Fox News commentator Glenn Beck provided the occasion recently (Spring 2010) for an all-too-rare display of ecumenical agreement. In response to his broadcast denying that social justice is part of the gospel of Jesus, Christians from Roman Catholic, mainline Protestant, and evangelical churches joined in countering his argument with numerous affirmations of the centrality of social justice to the gospel message.
Some entertainment figures thrive on making controversial statements, and commenting on religion is always good for generating headlines. Those of us of a certain age can recall when the Beatles garnered pages of free publicity after John Lennon offered his opinion that their group was “more popular than Jesus now.” Before writing off Beck’s harangue as merely a publicity stunt, however, it can’t hurt to do a bit of Bible study to clarify in our own minds why his statement is so wrong.
