It seems like every time you turn around, whether on social media or in mainstream media, social justice is being discussed. But before you start thinking that all justice is the same and that social justice and biblical justice are equal, think again. In last Thursday’s blog, I began sharing some of the differences between social justice and biblical justice, and I’m going a little deeper today. Because, if the Bible-believing church abandons genuine justice in favor of the destructive cultural counterfeit, who’ll be left to uphold and defend the truth? The stakes are very high.
Justice – The Word and Its Meaning
Justice, according to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary of the American language, means straight or close like a plumb line. Justice refers to a standard or basis for morality. It is alignment to a standard of goodness. In fact, goodness or righteousness is synonymous with justice in the Bible many times.
Antonyms to justice are injustice or evil. An action can be said to be unjust if it is out of alignment then with a moral standard. So, where do you get that moral standard? Well, before I answer that, let’s back up a little bit.
First of all, when the Bible tells us God’s mandate for all of us (as we conduct ourselves during this 60, 70, or 80 years on this spinning globe called Earth), justice is always a part of it. In Micah 6:8, we read, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the law require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” Notice that justice is listed first.
Gerry Breshears, a theological professor at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, explains what the Hebrew word, tzedek, translated justice, actually means. He says, “A life in which all relationships, human-to-human, human-to-God and human-to-creation are well-ordered and harmonious. Justice, in this sense, is similar to shalom, the deep peace and harmony that result from relationships in alignment with God’s perfect moral standard.
In a practical sense, justice means a lot of things, like following the rule of law, showing impartiality, paying what you promised, not stealing, not swindling, not taking bribes, and not taking advantage of the weak because they’re too uninformed or unconnected to stop you from taking advantage of them. (That’s according to Pastor Kevin DeYoung, and I agree.)
The Issues with Social Justice
We do justice when we give all human beings their due as creations of God. (Tim Keller said that…he was actually paraphrasing Aristotle.) The last part of this sentence—as creations of God—is what I want to zoom in on. Justice requires recognizing what it means to be human, that we all possess inherent dignity created in the image of God. The differences should be more clear, but in a social media driven-world, I thought I’d go about it a little bit differently. Let me boil it down to what SJWs—social justice warriors—like and dislike. You know, with the thumbs up and the thumbs down. Today, let’s talk about what they like—what gets the old thumbs up.
Equality
First, there’s equality. But, the SJWs are going to phrase it a little differently; what it really is is unequal equality. As Creator, God has ultimate authority over a man and overall creation. Isaiah 45:18 says, “For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!) ‘I am the LORD, and there is no other.’” Could this be any more clear? He said, “I am the Lord, and there is no other,” but if we’re an SJW, we don’t like all that talk of ultimate authority. Our increasingly postmodern culture tells us that we, not the Holy Scriptures, are the supreme authority. We determine what’s good and what’s true.
Diversity
Next, diversity is good as long as it’s the same kind of different as me. Now, why would anyone want to exchange their individuality and their uniqueness for groupthink and robotic sameness? The false religion of ideological social justice lures people by providing them with something they all want—a source of identity, community, and purpose. But like any other cult, once you’re in, it’s really hard to escape, especially when everyone around you says the same thing.
Diversity simply means difference or variety. The Bible presents diversity as a wonderful thing, but only when it’s balanced by unity. God created a world of tremendous diversity; all you have to do is open your eyes to see that. There’s not one kind of flower or tree or insect or person but a great diversity of each. Of the billions of people who have walked this earth, no two are alike.
God clearly loves diversity. He also loves unity, though, and all people share a deep unity as image-bearers of God. In this most profound sense, we’re all equal. We have a unity but not a uniformity.
Moral Relativism
Next, SJWs love moral relativism. At its root, ideological social justice is atheistic because, according to this ideology, God does not exist. Objective truth doesn’t exist either. Everything is relative to the identity group. There are no fixed points, no publicly authoritative facts or truths that transcend groups or cultures. There are only perspectives or interpretations—your group’s truth or my group’s truth, but no longer the truth. As Nancy Pearson explains, “Truth has been redefined as a social construction so that every community has its own view of the truth, and it’s based on its experience and perspective, which cannot be judged by anyone outside the community.”
Tolerance
Next on the like list is tolerance, but really, it’s selective tolerance. You know, tolerance for those agreeing with me.
Equality of Outcome
Rounding out the likes is something they call equality of outcome. One thing that makes America unique—and not only among nations today but also throughout history—is that we are a society striving for equality of opportunity. But today, that’s been reworked into equality of outcome, and not just for the individual but for entire groups.
Well, Exodus 23:2 says, “Do not follow the crowd when it does what’s wrong, and don’t allow the popular view to sway you into offering testimony for any cause if the effect will be to pervert justice.” Proverbs 13:20 says, “Walk with the and wise become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”
The obvious flaws with all these things the world “likes” will become more obvious as we look at the dislikes in those who strive for social justice over biblical line. But that’s for next Thursday’s blog.
Until then, be sure to check out my video series, Ask P-Ro, on my YouTube channel. You’ll find many engaging, timely, and topical discussions there. I also invite you to join us at The Summit—online or in-person—every Sunday morning at 9am & 11am Mountain time.
~Pastor Rob
aka, P-Ro