Should Christians be Social Justice Warriors?

Should Christians be Social Justice Warriors (SJWs)? The question may sound like a no-brainer. Of course Christians should be SJWs! Taking care of the poor and promoting equality are Christian pastimes, right? After all, didn't Jesus preach social justice?

It is true that the Bible shows a great deal of concern for the poor, widowed, orphaned and foreigner. This should not be overlooked. If a person regularly reads the Bible they will be regularly reminded that they have a duty to bring love and justice to their fellow humans. But the Bible's view of social justice and the SJW view of social justice are incompatible. Here's why:

SJWs reject the concept of sin and believe that humans are by nature good:

This is a key SJW belief. Since SJWs believe that humans are basically good they are inclined to place the blame of evil and injustice upon societal issues rather than individuals. SJWs insist that power structures cause oppression and oppression leads to civil strife. With this mindset, the SJW can view the criminal as a victim.Those with a Biblical mindset see crime as a result of sinful hearts which create selfish desires.

The people around Jesus were eager to blame their problems on social injustices, but Jesus never took the bait. Jesus never pointed an accusing finger to Roman structural injustices or inequality. During Jesus' ministry the Roman governor of Israel, Pontius Pilate, executed a group of Galilean Jews at the temple where he mixed their blood with the blood of the daily sacrifice. Jesus' comment on this sacrilegious atrocity is revealing. Jesus could have taken this event as an opportunity to speak against the pagan injustices of the ruling class which caused suffering among the Jews, but instead Jesus says something shocking to his audience: "Repent, or you too will perish." (Luke 13:3)

The Bible always takes our pointing fingers and turns them toward ourselves. Had Jesus been an actual SJW he would have stoked the hatred that the Jews had for the Romans and would likely have gained many more followers. SJWs can never get to the heart of societal evils because they refuse to believe that these evils stem from the human heart.

Like Jesus, the earliest Christians never blamed an unjust culture for their problems. The epistles could've been filled with all kinds of social commentary lamenting the great injustices and inequality prevalent throughout the Roman Empire, but there is none of that. Yet, the early church accomplished the SJW dream. The early church was diverse, containing many women and slaves, and even people of privilege. The church also included many cultures as it spread into Asia, Africa and Europe. The beginning of the church is marked by a multi-cultural influx at Pentecost as recorded in the book of Acts. Acts also records how the apostles preached to Greeks, Samaritans and an Ethiopian. All of this was accomplished by the gospel, not by social activism.

SJWs sow seeds of resentment which encourage hate: 

The SJW mindset seeks to level the societal playing field. An increasingly diverse American landscape has caused SJWs to see inequality in nearly everything. The idea is that certain groups are privileged and have an unfair head start and this in turn creates an unfair and an unjust society. The onus is on the privileged to "check their privilege." Most SJWs come from a place of privilege and likely feel great shame for having privilege while others do not. They check their privilege as a form of penance and expect others to follow suit.

SJWs will also work hard to convince various groups that they are victims. This gives the SJWs political power and it creates incredible resentment from special interest groups toward those that SJWs label as privileged. The result is to divide various groups of people along racial, gender, ethnic, and religious lines. This creates resentment and the resentment creates hate. Those who are told to "check their privilege" will also become resentful and hateful over the fact that they are being labeled as oppressors and privileged. The hate that SJWs stoke never ends. Someone will always be perceived as having more privilege and in this way the SJW advocates for a continual cycle of resentment and hate.

While the SJW may think that they are fighting for a noble cause they area actually creating a dysfunctional society. The SJW tells the "oppressed" that everyone hates them and this leads them to hate the "oppressors," while the "oppressors" are told that they deserve to be hated. What sort of people will this create?

SJWs promote an entitlement mentality:

Biblical justice is objective, seated in God's perfection. When humans compare themselves to God's high standards we find that we fall short. We're all equally condemned. We are entitled to nothing and we deserve nothing. God does not owe us. For the rich who have been touched by God's grace the proper response is thankfulness and gratitude which will naturally express itself in charity. For the poor who have been touched by God's grace the proper response is to rejoice in one's heavenly reward and to look to the Heavenly Father for daily bread.

The social justice of an SJW is subjective, seated in the individual. With no ultimate standard for morality or justice SJWs are inclined to compare themselves to each other. This causes an entitlement mentality. The rich become proud and arrogant while the poor become jealous and miserable. Injustice becomes synonymous for "not having what my neighbor has." SJWs encourage people to compare themselves to their neighbor while Biblical justice encourages people to compare themselves with God. The former creates resentment, self-promotion and strife while the latter creates humility, repentance and graciousness.

SJWs seek government involvement: 

Some have rightly described SJWs as cultural Marxists. While Marxism dealt with economic inequality, the worldview that SJWs share with Marxism is strikingly similar. If the privileged will not relent then the oppressed must rise up and enforce equality with the heavy-hand of government. Marxism is a failed ideology that has caused more misery, death and economic ruin than any other ideology in the history of human existence.

SJWs might point to the communal nature of the early church to support their social agenda. This community of equality and charity took place in the context of the church and not the government. Jesus and his apostles looked to gospel as the root of social change, never the government.

The solution to the human condition is spiritual and as a result any atheistic-Marxist utopian vision is destined to fail. The SJW can never succeed because they are unable to diagnose or heal the condition of the human heart. They seek legislative solutions through the government. The law will only harden hearts. The gospel is what breaks them.

SJWs seek a worldly solution:

Jesus' beatitudes are a famous set of statements both inside and outside of Christian circles. He calls the poor, persecuted and the hated "blessed." Later in his ministry Jesus describes a poor widow and the poor beggar Lazarus as blessed. Jesus' words to the rich are not very comforting. He says that it is difficult for the rich to get into heaven. For Jesus, spiritual blessings trump earthly blessings. Worldly wealth is to be scorned if it chokes out spiritual riches. The SJW cannot understand this.

When a person follows Christ their focus is heavenward. This sounds backwards to an SJW and they will think that a heavenward focus will detract from taking care of the poor, the earth, etc. This is not true. C.S. Lewis once wrote: "If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this."

A heavenward focus gives us the proper orientation. Imagine trying to walk across a large snow-covered field. On the other side of the field is a light. You keep your eyes fixed on the light and walk until you reach it. The more you focus on the light the straighter your path will be. As soon as you take your focus off the light you veer off course.  If a person travels across the same field but their focus is on their feet rather than the light then they wander aimlessly. The tracks will wind all over the field and the light will never be reached. SJWs seek the light of social justice but they are focused on their feet.

Jesus takes social justice to the next level:

Let's keep our focus on the cross where the greatest injustice occurred. Let's keep our eyes focus on Jesus, the true innocent victim, tortured and terrorized by those desperate to cling to their privilege. Let's keep our eyes focused on Jesus' love, a love so great and so selfless that he didn't just seek justice for others; rather, he sought injustice for himself for the sake of others - others who deserved only punishment. Let it sink in: Jesus sacrificed himself for the unjust. "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). Jesus does all of this and then gives his followers the most difficult command ever: "Love one another as I have loved you." In the end, Christ doesn't want us to be just. He wants us to be unjust. Unjust by showing love to others who do not deserve it.

What will I tell her?

No. I won't set her up to be a loser. I won't tell her that things are impossible. I don't want my daughter seeing herself as a victim. I don't want her to blame all of her problems on others or on the "patriarchy." I don't want her to be hateful.

I also don't think that she is at a disadvantage. I do not think her culture values her less. This is 2017, not 1947. The make up of college students is 57% female. My daughters are more likely to attend college than my son. If she gets harassed or becomes a victim of a sexist remark I want her self-respect, solid convictions and confidence to send those cockroaches scurrying away. I want her to be a warrior, even if the deck is stacked up against her, not a whiner who pouts in the corner because she didn't get her way.

I also don't want a German car company lecturing the United States over issues related to gender. Audi has set records in its sales growth in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia ranks 2nd in growth in Audi sales among countries in the Middle East. I expect that within the next year Audi will boycott Saudi Arabia until women can freely drive cars. I'm sure that their principles will trump their desire for sales.

Feminism's Final Wave

A few years ago I wondered if feminism was dead. The transgender movement seemed poised to inherit feminism's cultural waves. Girls would have to step off the high school softball field as transitioning male to female athletes stepped up to the plate with their biological advantages. Last year a transgender student made it to the Alaska state track meet which means that the young lady that finished behind him could not compete. There is a social justice pecking order and feminists are beginning to find themselves left behind in the world of social justice grievances. The feminist movement looks old, white and hopelessly binary. How can such a movement survive when Facebook allows you to choose from over 50 genders?

But wait, not so fast! A well-organized army of feminists flooded Washington D.C. like a pink tsunami. The choice of head-wear at the Women's March included hats that resembled reproductive organs and hijabs. For those who do not see the world through the social justice warrior lens the presence of hijabs alongside "pussyhats" seemed bizarre and out of place. While pro-life feminists were dis-invited from the march, Muslim feminists were readily accepted. Observers might scratch their heads as they consider the anti-abortion stance of most Muslims as well as the rights and status of women in Islamic societies. Saudi Arabia is the beating heart of Islam and also happens to be a place where women are publicly segregated and something as mundane as driving a car is frowned upon if you are female. Controversy erupted when Saudi women participated in the Olympics. An Islamic cleric likened the athletes to prostitutes.

The most noticeable leader of the Women's March was a Muslim woman who lamented the fact that sharia law was not welcome in the United States. Her name is Linda Sarsour, a daughter of Palestinian immigrants and an activist who pushed for NYC public schools to close for certain Islamic holidays. Linda was invited to be a leader of the event. I assumed that those who invited her to the march were white women who didn't want the march to be about white women. After doing a quick Wikipedia search on the organizers my suspicions were confirmed. The white organizers of the march were quick to hide behind minority individuals.

All of this points to a new social justice movement known as intersectionality. Feminists have adapted intersectionality as a way to survive the ever-evolving world of social justice causes. Intersectionality is a term used to describe the way that various social advantages or disadvantages overlap. The following video is an instructional piece that uses pizza to describe intersectionality:

The problem with your typical feminists is that they look super privileged when they walk about with their $4 Starbucks and their homemade, hand-knitted "pussyhats." According to the video they are nothing but "cheese pizzas." Feminism is thus allowed to survive as long as it checks its historical privilege and couples itself with other victim groups (or other pizzas in their fight against a world run by burgers). The Women's March, while predominantly white, was careful to include various minority, trans, and lesbian groups. Without intersctionality the feminist movement would be cannibalized or co-opted by those who are higher up on the social justice scale.

Social justice warriors also breathed life into feminism because it is politically useful. They can build a case against President Trump based upon sexism and Islamophobia. Trump is not as vulnerable on issues related to race, homosexuality and transgenderism. Currently, victimizing Muslims and women is politically expedient, but that could all change with a shift of the political winds. By the way, whatever happened to the BLM movement?

What intersectionality gives it can also take away. Beneath the social justice veneer of solidarity is paranoia and infighting. There are signs that social justice warriors are beginning to turn their weapons on each other (cheese pizza vs. deluxe pizza). A cannibal can survive with other cannibals as long as they're not competing for resources. If feminists are not careful they may find themselves next on the dinner plate as their social scale tips from victim to privileged.

Pseudomodernism: A Fake New World

By the mid-nineties we tossed the last few shovelfuls upon Truth's grave and looked about the grim reality that Americans possessed everything and yet at the same time had nothing. Science and technology had bequeathed history's bloodiest century. The Soviet Union dissolved. Our aspirations for space travel petered out with the Challenger explosion. Utopias had become as unreachable as the stars. Global-warming alarmists prophesied doom. Reckless presidents dabbled in the Mideast and philandered with interns. Seattle grunge and the Midwest melancholy existential musings of the Smashing Pumpkins echoed postmodernism's postmortem of the enlightenment. From Kurt Vonnegut to Kurt Cobain the message was clear - the truth is that Truth was dead. Truth had been deconstructed, dismembered, and disemboweled - never to be disinterred. Only ignoramuses in the hinterland held on to a bygone absolutism.

Then, some jetliners pierced our existential fog eliminating New York's lofty pillars. We ran about like disoriented farm animals in a hail storm. We needed Truth but we had buried her. Our golden eggs were threatened and the mangled carcass of the goose lay on our dinner table. Then, a strange and unexpected deus ex machina descended upon us; the internet sprinkled its benevolent digital pixy dust upon the corpses of Truth and her children. The grim reality of our world was replaced by a new world, an undiscovered country. Our whirling compasses finally settled on a direction. All the needles pointed back to their operators.

The postmodern world eliminated truth and then gave us the digital tools we needed to create our own truths. We became the standard bearers. We became masters of a new universe that lay quite literally at our fingertips. Search engines and social media fed our preferences. We no longer had to be meaningless pawns in a chaotic universe; rather, we were given Brahman-like power to create one of many universes where our avatars can run amok. Welcome to the pseudomodern world.

The first dozen years of the new millennium had a pleasant veneer. We clicked and voted through our mobile devices controlling reality stars and elevating nobodies to prominent positions. We recognized the great interconnections of all things and if our codes and timing were correct we could tap into power, a power similar to the power wielded by ancient Shamans who sought to control their world through mantras and spells. Like Zeus we could cloud ourselves in the elements of our new universe and sow our wild oats in disguise. We could assume even more power through endless social pantheons by advertising ourselves through various "upvotes" "likes" and "followers." The thrill of power caused a lust for more. Something else happened, all the unpleasant failings and character flaws of the former world no longer needed to haunt us. We filtered, edited, selected and morphed. Like chameleons we could adjust to the demands of our surroundings. Gender, religion, sexuality, education, history and marriage were uprooted from their absolute moorings and placed upon a digital smorgasbord. We could feast without restraints.

Vestiges of objective Truth remained, threatening the autonomy and authority of a billion new gods and goddesses. Once the dust of the twin towers settled we looked skeptically at religion. Christianity closely resembled the Truth that the West had deconstructed. Secularists placed pressure on her from the outside like a horde of elitist Romans while the Judases of subjective spiritualism continued the onslaught from within. Like parasites they feasted upon the Christian worldview, using the sustenance to attack the host. If the parasites were to emerge they would need a new religion, a meta-narrative that would provide meaning, hope, goals, morality and value. The secular vultures left their religious prey, combed their feathers, and embraced a new, secular religion that advocated social justice, diversity, inclusion and permitted a divinity that could be found only within. Universities became temples where a secular priestly caste of professors preached dogma ensconced in a flowery perch of terminology known only to the enlightened. The media functioned as their prophets and the culturally elite regurgitate their platitudes. They walk on two legs like Orwell's pigs, scorning their roots, and we follow blindly choosing the path of least resistance.

But a tension lingered unexamined. We embrace new truths after deconstructing Truth. We embrace new moralities after deconstructing morality. We elevate ourselves to godhood after deconstructing life to blind mechanistic forces of zero value. We vocally give our approval and distaste but our pronouncements have no force because their foundation is nothing but preference.  We hurdle about in a moral vacuum driving ourselves mad because we have no firm ground to push off of and nothing to orbit. We have climbed into God's throne and we have found that we do not fit. Our wings melt off as we strive to achieve his brilliance.

And so when there is nothing left to consume we must consume ourselves.The parasite has tried on the costume of its host but a parasite without a host will cannibalize itself.  In our goal to become like God we become less that human. Our utopias become hell. Our desire to become like the ancient stars results in black-holes, the gravitational pull of which there is no escape. We can bide our time by pulling and tugging on our fellow man, climbing and clamoring over his shoulders but soon we'll be consumed. The pseudo-secular dam is about to burst and the coming deluge is prophetically reflected in the vacant eyes of the opioid addict who wanders around a land flowing with milk and honey.

Postmodernism removed fences and we embraced the freedom without considering why the fences were there in the first place. We have forgotten that the greatest thing we need protection from is ourselves. Nations rise and fall. Their eventual demise comes not from the outside but from a decay within. We mask the decay with progressive semantics but one day a passerby will walk by the wall and put his hand through it realizing that it is brittle paper mache. He will then urge his friends to walk through the wall and gorge upon the ruins of the gods.

Toxic Masculinity

The University of Wisconsin Madison is sponsoring a new program called the Men's Project which "aims to explore masculinity and the problems accompanied by simplified definitions of it."

According to the University's website:

The UW Men’s Project is a six­-week program open only to men-identified students that kicks off with an overnight retreat where the group or groups will talk about what “masculinity” means to them.

“A key element of the program is intersectionality. There isn’t just one masculinity, there are many,” says Sam Johnson, a violence prevention specialist at University Health Services (UHS), one of the campus offices organizing the program. She explained that other components of one’s identity—including religion, sexual orientation, and race—all contribute to individual perceptions and experiences of masculinity.

The "introspection" through "questioning" and the project's goal of exposing participants to "different types of masculinity" is designed to deconstruct the "toxic masculinity" that Social Justice Warriors believe is part and parcel to the Patriarchy. This is not education but rather indoctrination into the social justice narrative. Young men ought to be warned.

“We know that men are underrepresented on campus when it comes to campus leadership roles and getting needed medical and mental health services,” Johnson says. “They’re also overrepresented in acts of violence and use of drugs and alcohol. With this program, we want to find out why this is and how we can change that culture campus-wide to encourage healthier expressions of masculinities.”

Sam Johnson is one of the organizers of this program and was a former coordinator of the "Sex Out Loud" tuition-funded club which probably holds the world record for most pictures of condoms on a Facebook page. Sam observes how men are underrepresented on campus and campus leadership roles. Well Sam, if an institution labeled femininity as toxic they would probably avoid it too. The fact of the matter is that from little on boys will get good grades if they behave like girls.

The program operates on a transformative model of social justice allyship. First, facilitators ask students to consider how the students’ opinions about masculinity affect their own perceptions every day. Second, they consider how those opinions affect the people around them. Finally, the program examines how those perceptions affect the whole campus community, and that’s where facilitators and the Men’s Project program coordinators from the UW Division of Student Life, UHS End Violence On Campus, and UW Housing hope to learn the most from the experience.

The program is somewhat similar to an existing course available to men in the Greek community at UW-Madison called "Greek Men for Violence Prevention.“ A two-credit course in the School of Social Work, that class has been available to qualifying students for over ten years.

The goal is pretty clear: deconstruct masculinity and get young men to accept and promote social justice causes. Notice also the correlation in the article between masculinity and violence. Blaming violence on masculinity is like blaming abortion on femininity.

In a previous post I created a glossary of words that Social Justice Warriors use. Social Justice words and catch phrases found in this article include intersectionality, individual perception, vulnerablity, gender-based, diverse, gender-based, and social justice allyship, Knowing the terminology will create valuable red-flags when SJW narrative pops up in a school, church, occupation, institution or program near you.

Social Justice Warrior Terminology

Social Justice Warriors have a unique vocabulary. Perusing through the list will give you a better idea of what a Social Justice Warrior is and if you qualify as one.

Androgyny: Gender expression that contains both male and female elements

Androsexual/Androphile: Being attracted to males.

Advocate: Someone who supports a social justice cause. Social Justice Warriors avoid the term "Warrior." They prefer "advocate for social change."

Abelism: Discrimination against someone who is disabled.

Ageism: Discriminating against someone who is young or old.

Agender: Not identifying with a gender.

AFAB: Assigned female at birth.

Ally: Someone from a privileged group (men, white, etc) who fights against oppression and works to understand or check their privilege.

AMAB: Assigned male at birth.

Aromanticism: Someone who does not have any romantic attractions.

Basic: A word used to describe people who do not appreciate diversity.

Binary: The oppressive idea that genders should be divided into two: male and female.

Biphobia: Discriminating against bisexuals.

Bisexual: Attraction to people of your own gender and to people of different genders.

Bitch: A derogatory term now used by younger females who embrace their sexuality.

Boi: A young gay male or a young female who is expressing herself as a male.

"Check Your Privilege": Phrase used to remind people that they are biased because of their privilege. "Check your white privilege," "Check your cis privilege," "Check your male privilege." Words that are used to support white, male or Western identities are inherently racist, sexist and xenophobic because they come from a place of dominance and privilege. "Check your privilege" is often used as an ad hominem.

Samaritans and Refugees

Is there a Biblical mandate to take in refugees? The pope recently declared that Christians who are against refugees and other religions are hypocrites.

Be good Samaritans. Support the refugees. Amen.

The pope shames others from behind his high Vatican walls dressed in fine linens and surrounded by luxury like the rich man in the story of poor Lazarus (Luke 16:19-21). The pope mentions that Jesus condemned hypocrisy more than other sin. The main hypocrites of Jesus' day were the Pharisees. They boasted about fasting, giving to the poor and following other religious rites to a tee. They dressed differently than everyone else. They were looked up to as an example pious living. They presumed to be an authority on the Word of God and lectured others on how they should live godly live. Sound familiar?

Okay, so the pope is a hypocrite. What about his claim about those defenders of the West who are against "refugees and other religions?" Consider the pope's words: "It's hypocrisy to call yourself a Christian and chase away a refugee or someone seeking help, someone who is hungry or thirsty, toss out someone who is in need of my help."

Has the pope considered that a Christian could be all about helping refugees while being against reckless refugee programs? A cautious approach to refugees is not the same as "chasing" someone away or "tossing" someone out. We also have a duty to our nations and to our neighbors in the West. The Good Samaritan found the wounded man on the road. He cared for his wounds and paid for his stay in the inn. He did not take the man back to his house and place him in a room across from his children. Christianity teaches us to love our neighbor, but it also teaches us to use discretion. You can care for the homeless but it does not mean that you have to let them sleep in your bedroom or have a say in the affairs of your household.

The pope also implies that the we should be accepting of all religions. Has the pope failed to notice that the heroes of the Bible smashed idols, expelled pagan worshipers, and cleansed the city of shrines dedicated to foreign gods? Has the pope failed to notice that some of the Bible's villains were leaders who allowed false gods in Israel? Leaders like Ahab and Ahaz tolerated the likes of Jezebel who in turn refused to tolerate the people of God. The religion of Islam carries such baggage as its participants are bound by the duty to support Sharia law, not only is Sharia law anti-Western but it is anti-Christian. The pope seems more interested in being the high priest of Babel rather than the high priest of the church of Christ.

I know of Christians who have reached out to refugee communities. New ministries spring up across the American landscape to serve both the physical and spiritual needs of refugees. They do this because they have been taught to love their neighbor as themselves. When we encounter them we love them as Christ loved us. We are also a citizen of a land, we have a duty to good stewards of our nations, we are to seek our nation's welfare and to pray for the authorities so that we may live in peace.

Victimizing Is Evil

Tell a child that her teachers hate her for no reason. Tell her that the school is out to get her. That it's unfair. When she doubts give a couple examples of abusive teachers. When she fails, blame it on the school. What will this accomplish? Nothing. She will rage against her teachers. She will take no responsibility for her actions. She will be ruined. In the end she will destroy herself. Rescuing a victim is an act of love. Telling people they are victims is evil. Victimizing is demeaning, divisive and it gives power to the peddler of the lie.

Adam played the victim card when he said, "The woman you put here with me..." Notice how God did not even argue with him. God questioned the woman and then cursed them both. Christians must reject victimizing because Jesus instructs his followers to remove the plank of wood from their own eye. Victimizing is about blame, not repentance.

Throughout the history of Israel the ruthless and cruel people of Assyria, Babylon, Greece and Rome exiled, oppressed, and abused the Jews. Yet the prophets did not blame the oppressors, rather they placed the blame on Israel's sinfulness. Jesus and his apostles refused to be brought into the petty position of "let's blame the Romans for all of our issues." Jesus said, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's."

If anyone should've played the victim card it should've been Jesus. There was no blaming or shaming from the cross, rather, a selfless cry for forgiveness on the part of his oppressors.