The Insidious Ideology of Social Justice

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GUEST: JEFF KLIEWER, pastor and author, Woke-Free Church

Paul wrote to the Colossians, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

It would be hard to overstate just how pervasive and destructive social justice ideology has become in our society and the church. Whether termed social justice, wokeness, colonization, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), or Critical Theory, it has metastasized everywhere—government, education, media, military, even in Christian institutions and the church.

It’s based on the Marxist worldview that “oppressors” (such as white, Christian, heterosexual men) have “rigged the system” to oppress and victimize non-whites, non-Christians, women, immigrants, “indigenous peoples”, homosexuals, transgenders, and Palestinians.

This is a politically and theologically left-wing ideology whose ultimate aim is to crumble Western Civilization and the Biblical principles upon which it’s based in order to transform the country and the world into what they believe will be a united, socialist utopia where they do not “acknowledge God any longer” (Romans 1:28).

But instead of unity, it foments division, entitlement, and the sin of partiality. But even worse for Christians and the church, social justice prioritizes the pursuit of social issues above the Great Commission and sidetracks many Christians and churches.

Our guest this weekend, pastor Jeff Kliewer, knows all too well about social justice, the term Christians are particularly susceptible to because “God is a God of justice and so pursuing social justice is a Biblical and gospel issue.” Jeff lived and ministered for over a decade in the inner city of Philadelphia and came to the conclusion that social justice policies were not only misguided but actually cause and exacerbate problems rather than provide solutions.

Jeff has written a strong and insightful book titled, Woke-Free Church: For the Deliverance of the Body of Christ from Social Justice Captivity that exposes just how insidious woke ideology is. The book struck such a nerve in his own denomination, the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), that they removed his ordination.

Journalist Megan Basham recently joined us to describe the Left’s infiltration into Evangelicalism in light of her bestselling book, Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded the Truth for a Leftist Agenda. Now Jeff Kliewer joins us to describe what it is like to stand in opposition to the social justice movement within the church.