Without Christianity and its belief in the fallibility of human nature, secular progressives tend to rearrange their bigotries and call it righteousness. Christianity teaches that all men and women – not just the wealthy, the powerful, the straight, the white, and all other so-called oppressors – are sinners in need of the Redeemer. All men and women are called to confession and repentance.

Social justice is a huge topic being that is being discussed all over the place. It’s not a new term, concept, or discussion. It’s been discussed before the year 2020 and it’ll be discussed after this year is over. Christians, of course, are pro-justice. The Hebrew prophets talked about justice all the time. God is a just God. And so on. But not all ideas or theories of social justice are actually just and good. Rod Dreher explains this quite well in chapter three of his latest book, Live Not by Lies. Here’s the section:

Without Christianity and its belief in the fallibility of human nature, secular progressives tend to rearrange their bigotries and call it righteousness. Christianity teaches that all men and women – not just the wealthy, the powerful, the straight, the white, and all other so-called oppressors – are sinners in need of the Redeemer. All men and women are called to confession and repentance. ‘Social justice’ that projects unrighteousness solely onto particular groups is a perversion of Christian teaching. Reducing the individual to her economic status or her racial, sexual, or gender identity is an anthropological error. It is untrue, and therefore unjust. Moreover, for Christians, no social order that denies sin, erecting structures or approving practices that alienate man from his Creator, can ever be just. Contrary to secular social justice activists, protecting the right to abortion is always unjust. So is any proposal – like same-sex marriage – that ratifies sin and undermines the natural family.

…Christians cannot endorse any form of social justice that denies biblical teaching.

…Christians must work for social justice, but can only do so in the context of fidelity to the full Christian moral and theological vision through which we understand the meaning of justice. Rod Dreher, Live Not by Lies, p. 64-65.

Shane Lems is a Minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and is pastor of Covenant OPC in Hammond, WI. This article is used with permission.