To Seek Justice & Resist Evil invites us to SEE global economic injustice, to discern or JUDGE what this means for our Christian faith, and to ACT in common mission for justice. This document provides a snapshot of stories that illustrate the devastating reality for the majority of people living under the present economic system in the world today. It does not intend to suggest blanket opposition to all aspects of the global economic system or to oppose all international trade or profit-seeking activity. Nor does this document attempt to present a blueprint for an alternative society. Rather, through this document the global partners of The United Church of Canada have issued both a Cry and a Call to seek justice and resist evil so that together in mission we can build a global economy for all God's people.
We journey to Central America in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch. We journey to Zambia in the grip of structural adjustment policies that destine families to suffer from disease and malnutrition. We journey to China, where we learn of the heavy price paid by the workers who toil to make toys for our children. We visit Gold River, a Canadian community where economic globalisation has exacerbated the effects of the boom and bust natural resource economy, displacing indigenous peoples and workers and upsetting theecological balance.
The stories of our partners illustrate the global reality of systemic economic injustice. Our brothers and sisters in the South challenge us to open our eyes to the pain and suffering inflicted on their people by an unjust system which denies a decent life to the majority of the world's population and to join them in denouncing and opposing this system.
The journey will not be easy because their stories show that we too are part of the same unjust system and are deeply influenced and captivated by its values and claims. In fact, neo-liberalism, the free-market paradigm that governs economic practice in the world today, makes absolute claims in relation to the market place; a practice some have suggested constitutes idolatry. Our faith calls on us to think about the implications of the global economic system for Christian practice. God's shalom calls us to solidarity with peoples around the globe, to stand with them against all that diminishes dignity, demeans their lives or destroys their future. We need to measure our lives and our actions as the church and as individuals by how we work towards shalom.
