Beyond parody:Today, Beck returned to the subject, insisting that the notion of social justice is "a perversion of the Gospel," and "not what Jesus would say." He wasn't kidding.
He went on to say that Americans should be skeptical of religious leaders who are "basing their religion on social justice," and explained his fear that concern for social justice is a problem "infecting all" faith traditions. While there's certainly been a deepening of the chasm between basic Christian beliefs and whatever the unholy alliance of the GOP and the Religious Right think Christianity is, the above lunacy represents the furthest break yet.
This is without doubt one of the most offensive, ignorant, and pernicious statements I've ever heard about the followers of Jesus Christ. And I'm an agnostic!
UPDATE: Looks like the pushback from actual Christians has already begun, starting with a call to a boycott of Beck: Religious bloggers, from the Rev. James Martin, an editor at the liberal Jesuit magazine America, to Joe Carter, at the conservative magazine First Things, took Mr. Beck's decree as possibly an attack on Catholic teaching, and definitely an affront to Christianity. And the aforementioned Father Martin:...Glenn Beck is saying something else: "Leave Christianity." Again and again in the Gospels, Jesus mentions our responsibility to care for the poor, to work on their behalf, to stand with them. In fact, when asked how his followers would be judged he doesn't say that it will be based on where you worship, or how you pray, or how often you go to church, or even what political party you believe in. He says something quite different: It depends on how you treat the poor. |
