Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

A storm has been gathering over the better part of the last decade, and is now bearing down on Christianity. That storm is the intrusion of social justice doctrines into the church and the uncritical acceptance of them by often well-meaning Christians. This is the problem Scott David Allen sets out to address in Why Social Justice is not Biblical Justice. At the beginning, and throughout the book, Allen affirms his genuine concern for the oppressed, so this is no flippant disregard of injustices in society. Rather, Allen believes that the definition of justice now predominant in American society does not match the biblical definition of justice, and in fact reflects a worldview that is antithetical to basic biblical principles. Christians cannot, Allen thinks, embrace what he calls "ideological social justice" without ultimately compromising biblical orthodoxy. Early in the book, Allen defines biblical justice, noting that at root it describes what is consistent with an objective standard of morality, God's moral law. In this way, justice is less about what human beings do to each other and more about the standard by which their actions are judged. Allen breaks down justice further into communitive justice (the command to live peacefully, harmoniously, and generously with each other, ensuring that all are given their due) and distributive justice (impartiality and equality by those in authority over others in homes, churches, and government, and their responsibility to correct and punish injustice). This two-fold definition of justice has a long pedigree, though Allen includes some of what other writers have called distributive justice in his category of communitive justice. Nevertheless, he notes that while God hates injustice, and will judge it perfectly, that perfect judgment will not come until the return of Christ, a return in which not only God's justice but also His grace and mercy will find their culmination. Allen adds, contra F. A. Hayek, that there is a sense in which it is appropriate to talk about social justice, stating that some societies are marked by high, though still imperfect, degrees of earthly justice. He adds that such societies are almost universally those that have been influenced by a biblical view of justice, and on this point I am reminded of an early statement by the Catholic Church that social justice is defined as the ability of "associations or individuals to obtain what is their due, according to their nature and vocation," and is "linked to the common good and to the exercise of authority." Allen also offers a brief overview of the development of ideological social justice ideology, placing the blame for its rise on the departure from a God-centered world of ideas before the Enlightenment, progressing through the secularizing effects of the Age of Reason (and science), and then to the postmodern world in which Marxism and similar ideas have provided a substitute for the Christian religion in a post-Christian age. This leads to Allen contrasting the "core tenets" of ideological social justice with biblical Christianity, much of which is a fairly standard explanation and critique of social justice ideas. Allen does, however, hit on deeper points, including that social justice is incompatible with Christianity because it has no account of the equality of the sin nature of individuals (and thus the the groups they are a part of), and because social justice allows no room for forgiveness or grace in its scheme, leaving one group as a kind of perpetual debtor to another. Here, Allen reiterates the Christian's duty to fight injustice, but clarifies that we cannot adopt the world's definition of the term, particularly when its definition flies so flagrantly in the face of biblical truth and God's moral law. In addition to refuting its definition of justice, Allen challenges the social justice interpretation of equality and diversity, noting that that they also are inconsistent with the biblical definitions of those terms, in which equality means the equal dignity we all have as creations of God, and diversity means the diversity that He built into the world and us, His creations. Allen further notes that diversity and equality in the social justice regime eventually demand conformity to their definitions, or exclusion from society. Allen adds an interesting treatment on how the biblical and social justice worldviews understand poverty, its causes, and the Christian's duty in response, writing that the Christian's duty is to aid the poor not by advocating leveling social and government programs, but rather by giving charitably, encouraging the right perspective on wealth and poverty, and inculcating the attitudes and conditions that lead to greater prosperity for peoples and societies. He also pushes back against the anti-American and anti-Western spirit of the social justice movement, accurately founding it in the leftist theory of history that focuses on vices and ignores virtues. He adds that conservatives are also beginning to criticize America, though his criticism of Patrick Deneen's thesis in Why Liberalism Failed seems to indicate that he might not fully understand the right's critique of American and Western history, which though by no means unassailable is considerably more nuanced than the left's. On the topic of how Christians should understand our history in its combination of both good and evil, Allen supplies a more or less Burkean answer: we try to understand that historical figures, like us, are flawed and imperfect people who, like us, should be extended the grace that attends our realization that fallibility is the common lot of humanity. We accept the inheritance our ancestors have left us with appreciation for the good (and there is much good) and a commitment to preserving that good and improving where we can. Allen adds that the social justice movement's "values and disvalues," what it reveres and what it reviles, leads to an inverted system of morality in which evil is recast as the sole domain of oppressor groups or the traditions they are said to uphold, while evil actions become neutral or downright virtuous when undertaken by the oppressed. Such thinking presents a challenge for Christians, many of whom are now tempted to revise the biblical system of morality to include social justice concepts (he cites Andy Stanley and the Episcopal Church as examples, but there are sadly many more). Moving to how social justice has become mainstream, Allen observes that such cultural changes elicit one of three responses from the church: conformity to the prevailing doctrine with an attendant departure from biblical orthodoxy; accommodation of the new ideology, often unintentionally, such that biblical teaching changes subtly to reflect the culture; or it resists the ideology, which can take the form of engaging or disengaging from the culture, the former of which Allen believes is the biblically-correct method. He goes through some history of how the church has responded in each of these ways, noting most interestingly its response to and adoption of radical leftist and unbiblical views on feminism, LGBTQ issues, and race. On the topic of race, Allen distinguishes two frameworks through which history, the present, and the future are understood. The "Revolution Narrative" views America as uniquely stained by racial sin, understands all current disparities as due to continued racism, denies that black Americans have any substantial degree of influence over their own outcomes, and views social revolution that overturns existing institutions as the remedy. The "Preservation Narrative" does not deny the troubled history of race in America, yet nevertheless understands that the basic principles of the Declaration of Independence were a key component in first ending slavery and then working towards the achievement of equal civil rights, proposes that the outcomes of black Americans are well within their ability to influence through their choices and actions, and sees the path forward not as tearing down institutions but continuing their improvement while preserving the good. Allen evaluates how both narratives treat several prominent issues, including police brutality and incarceration rates, and finds the Preservation Narrative not only closer to the truth, but more nuanced in how it approaches the problem - and such nuance, unsurprisingly, is often necessary in getting closer to truth. Allen criticizes (and names) evangelical Christians who have either adopted social justice ideology and attempted to syncretize it with their Christianity, or who accurately discern the dangers of the social justice vision for Christianity and society, but who view engaging the culture on these issues and presenting a biblical worldview as "mission creep" and therefore not relevant to the Christian's task. He is correct to criticize both camps, though his latter point warrants emphasis: Christians' failure to understand cultural issues and work against those spinning falsehoods is a real and enduring problem. Allen closes by calling Christians to clearly and boldly communicate the biblical alternative to ideological social justice, proclaiming the truth of God-endowed, true equality, true diversity, and true identity. These challenge the counterfeit equality, diversity, and identity of the world, revealing the beauty of God's created world over the stultifying ideologies of a godless philosophy. Allen further encourages Christians who oppose ideological social justice to avoid falling into a reactionary posture toward their task, advising them instead to: remember that, though identity politics is mistaken, men are not isolated individuals, but were made by God to live in communities; to realize that, though the social justice movement's conspiratorial views on racism are wrong, racism does exist and Christians need to remain committed to exposing and removing it, no matter who is practicing it; be ready to oppose actual instances of systemic injustices, provided injustices can be provably attributed to a system (he cites the pornography industry and government-approved abortion as examples) and not to other causes (as in the cases of mere statistical disparities); avoid responding to social justice advocates' uncritical anti-Americanism and anti-Westernism by adopting an uncritical pro-American and Pro-Western attitude; and, finally, to respond to the increasingly censorious political correctness of cancel culture neither by adopting the culture's combative rhetoric nor by being cowed into silence, but by proclaiming with boldness, humility, and graciousness the truth. Allen closes the book by calling Christians to move from criticizing culture to creating culture, realizing that culture is not something set apart from our duties as Christian witnesses, but the vehicle by which worldviews and philosophies get shaped. Retaining a biblical view of justice, defined by adherence to God's moral law and the impartial pursuit of truth, Allen believes that Christians should stand ready to influence the arts, business, government, and education - and to suffer the consequences of bucking the powerful in their pursuit of ideological hegemony. Overall, Allen has contributed much to the ongoing discussion among Christians about the verities and falsehoods of the social justice movement. Some of Allen's arguments could have benefited from exposition and from the infusion of more sophisticated political and social theory (see American Awakening: Identity Politics and Other Afflictions of Our Time) but as an introduction to the topic that exposes error and encourages Christians to exercise discernment, Why Social Justice is not Biblical Justice succeeds at its goal.