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Yesterday on the blog we introduced a concept I’m calling Social Justice Worldview. It’s a way to look at the world that divides humanity into two tribes: oppressors and the oppressed. This worldview is pervasive throughout the Academy, the media, the political elite, and the culture at large. It’s made it’s way into sports, Hollywood, and your local coffee shop. Today I want to show you why Social Justice Worldview is a bad strategy to fight the evils of racism. In doing so, I’ll contrast this worldview with the biblical worldview on one point: the doctrine of sin. Consider these six truths about a biblical doctrine of sin and how they contrast with Social Justice Worldview:   

1) Sin Has a Fixed Standard

Romans 3:9 says, What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin. What does Paul mean by sin? He describes sin beginning in verse 11. It’s a failure to seek God, failure to do good, deceitfulness, cursing, bitterness, shedding blood, a failure to fear God and more. But he moves closer to defining sin in verse 20—by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. In other words, the law is the fixed standard that shows us what sin is. 1 John 3:4 puts it this way: Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

What is the standard for sin according to Social Justice Worldview? Scott David Allen writes, “For believers in social justice, the answer can be expressed in one word: ‘Oppression.’ In this worldview, evil doesn’t originate in the human heart. There is no doctrine of the fall or human depravity. Rather, evil is sourced outside of man, in society, and specifically in social structures, systems, institutions, laws, and cultural norms that perpetuate inequalities and grant one group power and privileges at the expense of others.”[1]

Perhaps the greatest problem with this conception of sin is that it is an ever-changing standard! As Hitler is losing power, days before the collapse of Nazi Germany, is he less guilty because he has less power to oppress? Who decides what’s considered oppression? Opinions on what constitutes oppression have changed drastically just in the past few decades!

To be clear: the Christian worldview teaches that oppression is sinful! But it’s not the definition of sin, but one type of sin. The Christian worldview has a fixed standard of sin. Social Justice Worldview does not.

But here’s the painful truth: the bad news in the Christian worldview is actually worse than the bad news according to Social Justice. If you judge yourself according to Social Justice Worldview, you might be able to call yourself “Not Guilty” if you’re not in an oppressive group. But the Scripture teaches that apart from Christ, no one can call themselves “Not Guilty” in the eyes of God.  

2) Sin is the Work of Individuals

Romans 3:10-11 says “as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Paul carefully and clearly condemns individuals. Yes, it’s true the entire human race has fallen into sin together through Adam’s sin. But every human being who has ever lived since (except for Christ) is also an individual sinner. Apart from Christ, no one is righteous, no one understands, no one seeks for God, no one does good, every individual is a sinner.

Who does the work of sin according to Social Justice Worldview? Sin is systemic, you are a sinner by your participation in an oppressive tribe. Again Scott David Allen is helpful: “There is no more far-reaching belief in ideological social justice than its denial of the individual. Based on this radical presupposition, your personal history, life experiences, choices, and deeply held beliefs don’t matter. The only things that matter in defining who you are, are your group affiliations.”[2]

Consider one example from within evangelicalism. In March 2019, Ekemini Uwan (ee-kim-in-ee ooh-wan) addressed the Sparrow Conference for Women in Dallas, Texas. At this Christian conference meant to inspire Christians to be peacemakers, Uwan said this: “When we talk about white identity, then we have to talk about what whiteness is. Well, the reality is that whiteness is rooted in plunder, in theft, in slavery, in enslavement of Africans, genocide of Native Americans.… It’s a power structure, that is what whiteness is.… Because we have to understand something—whiteness is wicked.”[3]

Let’s be clear: white people have committed plunder, theft, slavery, genocide, violence, and more. If you have committed these or other sins, you need to repent. If these or other sins have been committed against you, you can be restored. But rather than condemn specific racist acts and attitudes committed by individual persons, Social Justice Worldview chooses instead to lob grenades at a system called whiteness. The Christian worldview says sin is the work of individuals. Social Justice Worldview says sin is the work of corrupt systems.

Once again, the bad news in the Christian worldview is actually worse than the bad news according to Social Justice. If you judge yourself according to Social Justice, you can breathe easy because it’s the system, not you, that’s being judged. The Christian worldview teaches that people, not systems are going to give an account before God on Judgment Day.  

3) Sin Condemns Everybody

Not only is sin committed by individuals, sin condemns everybody! This is the main thrust of Paul’s argument beginning in Romans 3:9. He wants his readers to understand that every group, every tribe is equally condemned because of the curse of sin. Consider Romans 3:9-12, "What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’”

Romans 3 puts everybody into one tribe: sinner. White and black, oppressor and oppressed, rich and poor, Republican and Democrat, male and female, Gentile and Jew—all of us are sinners. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn famously put it this way: “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either -- but right through every human heart -- and through all human hearts.”

Who does sin condemn in Social Justice Worldview? According to this worldview, certain sins can only be committed by certain tribes. Consider, for example, the sin of racism. For years we’ve defined racism at PBC as any belief or behavior that elevates one race or ethnicity over another. But advocates of Social Justice Worldview have redefined racism as Prejudice + Power. The end result of this redefinition is that only whites can commit racism because only whites have power to oppress. Some adherents take this idea even further. Some say not only that only white people can be racist, but white people are always racist.

Robin DiAngelo, in her New York Times best-seller White Fragility, argues that racism is “a complex, interconnected system”[4] into which all white people are socialized to such a degree that “racism is unavoidable and … it is impossible to completely escape having developed problematic racial assumptions and behaviors.”[5]

The Christian worldview says sin condemns everybody from every group. Social Justice Worldview says sins like racism only condemn certain groups.

Yet once again, the bad news in the Christian worldview is actually worse than the bad news according to Social Justice. If you judge yourself according to Social Justice Worldview, you can work to be accepted if you repent of your implicit racism and help overthrow systemic racism. The Christian worldview teaches there is no work you can do to be accepted. Nothing. In fact, even your best works aren’t enough. As the prophet writes in Isaiah 64:6, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”  

4) Sin Corrupts Totally

In Romans 3:13-18, Paul writes: “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

This is an example of the biblical doctrine of total depravity. Oft misunderstood, this doctrine doesn’t teach that every person is as depraved as they could be. Instead, total depravity teaches that every part of every person is totally corrupted by sin. Your mind, will, emotions, heart, body, soul, all of it is corrupted by sin.

What does sin corrupt, in the worldview of Social Justice? Social Justice believes in total depravity, but not in a total depravity of persons but a total depravity of oppressive cultures, systems and groups. Consider a few examples of this line of thinking in popular culture. In 2018, Suzanna Walters wrote an opinion piece in The Washington Post entitled, “Why Can’t We Hate Men?”[6] In 2017, law professor Ekow Yankah wrote an opinion for the New York Times entitled, “Can My Children Be Friends with White People?”[7] Or there’s Michael Harriot’s piece for The Root entitled “White People are Cowards.”[8] The message is clear: you are totally corrupted, not by your humanity but by your participation in an oppressive group.

The same logic is being applied against churches: David Gushee (who six years ago made headlines when he affirmed LGBTQ+ as compatible with Christianity)  writes—“You are either for full and unequivocal social and legal equality for LGBT people, or you are against it, and your answer will at some point be revealed. This is true both for individuals and for institutions. Neutrality is not an option. Neither is polite half-acceptance. Nor is avoiding the subject. Hide as you might, the issue will come and find you.”[9]

Once again, the bad news in the Christian worldview is actually worse than the bad news according to Social Justice. If you judge yourself according to Social Justice Worldview, you can open up your eyes to the total corruption of evil systems and become woke. The Christian worldview teaches that you are so corrupt you cannot wake up. You’re not asleep, you’re dead. And unless someone resurrects you there is no hope for you at all.  

5) Sin Will be Punished The Christian worldview understands that every evil will be punished in the end. Nobody really gets away with it. Paul puts it this way in Romans 3:19, “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.”

Don’t misunderstand: the fact that the entire world will eventually be held accountable to God doesn’t mean we don’t care about punishing evildoers now. We should. But we don’t feel the same pressure to right every wrong now when we understand that the King is returning. As Georg Sher writes, even the best attempts at justice today are only “approximate justice.”[10]

How must sin be punished in the worldview of Social Justice? As a worldview, this ideology has no confidence in coming judgment or an eternal Judge. Therefore, every day is a new opportunity to right every wrong now. This is fleshed out in what is commonly called “cancel culture.”

Although examples of cancel culture are legion, consider just one a few miles from here. The article from WTKR begins: “Death threats at a donut shop—it’s a new reality at Amazing Glazed in Chesapeake.”[11] Why? The owner posted a picture on her personal Facebook page of her husband and friends before they left to attend the rally for President Trump near the White House on January 6. Her husband left before the rioting started at the capitol, but because she posted the picture online, she’s been accused of being racist, being a terrorist, and has even had threats against her 9-month-old grandchildren.

As troubling as stories like this are, they make perfect sense in Social Justice Worldview. If every oppression must be overthrown, and there is no God who will come and make every wrong untrue, then the oppressors must be punished. Now.

Yet again, the bad news in the Christian worldview is actually worse than the bad news according to Social Justice. Social Justice Worldview can take away your popularity, fame, wealth, and more. But it cannot touch your soul. The Christian worldview teaches that God has the authority to punish your soul forever in hell. As Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”  

6) Sin Can Be Forgiven

Finally, the good news. The Christian worldview has the one thing that Social Justice Worldview desperately lacks: redemption. Yes, the bad news of the Christian worldview is worse than any other worldview could ever imagine. But the good news is infinitely better. Yes, we’re all corrupted by sin. But by the grace of God we can be forgiven because of the work of Christ on our behalf. In conclusion, consider the Gospel from Romans 3:21-25: 21

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

 

[1] Scott David Allen, Why Social Justice Is Not Biblical Justice: An Urgent Appeal to Fellow Christians in a Time of Social Crisis (Grand Rapids: Credo House Publishers, 2020), 64.

[2] Allen, 61.

[3] sistamatictheology, On-Stage Interview with Ekemini Uwan (Dallas: Sparrow Conference for Women, 2019), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9JQntpn71I.

[4] Robin J. DiAngelo, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism (Boston: Beacon Press, 2018), 3.

[5] DiAngelo, 4–5.

[6] Suzanna Danuta Walters, “Why Can’t We Hate Men?,” Washington Post, June 8, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-cant-we-hate-men/2018/06/08/f1a3a8e0-6451-11e8-a69c-b944de66d9e7_story.html.

[7] Ekow N. Yankah, “Can My Children Be Friends With White People?,” The New York Times, November 11, 2017, sec. Opinion, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/11/opinion/sunday/interracial-friendship-donald-trump.html.

[8] Michael Harriot, “White People Are Cowards,” The Root (blog), June 19, 2018, https://www.theroot.com/white-people-are-cowards-1826958780.

[9] David Gushee, “On LGBT Equality, Middle Ground Is Disappearing,” Religion News Service (blog), August 22, 2016, https://religionnews.com/2016/08/22/on-lgbt-equality-middle-ground-is-disappearing/.

[10] George Sher, Approximate Justice (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1998).

[11] Kofo Lasaki, “Death Threats, Negative Reviews Target Trump-Supporting Chesapeake Doughnut Shop after Capitol Riot,” WTKR, January 9, 2021, https://www.wtkr.com/news/death-threats-negative-reviews-target-trump-supporting-chesapeake-doughnut-shop-after-capitol-riot.