There
is a movement afoot, particularly within black evangelical circles, to extol, if
not exalt, social justice as the raison d'etre, that is,
the most important reason and purpose, of the church today.
I
say "particularly" because the aforementioned movement is not restricted only to
the realm of black evangelicalism. The truth is there are also certain elements
within white evangelicalism which, being motivated to some extent by a
collective acquiescence to the idea of "white guilt,"
have attached themselves to this movement like a caboose to a locomotive.
The
problem with movements, however, is they invariably beget labels (e.g. "social
gospel," "liberation theology," etc.). And labels tend to subtly, though
eventually, reorient our focus from that which is of utmost importance, namely,
the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, to an ethno-centric
"gospel" constructed from a collective worldview espoused by "woke" theologians
and philosophers who are considered by many to be the most socially and
culturally aware on matters of social and liberative justice.
