The current evangelical debate mainly exists online with four (or more) basic positions: (1) Some say that social justice and the Gospel are basically the same thing, (2) some emphasize that social justice necessary follows from the Gospel, (3) some are mostly concerned that social justice does not replace the Gospel, and (4) some say that the Gospel does not necessarily entail engagement with social justice.
Within or around these four views are various positions that can overlap with broader cultural concerns. Jared Wilson, to my mind, has demonstrated how fluid some of these categories can be. With this said, I suggest a sort of moratorium on the debate because the same evangelicals who are debating each other basically agree with each other and don’t hold the positions that they assume the other side holds.
In other words, this whole debate is sadly about a misfired gun. [Read more…] about Ready, Aim, Misfire: Analyzing the Online Social Justice Debate