Editor’ s Notes
Justice is Social by Fr. Richard Bayuk, c. pp. s., Editor
Recently a group of 14 Evangelical church leaders released a document called The Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel, which has since been electronically co-signed by 7,000 clergy members throughout the U. S.— and has brought about a great deal of discussion and opposing viewpoints within the evangelical community. Here are two of the quotes that many have found troubling.
The Bible’ s teaching( in the areas of race and ethnicity, manhood and womanhood, and human sexuality) is being challenged under the broad and somewhat nebulous rubric of concern for“ social justice.” If the doctrines of God’ s Word are not uncompromisingly reasserted and defended at these points, there is every reason to anticipate that these dangerous ideas and corrupted moral values will spread their influence into other realms of biblical doctrines and principles.
We emphatically deny that lectures on social issues( or activism aimed at reshaping the wider culture) are as vital to the life and health of the church as the preaching of the gospel and the exposition of Scripture.
Is it really possible to separate action for justice from the proclamation of the Word of God? In Luke’ s gospel, Jesus— in his first pubic words— declares his purpose and role:
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:“ The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them,“ Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Social Justice has always been a constitutive part of the Catholic / Christian faith tradition. It is grounded first of all in scripture— the Old Testament prophets and the teaching of Jesus. The prophets continually denounced injustice and called listeners to a new way of being in the world. In the above passage from Luke, Jesus identifies himself with this prophetic tradition. Are we— as people of faith— not also called to denounce injustices when we see them and call for more just ways of living together? continued on page 5
2 • The New Wine Press • October 2018