Social-Justice

“The Bible is clear…” “The Bible says…” “The Bible is for/against…” How often—especially within American evangelicalism—do these phrases become rhetorical battering rams for partisan talking points? Let’s be honest: the Bible is not a monolith. It is a library of ancient, inspired texts written across centuries, cultures, and genres. “What the Bible says” on any given topic often depends heavily on who’s reading, how they’re reading, and what they bring to the text. ...

Certainly, the Bible has much to say about individual sin and redemption. But (1) focusing on “systemic” issues doesn’t need to negate a focus on “individual” issues. In fact, a focus on “systemic racism” actually exerts a lot of pressure to evaluate people individually, and not on the basis of their race—as long as we keep in mind how those supposedly individual evaluations are often subtly (and nefariously) shaped by systemic issues. ...