The Triad Conservative
November 26, 2015
We have seen over the years various political operatives on the left use the term “social justice” to give their activities a sheen of religious legitimacy. One of these is the head of the North Carolina NAACP– the Rev. William Barber. Barber had a recent op-ed piece in the Raleigh News and Observer that took evangelicals to task for the political beliefs many (but not all) tend to share.
The tendency to appeal to “social justice” as a justification for economic redistribution and ever-increasing charity programs is not limited to activist black clergy. This type of blatantly political appeal is also seen heavily within the liberal mainline Protestant denominations and also within contemporary Judaism.
Dr. Mark Creech completely shatters the theological and practical basis for these empty political appeals. He illustrates how these are based upon misrepresentations of scripture, and a profoundly misguided reliance upon governmental measures.
Barber had specifically taken issue with the perspectives held by many evangelicals. But Creech aims directly at Barber’s rhetoric:
When Barber claims, as he does in his latest editorial, that we shouldn’t engage in the politics of “hate, harm and hurt,” yet then turns around and espouses such vitriol for Christians who differ from him politically, it’s hard to take him seriously.
And he concludes:
The heart of the Gospel is that the impoverished of spirit, those blinded by sin, those imprisoned by the bonds and chains of iniquity, those oppressed by sin’s afflictions can be made free in Jesus Christ – not the flawed socialistic dogma and other courses of action pursued under the slogan “social justice.” And that’s not religious extremism or “a perverted interpretation of faith,” but totally “evangelical.”
I think we need to be entirely frank about those from various faith traditions who misrepresent the message of scripture in order to serve the objectives of political progressivism and Marxism. They are not being straightforward with us, even though they are often portrayed in a positive manner by the mainstream media. Whether or not it is their intention, their work tends to deceive and to disseminate false teachings.
Ironically, Barber calls for “public morality”, but stands unapologetically allied with the political forces that champion legal abortion on demand, same-sex marriage and the breakdown of the family.
Dr. Creech directly squared off against Rev. Barber. Score it a TKO.
This article was posted with permission of the Triad Conservative
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