Monday, March 29, 2010
Social Justice Rejoinder
Here’s my response to two comments made on my previous post:
While God calls us to do those things, there is also 2 Thess. 3:10 that says if a man doesn’t work, he doesn’t eat .... as well as Proverbs 29 that talks about true justice coming from only God. While Glenn may have made sweeping generalizations, the point is a church that focuses on the social justice verses but ignores the responsibility verses - is in sin and disobedience. many churches do this. and as blessed as we are in America, there are very few within our borders that are genuinely voiceless and “poor”. The “poor” in our country are richer than most of the world. So keep that in mind…
Posted by Ben on 03/27 at 08:39 PM
The confusing part about the social justice debate always takes me back to Luke 10:30-37(a priest and a Levite passed him by on the other side or maybe even went and told someone what they saw).However the Samaritin took action,bandages,oil and wine and housing.The priest and the Levites in those days were the “good guys"the advocates for the masses if I may.So who helped the man in need.Sometimes I think people confuse guilt with compassion and pass some by hoping to advocate for him to the government.I am not as concerned about what you think of the poor but more about what you do (like the Samaritin).And its amazing that those that advocate for the poor often saying we all could pay a little more to Ceasar to help the poor.They sit under tax exempt status groups that pay no federal tax,maybe its time that be re-examined imagine how many poor people could be helped if they just started paying their fair share.Posted by Samaritin on 03/28 at 08:57 AM
You mention that churches that focus on social justice to the exclusion of “responsibility verses” are in sin and disobedience. So I must ask - where are these churches? Are there specific churches you have in mind? Because I don’t know of any myself. I think if you actually look for such examples, you will find very few. I think you would find it much easier to find churches that NEVER preach social justice, and only preach an individualistic gospel about getting souls into heaven. Are these churches also in sin and disobedience?
I ask this question because I suspect that the real issue for Beckists and politically conservative Christians is not that social justice is preached too MUCH, but that it is preached AT ALL. Moreover I believe it is the assertion that God may care more about how we vote in ways that go beyond abortion and gay marriage bills that really bothers Beckists. I am not saying this is true of you, but I believe that it is true of Beck.
I have to say I think y’all’s exegesis is pretty thin. You mention Proverbs 29 (I’m assuming verse 26) which says that many seek the favor of a ruler, but it is from YHWH that one gets justice. It is preceded by verse 14 and verse 4 (and many others, some of which I listed in the original post - by the way, how do you interpret those?), which suggest leaders and their nations are still held accountable for doing justice to the poor. Even if true justice comes from God (as do true love, true beauty, and truth itself) does that then mean it is not our duty also to do justice (Micah 6:8), even if it “approximate” justice? Do I no longer have to love my neighbor if true love comes from God?
As for the parable of the man robbed on the Jericho road - do you really think the priest and Samaritan passed by because they thought the Roman occupiers would take care of the beaten man? How do you think the original hearers of that parable understood it? How would you react if Jesus said that a conservative Christians passed by, a liberal Christian passed by, but then a gay Muslim stopped and helped the beaten man? Would that rankle a bit?
However, I do take your point. Liberals who think they can abdicate personal responsibility to love their neighbor by passing the buck to social service government agencies are not loving their neighbor. But neither are conservatives who practice conscience-salving individual acts of charity that do nothing to address the structural problems that keep people poor. In Alabama, we pay very little property tax, but sales tax on groceries is 10%. This means in a given year, the poorest people in the state are still giving to the government the equivalent of 1.5 months of groceries. So the poor are subsidizing the property of homeowners with their food. We are taking food out of the mouths of the poor to pay for education and local service for the wealthiest people. But I find that many Christians are happy to bring canned goods to food closets rather than the far less sexy and far more boring work of calling their representatives to advocate for the poor. So who really loves their neighbor?
While you can certainly go serve a meal in a homeless shelter, that doesn’t help them get or keep a job. Until you get to know the people who are homeless and learn about their stories, you can maintain the illusion that they are poor “because they don’t work.“They DO work, many of them, but their jobs do not pay enough for them to have safe and reliable housing. Many of them also do not have reliable transportation in a culture that requires cars. So people who advocate for social justice also advocate for public transportation. So they CAN get to work.
So, no, I don’t buy the argument that social justice is a cop out for loving your neighbor. Much the reverse, in fact.
The final point you want me to keep in mind is that the poor in America are better off than the poor in some countries. That is true. I have been in developing countries where the poor have no social services whatsoever. But you can also make the counterpoint that the poor in developed nations are MUCH better off than the poor in our country. They have public health care, for example. And the longevity and health statistics in those countries are much better than the averages in ours.
I would also argue that poverty is not measured in absolute terms. Poverty is not just how much money you have, but how much access you have to political power, how much access you have to employment opportunities to change your station in life, etc. Poor people in the US are far less upwardly mobile than in some other developed countries because they don’t have access to those social services. Again, you have to own a car in many cities in order to hold down a job. That’s a big hurdle for many. While they may be better off than someone without a job in Bolivia, their prospects for changing their future may be about the same.
That, in my opinion, is why Micah 6:8 says we should do mercy AND justice. We don’t merely bandage people’s wounds - we try to stop people from robbing them.
