Social Justice: The Greatest Threat to Christianity in the United States Today?

If you had to pinpoint the greatest threat to Christianity in the U.S. today, what might you suggest?
The Gay Rights agenda?
The political “Left”?
The current state of abortion laws?
Or, for those of us with a more “liberal” theological perspective, perhaps the “Religious Right”?
“Evangelicals”?
The “post-Christian era”?

Granted, it is hard to narrow the issue down. As with most things in life, I doubt there is a black-and-white, one-size-fits-all answer. However, I do think this is a question worth asking. Following are my thoughts, based on conversations, observations, and experiences I have had over the past few years as a Christian, a student at UNH, and an individual concerned with social justice issues.

I think one of the greatest enemies of the faith among this next generation is the false belief that that being a “good person” involved in “good works” is “good enough.” I realize this is certainly not a new idea; we see concern for overemphasizing good works as far back (and further) as when the cannon struggled over whether or not to include the book of James in the New Testament. I make no claim to originality in my proposal! However, I do think the church is in a position now, more so than in years past, that necessitates recognizing and countering the “good works = good people = good enough” paradigm. Allow me to explain by offering a few examples.

• Oprah Winfrey is doing a phenomenal job of getting the American public involved in responding to humanitarian needs. According to journalist Marcia Nelson in a recent interview on NPR, “...she (Oprah) has translated into general, mainstream language, the kinds of values that religions ordinarily or traditionally have taught us --virtues and practices like generosity, gratitude, forgiveness, self-examination, response to suffering...those are the kinds of messages that people have gotten from religions traditionally. And yet because these days there are not as many people in their houses of worship and a lot of them are in front of their T.V.s, Oprah can deliver a comparable kind of message and get to people; this message resonates.”

• The ONE campaign is an ever-growing movement of 2 million people and over 70 NGOs. Their mantra: “help make poverty history.” Their goal: “...help Americans raise their voice as ONE against the emergency of AIDS and extreme poverty, so that decision makers will do more to save millions of lives in the poorest countries.” This united effort is making significant strides toward eliminating poverty/AIDS in Africa and around the world.

• A recent Harvard Study asserts, “The spirit of volunteerism is alive and well; half of all 18 to 24 year olds are actively involved in community service and even more are interested in finding ways to get involved.”

• Bono appealed to America’s political leaders in his recent Keynote Address at the 54th National Prayer Breakfast, “Check Judaism. Check Islam. Check pretty much anyone. The one thing we can all agree -- all faiths, all ideologies -- is that God is with the vulnerable and poor...
  ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you.’ Jesus says that.²
  ‘Righteousness is this: that one should give away wealth out of love for Him to the near of kin and to the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and the beggars and for the emancipation of the captives.’ ³ The Koran says that.
  ‘Thus sayeth the Lord: Bring the homeless poor into the house, when you see the naked, cover him, then your light will break out -- then your light will be like the dawn and your recovery will be speedily and spring forth; then the Lord will be your rear guard.’ The Jewish Scripture says that.”

The Church is also recognizing its mandate and call to respond to social justice issues and be the hands and feet of Jesus. Over the past century, the evangelical world at large has oft neglected its duty to care for those whom Jesus referred to as “the least of these.” It seems that we are now seeing a resurgence of compassion. Many churches in the evangelical world are now placing great emphasis on putting faith into action (to cite a couple of leading examples: Bill Hybels/Willow Creek, Rick Warren/Purpose Driven Church etc.).

I welcome, fully support and strongly advocate for continued emphasis on the fact that biblical faith necessarily leads to action on behalf of the poor and the oppressed. We must preach this in our churches. I am not questioning this as a fundamental component of saving faith. I am, however, suggesting that in a time when social justice is the “in thing,” if the church is not careful, we will do nothing more than perpetuate this false belief that good works can save you.

The “good person” paradigm extends back to the Saducees and Pharisees of Jesus’ day – “whitewashed tombs” Jesus called them, because they looked great on the outside, but neglected the root problem of the heart, which is “deceitful above all things”. And 2,000 years later, not much has changed. We have a profound responsibility to address the heart behind the actions.

It is possible that this next generation’s humanitarian focus presents a unique opportunity to engage individuals in a dialogue of what true faith is all about. To do this, we must address the “WHY?” of our response to social injustice. We cannot afford to ignore the question of motivation: What is our motivation for serving the poor? Why do we bother to care? As we raise these questions, we must also be prepared to offer answers. Allow me to offer three suggestions.

1. Our response to injustice should be motivated by the belief that people are made in the image of God and, therefore, people are valuable.

2. Our response to injustice should be motivated by a desire to reflect the heart of God. We believe that God is a God who is for the oppressed and the marginalized, a God who is close to the brokenhearted. This belief motivates us to be a voice for the voiceless and inspires us to reflect the love and compassion of Christ in our own lives. In the book In His Image, Dr. Paul Brand asserts, “[God] is asking us to be the chief bearers of His likeness in the world. As spirit, He remains invisible on this planet. He relies on us to give flesh to that spirit, to bear the image of God.”

3. Our response to injustice should be motivated by a natural overflow of our own experience. We must recognize that, as Jerry Bridges so eloquently puts it, “On our best days we are never beyond the need of God’s grace, and on our worst days we are never beyond the reach of God’s grace.” The grace, redemption, and restoration Christ demonstrates in our own lives, allows us to empathize with others in need of this encounter.

Thoughts?