A Biblical Critique of Secular Justice and Critical Theory By Timothy Keller
History is littered with moments where the Christian Church and secular culture have had completing narratives on social issues. Along with those moments are ‘buzz’ words that seem to be attached to powder kegs of emotions, convictions, and responses. And over the last few years, we have added the words ‘Social Justice’ to the litany. And in this cultural moment we seem to be so polarized, so blatantly incapable of civic discourse, that you’re either accused of being a racist if you don’t support ‘Social Justice’ or a liberal if you do. But, as with so many issues, there’s nearly an infinite ocean of nuance in between those two extremes. And remember, nuance ≠ ambiguity.
We’ve spent considerable time discussing this issue as a church — Because it is just that, an issue. It’s more than mere words. It’s an issue deeply rooted and woven into the fabric of God’s creation. To ignore justice (both retributive and restorative — both of which are ‘social’) is to ignore a major theme of the Bible. To put it blatantly, if we miss the meta-narrative of justice in the Scriptures, our understanding of the redemptive work of Christ will be anemic at best and heretical at it’s worst.
We’ve been contending (nearly ad nauseum) for our community to fight hard against ad hominem and straw man arguments and to deeply engage with this issue, in all of it’s complexities. And so in further pursuit towards that effort, we wanted to share a new, helpful resource for you. Dr. Tim Keller has written a semi-long form article for Life In The Gospel called, ‘A Biblical Critique of Secular Justice and Critical Theory.‘ Christianity Today has said, “Fifty years from now, if evangelical Christians are widely known for their love of cities, their commitment to mercy and justice, and their love of their neighbors, Tim Keller will be remembered as a pioneer of the new urban Christians.” And we believe this is already true. He has heavily influenced our church in these areas, as he has many of you. We really hope you’ll take the time to read, engage, and reflect on the issues that Dr. Keller addresses in this article.