Glenn Beck and the Buzz About Social Justice

Ryan Messmore / March 17, 2010

Fox News commentator Glenn Beck recently raised concerns about churches promoting social justice.  He noted that the term “social justice” has been linked with Marxist economics and government redistribution of wealth, and he called it “a perversion of the gospel.”

Various Christian commentators have responded that social justice is a central theme in many Protestant and Catholic churches. A concern for the poor and justice in society, they argue, aligns with the teachings of Jesus and the Old Testament prophets.

All of this buzz reveals the great amount of passion and confusion surrounding the notion of social justice in our culture today.

Many have used the idea to advocate redistribution of wealth. Others, especially young adults, use “social justice” more generally, simply to signal their interest in issues like poverty, sex trafficking and social breakdown.  They rightly note a concern for the poor and others in need throughout the pages of the Bible.

The question isn’t whether it’s important to care for those in need, but how to act on that concern in ways that do the most good. (more…)