Statement on Social Justice

Evangelical Protestant churches, including conservative Baptist churches, have been seeing an increase in the infiltration of the social justice movement and critical race theory. One of the most prolific debates taking place on social media is between Baptist pastor Thabiti Anyabwile and pastors/theologians such as John MacArthur, Phil Johnson, and James White. Thabiti Anywabile is a proponent of the social justice movement, while MacArthur, Johnson, and White are not. Our Presbyterian brethren are facing the same insidious enemy. What are the social justice movement and critical race theory all about? Think of Black Lives Matter, white privilege opponents, and the woke movement all wrapped up into one. This line of thinking is working its way into the most likely of places: the Church. The problem is that many well-meaning Christians are being lead astray by its arguments. I wrote this in another venue:

"The SJ (social justice) position is basically bad theology. Sure, it has a political component, but it is nothing short of the Serpent's words of deception in Genesis 3:1, "Indeed, has God said..." Proponents of SJ reject any call to scripture or the Gospel as an attempt to deflect from their perceived view of social injustice. Caught up in the SJ movement are well-meaning believers who do see the evils of judging by skin color or ethnicity. Their heart-strings being pulled, they are either blind to or are willing to ignore the unbiblical foundation of the SJ movement. In other words, egalitarianism, even though it is in league with enemies of the gospel, is a necessary evil. The problem is that when a person becomes intimate with such tactics, the philosophy that drives those tactics rubs off. There is more of a willingness to depart from biblical principles in other areas."

In response to the threat that the social justice movement and critical race theory presents to the clear teaching of the gospel, a group of pastors and theologians drafted a written response called, "The Statement of Social Justice and the Gospel." The website I just linked to includes the entire statement, as well as the initial signers and subsequent signers of the statement. The URL is: The Statement on Social Justice & the Gospel | For The Sake of Christ & His Church