The Salty Peanut Gallery

Conservative talk show host Glenn Beck fired the shot heard round the world last week when he begged Christians to “run as fast as you can” from their church if they encounter the words “social justice.” Almost immediately his comments incited a controversial reaction. The public debate that has ensued has made it pretty clear that this is a complicated subject that has different meaning to different people.

In his March 2 radio and television shows Beck told listeners:

“I beg you, look for the words “social justice” or “economic justice” on your church Web site. 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! If I’m going to Jeremiah Wright’s church? Yes! Leave your church.”

He then went on to explain how “social justice” was the one common rallying cry of both Nazis and Communists.

The Rev. Jim Wallis, CEO of the social justice ministry “Sojourners”, was among the first to respond when he wrote, “Beck says Christians should leave their social justice churches, so I say Christians should leave Glenn Beck,” adding that from beginning to the end the Bible is clear that social justice is an “integral part of God’s plan for humanity.”

Jim McDonald, managing director of “Bread for the World” also responded:

“We say Jesus called us to care for ‘the least of these.’ 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.”

“Sojourners” and “Bread for the World” are calling on Christians to send Glenn Beck a message to protest his comparison of church-based social justice and communism. According to Willis, some 30,000 Christians have sent messages to Beck in protest so far.

Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky also weighed in on all the controversy:

“At first glance, Beck’s statements are hard to defend. How can justice, social or private, be anything other than a biblical mandate,” Mohler wrote on his blog. “But, there is more going on here,” he said. “A closer look at his statements reveals a political context.”

From a purely scriptural perspective, Mohler points out how “the Bible is filled with God’s condemnation of injustice in any form.” But is there anything to this idea that there are priests or preachers who would use “social justice” and “economic justice” as “code words?” He replies, “Of course there is.”

“Regrettably, there is no shortage of preachers who have traded the Gospel for a platform of political and economic change, most often packaged as a call for social justice.” He goes on, “The last century has seen many churches and denominations embrace the social gospel in some form, trading the Gospel of Christ for a liberal vision of social change, revolution, economic liberation, and, yes, social justice.”

“The urgency for any faithful Christian is this — flee any church that for any reason or in any form has abandoned the Gospel of Christ for any other gospel.”

There’s a passage of scripture that comes to mind that I think gets overlooked in this whole idea of social justice. In 2 Thessalonians 3:10 we read:

“For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”

For whatever the reason, Paul doesn’t really say, there were people in the church who weren’t working. This had been a problem from the beginning and now it was taking its toll on the spiritual harmony of the congregation. When Paul first planted the church at Thessalonica he had explained how they should work. He had given them an example to follow. Later he even wrote them about it. Now his message is one of discipline.

“As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed” – Thessalonians 3:13-14.

Paul says first of all, “Don’t you get weary in doing what is really good for people who genuinely have need.” Don’t let the deadbeats of this world rob you of the joy of helping those who need help, those who can’t help themselves. And secondly he says, “Mark those who won’t work.” Identify them. Point them out. Let them see what they really are, a wicked disobedient obstinate sinner. Shame them because they won’t work.

So what does “social justice” mean to you? To some social justice means a realization of the Kingdom of God on earth through a “new evangelism” which seeks salvation from social ills and injustice. To others social justice means government activism that seeks to take money from our neighbor’s hand and redistribute it to the poor. But I believe that true social justice is the result of the transforming power of the Gospel, that Jesus’ teachings on giving to the poor and supporting widows and orphans are a byproduct of redemption through Jesus Christ. That’s what social justice should be, though, sadly, far too often is not. That’s what social justice means to me.