Confessions of A Christian Social Justice Warrior
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One of the things that has burned on my heart for as long as I can remember is my desire to fight for Social Justice. No, I do not support the Marxism, and sexual perversion of the Left.
I remember that just a few years ago, the term “Social Justice” was used to describe causes such as the push to end modern day slavery, or to provide clean water to parts of the world affected by the water crisis. But just after I graduated from college, in Spring of 2015, we saw the rise of the extremist Left on college campuses calling themselves “Social Justice Warriors.” These people were fighting for inane nonsense that no one had ever heard of before. Suddenly there were 63 different “genders” with various pronouns. Anyone who said that people should wear clothes in public was accused of promoting “rape culture.” And the lack of mocha-colored bandages was considered the equivalent of race-based slavery. (Perhaps instead, people could have seen this desire for a product as a business opportunity.)
Not to mention the fact that now if a little boy wants to wear a dress, or a little girl wants to play football, suddenly they are labelled “transgender” by the Left, and put on the fast track for irreparable castration — all in the name of “Social Justice.”
In other words, the so-called “Social Justice” of the Left is evil. It is designed to tear people apart and point fingers of blame. Straight, white males and “Capitalism” are blamed for every problem we see — regardless of the evidence. Emotions are the measure of truth, rather than facts, reason, and logic. The far-Left seeks emotionally-charged excuses, rather than objective reality.
What they seek is a twisted form of fairness, rather than any sort of actual justice.
So what do I fight for?
In a few simple words, I fight for real Social Justice, not this perversion of the Left.
I fight for School Choice — one of the few programs proven to help black families in the urban ghettos to break the cycle of poverty and welfare. Amazingly, Democrats fight against school choice. If their policies were designed to keep black people poor, would they look any different?
Dr. Thomas Sowell, one of the greatest economists in the world, has this to say on School Choice:
What else do I fight for?
I fight against the genital mutilation of children, be it the practice of cutting off the clitoris of girls in many parts of the Islamic world, which is ignored by the Left, or the practice of cutting the genitals off of children in the West to show how “tolerant” we are of Transgenderism.
I fight against the murder of human beings, including the unborn.
I fight for Free Markets — where people can freely open businesses without fear of government persecution. In other words, I fight for Capitalism.
Wait, did he say Capitalism? As a form of justice?
Isn’t Capitalism where the rich own all the things, and the poor are slaves to them? No. Capitalism was a derogatory term Communists came up with to describe Free Markets. A Free Market is a place where people can start businesses and operate them without fear of government interference or persecution. The government might step in to enforce contracts, make sure food is not poisoned, etc., but this is kept to a minimal. Anyone who wants to open a lemonade stand is perfectly allowed to do so.
In other words, people are free. People are free to grow apples and sell them for any price, while others are free to buy them if they want to, or go elsewhere. People are free to make baskets, or paintings, or music, or anything else they like, and the rights and property of the individual are protected. Some businesses thrive, while others fail. People are allowed to stand on their own two feet.
Ironically, those on the Left will claim to define Capitalism, while describing Corporatism (or even Communism in some cases), and will then claim to define Socialism or Communism by describing the Garden of Eden.
As I talked about in my article, Rethinking Poverty and Charity — Better ways to help the poor and the least of these, starvation-level poverty has fallen 80% around the world since the year 1970. This incredible improvement in the lives of human beings was the direct result of Capitalism.
200 years ago, virtually everybody was poor — the only force in the world that has raised people out of poverty on a large and sustainable scale, is Capitalism. It may sound impious in the West and in Christian circles who view money as a dirty thing, and who view making money as suspect, but the reality is that Capitalism has raised billions of people out of poverty. When it comes to poverty, Charity is the bandage, Capitalism is the cure.
If we really care about minorities and the poor, we need to embrace School Choice and Free Markets. These are proven solutions. Yet Democrats, Social Justice Warriors, and groups like BlackLivesMatter actively fight against Free Markets and School Choice.
Mercy and Justice
Lately in Evangelical circles there has been a lot of talk about giving “justice” to the poor by giving them charity. Bible verses about giving to charity and giving justice to the poor are paraded out. Then a leap in logic is made to claim that the Bible is supporting Socialism, and it is claimed that giving to the poor is an act of justice, rather than an act of charity.
Without going into too much detail here, I also want to mention that it is important for Christians to distinguish between Justice and Mercy. Justice is giving a man something that you owe him. But when we give charity from one man to another, that is not justice, that is mercy.
Jacob Brunton and Cody Libolt discussed this concept in more detail recently.
With the important distinction between mercy and justice, I think there is at least one case of strong overlap. One would be hard-pressed to find a single area of the world suffering from extreme poverty that is not suffering under the thumb of government over-regulation of the economy.
There is enough food to feed everyone in the entire world, as you may have heard (often from a Socialist). But what you may not know is that Socialism and government over-regulation aren’t the solution to poverty, they are the cause of poverty.
Helping the people in these parts of the world to understand basic economics, so that they can understand that it is their governments (rather than “the rich”) that are condemning them to poverty is an act of mercy, but it is ultimately so they can obtain justice. It is unjust that men should be prevented from planting trees so they can feed themselves and their families with the fruit — both literal and metaphorical trees.
In places like India and China, the governments have historically restricted international trade and Free Markets. Under these strict government controls designed to “protect” the economy, the economies of these nations suffered greatly, and people starved on a large scale. But now that the governments have eased many of these restrictions, including those on international trade, the quality of life of the average person in these nations has risen dramatically.
Sadly, so many people profess to want to help the poor, but are woefully ignorant of economics, including Christians.
I am only one man
Time would fail me to go on in this article about the causes that I care about. I care about the need for rationality in the Christian life, and in America. I care for the need of people in every part of the world to receive the Gospel. I care to raise poor people out of poverty, and to end the abuse of corrupt governments, especially those waving the banner of “Socialism.” Really, I care about a lot of things.
But I cannot do everything.
I recently took a class with For The New Christian Intellectual on Ayn Rand and Christianity. Ayn Rand was an American Philosopher who came to America from the Soviet Union, and is known for writing the best-selling book Atlas Shrugged, which was a light science-fiction commentary on economics, society, and morality.
During the course, we read different book containing a collection of her essays. In the very last essay of this book, she said this: “It is not your job to save everyone’s soul.”
It was as if this woman who died several years before I was born had walked across time and was talking to me personally, addressing the very way I think. Even though she never met me, she had my number.
I cannot save everyone. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. Ayn Rand was not talking about converting people to Christianity, but far too often I have put it on myself to save everyone, and on myself to help everyone to think rightly.
But what did Jesus teach? Jesus gave us the Parable of the Sower. Farmers in his time did not plant their seeds in the same way as farmers of today. They threw the seed as they walked through their fields, and seeds would land on the road, on the rocks, or among the thorns, but enough seed landed in the good soil to grow many times the initial investment, dozens or even a hundred times more.
The Apostles later went through the world preaching to crowds, with an understanding of local beliefs and customs. Paul even made references to Plato in his writings, and integrated this in explaining the Gospel and why we need a Savior. These early followers of Christ went all over the Roman Empire spreading the message of Christianity and preaching to the crowds. (And guess what? Some people were offended!)
Pearls Before Swine
When I first became a Christian, I would share ideas with people and would appeal to their interests, and looking back it went really well! But at some point I became worried, somehow getting the idea from other Christians that I have to save THAT person or else they are going to Hell.
Sure, I was spreading Christian literature, and handing out Bibles, but what about THAT person?
As time went on, I became sucked into multiple arguments on Facebook and the YouTube comments section, spending far more time arguing with trolls who did not want to understand than I spent actually making videos.
The whole thing was a distraction. Satan was playing me, and he knew it.
Then maybe a year and a half ago, my best friend got ahold of me and said, “Greg, you are a content creator — Go make content!”
I don’t know if those were his exact words, but close enough.
It was a course correction. I started going back to putting ideas out there, and speaking truth. Instead of “throwing my pearls before swine” I am now focused on doing what I love, writing short stories, making YouTube videos, and writing articles.
The lesson I learned was that it is not my job to save the soul or the mind of every single person. In fact I can save no one. God calls me to preach the Gospel, that is my job. It’s God’s job to soften people’s heart so they can receive it. I can save no one.
After the Parable, Jesus explains that some people close their hearts, their eyes, and their ears, because they do not want to know the Truth.
I can share ideas, and information with those who want to learn, and they can share it with others. Knowledge can spread exponentially, and I don’t have to teach every person.
Why waste my time arguing with foolish internet trolls, when for every internet troll, there are more than a hundred other people out there who want to hear?
That does not mean that I do not engage with people with whom I disagree — after all, the guys at For The New Christian Intellectual disagree all the time, and it becomes iron sharpening iron. I also talk to open-minded people with different social and political views from my own. But I don’t waste time on people who are so “right” that they can’t ever be wrong, and who are unswayed by any facts.
What fruit has the seed born? Today, nearly two and a half million people all around the world have watched the videos on my YouTube channel. Over 7,000 have looked at my articles in the last month alone (nearly 90,000 total).
Would I honestly have born more fruit by spending that time arguing with people who choose to ignore Truth?
Christians fighting for Social Justice?
Unfortunately, those who claim to fight for “Social Justice” are far too often driven by emotions rather than by reason, and this can especially include professing Christians. If you ask these Christians if they mean what the Left means by “Social Justice,” many will not answer. They profess to fight for nice things, using vague, nice-sounding words, but they become indignant when asked what they mean, often refusing to clarify.
Be careful! Yes, some people are legitimately innocent, being swayed easily by emotion. These people are sometimes not bad people, just gullible. On the other hand, many people, even “nice” people who call themselves Christians can be very evil, servants of Satan professing to be Christians.
Be very, very careful, and take people’s words very seriously. Be charitable, but do not give too much of a benefit of the doubt. If they insist on saying things that can be interpreted any which way, recognize what they are doing.
Nice words that are vague and almost meaningless are often spoken by a forked tongue.
Not every nice person who calls themselves a Christian is a genuine follower of Christ.
Taking Care of Myself, and Stewarding My Time and My Energy
I am only one man. God did not create me to be the Messiah and Savior of the World. I would rather not die before my 40th birthday from being overweight and spending all my time and energy arguing with people who do not want to see the Truth. Even Jesus did not waste His time arguing with the Pharisees, or buy into their games, trick questions etc., Instead, He refuted their falsehood, proclaimed His message, and moved on. Yet one Pharisee came to Him by night, wanting to learn the Truth.
I don’t know how all that translates to Him being God in human form. But for me, it means that I need to take the time to take care of myself. This includes sleeping at night, eating healthy, and exercising. Also, it includes reading my Bible for myself, for my own spiritual and mental well-being. And it means spending time around a bonfire with close friends who build into my life.
If I spend all my time fighting, there will be nothing left but a human shell.
Closing Thoughts
I do think Christians should fight for Social Justice, but it has to be real Social Justice, including free markets, and school choice. But the perversion that is being promoted by the Left, and recently by many Evangelical Christians, is not justice. An honest person will not take offense if you respectfully ask them what they mean by Social Justice. Some will say that they do not mean what the Left means by Social Justice, but when asked what they DO mean, will refuse to tell you, or will give vague, meaningless platitudes. Don’t fall for these games. A real follower of Christ ought to not be coy about the specifics of what they mean and believe.
Far too often you will face emotional manipulation. I once had a staff worker from a college ministry accuse me of hating black people, since I do not support BlackLivesMatter. Rather, I objected to BlackLivesMatter for burning down black communities, and for intentionally causing black deaths. In other words, because I care about black people, I could not support this evil ungodly organization, no matter how “nice” their name sounded.
Don’t fall for the games. Fight for real, godly Social Justice, and fight for Individual Rights, not this perversion and emotional manipulation that these people falsely call “Justice.”
P.S. In discussing certain issues with a friend recently on Facebook, he changed his mind about a lot of things. Conversations with others are not futile. Avoid getting distracted by talking to Internet trolls (i.e. throwing our pearls before swine.) There are people out there who think differently from you, who will challenge how you think about things, and who will want to hear what you have to say. Seek out people who want to learn, regardless of where they are in the moment.
