Confronting Injustice Without Compromising Truth

12 Questions Christians Should Ask About Social Justice

By: Thaddeus J. Williams, John M. Perkins - foreword

Narrated by: Thaddeus J. Williams, full cast

Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

God does not suggest, he commands that we do justice.

Social justice is not optional for the Christian. All injustice affects others, so talking about justice that isn't social is like talking about water that isn't wet or a square with no right angles. But the Bible's call to seek justice is not a call to superficial, kneejerk activism. We are not merely commanded to execute justice, but to "truly execute justice". The God who commands us to seek justice is the same God who commands us to "test everything" and "hold fast to what is good". 

Drawing from a diverse range of theologians, sociologists, artists, and activists, Confronting Injustice Without Compromising Truth, by Thaddeus Williams, makes the case that we must be discerning if we are to "truly execute justice" as Scripture commands. Not everything called "social justice" today is compatible with a biblical vision of a better world. The Bible offers hopeful and distinctive answers to deep questions of worship, community, salvation, and knowledge that ought to mark a uniquely Christian pursuit of justice. Topics addressed include:

• Racism
• Sexuality
• Socialism
• Culture war
• Abortion
• Tribalism
• Critical theory
• Identity politics

Confronting Injustice Without Compromising Truth also brings in unique voices to talk about their experiences with these various social justice issues, including:

• Michelle-Lee Barnwall
• Suresh Budhaprithi
• Eddie Byun
• Freddie Cardoza
• Becket Cook
• Bella Danusiar
• Monique Duson
• Ojo Okeye
• Edwin Ramirez
• Samuel Sey
• Neil Shenvi
• Walt Sobchak

In Confronting Injustice Without Compromising Truth, Thaddeus Williams transcends our religious and political tribalism and challenges listeners to discover what the Bible and the example of Jesus have to teach us about justice. He presents a compelling vision of justice for all God's image-bearers that offers hopeful answers to life's biggest questions.

Discussion questions and accompanying reference material are available in the audiobook companion PDF download. 

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 Thaddeus Williams (P)2020 Zondervan Academic

Not Injustice - Conservative Justification

If you’re white and wanting to do a better job of discernment and perhaps actually do something constructive for racial equity and social justice in our society, this book will at best give you nothing, at worst, and more likely completely mislead you.

It is a socially conservative diatribe trying to discredit leading voices in the social equity movement, especially black voices. The theology is really absent. It’s hard to reconcile God’s command to “love thy neighbor” when advocating for turning a blind eye to ignore social inequity data/statistics. The book projects a lack of empathy, and social conservatism that has led to the disparities and continued oppression in our society today.

At a time when the black and people of color communities finally seem to be gaining some traction, exactly because the injustice is becoming so obvious – e.g., the George Floyd murder being a prime catalyst, only because it was caught on video and shown around the world – as a white person, this book will set you back into complacency. Of course, God made us all as human, of course we all sin and fall short, of course everyone is equal, of course we ought to strive to come together; but as an American society, as a global society and in the course of human history we’ve done everything but come together as equals. The world and our society instead have perpetuated trauma on each other in all kinds of ways. And a good portion of trauma has been in the form of oppression against specific people groups – by race, sex, class, or any other of a myriad of perceived differences.

This book would have us forget the trauma that has occurred and live on as just happy “God-filled” people. Unfortunately for victims and perpetrators alike this does not lead to a healthy, nor in any form, a God-led society. God says in DEUTERONOMY 5:9 “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.”

Trauma unfortunately must be dealt with. This book does nothing to help us do that. John Perkins has provided an endorsement in the form of a forward for this book. In his book “One Blood”, Perkins does provide a process to deal with the racial strife and oppressive trauma of our society. It starts with confession, then lamentation, then reconciliation through overt actions to stop the oppression. None of that is mentioned here.

Instead it becomes an American conservative social screed on culture-war issues like socialism (condemning a word without really acknowledging commonly used economic policies in our world and seems odd in a book about racial justice), abortion (a simplistic perspective) gender (traditionalist male/female, without regard for the oppression/suffering of those who are either same sex attracted or struggling with their own genders).

All of this adds up to a book that isn’t at all about social justice – he never actually defines what he means by the term – but is about conservative ideology.

He claims to be calling out a movement he terms “social justice B” that aims to tribalize, divide and is inherently evil; but then goes on with some of the most bias confirming, dividing analysis and commentary on the issue of social justice I’ve ever read. Hypocritical is an understatement.

A Book I Wish I Had Written

Williams has written the perfect book for this cultural moment. For Christians who want to do the right thing and try to be sensitive to the issues of social justice and race in our present day, and yet find themselves confused and wondering why they have an inherent resistance to much of what passes for justice and compassion in the public square , this book explains the dichotomy.

affirming every biblical principle regarding the moral duties towards our fellow image bearers, Williams nevertheless reminds us that the gospel is something more than the moral duties of fairness compassion Justice and equality. and I found especially compelling some of the debunking that Williams does of systems of thought that promote justice but wind up promoting Injustice, that promote compassion but wind up exhibiting a deep lack of compassion, that stand for equality and yet the net result is inequality, that claim to be speaking a bold truth that in fact relies on a whole lot of half-truths and skewed and biased scholarship.

cannot recommend this book highly enough, a must read for every Christian who want to resins to our cultural reckoning on race while holding onto truth

An absolute necessity for the church of the 21st-century

We just finished reading/listening to this book as part of a book circle of concerned believers… As a result everyone in our group is buying multiple copies and giving it away to every believer that will take it! Williams’ book is biblically solid and a breath of fresh air in the stifling heat and turmoil of 2021. This book is a gift from God to a caught-unawares, confused church, that is discovering the emptiness and incompatibility of critical race theory with the Gospel. I could not recommend it more. I do wish the audible version was higher quality… But I was thankful that it was available so early after the books publication.

important analysis for this cultural moment

much needed perspective and information information for anyone who cares about real justice but doesn't know how to navigate the different worldviews impacting modern approaches to cultural issues

If you care about true justice, read this book!

I loved everything about this book! There were many questions and challenges to think through about what is real truth, not just what you've been told is true. I learned so much especially from the appendix at the end. This helped shape my ideas of how to live out Biblical justice in today's world. If you care about true justice, please read this book!

Must read for hot topic biblical perspective.

Great book, with a great perspective. I didn't want a book that would blindly defend or support right wing idealism, but a book that helps me examine scripture and develops a stance that is biblically based. Nor does this book angrily attack mindsets and ideas of the left but calls us back to love and minister to those that may disagree and gives insight on perhaps why, and even some strategy to minister with those we may disagree with. If you ever asked yourself or other what the Bibles says about major issues then read this book!

great book

very good. its an opinion from a christian point of view but does offer insight into why social justice fails on a secular view also.

Thoroughly engaging

Excellent treatment of the topics. Sound, charitable, and faithful. Recommend of any thoughtful Christian disciple

balanced & civil perspective influences of culture

this book uses logic and clear evidence and research to address the roots of thought movements and how to work on mutual perspective taking without vilifying the "other" viewpoint.

Did NOT enjoy but couldn't stop listening

This book is NOT what I expected. Once I started listening, I kept looking for a good reason to stop. That moment never happened. I had recently listened to a Social Justice B book that I enjoyed and wanted a "christian" perspective of the same. When the Social Justice B book stated that when a black person calls something racism that makes it true, I said "yeah!". This book revealed that the amount of pigment does not make one infallible, and that the only infallible One is God. Well that bit of truth does not tickle the flesh as much. Praise God for raising up men and women who go against the grain to give us what we need instead of what we want.