In Jesus’s and the prophets’ critique, self-righteous religion is always marked by insensitivity to issues of social justice, while true faith is marked by profound concern for the poor and marginalized. The Swiss theologian John Calvin, in his commentaries on the Hebrew prophets, says that God so identifies with the poor that their cries express divine pain. The Bible teaches us that our treatment of them equals our treatment of God. While the church has inexcusably been party to the oppression of people at times, it is important to realize that the Bible gives us tools for [the] analysis and unflinching critique of religion... (From The Reason for God)
Kids, stay tuned for pt 2 when we talk about the Anglo-Saxons...
1 comment:
I loved this excerpt and was particularly interested in what Calvin said -- I guess I have him too stereotyped because I wouldn't have thought he would be so compassionate! I like Tim Keller more and more--thanks to you I won't have to read the whole book :)
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