Faith Above Politics...Always

For those of you who know me well, you know that I am a big fan of Glenn Beck's radio program. As far as his Fox News program is concerned, I am a sporatic fan, because after Beck's switch from CNN to Fox News, the radio host gradually turned away from his libertarianism and transformed into the typical Fox News neo-conservative type that I have come to despise in American politics.

Earlier this month, the host had a few things to say about the role of church and American politics. In essence, because of his mounting fear of progressivism, the former libertarian began denouncing churches that promoted social justice.

According to Beck, the words "social justice" are "code words" for Nazism and communism. He later urged Christians to discuss the terms with their priests and to leave their churches if leaders would not reconsider their emphasis on social justice.

This got me thinking about the number of Americans who put country before God, when in reality, it should be the direct opposite. They are part of the Church of the United States, a faith that claims to place its trust in God, when in reality it breaks the first commandment in its idolatry of individual and constitutional rights.

Glenn Beck is a Mormon and at times talks about how his conversion to that faith helped him battle his earlier alcoholism. Throwing aside all theological arguments, can the Mormons continue to claim they are a Christian church while totally shunning issues of social and economic justice? Perhaps it isn't a Mormon teaching (that could be the case since I am not a religious scholar). Perhaps it's Mr. Beck's idolization of American constitutionalism. But the question stands, can Mr. Beck be a true Christian if he does not believe that social justice is a major issue in our world?

Despite all of the changes he has gone through since his conversion to the Fox News machine, Mr. Beck continues to profess that he is a libertarian and that he is a Christian.

Well, I'm a libertarian, and I don't think that true libertarianism throws social justice out the window. We may believe that the government is not effective enough in its assitance in regards to social justice, but certainly, libertarians understand that it is through churches and through non-profit organizations that these issues can be addressed.

One of the major issues that the Roman Catholic Church addresses are issues of social justice. The Archdiocese of Miami has an Office of Social Advocacy whose purpose is to promote "social justice and anti-poverty initiatives through legislative advocacy, and seeks to connect the works of faith and justice throughout the Archdiocese of Miami...[and]coordinates the Archdiocesan response to emergency needs both at home and abroad." So I guess the Catholic Church and its billion adherents are a bunch of Commies. I guess I'm a Commie, but then again, I don't agree much with Communism.

So yes. Despite being labeled as a "sick, twisted freak" for listening to Glenn Beck, I still consider myself a libertarian. However, before I am a libertarian, I am an American.
Before I am an American, I am a Catholic.
Before I am a Catholic, I am a Christian.

And in the end, all my decisions and all of my opinions are going to based on that last fact. And if social justice is not on your list of priorities, that's when you should reconsider your church's stance on social justice. Christianity without social justice is not Christianity at all.