Biblical theology is confronted with tensions between love and justice. There are sometimes attempts to avoid these tensions by dissolving one side of the opposing concept. One such attempt is to identify love and mercy as the essence of Christian theology, overcoming law and reciprocal justice. However, such a dissolution is irresponsible not only ethically, but also theologically—as the discussion in a number of the studies collected in the present volume will demonstrate.
Justice and love, especially love for the enemy, seem to be in tension with one another. Although the command to love appears as an imperative in both testaments and is related explicitly to Torah in the New Testament, it is often seen as standing in opposition to the law.
