Americans, though, the finding and application of biblical justice in both the Old and New Testaments is what led to the ending of slavery and Jim Crow segregation.

What was true back then, and today, is that the Bible and the Constitution and Bylaws of this great nation are used to maintain political, corporate and theological power for European-Americans. We are once again in need of the presentation of biblical justice as framed theologically through people like Martin Luther King Jr., Tom Skinner, John Perkins, and Howard Thurman.

Biblical justice is really about the Bible revealing to us the justice of God, which is presented in many ways through Jesus Christ.

Where I disagree with my friend Greg Boyd is that he moves from the powerful point of dispelling a limited view of biblical justice to what seems to become an argument for our inability to fully understand biblical justice or apply it within the framework of politics.

His following statement is where I want to focus my disagreement: “… the same Bible that teaches that everyone is made in the image of God also talks about women being the property of men and condones slavery! Not surprisingly, no one ever quotes these passages today when they’re standing up for biblical justice.”

I realize that Boyd is mainly making this point to argue against the use of biblical justice to promote a conservative or liberal political platform. But, he shouldn’t go on to argue against using biblical justice at all within the framework of politics because that, in itself, is un-biblical.

There are many texts in the Bible where we see the justice of God engaging government. What about God calling Moses to go to Pharaoh to end Hebrew slavery? What about God using Joseph in a political office to bring about biblical justice? We even see the justice of God through King David in war. Now, I realize that using these texts to tackle the Iraq issue is tricky, but I thank God they were used to develop a framework of biblical justice to spark the Civil Rights Movement in this country!

I agree with Boyd when he says that the New Testament doesn’t tell us how to vote, but it does tell us how the Church and the government should treat women.

Remember how Jesus deals with the woman caught in adultery? This tells us something about how the justice of God reverses the second-class citizenship of women.

The stories of the Canaanite woman, the Samaritan woman, and the woman who made it to Jesus’ tomb first could also be used to develop a non-partisan framework for how Christians should be involved in activism and public policy issues impacting women and the poor. The Bible might not tell me how to vote, but it can lead me to faith-based political action on behalf of women and the poor.

Some European-Americans have used a limited view and misinterpretation of the Bible in order to keep power and privilege in this country. But, this should not keep a Christ-centered and multi-ethnic community from developing a more authentic and holistic view of the biblical text in order to promote a biblical justice that can serve as a solution to injustice within government and beyond.

Efrem Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Sanctuary Covenant Church in Minneapolis, Minn., and an itinerant speaker with Kingdom Building Ministries. He is also the author of “Raising Up Young Heroes” and “The Hip-Hop Church.”