"Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth" by Thaddeus J. Williams. A Review

 

John Perkins declares that this volume raises twelve of the right questions that we should all be asking in the midst of our troubled era. Therefore, he encourages us to read it with an open mind so that we’re not swept along into false answers that will lead us into more injustice. I couldn’t agree with Perkin’s assessment more! “Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth” by Thaddeus J. Williams, assistant professor of Systematic Theology for Talbot School of Theology, is a 288-page softback that graciously and thoughtfully leads readers to ask, and begin to answer, twelve important questions about social injustice. It’s not a diatribe, but a deliberate analysis of what is meant by social justice from a biblical perspective in contrast to a “post-postmodernist” standpoint. Since there are already hundreds of reviews, I will simply present a few of my observations.

 

Williams is clearly on the side of basic, orthodox Christianity. He doesn’t dismiss social justice but promotes the importance of the subject. This is why he distinguishes between Social Justice A (a biblically defined and directed actionable justice) and Social Justice B (the form of justice that immediately sees prejudice in unequal outcomes, racism around every corner, and demands we rally against all wrongs to make the present all right). “This book is about helping Christians better discern between Social Justice A and Social Justice B” (7). The author then asks twelve questions and spends a chapter with each to unload the weighty cargo being carried about and pressing heavily down on the hearts and lives of people today. In doing this, he undresses the bigotry and bullying of both the Right and the Left, challenging both sides for doing many of the same things. He also strips down our attitudes and quick-draw responses that dehumanize others by pointing out that “our default mode is becoming not righteous indignation but self-righteous indignation, assuming we are on the side of the angels and drawing damning conclusions about anyone who disagrees” (88).

 

On the one hand, “Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth” will be a serious encounter for those pursuing, or being drawn into pursuing, Social Justice B. But on the other hand, for those who think they’re in the Social Justice A camp who have ears to hear and hearts ready to be challenged and changed, they will find themselves humbled. Clearly, one could read the book and grow more certain in their confirmation bias. But that would be a reader who is not actually receiving the words and wisdom of Williams but wanting to gain ammo and weaponry to bash those “other people”. The difference will come down to those who are doing justice and those who think they’re doing justice.

 

Of all that I appreciated in the book I’ll only mention two items here. They have to do with straw men and the Gospel. The author quotes from original sources, making his case strong. I didn’t get the impression that there were any straw men lumbering about, but real issues and real ideas being tackled. That’s important and will give readers an enhanced awareness of what they’re hearing, and the questions to ask to gain certainty. Secondly, he shows how and why social justice is not a Gospel issue but flows from the Gospel. I was especially grateful for this important distinction. If justice is a Gospel issue, then it is Jesus + Justice, and all good Protestants know where that train ride will end, and how only a pile of smoldering debris will be all that is left of the train and its tracks at the end.

 

“Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth” is the book for Christians who are in education, or business, or the military, or those being drawn into protests and pickets. It is the book for any believer who sees systemic racism running rampant, as well as all believers who think that the charge of racism in the present is hogwash. It is the book for pastors and parishioners whether they’re Republicans, Democrats, or Libertarians. It is a book for people who care about real justice, no matter whether they’re liberals or conservatives. This is the book!