ABSTRACT
This chapter first traces Saint Paul's theology of 'justification'. Paul's theology is regarded as having left the plain path of intelligible Christian faith almost completely. It then outlines the patterns of reconciliation as restoration in the biblical tradition. All these patterns reveal impressively how in Israel the problem of guilt was taken seriously. What all solutions had in common was to help to restore a 'balance'. In the ancient Near East the issue of justice in all its dimensions was rooted in 'justice' as 'balance'. The Christian faith tradition offers the message of Jesus Christ on the Cross as God's answer. In linking the story about Jesus as God's mediator to concrete human situations, to human abilities and failures, to experiencing guilt and being forgiven, one can gain the attention of the younger and older generations alike as is already increasingly happening in educational and spiritual practice.
