Social Justice - Hot Topic This Time Last Year

"The church is not to adopt a social reform platform as its message, but the faithful church, wherever it is found, is itself a social reform movement precisely because it is populated by redeemed sinners who are called to faithfulness in following Christ." 

 ---R Albert Mohler Jr

This time last year, Social Justice was a hot topic in the media as a result of leading conservative talk show hosts  biting attacks on proponents of social justice and the Social Gospel.


Here's an excerpt from an article which appeared in the Christian Post on March 10, 2010.


[source: http://www.christianpost.com/article/20100310/glenn-beck-s-church-advice-sparks-outrage/]

Anti-poverty Christian groups are up in arms after popular political commentator Glenn Beck urged Christians to leave their church if it talks about social justice.

.........Wallis said the Bible from beginning to the end is clear that social justice is an “integral part of God’s plan for humanity.”

In his radio and television show last week on Fox News, Beck urged Christian viewers to talk to their pastor or priest about the word social justice if their church uses the term. If the church leader refuses to change the church’s commitment to social justice, then they should leave, Beck continued.

“I beg you, look for the words ‘social justice’ or ‘economic justice’ on your church website,” the TV and radio personality said. “If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words.

“Now, am I advising people to leave their church? Yes!” he exclaimed.

Later in the show, Beck held up cards with a hammer and sickle on one and a swastika on the other. He said communism and Nazis both have the same philosophy and in America “social justice” is the code word for both.

“They talked about economic justice, rights of the workers, redistribution of wealth, and surprisingly, democracy,” he said.

Wallis, in response, refuted the controversial claim and highlighted how the Catholic Church, Black churches, Mainline Protestant churches, and an increasing number of evangelical and Pentecostal churches believe that social justice is central to biblical faith.

“I don’t know if Beck is just strange, just trying to be controversial, or just trying to make money,” the long-time anti-poverty activist wrote. “But in any case, what he has said attacks the very heart of our Christian faith, and Christians should no longer watch his show. His show should now be in the same-category as Howard Stern.”

Meanwhile, anti-hunger ministry Bread for the World said it does not usually feel compelled to respond to Beck’s outrageous statements. But it said his recent comments had “gone too far.”

“[W]e say Jesus called us to care for ‘the least of these,’” wrote Jim McDonald, managing director of Bread for the World, in an e-mail to The Christian Post. “No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, it is impossible for biblically-literate people to deny the thousands of verses in the Bible about hunger and poverty.”  

A week later guest columnist, R Albert Mohler, responded to the furor Beck stirred up.

At first glance, Beck's statements are hard to defend. How can justice, social or private, be anything other than a biblical mandate? A quick look at the Bible will reveal that justice is, above all, an attribute of God himself. God is perfectly just, and the Bible is filled with God's condemnation of injustice in any form. The prophets thundered God's denunciation of social injustice and the call for God's people to live justly, to uphold justice, and to refrain from any perversion of justice.

The one who pleases the Lord is he who will "keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice" (Gen. 18:19). Israel is told to "do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness you shall judge your neighbor" (Lev. 19:15). God "has established his throne for justice" (Psalm 9:7) and "loves righteousness and justice" (Psalm 33:5). Princes are to "rule in justice" (Is. 32:1) even as the Lord "will fill Zion with justice and righteousness" (Is. 33:5). In the face of injustice, the prophet Amos thundered: "But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream" (Amos 5:18). In a classic statement, Micah reminded Israel: "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8).

To assert that a call for social justice is reason for faithful Christians to flee their churches is nonsense, given the Bible's overwhelming affirmation that justice is one of God's own foremost concerns.

But, there is more going on here. Glenn Beck's statements lacked nuance, fair consideration, and context. It was reckless to use a national media platform to rail against social justice in such a manner, leaving Beck with little defense against a tidal wave of biblical mandates.

........There is more to that story, however. The church is not to adopt a social reform platform as its message, but the faithful church, wherever it is found, is itself a social reform movement precisely because it is populated by redeemed sinners who are called to faithfulness in following Christ. The Gospel is not a message of social salvation, but it does have social implications.

Faithful Christians can debate the proper and most effective means of organizing the political structure and the economic markets. Bringing all these things into submission to Christ is no easy task, and the Gospel must not be tied to any political system, regime, or platform. Justice is our concern because it is God's concern, but it is no easy task to know how best to seek justice in this fallen world.