Justice and Righteousness in the Prophecy of Amos and their Relevance to Issues of Contemporary Social Justice in the Church in Ghana

摘要

The thesis focuses on protest against social injustice in the prophecy of Amos and their implication for social justice in the world today, using examples from contemporary Ghana. It identifies social justice concerns in Amos, by carefully analysing the text and context. It also identifies pressing social justice issues in Ghana by analysing interview data and current news items on Ghana. The data is examined to ascertain how the social injustice which Amos protests against speaks to social injustice in Ghana today. The thesis provides a comprehensive exploration of all texts dealing with social justice in the book of Amos through the prophet’s criticism of the society of his time. Novel features include a triangular model of understanding how social justice is perceived in the Hebrew Bible and how Amos’ protest against social injustice fits into that framework. There is also an attempt towards a definition of social justice, bringing on board all the strands of social justice perception in the Hebrew Bible. It also provides evidence of systemic social injustice in Ghana and reflects on how the biblical paradigm is relevant to the Ghanaian situation. Novel features here include an analysis of how three Ghanaian mother-tongue translations of the Bible shed light on how Ghanaians assimilate the social justice issues raised by the prophet Amos. Again, there is an attempt towards defining social justice in the Ghanaian perspective bringing three different views on board. Generally, the thesis offers a framework by which social justice issues in the Bible can be harnessed to illuminate the quest for social justice in today’s world.