Social Justice Religion

Our culture wants you to be happy. It rewards those who smile through the pain, who pretend everything's fine, who compartmentalize grief and get on with life. But everything's not fine. And God does not expect us to pretend it is. He wants all of us—including our pain.

As the cultural conversation around race, gender, and sexuality has evolved, straight white men are becoming increasingly aware of their privilege. But many may be left thinking, "OK, what am I supposed to do about it?" "We need a way forward beyond feelings of guilt, overwhelmingness, anger, and denial." Straight white male pastor Chris Furr offers a guide to deconstructing that privilege in Straight White Male. With an emphasis on confession and redemption, Furr invites other privileged men to reconsider the ways they live, work, believe, and interact with others.

Two of the world's greatest crises, systemic racism and environmental destruction, share the same origin story. The two are rooted in economic forces that exploit and oppress both people and land. Swanson shows how we can become communities of caretakers, the way to restore our relationship with creation and each other, and the holistic justice that can result.

The church needs a new perspective on its responsibility for the deep racial brokenness at the heart of American culture. This book makes a compelling historical and theological case for the church's obligation to provide reparations for the oppression of African Americans. Duke Kwon and Gregory Thompson articulate the church's responsibility for its promotion and preservation of white supremacy throughout history, investigate the Bible's call to repent and make restitution, and offer concrete examples of the work of reparation at the local level.

Ordinary Heroes of Racial Justice is a beacon of hope for understanding America's complex racial landscape. Through rigorous historical research and compelling narrative storytelling, this book illuminates the past's intersections of Christianity, race, and place, offering profound insights for today's world. Beyond history, Ordinary Heroes of Racial Justice empowers listeners with practical recommendations, encouraging them to rethink and reshape their own communities for justice.

We live in a world of oppositional relationships and increasing in-group/out-group divisions. Christian sociologist Matthew Vos explains how the problem of the stranger lies at the root of many problems humanity faces, such as racism, sexism, and nationalism. He applies classic sociological theory on "the stranger" to matters of faith and social justice, showing that an identity in Christ frees us to love strangers as neighbors and friends. The book also includes two guest chapters, one on intersex persons and the church and one on stranger-making in the "correctional" system.

Following the way of Jesus should lead us into authentic and life-giving relationships. The Jesus Way calls us into community with others to form a new kind of family—a forged family. In an era when our relationships with our families of origin are more complicated than ever, pastor T. C. Moore shows us how following the way of Jesus can lead us to forged families that are authentic and life-giving.

This book offers a close reading of Romans that treats Paul as a radical political thinker by showing the relationship between Paul's perspective and that of secular political theorists. Turning to both ancient political philosophers (Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero) and contemporary post-Marxists (Agamben, Badiou, Derrida, and Žižek),

Consistent with his past research, Baumann utilizes current evidence to come up with his surprising conclusions. In this investigation of why we live and die in the diverse manners we do, Baumann uncovers his data through the analysis of the world's recent advances in science, medicine, philosophy, and religion. Join Dr. Baumann in his spiritual journey of discovery into why life's apparent injustices are really acts of a loving God.

In this inspiring and accessible book, pastor J. W. Buck shows you how to engage in seven practices to be a faithful activist in the world today, including choosing thoughtful resistance over thoughtless compliance; loving your neighbor over fearing your differences; seeking forgiveness over revenge; resting over endless working; practicing nonviolence over violence; and more.

Today, everyone has an opinion on every topic — and so does God! God is far from indifferent to our daily lives; in fact, He cares more deeply about what’s happening in our world than we can imagine. "What You Need To Know About God: Justice And Politics" explores a wide range of contemporary issues from God's perspective. Through biblical analysis and principles, this book offers a divine viewpoint on current events, providing commentary on today’s world through God’s eyes.

The Bible paints a compelling picture of a diverse people united in worship of Jesus. In a society that is divided along lines of race, culture and class, such a vision can feel out of reach. But in the power of the Holy Spirit, it really is possible for our churches to increasingly become the communities of unity and justice that they are called to be. So, what are the practical steps every Christian can take to help make this a reality?

As Christians, we believe God does intervene in our lives. We have faith. Is that faith based merely upon what we believe or is it also based upon experience? Certainly, the Bible provides countless examples of God's intervention on behalf of His people, those reported in Exodus being perhaps the most vivid. Then there is the ultimate intervention in human history, the redeeming sacrifice of God's only son, Jesus Christ. But the question still lingers: Does God intervene in our lives today? Eternal Justice answers this question with a resounding yes.

Mass incarceration has become a lucrative industry, and the criminal justice system is plagued with bias and unjust practices. And the church has unwittingly contributed to these problems. Dominique Gilliard explores the history and foundation of mass incarceration, examining Christianity's role in its evolution and expansion. He assesses our nation's ethic of meritocratic justice in light of Scripture and exposes the theologies that embolden mass incarceration.

Why is the city a battleground of hostile principalities and powers? What is the mission of the church in the city? How can the church be supported in accomplishing that mission? These are the questions that Robert Linthicum treats in his comprehensive and probing biblical theology of the city...

An awakening has been happening across our society. People increasingly recognize how long-standing, systemic issues have prevented many from flourishing. But often Christians are not sure how best to engage. Does it help to march and hold signs? What can we do to contribute and not further complicate things? Faith-rooted justice advocate and activist Michelle Ferrigno Warren equips Christians to join Christ's restorative work in the world.

We are ready to rise up. But how, exactly, do we do this? How does one reconcile? What we need is a clear sense of direction. Based on her extensive consulting experience with churches, colleges and organizations, Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil has created a roadmap to show us the way. She guides us through the common topics of discussion and past the bumpy social terrain and political boundaries that will arise. In this revised and expanded edition, McNeil has updated her signature roadmap to incorporate insights from her more recent work.

As the church and as a country, we've often neglected and avoided addressing the impact and ongoing reality of racism. We've been more focused on order than justice, more concerned with social media posturing than solidarity, more committed to judgment than repentance. But God's people are called to more. Living Undivided will equip and empower you with the transformative biblical tools you need to move from just hoping and wishing for racial justice to actionable change that makes a difference in your life and the lives of churches, neighborhoods, and cities.

Based on extensive research, Naomi Lawson Jacobs and Emily Richardson have collected prophetic and transformative narratives of experience, shared directly by disabled people who have rarely been enabled to speak in Christian books about disability. By centering disabled Christians’ own stories, this book calls for churches to move from a care-based approach to disability, to one that is focused on justice, equality and access to churches for disabled Christians.

Nationally recognized speaker and church leader Jay Augustine demonstrates that the church is called and equipped to model reconciliation, justice, diversity, and inclusion. This book develops three uses of the term "reconciliation": salvific, social, and civil. Augustine examines the intersection of the salvific and social forms of reconciliation through an engagement with Paul's letters and uses the Black church as an exemplar to connect the concept of salvation to social and political movements.