This link will take you to the audio of a moderated discussion between Marvin Olasky and Jim Wallis on Christian approaches to the issues of poverty and affluence, hosted at Cedarville University, March 11, 2010. It’s about an hour and a half in length.
There’s also an hour-long session with just Dr. Olasky.
In a recent World Magazine article Olasky wrote:
[In the debate, Wallis] kept trying to position himself as a centrist rather than a big government proponent. . . .
[M]odern usage [of the term “social justice”] by liberal preachers and journalists is thoroughly unbiblical: Many equate social justice with fighting a free enterprise system that purportedly keeps people poor but in reality is their best economic hope.
How to respond? I’d suggest four possible ways. . .
Challenge those who speak of “social justice” in a conventionally leftist way. If your local church is committed to what won’t help the poor but will empower would-be dictators, pray and work for gospel-centered teaching. If necessary, find another church.
A second: Try to recapture the term by giving it a 19th- (and 21st?) century small-government twist. The Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute are trying to do this. I wish them success.
A third way: Accept the left’s focus on systemic problems but not its faulty analysis. Learn about the biggest institutional hindrance to economic advance for the poor: the government’s monopoly control of taxpayer funds committed to education and welfare. Work for school vouchers and tax credits that will help many poor children to grow both their talents and their knowledge of God.
Fourth and best: Tutor a child. Visit a prisoner. Help the sick. Follow Christ.
