Glenn Beck and Social Justice

If you haven't heard about Glenn Beck urging his listeners to leave their church if the church's website mentions "social justice" in a positive light, you can read about it here.

Much has been made about his statements, and in response, I found myself getting into an interesting discussion of the topic on everybody's favorite social network. I feel pretty good about one of my responses, and have deemed it blogworthy. So here is my response to a friend, and maybe you, if you share a bit of Beck's skepticism about "social justice."

Thanks for the thoughts!

I agree that the term "social justice" can embody a lot of different beliefs, many of which contradict the Bible, or at least a reasonable interpretation of it.

When the church talks about justice, I'd rather use a descriptor like "Biblical justice", but even in adjusting the language, the social implications of the pursuit of Biblical justice are numerous and unavoidable. So a balance must be maintained. Pursuit of social justice without Biblical reflection can spiral into mere humanistic liberalism.

BUT, there are many, many, great churches out there that consist of many, many Godly people, who do have a strong emphasis on Biblically rooted social justice pursuits, and are not bothered by using the term social justice to describe what they do. One of my heroes of the 20th Century, Martin Luther King, Jr., would not have been emboldened to pursue nonviolent resistance to a segregated America were it not for his strong vision of the Kingdom of God characterized primarily by love and justice with all their infinitely social implications. Catholic Social Teaching, one of the strongest components of the Catholic Church, is committed to a pursuit of social justice that is ardently on the side of the poor, radically pro-life, and attempts to embody the Gospel in all its many-sided compelling beauty.

So I hope we won't throw out the baby with the bathwater. It is a personal choice whether or not to align oneself with a church that is comfortable with self-identifying with the term "social justice," some of which are committed to a Christ-shaped Gospel commitment, and some of which are teetering on the brink of the aforementioned humanistic liberalism.

But Mr. Beck's exhortation for his listeners to see the use of the term itself as not only a red flag and a place to raise questions, but a reason to leave your church is...well...overstated, to say the least. It demonizes a whole category of churches, and in the process attempts to eliminate the need for discernment by making up our minds for us.

And I do think that if we take his words at face value, they are undeniably a play on the fears of his listeners: fears of liberalism, socialism, and even communism and Nazism. These are genuine fears, but exploiting those fears with church people from a political bully pulpit is something that I don't appreciate as a pastor. And I pray that these words don't come across as from my very tall religious bully pulpit :)

Grant Park Reflections

Tuesday night I was in Grant Park, thanks to a guest ticket from Chris. I've never seen so many people in one place in my life. I have never been the most avid or vocal Obama supporter, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to witness history with hundreds of thousands of my closest friends. The energy was palpable, and the elation of some was simply overflowing. Hopefully I'll have some pics to post soon.

Yet towards the end of the festivities and on the trainride home, I began to feel sick and then sicker, and by the time I went to bed, I was shivering with the chills. The sickness served as a good reminder on this night. I believe that Obama's election is a huge step for a country built largely on the slave trade and slave labor, and I appreciate the excitement surrounding the election of a man whose father came from Kenya and his mother from Kansas. In an increasingly multi-ethnic America, Barack Obama represents a voice that has never been represented at the highest level of American politics. But as I watched the events, with nausea slowly building in my stomach, I was physically reminded that we still have a long way to go.

Most people who know me know that I'm a self-described raging moderate, and that this title suits me on multiple levels. I am friends with some raging liberals, some raging conservatives, and of course more raging moderates like me. At a moment like this, I urge all my friends not to overreact either way to this election. Obama is neither the Christ nor the Antichrist, though his supporters and detractors, respectively, seem to either implicitly or explicitly deem him such.

So whether you're elated, crushed, or "whatevs," I hope that you'll pray for President-Elect Obama.

And continue to do whatever you need to do in and with your community to seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God. Because though the President may be very powerful, he's got nothing on the slaughtered lamb, our crucified and risen king Jesus Christ, the only one truly worthy of our hope.

Aaron Weiss, Bad Hygiene and Vegetable Oil

mewithoutYou is an amazing band, and this makes me love them even more.