Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Are There Churches That AREN'T Preaching Social Justice?

So, last week Glenn Beck instructed churchgoers who watch his show to leave their churches if they are hearing messages about social justice. Social justice is, of course, what church leaders call the broad scope of discussion in which preachers talk about the importance of caring for the poor, the sick, the orphan, the widow, and the foreigner (I'm not quite sure, but I think I may have read that somewhere before...). So, of course, it has the word "social" in it, so Beck probably thinks we church leaders are secretly advocating a Marxist takeover when we are simply pretending to care about people who are hungry. I wonder if Glenn will close his Twitter account because it is a "social" networking site, just like the kind Hitler used.

I realize this is a topic that has been tirelessly blogged and commented over. I also realize that anyone who knows me or even reads this blog will have no doubt about where I stand on this issue. However, the best response I have read so far has not come from any theologian or church leader. Interestingly enough, it comes from a film critic. The great Roger Ebert wrote on his blog about this, and I thought it was worth sharing. I hope you'll visit the link below and enjoy Ebert's commentary as much as I did.

The title of his post? "Jesus Was a Nazi. So's Your Preacher."

In the meantime, if you're in the mood for some good old fashioned, Nazi/Communist/Socialist activity, go visit some of these great organizations:

International Justice Mission
WaterAid
North Texas Food Bank
Mission Arlington
Save Darfur
Toms Shoes
Free The Children

And don't forget. If you ever start to feel compassion towards other human beings, seek help immediately. That's your inner socialist demon trying to get control over you. It will probably pass eventually. Just tune in to Glenn's show, and it will all fade away.

1 comment:

Nancy said...

That is GREAT!!!!!