CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST
June 13, 2010
25424 Aldine-Westfield, Spring, TX. 77373
www.blakehart.com/cypresswoodbulletin.htm
PRAYER AND PETITIONS:
God’s will for our congregation Various friends, relatives and co-workers
Our nation, military and leaders The spread of good news
WHAT IS THE SOCIAL GOSPEL?
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).
A few months ago, radio and television host Glenn Beck stirred up a hornets nest when he told Christians that any preacher who spoke about the social gospel should leave that church and find one that doesn’t. There were a number of responses from both the religious right (1) and left (2) stating that Beck did not understand the meaning of “social gospel,” he applying it to socialism and communism. In a later show, he clarified what he was saying. If by “social gospel,” one means the voluntary giving to help the poor and oppressed, then that was fine, but if by “social gospel” one means the redistribution of wealth, then watch out for the socialists. The problem we have is when we here the words “social gospel” or “social justice” is that we do not realize that two different definitions are at work and it can become confusing. Let’s see if we can define the term and draw some ideas from it.
The first definition comes from its original use (3). Back in the late 1800s, the idea of the social gospel began to take form. At that time, ministers of the day saw the industrialization of society causing problems such as child labor and long work weeks, urbanization and immigration, and poverty. Abuses were occurring and they wanted to address these issues. It was a noble goal, and while many of these ministers had a high view of scripture in the beginning, they moved from individual salvation to social salvation. They saw capitalism as an evil and called for the state to develop welfare. Based on texts in scripture, they Christianized the movement. Eventually, the advocates of the social gospel aligned with socialists in the early 20th Century.
Liberal theology began to altar Christianity to fit its social views. Human sin was no longer a major emphasis in preaching; rather the evils of capitalism, and eventually of the United States itself, became the focus. Faith was not focused on God but on the state. It would be the state who would save us from the influences of money and power. In conjunction with this was the growing influences of liberal theology that denied the miraculous activity of God and that scripture was given to us by God. The religious conservatives of the day moved out of politics in the early 1920s and followed the idea that Christians should not be involved in such.
The social gospel became connected with a number of issues. When I was at the Sunset School of Preaching (now the Sunset International Bible Institute), any mention of helping the poor or discrimination was often considered the social gospel and liberal; therefore we stayed away from such discussions; such was the reaction from decades of rejection of the social gospel. It was also connected overseas to such ideas as liberation theology which basically was the idea again that anything coming from the United States was evil and that salvation came from socialist, and sometimes, communist movements. While the social gospel maintain its influences in educational institutions, it faded from influences through most of the 20th Century. Two World Wars did not help its utopian views. That changed during the last part of the 20th Century with the rise of the civil rights movement and President Johnson’s war on poverty. Theologians and preachers began to look again at what scripture had to say about these.
That brings us to the second definition of “social gospel” or “social justice.” The Bible does speak to social issues. Throughout there is concern for the poor, the orphaned, and the widows. The covenant of Moses had provisions for them as well as the stranger. When they harvested their fields, the Israelites were to go through only once so that the above could get food. The prophets criticized the nation for, among many things, the ignoring of such social issues. Jesus came, according to Luke 4:18-19, with a message to the poor and oppressed. In His parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25, it was taking care of the poor and visiting the sick and imprisoned that brought blessings.
Out of this, a number of conservatives have begun to emphasize the importance of addressing social issues. They want Christians to get out among the people, helping them, and this is important, preaching about the salvation from sin that Jesus brought as well. This is something that isn’t really new but is being emphasized as both practicing and preaching what we believe (4). This has led to such ideas as medical missions where doctors and medical personnel go overseas to treat the ill and preach the good news of Jesus. It has led to occupational missions where people take their skills overseas to train people in various fields and proclaim the Christ.
Congregations are reevaluating how they reach out to the unchurched. For instance, the Rochester church of Christ in Michigan goes into a inner city park in Detroit to feed and to talk to poor and homeless people (5). The Philo Road church of Christ in Urbana, Illinois has had over a number of years a “great give-a-way” in August to reach out to the poor of the community. In Houston, Texas, there is the Impact church of Christ in the inner city drawing many children to the good news. Many youth groups now practice going to places to build, paint, and repair houses as part of service projects and in the process to present Jesus to people.
We have two definitions of “social gospel” or “social justice.” Therein is the problem which confuses people. If one refers to racial discrimination as a social issue, many hearing that refer to definition number one when the person stating it is using definition number two (6). It doesn’t help that the religious left uses definition number two to get people drawn into their ideas in definition number one (7). Separating the two becomes difficult without a program of what people believe. N. T. Wright expressed the difficulty in an interview once (Wright being the leading Biblical scholar of today). He said that the left is upset with him because of his views on homosexuality and the right because of his views on the canceling of debts in the Third World. He also said the following in a recent work:
“Christians, particularly in the Western world, have for a long time been divided between
‘epistles people’ and ‘gospels people.’ The ‘epistles people’ have thought of Christianity
primarily in terms of Jesus’ death and resurrection ‘saving us from our sins.’ The ‘gospels
people’ have thought primarily in terms of following Jesus in feeding the hungry, helping
the poor, and so on. The ‘epistles people’ have often found it difficult to give a clear
account of what was going on in Jesus’ kingdom-announcement and his call to his followers
to be ‘perfect.’ The ‘gospels people’…have often found it difficult to explain why the Jesus
who was doing these remarkable things had to die, and die too soon. They have often found it
difficult, in consequence, to relate to the central themes of Pauline theology.
This either/or split does no justice, in fact, to either the epistles or the gospels. Still less does
it do justice to Jesus himself” (8).
Another problem is that the religious right aligns itself with one political party and the religious left with the other. When the first was in power, the religious left complained, but now that the other is in power, the religious right complains. And this is where Glenn Beck comes in. He sees the current party as a socialist party, even radical and communist (9). This has drawn the ire of the religious left, and in particular Jim Wallis. He doesn’t want to be called a socialist. The only problem is that he has far too often aligned himself with socialist causes, especially in economic and foreign policies (10). Wallis attempts to use definition number two to advocate various socialists and religious left views, continuing to confuse the matter, because he is definitely defined in the first definition.
What now? I think that definition number two is correct. Churches need to be out among people serving. The problem is how much should government be involved in all of this? The more government becomes involved, the more they control. For instance, the Catholic charities of Washington D.C. and Boston have been forced by law to get out of the adoption business because each city has laws stating that “gay” couples must be allowed to adopt without discrimination. The idea of the war on poverty was to eliminate poverty. It started with around a couple of hundred thousand people involved. Today, over twenty million are involved. The government has become the provider; the father; and so we find single mothers and children without male influences (11). Yet government cannot bring itself to look at the situation.
Government is important for major catastrophes such as earthquakes and hurricanes. The American military has the capability to respond quickly to such, and has. Dependence on government can be dangerous however. Neither the local, state or national government could get together before Hurricane Katrina and the people of New Orleans suffered. Yet the religious left wants more dependence on the government to handle social issues. They support government control of health care, environment, and dealing with poverty. A number on the religious right question this dependence (12).
The religious left stereotypes the religious right as hard-hearted and the media makes sure that this is well known. What isn’t emphasized is that it is often the religious right who goes into areas that have been destroyed. Look at all the religious groups in Haiti. Consider that it was churches who sent aid and went to the Gulf Coast after hurricane Katrina. Conservative groups often take care of orphans, operate crisis pregnancy centers, feed the poor, and do more. One person has asked the question; what religious left group has responded to such areas? One would think that the media would emphasize this yet we hear of none. Could it be that they are too dependent on government?
I do not have a better term to define “social gospel.” To just say gospel would be fine except that it too has been limited to the preaching of the need for a Savior without looking at other aspects of the good news. Social gospel and justice have too much baggage and is confusing. Right now all I can do is suggest that you find out the religious views being presented, and yes, the political views behind them in order to know what a person means when they say “social gospel.” Hopefully, one day someone will come up with a better term.
George B. Mearns
(1) Colleen Carroll Campbell, Whose Vision of Social Justice?, copied 3/19/2010 from www.eppe.org; Peter Wehner, Glenn Beck, Jim Wallis, and Falwell-esque Dangers of Mixing Politics and Faith, copied 3/19/2010 from www.eppe.org; Albert Mohler, Glenn Beck, Social Justice, and the Limits of Public Discourse, copied 3/15/2010 from www.albertmohler.com; Gary Smith and J.D. Wyneken, Before You Denounce ‘Social Justice,’ Mr. Beck, copied 3/17/2010 from www.crosswalk.com; John Leo, Code Words, copied 3/17/2010 from www.nationalreview.com; and from churches of Christ Tim Spivey, Reflections on “Justice” and Glenn Beck, copied 3/12/2010 from www.timspivey.com; Patrick Mead, 251 --- Social Justice?, copied 3/11/2010 from http://patrickmead.net/tentpegs
(2) Jim Wallis, What Glenn Beck Doesn’t Understand About Biblical Social Justice, copied on 3/25/2010 from http://blogspot.net
(3) See “Social Gospel” at www.answers.com; also Marvin Olasky, Beck Vs. Wallis, copied 3/31/2010 at http://townhall.com. For a very excellent understanding of right and left, see Dennis Prager, On Jews and Christians who embrace the left, copied on 3/30/2010, www.wnd.com and other sites such as townhall, Jewish World Review and Prager’s own website; a good overview from a Biblical perspective see E. Calvin Beisner, Evangelical Left Twists the gospel in “Social Justice” Fervor, copied 4/6/2010 at www.crosswalk.com; various authors in Is Social Justice at the Heart of the Gospel?, www.patheos.com copied on 4/17/2010; Stu Burgulere, What Glenn Beck meant about social justice, copied 4/17/2010 from http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith
(4) See Rodney Stark, Cities of God, for the practice of the early Christians in helping the poor and sick.
(5) See Joshua Graves, The Feast, Leafwood, 2009. He has since moved to the Nashville area but his father-in-law, Patrick Mead, relates ongoing efforts to reach out to people he calls “nobodies.”
(6) See Bobby Valentine, Social Concerns in Churches of Christ: Trends Since the King Years, 1950-2000, copied 3/17/2010 from http://stoned-campbelldisciple.blogspot.com. To read a very controversial sermon for its time, 1960, see Carl Spain, Modern Challenges to Christian Morals, at www.bible.acu.edu/crs/doc/mccm.htm. He was labeled “liberal” because of this sermon, not because of its theology but because of his stand on a social issue and why social issues continued to be labeled liberal until the 1980s when Christians again became engaged in political activity, right or wrong.
(7) Jim Wallis, op. cit.
(8) N.T. Wright, After You Believe, Harper One, 2010, p. 110-111. The “gospels people” are also known as Red Letter Christians, a title of a book from the religious left writer, Tony Campolo.
(9) Dennis Prager just wants the current party in control to admit that it is socialist, not as something evil, but as it is. See his It’s a Civil War: What We Do Now, copied on 3/23/2010 at www.jewishworldreview.com
(10) Peter Wehner, op. cit.
(11) The modern feminist movement has contributed to the rejection of father figures. See also Troy Anderson, Pray for an Atheist, copied 3/31/2010, at http://www.tothesource.org
(12) Tim Spivey, I Love Taxes, copied 4/1/2010 at http://www.timspivey.com; Rabbi Aryeh Spero, Obama’s Rev. Jim Wallis Misreads the Bible, copied 3/31/2010 at http://www.humanvents.com. Sean Parr, The Ugly Side of Social Justice, copied 5/16/2010 at http://www.americanthinker.com