Introduction

A multitude of social ills that face societies today pose a major threat to the well-being of humankind and, at times, even to our existence. Terrorism, ethnic cleansing, political and racial strife, oppression, human rights violations, the threat of nuclear attacks, and many additional, serious social issues create ongoing challenges to people around the world. Beyond these global concerns are others that impact many individuals and families, regardless of culture, such as crime, domestic violence, sexual abuse, AIDS and other life-threatening diseases, pornography and a growing sex trade victimizing children, drug abuse and other addictions, untreated mental illness, and poverty and homelessness.

What can we learn from the Bible about important social issues today? In this chapter, we approach this question in a general way and then focus on more specific issues that are at the center of much current religious and political controversy. While it is difficult, if not impossible, to address many important issues directly, because today's world is so radically different from the world of the Bible, we can certainly gain some important insights about what “the Bible says” in terms of underlying values that are relevant in a general way. And, interestingly, when we pause to contemplate issues that impacted individuals and societies in the centuries during which the Bible was written, it becomes surprisingly clear that there are more similarities between then and now than what we might expect.