Introduction
In my ministry of apologetics, I have the privilege of answering tough questions from the members of my church. A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting in the coffee shop when a friend approached me and said, “What do you think is going on with intersectionality and the SBC?” I admitted that this was a question to which I had given much thought. “I know enough to be dangerous,” I replied, “but, I will give it some thought.”
Over the next two weeks, I gave it a lot of thought. All of this began to fall into the issue of social justice. As I explored this question, I began to see three things.
First, there are lot of questions that are connect to the issue of social justice. I wrote two pages worth of questions that need to be covered or answered. “What is justice?” “What does the Bible say about justice?” “What debt do we owe to dead people?” These questions and issues must be discussed in order to come to a clear understanding of social justice.
Second, the issue of social justice covers many disciplines. The issues related to the questions above and others fall into many categories of study. Anthropology (the study of man), soteriology (the study of salvation), hamartiology (the study of sin) and other fields all bear on the issue of social justice.
Third, it’s not enough just to be against something. Many in the SBC, and the Christian church as a whole, have already decided where they stand on the issue of social justice. In all intellectual honesty, it is not enough to say that you favor or oppose such an issue as this. For the health and intellectual development of the church, we must state the reasons why we have come to a conclusion that pursuing social justice is a good or bad move for the church.
This is why, over the next weeks (and maybe longer), I will be looking into the issue of social justice and make conclusions after a careful and considered study. I hope that you will go along with me in this process and see where it leads.
Mark Riser - Apologist 