Many Christians see the societal dimension of their faith as a matter of biblical and social ethics. Returning to classical Christology, Connecting Jesus to Social Justice explores messianic potential in the Council of Chalcedon on the divine identity of Christ. Who Jesus is makes all the difference to Christian entrance into the public sphere on behalf of a just society. The Messiah’s divinity bears on social mission directed toward a just social order. Theological appropriation of Chalcedon overcomes a gap between the professing the Creed and interpreting social existence in light of a just social order. Connecting Jesus to Social Justice argues a doctrinally traditional, orthodox basis for Christian participation in the public sphere on behalf of social justice. The book addresses a situation internal to churches in the U.S. from a Catholic perspective yet not without analogies in other churches and Christian movements. Applying traditional Christology to contemporary social mission solidifies an answer to adversarial queries on the appropriateness of a social agenda. Implications in the classical Christology also confirm churches and discipleship in commitment to social justice promoted through a subaltern counter-public and then by word and deed in the public sphere.

"The relation of theology to society, or rather theological exploration to lived human experiences, is one that many Christians and theologians widely appreciate.... Thomas Hughson, a Jesuit scholar and associate emeritus professor of theology at Marquette University, joins this debate and addresses the above mentioned question in a refreshingly classical theological way.... [A]ny well-meaning Christian, theologian, and person of goodwill, deeply concerned with the search for a just social order and why Chrisianity ought to be involved in that search, must take seriously the full measure of Hughson's carefully researched, perspicaciously presented, and easily readable book. He not only provides us with brilliant historical, and now contextual and properly situated scholarship, but also demonstrates the enduring pertinence of the Chalcedonian Christological doctrine, which is too often relegated to the past. In fact, this work is another splendid example of authentic ressourcement." - Louvain Studies

"Hughson's . . . theoretical argument is compelling. Affirmations of Christ's divinity such as the Chalcedonian Definition can provide an important impetus for Christians to seek social justice." - The Ecumenist