The besetting sin of pragmatic, style-conscious evangelicals has always been that they shamelessly borrow fads and talking points from the unbelieving world. Today’s evangelicals evidently don’t believe the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God (1 Corinthians 3:19). Virtually any theory, ideology, or amusement that captures the fancy of secular pop culture will be […]
via GTY Blog Post – The Injustice of Social Justice — by John MacArthur — Truth2Freedom’s Blog
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Note from Christine:
In my previous post, the subject of “Social Justice is not the mission of the church” shared a “Dallas Statement on Social Justice” which is currently being debated amongst Christian bloggers and whether or not a church leader should sign such an agreement.
The link above has proven to be one of the best posts (if not THE best post!) on the topic!
Here are some of my favorite excerpts:
Today, critical race theory, feminism, intersectional theory, LGBT advocacy, progressive immigration policies, animal rights, and other left-wing political causes are all actively vying for evangelical acceptance under the rubric of “social justice.”
Not every evangelical leader currently talking about social justice supports the full spectrum of radical causes, of course. Most (for the moment, at least) do not. But they are using the same rhetoric and rationale of victimhood and oppression that is relentlessly employed by secularists who are aggressively advocating for all kinds of deviant lifestyles and ideologies. Anyone who claims victim status can easily and effectually harness the emotional appeal of a plea for “social justice” both to gain support and to silence opposition.
That is the crux of the matter! The support of “social justice” causes (no matter how deviant the lifestyles and ideologies) are being used to gain support for such deviancies; but most of all (IMHO) TO SILENCE THE OPPOSITION!
We currently see this happening in the political world with the anti- President Trump (derangement) syndrome being utilized by the far leftists who STILL – 2 years later – can’t get over Hillary Clinton losing the election of 2016. Notice that despite an almost 98% of the media of mass deception promoting such extreme bias and spouting lies; a huge percentage of the American people are not buying their propaganda.
More importantly, the secular far leftists are trying to use their “social justice” mantra in order to squash biblical Christian beliefs online, in the media (both social and news), in schools, in colleges and universities etc. for the purpose of SILENCING THE OPPOSITION! This is why I am covering this topic at great length, so that the uninformed do NOT get caught up in the “social justice” trap that is being perpetrated by the haters of God, the Bible, Jesus Christ, and his saved followers.
Excerpt:
Indeed, as social justice rhetoric has gained currency among evangelicals, just about every cause that is deemed politically correct in the secular world is steadily gaining momentum among evangelicals. It would be folly to pretend the social justice movement poses no threat whatsoever to evangelical conviction.
Evangelicals seldom explicitly define what they mean by “social justice”—possibly because if they gave an accurate definition of where that term came from and what it means in the secular academy, they might lose a lot of evangelical support. Countless critics have pointed out that the rhetoric of “social justice” is deeply rooted in Gramscian Marxism. For many decades, “social justice” has been employed as political shorthand by radical leftists as a way of calling for equal distribution of wealth, advantages, privileges, and benefits—up to and including pure Marxist socialism.
This is EXACTLY why the leaders of Bible-based churches have created and signed that declaration! There is a needed dialogue now regarding the meaning of “social justice” and how it relates to true biblically-based Christian beliefs.
Excerpt:
Marxists, socialists, anarchists, and other radicals purposely use such arguments to foment resentment, class warfare, ethnic strife, tension between the genders, and other conflicts between various people groups, because in order to restructure society to fit their ideologies, they must first break down existing societal norms.
All of that is true, and the connection between Marxism and postmodern social justice rhetoric is surely a valid and important point. But it is even more vital that we as Christians employ the light of Scripture to scrutinize and evaluate the ideas currently being promoted in the name of social justice.
THAT’S the true goal of these radicals! They are working to “break down existing societal norms.”
Look, I’m going to share two links to a blog that I have been reading for several months. You will be shocked by what you read in them! However, as Christian believers in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we are CALLED to discernment regarding such attempts at breaking down existing societal norms! These posts go way beyond what media would EVER share about these two particular topics!
St. Sebastian’s Angels: A Network of Gay Catholic Priests.
Excerpt from Truth 2 Freedom’s post:
No Justice but God’s Justice
The Bible has much to say about justice. In the English Standard Version of the Bible, the word is used more than 130 times. It is never preceded by an adjective, except in Ezekiel 18:8, which speaks of “true justice.” It is occasionally paired with possessive pronouns. God Himself speaks of “my justice” twice in Scripture. Twice in prayers addressed to God, we read the expression “your justice.”
The point? There are not different flavors of justice. There is only true justice, defined by God Himself and always in accord with His character.
PLEASE read the rest at Truth 2 Freedom’s Blog.
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Let Us Not Provoke One Another or Envy One Another
Christians are the last people who should ever become offended, resentful, envious, or unforgiving. Love “does not take into account a wrong suffered” (1 Corinthians 13:5). The mark of a Christian is turning the other cheek, loving our enemies, praying for those who mistreat us. Christ is the example whose steps we are to follow: “While being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:23).
Hatred, envy, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, hostility, divisiveness, bitterness, pride, selfishness, hard feelings, vindictiveness—and all similar attitudes of resentment—are the self-destructive works of the flesh. The beneficial fruit the Spirit produces are the exact opposite attitudes: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” The NIV translates 1 Corinthians 13:5 this way: “[Love] keeps no record of wrongs.”
Such qualities, frankly, are in short supply in the rhetoric of those advocating for social justice.
Doing justice (i.e., biblical justice, not the secular substitute) together with loving mercy and walking humbly with God are all essential virtues. Those are the chief practical duties incumbent on every believer (Micah 6:8). Constantly complaining that we are victims of injustice while judging other people guilty of sins we cannot even see is antithetical to the Spirit of Christ.
As Christians, let’s cultivate the fruit of the Spirit, the qualities named in the Beatitudes, the virtues outlined in 2 Peter 1:5-7, and the characteristics of love listed in 1 Corinthians 13. Any notion of moral equity that omits or minimizes those righteous qualities has no right whatsoever to be called “justice.”
— Read on www.gty.org/library/blog/B180907
Talk Wisdom 