No Mercy, No Justice
The Dominant Narrative of America versus the Counter-Narrative of Jesus’ Parables
Foreword by John C. Holbert
Imprint: Cascade Books
How can we be just and merciful? Are justice and mercy in conflict? Or are they aspects of the same truth?
Christians in America are presented with two conflicting versions of justice and mercy.
One version comes from the dominant secular narrative of America. Justice and mercy are contradictions. Mercy is devalued and discouraged.
But within the counter narrative of God revealed through Torah, the prophets, and particularly through the life and parables of Jesus, justice and mercy are aspects of the same truth and way of God. There is no justice without mercy. There is no mercy without justice.
In this book, Rev. Brooks Harrington draws on more than 40 years' experience as a criminal prosecutor, a pastor of an inner-city church in an impoverished neighborhood, and the founder of a legal ministry protecting indigent victims of family violence and child neglect and abuse. Through moving stories of women and children he has encountered, he shows the terrible toll of the dominant narrative's version of justice and mercy. And he offers Christians hope with new and startling insights into God's justice and mercy revealed in the parables of Jesus.
Brooks Harrington is the founder of the Methodist Justice Ministry, a pro bono legal ministry that provides legal protections and supportive services for indigent victims of child abuse and family violence. He has been a Marine infantry officer, a criminal prosecutor in Washington D.C., a litigator in private practice, an ordained United Methodist elder, and the pastor of an inner city church.
"Brooks Harrington has given us an amazing book—at once personal testimony from his significant experiences as an attorney and a pastor to the marginalized, then creative and invigorating biblical interpretation, all cast by a Christian with a passionate commitment to the embrace of justice and mercy. This book will change how you look at our criminal justice system, the parables of Jesus, and the Christian life."
—Will Willimon, Duke Divinity School
"With the vivid illumination of personal experience, Brooks Harrington offers a trenchant connection between the twin pillars of justice and mercy. He shines a light on Christian witness which challenges even as it educates . . . The passion for ministry to children in desperate need will take the attentive reader to new depths of both justice and mercy in the Lord."
—Mike Lowry, resident bishop of the Central Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church
“In this engaging book, Harrington draws on his wealth of experience and deep biblical wisdom to demonstrate the inseparability of mercy and justice. It calls us to look anew at how we practice our faith in a society dominated by self-interest and a narrative of justice. Reading No Mercy, No Justice might just change the way you live the Gospel.”
—Elaine A. Robinson, Saint Paul School of Theology at Oklahoma City University
“Regarding the U. S. criminal justice system and poverty, Rev. Brooks Harrington has done much and perhaps seen it all. Prosecutor and minister, Harrington’s qualified insight of these social issues rings disturbingly authentic. Many citizens believe ‘the poor’ are simply victims of public policy. In the spirit of Rauschenbusch and Gladden, No Mercy, No Justice exercises biblical norms and Jesus’ gospel principles to inform believer’s treatment of the poor—our American Achilles heel.”
—David Mosser, author/editor of Transitions: Leading Churches through Change
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