The Gospel According to Glenn Beck
Beware of Christians preaching “social justice,” says Fox News talk-show host Glenn Beck. But the stridently individualistic gospel that he’s touting hardly resembles anything found in Scripture.
Glenn Beck's Strange Advice
Just say, for a moment, that we were to take Glenn Beck’s counsel seriously and flee any church or parish that promoted the idea of “social justice” or “economic justice.” We’d probably have to close down 90 percent of the African American churches in this country!
You’ve likely caught wind of this controversy already. Beck, the fiery and often humorous conservative talk show host on the FOX News network, told his radio and TV audiences last week that the terms are code for “communism” and “Nazism.” He advised:
I beg you, look for the words “social justice” or “economic justice” on your church website. If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words.
Just to be clear, he added:
Now, am I advising people to leave their church? Yes!
Confronting Health-Care Hysteria, Part 2
One might find it strange that a guy who spends his time writing and speaking about reconciliation is sticking his neck out on the volatile issue of health-care reform. The attitude of a reconciler, a peacemaker, would seem to be at odds with that of someone who is outspoken about political issues. But the more I understand reconciliation, especially the biblical principles behind the idea, the more I find myself unable to keep my opinions to myself.
In the end, I am not as concerned about whether health-care reform passes or fails as I am with how people who represent Christ to the world are thinking through and communicating what they believe.