Anyone who has read the Gospels would have a hard time denying a focus on money and poverty and, yes, social justice issues. Jesus speaks extensively about economic issues. Working for justice in all areas of society is not peripheral to the proclamation of the "good news" of Jesus; it is central.
Regardless of whether you accept Jesus' divinity, his position that social justice is a crucial element of the right way of life is undeniable. Look at Matthew 5:3 or Matthew 19:16-26:
16 And behold, one came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?"
17 And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments."
18 He said to him, "Which?" And Jesus said,"You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness.
19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
20 The young man said to him, "All these I have observed; what do I still lack?"
21 Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."
22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
The concern for social justice is not new to the Gospels. The Torah requires the people of God to treat others well:
"You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. You shall not abuse any widow or orphan. If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will surely heed their cry" (Exodus 22:21-23).
Jesus built on the Torah and the Prophets in his ministry. His words presuppose a knowledge of Isaiah 58:66:
Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Glenn Beck, the Fox News commentator known for his tearful rants in defence of American liberty and against the evils of liberalism, has told his audience that it may be time to abandon most of the Christian churches.
In recent radio show, that was broadcast on more than 400 affiliates, he told his listeners to leave any church that uses the phrases "social justice" or "economic justice." "I beg you, look for the words 'social justice' or 'economic justice' on your church Web site," he said.
"If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words. Now, am I advising people to leave their church? Yes!" He went on to say, "If you have a priest pushing social justice go find another parish. Go alert your bishop and tell them. [Ask them] are you down with this whole social justice thing?"
Later, on his Fox television broadcast, he noted that both the communists and Nazis subscribed to the philosophy of "social justice." While social justice is part of many Protestant and Jewish traditions, Catholic commentators felt Mr. Beck's remarks were specifically targeted at their church.
...
In his commentary, Mr. Beck implied that the phrases "social justice" and "economic justice" would not be part of the New Testament. But Fr. Martin said that Jesus spoke specifically about social justice without having to use the exact term. "When Jesus tells his followers [in Matthew] what it's going to take to get into heaven, he doesn't talk about what church you go to or how you pray or how often. He talks specifically how you treat the poor." Over the past 150 years, Fr. Martin noted, successive popes have written encyclicals specifically on economic and social justice.
10 comments:
Morton, here is the definition of social justice on Wiki.
"Social justice is also a concept that some use to describe the movement towards a socially just world. In this context, social justice is based on the concepts of human rights and equality and involves a greater degree of economic egalitarianism through progressive taxation, income redistribution, or even property redistribution, policies aimed toward achieving that which developmental economists refer to as more equality of opportunity and equality of outcome than may currently exist in some societies or are available to some classes in a given society."
Morton, Beck is NOT a Marxist "progressive". You are. That's why you hold the values you hold.
Social justice is outright income redistribution which is outright Marxism which is outright "Progressive".
Don't you get it.
Canada has such a small manufactured population that is has been able to manage being Marxist in policy.
America could never be a Marxist nation.Never.
I also noticed how you never actually debated Beck or any facts he was making but only used churches as evidence he is wrong. Must not have a great case.
Anon,
Fair enough about debating Beck's substance on Marxism -- I don't think he's a fool -- but my point was just that his view of Christianity is flat out wrong. My guess is he knows that and said what he said to get attention to his other points -- the ones I didn't address (a bit like Elton John's recent suggestion Jesus was gay (Jesus does seem like a theme here)).
Christ believed in the separation of church and state:
Paying Taxes & Separation of Church & State: Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the
things that are God's. [Matthew 22:21]
Christ did not believe in "organized" religion:
Public Prayer & Displays of Faith: And when thou pray, thou shall not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in
the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But thou, when thou pray, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret…
[Matthew 6:6 & 7]
...and, he did not believe in greed and making money off religion:
Corporate Greed and the Religion of Wealth: In the temple courts [Jesus] found men selling cattle, sheep and doves and other
sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle;
he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. [John 2:14 & 15.] Watch out! Be on your guard against
all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. [Luke 12.15.] Truly, I say unto you, it will
be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. [Matthew 19:23] You cannot serve both God and Money. [Matthew 6:24.]
It's time we stop allowing religious leaders and organized religion to dictate our lives - Pope, Evangelicals, etc.
Enough already
Christ believed in the separation of church and state:
Paying Taxes & Separation of Church & State: Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the
things that are God's. [Matthew 22:21]
Christ did not believe in "organized" religion:
Public Prayer & Displays of Faith: And when thou pray, thou shall not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in
the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But thou, when thou pray, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret…
[Matthew 6:6 & 7]
...and, he did not believe in greed and making money off religion:
Corporate Greed and the Religion of Wealth: In the temple courts [Jesus] found men selling cattle, sheep and doves and other
sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle;
he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. [John 2:14 & 15.] Watch out! Be on your guard against
all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. [Luke 12.15.] Truly, I say unto you, it will
be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. [Matthew 19:23] You cannot serve both God and Money. [Matthew 6:24.]
It's time we stop allowing religious leaders and organized religion to dictate our lives - Pope, Evangelicals, etc.
Enough already
Thankfully, Wikipedia is always 100 percent correct. I love Wikipedia. However, it is only one source for information.
I never pictured James Morton being a Marxist. A Mario Lemieux fan? Perhaps, but not a Marxist.
One must also remember back in Jesus' time and before that, many people worshipped living "gods" who collected wealth for themselves from their subjects or slaves. These gods weren't into that social justice thing.
Amazing how some believe you can't have social justice and free enterprise at the same time.
To them you're either a Communist or Marxist if you believe in social justice - stupid of what.
You can have both.
Morton, Beck is NOT a Marxist "progressive". You are. That's why you hold the values you hold.
Social justice is outright income redistribution which is outright Marxism which is outright "Progressive".
Don't you get it.
Canada has such a small manufactured population that is has been able to manage being Marxist in policy.
America could never be a Marxist nation.Never.
I also noticed how you never actually debated Beck or any facts he was making but only used churches as evidence he is wrong. Must not have a great case.
Why you and other Liberals continue to let this type of mindless twaddle go unchallenged is a mystery.
If it's too exhausting to respond to (I wouldn't know where to begin, myself), then why bother having it on your blog at all? There's enough incoherence in the media at it is.
Probably a good point -- I am not a Marxist. I do believe in the free(ish) market and liberty -- but I also think we have an obligation to fellow humans to ensure that they have a decent standard of living. Incoherent? Perhaps.
Probably a good point -- I am not a Marxist. I do believe in the free(ish) market and liberty -- but I also think we have an obligation to fellow humans to ensure that they have a decent standard of living. Incoherent? Perhaps.
James, you ought to become a priest. That way you would have it all.
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