Advocacy groups respond to the conservative commentator’s call to leave churches that promote social justice. Plus, reactions to health care in the House and gay rights in Virginia.
By Tobin Grant
My comment:
Beck perhaps is reacting to clergy such as Jeremiah Wright and, to a lesser extent, Jim Wallis, who are reliably “progressive” in their theology, asserting that concern for the poor requires a big state, high taxes, redistribution of wealth, and so on. Those who point to the “red letters” of Jesus to support a liberal political program misuse religion.
But to say that a church’s concern for social justice is wrong goes way over the line. Social justice means, at a minimum, fairness, or a level playing field, for all, something even a conservative like Beck could support.
Of course, if social justice blots out every other point of doctrine for a church, then it is probably unbalanced, and Beck’s advice to run as fast as you can from it may make more sense than critics like Wallis are ready to admit.
About Stan Guthrie
Stan Guthrie is an editor at large for Christianity Today magazine and for the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview. His latest book is God's Story in 66 Verses. He also is author of All that Jesus Asks: How His Questions Can Teach and Transform Us, Missions in the Third Millennium: 21 Key Trends for the 21st Century, and A Concise Guide to Bible Prophecy. He is co-author of The Sacrament of Evangelism. Besides authoring, writing, and editing books, Stan is a literary agent, bringing together good authors, good books, and good publishers.
Stan writes the monthly Priorities colum for BreakPoint.org. He has appeared on National Public Radio's Tell Me More, WGN's Milt Rosenberg program, and many Christian shows, including The Eric Metaxas Show and Moody Radio's New Day Florida. A licensed minister and an inspirational speaker, he served as moderator for the Christian Book Expo panel discussion, Does the God of Christianity Exist, and What Difference Does It Make?
